This week’s devotional series from Think & Act Biblically is based on Romans 3, which has been considered “The Heart of the Bible”. The Monday devotional presents us with Three Views of the Human Condition. The author tells us:

“So far as I know, in the whole history of the human race there have only been three basic views of the spiritual condition of men and women. One is the view that they are well. The second is that they are sick. The third is that they are dead.”

The author then explains:

“The idea that men and women are well is quite popular. This is the view of our modern world, of secularism. It says that everything is all right; and if things are not absolutely perfect, well, that is only a slight deviation from the norm. If things are all right, we do not need any help. We do not need a Savior. Above all, we do not need God. Unfortunately, like a wrong medical diagnosis, this view leads to all sorts of other problems; because if you do not recognize the problem, you are not going to seek a cure. This is the state of many people today. Things are very wrong with them, but they will not face the fact that they are wrong. So they are unwilling to seek the solution God provides.

The second view is that men and women are sick. It is a little closer to the truth, but it is not close enough. Unfortunately, it is the view of most Christians in the United States today. It says that we certainly need a physician. We are not well. We are “under the weather,” as it were. In some cases we may not be faring at all well. As a matter of fact, some would say that we are so sick that we are going to die eventually. But there is hope! We need a physician, and we have one in Christ. He can cure us. As I said, this view is closer to the truth, but it is not the full biblical picture.

In these verses Paul expounds the third view, saying that so far as our ability to find or please God is concerned, we are dead—just as dead spiritually as a corpse is dead physically. A corpse cannot do anything to help itself. It just lies there. And, spiritually speaking, that is what Paul says is true of us. We are unable to please God, choose God, seek God, or find God.”

The entire devotional can be found at: Monday: Three Views of the Human Condition | Think & Act Biblically

Be Blessed!