ME and YOU before CHRIST

Here is what I was like before Christ (and you too!):

What were you by nature? Were you a black-hearted wretch, sold under sin, running after all manner of iniquity as a thirsty man pursues a cool drink, seeking always to quench the burning desires of your sinful appetites and lusts? Were you a religious bigot, a Pharisee of the Pharisees, full of self and self-righteousness, proud that you were not like other men? Were you utterly ignorant of God's truth, wandering for many years without a thought of Him? Were you a well-instructed sinner, knowing much about God without truly knowing God and transgressing against the very light you were given? How wretched, vile, and guilty we have been, and how much foulness we often find remaining in our hearts (Rob Ventura and Jeremy Walker, A Portrait of Paul, 62).

Hard to admit but true. This describes who and what we were prior to Christ's saving us.