Now that we the true believers have been saved by the power of the blood of Christ, our salvation in Him enables us to look inside the mind of a lost man and see our minds as we once were: without God, and also without His Son.
First, a lost man is a prideful man, and therefore he is proud of himself, for he sees himself above and beyond all others.
He is proud of his education, his career, the money he earns, and the nest egg he is storing for his golden years.
He is also proud of his estate as he manicures the shrubs and lawn as well as the spic n' span interior of his abode, for he believes that as people come to visit him they will reward him with special attention as their eyes are dazzled at his castle. He likes that even though he tries to shrug it off by saying, "Oh, it's nothing". But in his mind he is doing cartwheels.
He is proud of serving on various civic organizations all over town, for, in his lifetime, he will have served on all of them because he believes in his own self-ordained motto,
"If it is to be, it is up to me."
Even now, a lost man is proud of his selection to the board of directors out there at the country club where he plays golf with the prez of this and v. p. of that with his top-of-the-line golf clubs with fancy leather grips---which, by way, he will need when he enters the longest drive contest this fall.
Secondly, and beyond these worldly, prideful matters, a lost man is also proud of his service to his church or religion as a member of the board of elders, or the board of deacons, or as chairperson of various committees, for he believes that it is himself that makes a difference because of his charming personality, his contagious smile, and his tender persuasion.
But what a lost man does not understand, which we as true believers did not understand until we met Christ, is that invisible fine line of deception that Satan has drawn between truth and lies; for a lost man will believe that himself and his religion are truth, and that Christ and the Bible are lies.
Therefore, when confronted with the truth of God's Word, he will find that himself as well as his religion are now challenged, and he does not like that! At this time his anger will stand up within himself as he fights to defend himself, his religion, and everything else that he has worked so hard to achieve unto himself.
As true believes, we understand a lost man's mind because we also had proud minds; and a lost man's mind is therefore a reflected image of our own minds before we met Jesus, the Son of God: whereas before we never believed that we could be sinners.
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son; much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement." (Romans 5: 8-11)
What, then, is so special about the blood of Jesus?
"For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul." (Leviticus 17: 11)
Moreover,
"In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;" (Ephesians 1: 7)
"For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." (Matthew 26: 28)
As true believers, we know that the body of Jesus contained blood, we know that "life is in the blood", and we also know that the blood of Jesus is holy blood. Therefore we know that nothing can take away our sins but the holy blood of Jesus.
What, then, should a lost man do in order to receive forgiveness for his sins?
He must do as true believers have done, which is to humble himself and kneel in the presence of God and admit to God that he is a sinner.
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." (Romans 10: 9)
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1st John 1: 9)
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2: 8-9)
First, a lost man is a prideful man, and therefore he is proud of himself, for he sees himself above and beyond all others.
He is proud of his education, his career, the money he earns, and the nest egg he is storing for his golden years.
He is also proud of his estate as he manicures the shrubs and lawn as well as the spic n' span interior of his abode, for he believes that as people come to visit him they will reward him with special attention as their eyes are dazzled at his castle. He likes that even though he tries to shrug it off by saying, "Oh, it's nothing". But in his mind he is doing cartwheels.
He is proud of serving on various civic organizations all over town, for, in his lifetime, he will have served on all of them because he believes in his own self-ordained motto,
"If it is to be, it is up to me."
Even now, a lost man is proud of his selection to the board of directors out there at the country club where he plays golf with the prez of this and v. p. of that with his top-of-the-line golf clubs with fancy leather grips---which, by way, he will need when he enters the longest drive contest this fall.
Secondly, and beyond these worldly, prideful matters, a lost man is also proud of his service to his church or religion as a member of the board of elders, or the board of deacons, or as chairperson of various committees, for he believes that it is himself that makes a difference because of his charming personality, his contagious smile, and his tender persuasion.
But what a lost man does not understand, which we as true believers did not understand until we met Christ, is that invisible fine line of deception that Satan has drawn between truth and lies; for a lost man will believe that himself and his religion are truth, and that Christ and the Bible are lies.
Therefore, when confronted with the truth of God's Word, he will find that himself as well as his religion are now challenged, and he does not like that! At this time his anger will stand up within himself as he fights to defend himself, his religion, and everything else that he has worked so hard to achieve unto himself.
As true believes, we understand a lost man's mind because we also had proud minds; and a lost man's mind is therefore a reflected image of our own minds before we met Jesus, the Son of God: whereas before we never believed that we could be sinners.
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son; much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement." (Romans 5: 8-11)
What, then, is so special about the blood of Jesus?
"For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul." (Leviticus 17: 11)
Moreover,
"In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;" (Ephesians 1: 7)
"For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." (Matthew 26: 28)
As true believers, we know that the body of Jesus contained blood, we know that "life is in the blood", and we also know that the blood of Jesus is holy blood. Therefore we know that nothing can take away our sins but the holy blood of Jesus.
What, then, should a lost man do in order to receive forgiveness for his sins?
He must do as true believers have done, which is to humble himself and kneel in the presence of God and admit to God that he is a sinner.
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." (Romans 10: 9)
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1st John 1: 9)
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2: 8-9)
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