There are many tales told about man being lost, finding lost treasure, lost civilizations. Some are fiction, some are true. People seem to like to read or hear about them – but no one wants to be lost.
The many back roads of north/west Hays County can make it easy for a novice in the area to be “lost” for real. This writer can give testimony on that subject, and it’s not a pleasant story. Coming out of an area, I carelessly took a wrong turn. I “knew“ where I was going, “knew” how to get there, but before I “knew” it, I was in Johnson City. It got easy from there, but I had wandered around for nearly thirty minutes. It sure was nice to get home.
Why Are People Lost?
I was lost in those hills because of carelessness and over-confidence. Many others are lost, literally and spiritually. I finally found my way home, but if Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:14 are true, and of course they are true, most people are going to be lost and never find their way:
“…strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
Why are many lost? Some are careless with God’s word. Some don’t realize they are lost.
Many Do Not Have A Compass
Jesus said He came to “seek and save that which is lost,” Luke 19:10. I thought I knew my way, but I did not. I had a map, but without knowing my bearings, it did not help very much. To be precise, I did not have a compass to show me the right direction. Many today are lost because they do not know Christ, whom God says is “…the way, the truth and the life,” John 14:6. The Bible tells Jesus’ story and as such it is our compass, showing us the way “home.” Without it, we are lost! Ignoring it, we are lost! Yes, it is available, easily obtained. We just need to seek it, and then use it. It will take us home!
Sin Is The Reason So Many Are Lost
What is sin? We would expect to find the meaning of “sin” in the Bible, and there we read that sin is “transgression of the law”, 1 John 3:4. What “law” is that? The “law of Christ,” Galatians 6:2. Yes, all of us are “under law to Christ,” 1 Corinthians 9:21, and violating that law is what God calls “sin”. Every time you see that word, sin, you know God has a law for mankind today. It is not the Mosaic Law, for that was “fulfilled,” Matthew 5:17, “nailed to the cross,” Colossians 2:14, “abolished,” Ephesians 2:15. Though man’s law is to be respected and obeyed, Romans 13, 1 Peter 2:13-17, it is not by man’s laws that God judges man. God’s law is found in the pages of the New Testament.
When a person lives a life of sin, loves sin, he/she is thereby estranged from God. That is what is often meant by the word “lost” in the Bible. In Matthew 18:11 and Luke 19:10 we are told that Jesus’ mission on earth was to “seek and save that which is lost.” Lost because we do not live in harmony with God’s law for man.
How Can We Keep From Being Lost?
We first need to realize that we are “lost” without Christ. Only then will we seek out that “way” Jesus has laid out for us. Jesus told three parables in Luke 15 that deal with “lost” things or people. The lost sheep probably wandered away. The lost son, 15:11-32, first “came to himself”, verse 17, and then returned to his father. The woman who lost the “coin,” Luke 15:8, had searched “diligently” until she found it. Jesus did His part on the Cross. Similarly, we must do our part. God will not force us, but gently “calls” us to Him, 1 Corinthians 1:9, 24; 1 Thessalonians 2:12, 2 Thessalonians 2:14, 1 Peter 5:10. We are called “by the gospel,” and we respond to that call by obeying the gospel, 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9.
Our Responsibility?
It is ours to live in harmony with God’s law so that no one is led astray. When Jesus left earth for His heavenly abode, He gave His disciples a mission to take the gospel to all men and women everywhere. Many do not seek the gospel, so we must seek them out. The greatest favor we can do for mankind is to
find the lost,
teach them, and
lead them to Christ.
