Man Is Sinful And Separated From God

Good morning,

Yesterday I wrote about God's great love for us. I am so thankful for His love. We have salvation because He loved us that much. We, on our own, have no desire for God. We are sinful and, in our lost condition, separated from God. We all know Romans 3:23:

23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Ro 3:23.

Romans 3:23 is Paul's summary of the preceding verses. Paul gives us a description of who people actually are without Christ Jesus. Check this out:

10as it is written,
         “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;
         11THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,
         THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;
         12ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS;
         THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD,
         THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”
         13“THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE,
         WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,”
         “THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS”;
         14“WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS”;
         15“THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD,
         16DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS,
         17AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN.”
         18“THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.”
New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Ro 3:10–18.

That is who we were before Christ and that is who everyone without Christ is. Noone is righteous. Noone without Christ understands. They won't do good. They are useless without Christ.

Then, Paul gets specific. Their throat is an open grave. Think about that illustration. Paul is saying everything in them, and everything that comes out of them, is a disgusting stench. They are liars. Their words are full of poison. They are bitter. They are quick to cause harm. There is only misery in their path. And lastly, they have no fear of God.

That is a description of who we were before Christ and who people are without Christ. When I say that Dyer, Tn has a dire need, I hope you are getting the point. People that die without Christ will stand in judgement on their own. We have the message of Christ that can change that. It is time we do something about it!

Serving Him,

Bro. Joey