What is the spiritual condition of lost people?
Lost people are not under God's control; they are enemies and aliens, spiritually separated from Him. Scripture calls them enemies of God, yet He does not stop loving them. He continues pouring out His grace upon them and offering salvation, because Christ's death makes reconciliation available to the whole human race.
Les explains that lost people are like someone not under a foreign government's control—they are not under God's control. They are enemies, aliens, and that is how God views the mass of humanity until they come His way. But God does not stop loving His enemies; He keeps pouring out grace and offering salvation. Les points to Romans 5:10, where Paul writes that while we were enemies we were reconciled by the death of God's Son. Reconciliation is a crucial term in Paul's letters; the cross makes it not just possible but available to the whole human race. Believers, having been reconciled, shall be saved by Christ's life, because He arose victorious over sin, death, and hell, and that victory is imputed to their account.