Dire Straits – The Natural State of the Unbeliever
The Apostle Paul, speaking to new Gentile believers in the city of Ephesus, called them to remember something:
“Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.” (Eph 2:11-12, ESV)
Likewise, we who today profess the name of Christ would also do well to remember from whence we came, “having no hope and without God in the world”, which is the state of anyone who lives without Christ. To be without Christ is to be without God because the only path to God is through Christ (John 14:6).
Additionally, as we go through life sharing the precious gospel with friends, relatives, associates and neighbors, we must keep in our hearts and minds the true state of those to whom we give witness to the saving grace of Christ. I fear that at times we can lose sight of the terrible reality of the natural state of the unbeliever, whether it was once us, or the current state of that one we would lead to Jesus. – the ‘dire straights’, if you will.
So what does the Bible have to tells us about each and every unbeliever, past, present, or future? I’ll let Scripture speak for itself:
1. They are dead in trespasses and sins and children if wrath.
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins . . . and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. (Ephesians 2:1-3)
2. They are living under the dark shadow of God’s just condemnation for their unbelief.
“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” (John 3:18)
3. Their unbelieving, natural minds are blinded by Satan.
“In their case the god of this world (Satan) has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Cor. 4:4)
4. They are hostile to God (God’s enemies) and they can do nothing to please Him.
“For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Rom 8:7-8)
5. They are lost, destined for total destruction at the final judgment.
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)
6. They are slaves of sin.
“Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.” (John 8:34)
7. In all this, they KNOW God exists, and have no excuse for denying Him.
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For His invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (Rom 1:18-20)
8. Although the unbeliever knows God exists, he still doesn’t seek Him:
“…as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.” (Rom 3:10-11)
9. Contrary to a popular belief, they are not God’s children.
“But to all who did receive him (Jesus Christ), who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)
The passages of Scripture quoted above are not intended to criticize, demean, or otherwise disparage those who deny God or do not believe in Christ. They are just clear descriptions of the dire straits of all unbelievers that are sometimes pushed to back burners of our minds, even as we share Jesus with our unsaved loved ones.
Given the really dire state of the unbeliever, what are we to do? For starters, we don’t need to blurt out any of the accusations that could be levied against a prospective convert. On the other hand, we need to remember a couple of things about how God saves sinners:
We need to remember that it is God who saves and who has given us the great privilege of sharing Christ with those who, by nature, hate Him and don’t want him.
We should remember Lydia in the book of Acts, Chapter 16. She was with a gathering of women near a river one day when the Apostle Paul showed up. We are told that God opened Lydia’s heart to pay attention to what Paul had to say (Acts 16:11-15) and that she was saved that day. You could say that God has a part in we have a part in the salvation of sinners. Simply stated, we share the message of the gospel (Christ died for our sins), and God saves.
That sounds rather simple, does it not? God opens a heart to hear, we present the gospel message, and God saves!
SGM Daniel Cartwright, USA (Ret.) is a 28-year veteran of the U.S. Army Special Forces and long-time member of Christian Military Fellowship. Dan is a Local Rep at Ft. Carson. He currently serves as Chairman of the CMF Board of Directors.
Local Outreach Notes
↓Keesler AFB: Local Reps Dave and Karen Wittman keep busy continuing to develop local and international military with the joint-ops Influencers Bible Study and recent hospitality events including barbecues and fellowship with Taiwan internationals located at Keesler Air Force Base. We love sharing photos of the fun they have. Here are some from recent events—including sharing barbecue with the First Responders at Keesler!
↓Quantico MCB: Local Reps Udell and Janet Meyers hosted an event sponsored by Tun Tavern Fellowship at CMF’s Rally Point. Col. Art Athens was the guest speaker for the event. Col. Athens’ powerful message of faithfulness as portrayed in the Book of Daniel was warmly received by the Marines in attendance. What a wonderful time of exhortation and fellowship. A big thank you to Tun Tavern for putting this even together!
↓Naval Base Kitsap: CMF Local Reps Scott and Kristi Radetski head up continuing Community Relations (ComRel) projects through North Kitsap Baptist Church (NKBC) and other local ministries and volunteers. They’ve been working on a continuing project that includes different trails demonstrating the wide and narrow spiritual paths, lovely places to pray and relax, a baptismal, and a host of other features. We’ve reported on this project in the past and will report on it in the future—it’s quite extensive! Here, 38 Marines stood up for the mission of the day. And because fellowship is such an important part of ComRel, we provided lunch, hospitality, and a living hope from NKBC, CMF, and CADENCE volunteers.
Fellowship: For Confession and Prayer
I have been known to joke that being a Christian would be easier for me if it was just about prayer, reading Scripture, and not doing bad things; that is to say if it did not require fellowship. To be honest, maybe it’s not really a joke. Maybe it’s more than, say, 75% true. Maybe I’m not alone here.
I have a hard time gathering together with other people. To be honest, I am more comfortable in a crowd of strangers than at work in a ministry or church with people who have begun to take time to start to get to know me. Yes, I admit, that last sentence is odd in more than one way, but it’s true. And often, the longer I am somewhere, the harder it gets. Can you relate? So why do we go to church? We are told in Hebrews 10:25 to not neglect to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. Let’s consider reasons as to why this is so important, shall we? For the sake of brevity, maybe we should do this as a series.
So, today, may I confess to you that I fall into the camp of neglecting to meet together at church regularly? It’s important that I share this with you and ask you to pray for me. You see, one reason we are told to meet together regularly is to confess our sins to one another, and pray for one another so that we may be healed. A prayer of a righteous person, when it is brought about, can accomplish much. (James 5:16) It seems to me that one of the scariest things we are encouraged to do is to confess to one another where we fail to meet the expectations of God, God’s Word, ourselves, as well as the people around us in relation to God’s Word.
Sometimes we don’t even have to confess because we know that people saw, or heard, or read about what we did. They know. That makes us face the fear of being ‘judged’ which seems to me to be confused with the word ‘condemned’. Judging is to know right from wrong. We are expected to judge the actions of people and the results of those actions in the light of whether or not we should emulate those actions in our own life. Condemnation is when we say hopeless things about them. Sometimes people will condemn us out loud saying things like, “They’re not really a Christian if they…” or “See they’ll never change…” There are many ways of condemning and shaming one another.
What if, instead, we prayed for one another to be healed of what is seen and known? What if we prayed things like, “Lord, they really seem to struggle with ____; please set them free from this. Please help them to walk healed of this sin issue in their life. If I can help them or encourage them, please show me what You need or want me to do.” What if we left room for God to speak to them and to us – I wonder how much safer we could feel together. I wonder how much stronger we will be as a Body of Christ when we start growing in the area of knowing that it is ok to be imperfect (which in the Bible just means incomplete). It’s OK for us to be in process my friends. May God help us to not neglect meeting together regularly, in fellowship, in order to hear each other’s weaknesses, pray for another, and encourage one another in growth and strength – together. Is there something we can be praying about with you? CMF welcomes your prayer requests at prayer@cmfhq.org
Mary Heller is a Navy Veteran, wife of a retired US Navy Sailor, and a mother of four, the youngest two whom she continues to homeschool through their now-high school years. Mary has long been active in ministry and is past-president of the Ft. Meade, Maryland, Chapter of PWOC and has also served other capacities, most often Vice President of Spiritual Life. Her passion is studying and teaching God's word. Mary currently serves as Vice Chair of the CMF Board of Directors.
Are You Interested in Becoming a Local Leader?
Christian Military Fellowship exists to help you fulfill your calling in Christ to share the hope that is in you with those with whom you interact as part of your daily life.
Briefly, CMF Local Leaders will start, and sustain a CMF fellowship made up of members of the military community in their area. While CMF is an “all ranks” ministry, our area of focus is on enlisted personnel. Local leaders institute and lead the military community in Bible study, prayer, and fellowship, keeping in communication with participants. They should also seek to build relationships with the chaplains and the chaplain team.
Toward that end we encourage you to study and complete the CMF briefing material:
Toward that end we encourage you to complete the briefing material we send to our new members:
Orientation (Brief #1) that shares an overview of the CMF ministry.
Developing a Local Ministry (Brief #2) that shares the Biblical foundation for you local ministry and delineates the logical steps in beginning your local ministry.
Pray and Plan (Brief #3) that shares the most important activity of all! Asking Jesus what He would have you to do and then being obedient to follow His leading in your local ministry. This will begin your journey of obedience to the Great Commission (Matthew 18:28-30).
If you choose to begin this process, you may send your completed and signed exams to us by US Mail or via email at:
Leader@CMFHQ.ORG
They are also available on the Get Involved → Volunteers Needed page on the CMF Web Site.
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