21 States of Man without God
(Third in series)
In the continuation of our series about the 21 states of man without God we will look at further states of our condition of life apart from God. So far, we have gone thru an alphabetical list of states of man without God, and we find ourselves in the E states of man.
1. Enemy of God
a. This is the state where we are just in plain opposition to the will of God, longing the world more than the God that loves us. And the book of James pulls no punches when he speaks about this state of man being an enemy of God.
b. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. ~James 4:4
c. We are told in Scripture that we are in the world but not of the world. Although we must live our physical lives on this planet, we do not need to subscribe to all that the world does that opposes God. Nor do we look longingly to the things of this world but look to the hope of eternal life through Christ Jesus.
d. There was a comic strip named Pogo, known for its seemingly simplistic, but slyly perceptive comments about the state of the world and politics. In this comic strip there was a quote, which was a pun of another famous quote by an American Naval commander. In this quote the strips creator summed up the world like this: “We have met the enemy and he is us.” So true that attempt at humor was. For as long as we rebel against God, we continue to be that enemy.
e. On the way to work, I noticed some interesting signs on the SUV in front of me. The spare tire mounted on the back had the words “Texas Longhorns” and an orange, steer-head icon on it. The trailer hitch displayed another steer-head icon and the word “Texas.” The license plate frame was bordered with the words “Longhorns” on top and “University of Texas” at the bottom.
But something didn’t add up. The license plate frame was screwed into a “California” license plate with a picture of a bear on it. I live in California, and the SUV’s license plate showed that this driver now did too. I assumed the owner of this SUV had moved but had not yet identified with his new home and had no plans of changing loyalties.
When we move, we often go through a slow transition of loyalties to our new home. And so, it is as a Christian. When we come to Christ, the kingdom of God becomes our home, but the kingdom of this world does not easily leave our hearts. The great challenge of the Christian is to overcome divided loyalties and fully identify with God’s kingdom.
f. Scripture tells us that our God is a jealous god and that worship to anything other than Him is considered adultery. So figure out what it is that means the most to you: God or everything else.
2. Evil
a. The prophet Jeremiah speaks of this state of man as one residing in the heart, our inner being:
b. The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? ~Jeremiah 17:9
c. Only God can know the heart, and Jesus came with a cure for this state of man. In Romans chapter 12 the apostle Paul begs the Roman readers to turn from their internal sinful conditions and look to the mercies of God. And those mercies being an eternal life with the Father by way of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ Jesus.
d. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. ~Romans 12:1-2
e. Make a confession from your mouth that Jesus is Lord and allow Him to start the change in you so that you can be a part of the internal change of your heart and mind. Allow the saving power of Jesus to make you a new creature today.
3. Foolish
a. In this state we find that we fail to see the truths in life. A state where we try to shortcut or bypass the responsibilities and commands given to us.
b. “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” ~Matthew 7:26-27
c. Here Jesus gives an example of someone who tries to build a spiritual life on something other than the firm foundation that Jesus came to be for us. He says that anyone who does this is foolish and that all they have built up will be a great disaster and will fall apart.
d. The opposite of wisdom is folly, meaning the short-term self-indulgence which marks out the person who doesn't think about long-term priorities and goals, but lives on a day-to-day basis, asking, "What is the most fun thing to do now?" Wisdom seeks to have a solid relationship with God, while the foolish seek to put it off because they believe they have all the time in the world.
e. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. ~Proverbs 9:10
f. So let us build our hopes upon the solid rock of Christ Jesus. Because all other things are sinking sand.
4. Hateful
a. This is the state of not wanting to show or feel love for ourselves and others. In this state we lean not upon God, but to our own selves because of the hate that fills our heart.
b. For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. ~Titus 3:3
c. I am saddened by this scripture to know that we were at one time so hateful, and that some of us like to remain in this state. Hate is like acid. It can damage the vessel in which it is stored as well as destroy the object on which it is poured.
d. Many Germans who had immigrated to the United States were sitting in a theater when the movie Psyche was shown. The propaganda movie, produced by Hitler’s Third Reich in 1940, followed the invasion and Blitzkrieg through Poland. Whenever a Polish person appeared on the screen, people in the audience would scream, “Kill him! Kill him!” in a frenzied commitment to the destruction of Germany’s enemies.
W. H. Auden, the Pulitzer prize – winning poet, playwright, and literary critic, was so shocked that he walked out of the theater. He later said one question ran through his mind: “What response can my enlightened, humanistic tradition give to this evil, to those who cry out for the blood of innocent victims?” He began to sense that the only answer to evil was not in humanism, but in God and the revelation of God in the Bible.
He was convicted of God’s holiness and his own sinfulness. In 1940 he became a Christian.
e. A man who hates to be slapped on the back packs his coat with TNT and waits for this man who always slaps his back. His idea is when he hits me I will get him, I'll blow him up. Hate kills both the person who you hate, but also yourself as well. Hating people is like burning down your own house to get rid of a rat.
f. But thanks be to Christ Jesus who transformed us into His marvelous light, shining the light upon the darkness of our heart and illuminating the love that God desires us to show.
5. Hypocritical
a. This is the state where we act as a righteous person in church, but having a heart that is far from God.
b. Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. ~Matthew 6:1-2
c. We must truly examine our hearts to see why we are presenting ourselves before the Lord. Are we doing it for the praise of man? Or are we doing it for the glory of God? In our worship of the Lord let us not be doubled minded, because we cannot serve God while we are seeking praise from man. Let the Father reward you openly from the secret things done from the heart.
d. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. ~James 1:6-8
6. Malicious and Envious
a. This state of man finds its delight in doing hurtful things to others because of the deceitfulness of our hearts and the envy for what our fellow man has or does. Let us not look to the things of this world that rust and corrode, but let us look joyfully to the rewards in heaven that await those that love the Lord. Put away all envy and strife letting the love of Christ Jesus shine forth in your walk.
b. A sound heart is life to the body, But envy is rottenness to the bones. ~Proverbs 14:30
c. Dwight L. Moody once told the fable of an eagle who was envious of another that could fly better than he could. One day the bird saw a sportsman with a bow and arrow and said to him, "I wish you would bring down that eagle up there." The man said he would if he had some feathers for his arrow. So the jealous eagle pulled one out of his wing. The arrow was shot, but it didn't quite reach the rival bird because he was flying too high. The first eagle pulled out another feather, then another--until he had lost so many that he himself couldn't fly. The archer took advantage of the situation, turned around, and killed the helpless bird. Moody made this application: if you are envious of others, the one you will hurt the most by your actions will be yourself.
7. Proud
a. This is the state of man having a high opinion of one’s own dignity, importance, or superiority over others. A state of man that places himself above the will of God.
b. For the day of the Lord of hosts Shall come upon everything proud and lofty, Upon everything lifted up—And it shall be brought low— ~Isaiah 2:12
c. Having a proud heart from a biblical point of view is very much like idolatry, as it causes man to believe that he is above God. This state of heart also caused God’s highest angel, Lucifer, to believe that he could be like God and in so doing caused his downfall to the earth from heaven.
d. Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; Though they join forces, none will go unpunished. ~Proverbs 16:5
e. Did you know that other than death, this is the issue most talked about in the Bible? By far, this is one of the worst states we can get into, a state that God calls an abomination. A state where we get to the point that we start to believe that we are gods.
f. So let us avoid the proud state of heart and think of ourselves a little lower than we are, thus avoiding the wrath of God that is reserved for the proud of heart. Christ Jesus stepped down from his throne to come to earth as a servant to save mankind. So let us have the same mind of Jesus and come before the Lord in humbleness.
