“Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17)
If we don’t know how wretched we are without Christ we deceive ourselves. We have nothing unless we are given it. Christ alone is our hope of glory. To paraphrase Psalm 39:5: Every man at his best state is an absolute zero.
The only hope we have of not manifesting an evil mind and straying into a corrupt way is through abiding in Christ. We can do nothing without Him. He stands at the door and He knocks. He wants fellowship with us. He would share our lives, but we must share His if we are to be one iota different than the next guy.
Being a Christian is not enough. Every one of us who are in Christ must make a diligent commitment to “buy” of Him all we need to stand in the hottest fires we face. Abiding in Christ must be more than words to us. Without real fellowship with Him, we remain wretched.