1. I was on the broad way (road) leading to destruction (Matthew 7:13).
2. I was lost (Luke 19:10; 2 Corinthians 4:3).
3. I was condemned already because of my unbelief (John 3:18).
4. I was a lover of darkness (John 3:19).
5. I was under God's abiding wrath (John 3:36) awaiting God's coming wrath (Luke 3:7; Ephesians 5:6; Colossians 3:6).
6. I was an ignorant worshipper (John 4:22).
7. I was an evildoer deserving judgment (John 5:29).
8. I was of the world and from below or beneath (John 8:23).
9. I was yet in my sins (John 8:21,24).
10. I was a child of the devil (John 8:44).
11. I was a Christ-rejecter (John 12:48).
12. I was a Christ-hater (John 15:18) and a hater of those belonging to Christ (John 17:14).
13. I was under the power of Satan (Acts 26:18; 1 John 5:19).
14. I was unthankful, not giving honor to God (Romans 1:21).
15. I was unrighteous (Romans 1:29-31; 3:10; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10).
16. I was under sin (Romans 3:9) and sin-sick (Luke 5:31-32).
17. I was unprofitable (Romans 3:12).
18. I was without the fear of God (Romans 3:18).
19. I was guilty before God (Romans 3:19).
20. I was a sinner (Romans 3:23; 5:8).
21. I was without strength (Romans 5:6).
22. I was ungodly (Romans 5:6; 4:5).
23. I was God's enemy (Romans 5:10; Colossians 1:21).
24. I was a servant (slave) of sin (Romans 6:17,20; John 8:34).
25. I was deserving of death (Romans 6:23).
26. I was in the flesh (Romans 7:5; 8:8).
27. I was in danger of perishing (1 Corinthians 1:18; 2 Corinthians 2:15; Luke 13:3,5).
28. I was a natural man who considered the things of God as foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:18; 2:14).
29. I was under God's curse (1 Corinthians 16:22).
30. I was blinded by the god of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4).
31. I was part of this present evil world (Galatians 1:4).
32. I was dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1,5; Colossians 2:13).
33. I was walking according to the course of Satan's world (Ephesians 2:2).
34. I was a child of disobedience (Ephesians 2:2).
35. I was a child of wrath (Ephesians 2:3).
36. I was without Christ (Ephesians 2:12).
37. I was an alien from the commonwealth of Israel (Ephesians 2:12).
38. I was a stranger from the covenants of promise (Ephesians 2:12,19).
39. I was one who had no hope (Ephesians 2:12) and no foundation (Luke 6:48).
40. I was without God in the world (Ephesians 2:12).
41. I was far off (Ephesians 2:13).
42. I was walking in the vanity of my mind (Ephesians 4:17).
43. I was one whose understanding was darkened (Ephesians 4:18; Romans 1:21).
44. I was alienated from the life of God (Ephesians 4:18; Colossians 1:21).
45. I was ignorant (Ephesians 4:18).
46. I was blind and hardened (Ephesians 4:18).
47. I was given over to unbridled lust (Ephesians 4:19).
48. I was corrupt according to deceitful lusts (Ephesians 4:22).
49. I was once of the darkness and of the night (Ephesians 5:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:5; 1 John 2:11).
50. I was in the realm and under the power of darkness (Colossians 1:13; Luke 1:79; Acts 26:18).
51. I was one who did not know God (1 Thessalonians 4:5).
52. I was foolish (Titus 3:3; Romans 1:22).
53. I was disobedient (Titus 3:3).
54. I was deceived (Titus 3:3).
55. I was one who served various lusts and pleasures (Titus 3:3).
56. I was one who lived in malice and envy (Titus 3:3).
57. I was one who was hateful and was hating one another (Titus 3:3).
58. I was a sheep who had gone astray (1 Peter 2:25).
59. I was one who lived in the flesh to the lusts of men (1 Peter 4:2).
60. I was one who walked in lasciviousness, lust, abominable idolatries, etc. (1 Peter 4:3).
61. I was sensual, having not the Spirit (Jude 19).

To sum up all that is true of unsaved persons with a theological term, we are “totally depraved.” This doesn’t mean that we are as bad as we can be, but as bad off as we can be. We are spiritually dead to God, morally corrupt in our hearts, and physically dying in our bodies.

Man’s only hope is found in the gospel of God. The gospel is news of what God has done to reach us. It is not advice about what we must do to reach God. God has entered the world in Jesus Christ to achieve a salvation that we could not achieve for ourselves.

The gospel is the good news of gracious acceptance. Jesus lived the life we should live. He also paid the penalty we owe for the rebellious life we do live. He did this in our place (Isaiah 53:4-10; 2 Cor 5:21; Mark 10:45). We are not reconciled to God through our efforts and record, as in all other religions, but through his efforts and record. Those who trust in Christ alone for their acceptance with God, rather than in their own moral character, commitment, or performance, are simultaneously sinful yet accepted. We are more flawed and sinful than we ever dared believe, yet we are more loved and accepted than we ever dared hope at the same time.

One of the most well-known and loved of all the verses in the Bible is John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

Notice in John 3:16 that there is the promise of everlasting or eternal life to whoever believes in Christ. Eternal life is not just about going to heaven when we die. Instead it is about the kind of life Jesus has coming to dwell in the one who trusts Him alone for salvation. In other words, it is the life of the world to come, coming into our lives Now. This life is the joy of a real, exciting relationship with Jesus every single day through prayer, worship and living in the strength that God provides through his Holy Spirit.

When we believe we receive the forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life. Almost the entire New Testament is dedicated to talking about this eternal life and the implications of it in our everyday lives.

The amazing thing about eternal life is that it is a gift given to us by God through faith alone and not by any of our good deeds (Ephesians 2:8,9). Jesus paid the price for our sins when he died on the cross and all we must do is receive the gift of forgiveness through faith. When we believe that Jesus died for our sins and trust in Him alone, we receive eternal life, are passed out of death into life, and when we die will be with Him forever (John 5:24).

If you have never turned in repentance, trusted by faith, and treasured Christ for eternal life and the Spirit of God is tugging at your heart strings as you’re reading this, you might pray something like this:

Father in Heaven,

I have heard the good news and I believe it. I agree with what it reveals about my present condition in lostness and deadness to You. I know that I'm a sinner and I realize that I have failed to glorify or value You. I know that all my religious activities and good deeds will never make me right with You. But the gospel says that Jesus died in my place for my sins. I turn from my rebellion and going my own way and turn to believe, trust, and rely upon Christ alone to forgive me for all my sins. I gladly and thankfully receive Your gift of eternal life.