"You Are But A Dead Man"

"But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife." (Gen. 20: 3)

The words "you are but a dead man" was said by God to a man that was still alive. But, God said to him that he was dead. The meaning is "you have sinned in taking Sarah, Abraham's wife, into your tent, and this will be the reason for my killing you." He was dead because "the sentence of death" had been given in regard to him. (II Cor. 1: 9) He was "on death row" as it were. He was "appointed to death" (Heb. 9: 27; Psalm 102: 20; I Cor. 4: 9), and was therefore as good as dead. So too are the lost, those who are perishing. They are dead, appointed to death, and in the "throes of death." They are also on "death row," and are walking "the green mile" and can hear the words "dead man walking." The lost are like zombies, dead men walking.

To such men we preach Christ as "the life" (John 14: 6),  and say to spiritually dead men that the only way to find life, eternal life, is in Christ and so we say "whoever has the Son has life." (I John 5: 12) The dead sinner must come to Christ for life. (John 5: 40)