The Nature of the Lost

The lost are spiritually dead

The central feature of the nature of the lost is that they’re spiritually dead. Unlike those of us who’ve been born-again through faith in Jesus Christ, they’re still in the position they were born, dead in sin, and thus unable to relate to God, fellowship with him, or understand the things of God. Their spiritual father is Satan, not God. He holds them captive and uses them to advance his earthly kingdom.

In this section we’ll examine the meaning and significance of spiritual death, and then consider it’s practical outworking in the lives and thought processes of the lost. We’ll see how the nature of the lost reveals the terrible consequences of rejecting God.

Because of their spiritual connection with God, the saved are able to understand spiritual truths, like God’s sovereignty and glory, man’s need for a Savior, and that there is no good apart from God. The Holy Spirit helps them understand the Bible, opening their eyes to the truth it contains.

Though the saved don’t lose their sin nature when they obtain spiritual life, it loses its absolute control over them. Being aware of the ugliness of sin, the beauty of righteousness, and responding to God’s love, they desire to seek righteousness and please him. God’s indwelling Holy Spirit helps them work toward that goal. As a result they not only sin less but also actively pursue good works.

This isn’t the case with the lost. For them, the combination of spiritual death and a sin nature produces enemies of God and followers of Satan and their own lusts. We can understand why by examining the meaning of spiritual death and its effects on the spiritual state of the lost.