“What Does it Mean to Be Lost?”
Introduction:
A little boy opened the big and old family Bible with fascination; he looked at the old pages as he turned them. Then something fell out of the Bible and he picked up and looked at it closely. It was an old leaf from a tree that has been pressed in between pages.
"Momma, look what I found", the boy called out.
"What have you got there, dear?" his mother asked.
With astonishment in the young boy’s voice he answered: "I think it’s Adam’s suit!"
In 1998 459,841 people or one in every 5 deaths in America were attributed to Coronary Heart Disease. That is how many die. A vital key to defeating heart disease is to determine how many are LIVING with heart problems.
On any given day I would bet that more than one out of five people die outside of Christ, and the key is to determine how many people are living with the heart problem before it kills them.
What does it mean to be lost? By that I am not referring to not being able to find your way around town and I am not talking about a hit television show. Being lost implies much more than that. We hear lot of talk about the lost and reaching the lost, but none of us will ever be motivated to reach the lost unless we know what it means to be lost. Perhaps there is someone here who has been thinking that they were a Christian, but you realize that you are lost. I want to look at what it means to be lost this morning.
In this world there are literally millions upon millions of people who are lost and need Jesus, and unless they come to him they are going to spend eternity apart from God.
A lot of times we will talk about how we want friends and family of ours to come to the Lord, but we don’t really mean it. Apparently there are a lot of people among us who don’t believe in Hell. I know that intellectually everyone here would probably agree that there is a real Heaven and a real Hell, but many don’t completely believe that. The reason I know this is because if you really believed in Hell and understood it the way the Bible describes it you would do a lot more to bring people to Jesus.
There are a lot of lost people out there and it is your and my duty to reach them for Jesus. If you really believed there was a Hell you would tell your lost parents about Jesus because you don’t want them to be there. If you really believed there was a Hell you’d tell your children that they need to get right with the Lord, so they don’t have to go there. If you really believed there was a Hell you would tell your best friends and your worst enemies about Jesus because you don’t want them to go there. I hope by the end of this message we, as the church will run out the doors to tell people the Good News of Jesus Christ because we better understand what it means to be lost. We need to stop sitting around and talking about how nice it would be for those loved ones of ours to share the same faith with us, but we need to be bold and tell people the Truth in love.
I believe in order for us to properly grow in our faith we need to be reproducing ourselves in the church. There is no such thing as a Christian who does not bring people to the Lord, and if you don’t believe that statement then ask Jesus what he meant about throwing the trees that did not bear fruit into the lake of fire. I heard someone say that we are a generation of mules, we have many hard workers, but we are not reproducing ourselves. The hard work that we do is of no avail if people aren’t coming to Jesus. The church building was a waste of time of people aren’t coming to Jesus. Our study of the Word and fellowship is useless unless people are coming to Jesus. There is a world full of lost people, and they are your friends, parents, siblings, neighbors, and they are lost and we must do something about it. Ok, Jason, I understand that there are lost people, but what does it mean to be lost?
Text: Luke 15:11-32
I. What Does it Not Mean to be Lost?
Before we can look at what it means to be lost we have to look at what it does not mean to be lost. In the world today there are many misconceptions about what it means to be a Christian and how you can be identified as a follower of Jesus. Being a Christian is more than just going to church and understanding about Jesus, being a Christian is a way of life. What does it not mean to be lost?
a. Doesn’t mean that God doesn’t bless you
Being lost does not mean that God does not bless you with certain things. Having money or being blessed with a good job does not mean that a person is not lost. In fact God does bless a lot of people who are lost with material possessions, but none of those things are an indication that they are a Christian. Everything that every person in the world has they have because God has given it to them or allowed them to have it.
Luke 12:16-21
The Lord richly blessed this man, yet it is clear that he was lost. Being lost does not mean that God does not bless you. God is kind many times to those who are not kind to him, because his kindness leads us to repentance.
b. Doesn’t mean that you are a failure
A lot of times we picture in our minds that the people who are lost are big failures in life, but that is the furthest from the truth. Sometimes there are some very successful people who are lost. Status does not make a person saved. I say this so that you will not assume because a person is successful that they are saved, or that because a person has failed at things that they are lost. All people need Jesus. If you are lost today, that does not mean that you are a failure, it simply means that you need Jesus. You could be a very successful person, but without Jesus everyone is lost. It is easy for us to picture some people in our minds as lost isn’t it? The people who really are wicked people, the people who in the eyes of the world are failures. While others it is hard for us to see them as lost people, you know the white-collar people, who are good people, who have 2.5 children and a good job.
Luke 16:19
The Rich Man had a lot, he was successful, but he was lost as the text there plainly says. Just because a person is lost does not make them a failure in life.
c. Doesn’t mean that you are evil
Being lost does not mean that you are an evil person. Granted there are many evil people who are lost, that is not the standard. A lot of times we look at those evil people and get the picture of them as lost, but maybe we should change our thinking. There are many good, moral people who are just as lost as some of the most wicked people in the world. Being lost does not mean that you are an evil person.
Luke 18:18-30
Our goodness is simply not good enough. If we try to make it to Heaven on how good we are we will stop really short. Not all lost people are evil, like this Rich Ruler. He obeyed the commands of God, but he lacked one thing, and that was Jesus. He was lost without Jesus, even if he was a good guy. Being lost does not mean that you are evil.
d. Doesn’t mean that you don’t know about Jesus
Being lost does not mean that you do not know about Jesus. A lot of people assume that if they know who Jesus is they can be saved. A person can know everything Jesus ever did and said and still be lost. Jesus does not necessarily want us to know about Him, he wants us to know Him. He doesn’t want us to have a mere intellectual knowledge about who he is, but he wants us to live for Him.
John 3:1-5
Nicodemus knew about Jesus, but he was still lost. Perhaps, today you know about Jesus, and have been assuming since you do you are saved. Perhaps you have someone you know that knows about Jesus, but does not know Him and like for Him. A lost person can know about Jesus. They can know everything about Him and still be lost, lost, lost. We are not saved by knowing a few things about Jesus, but we are saved because of our relationship to him.
e. Doesn’t mean that you don’t have any spiritual activity
A lot of times people assume that if you do well you will be saved and they get it into their head that they can earn their salvation. They do all the right things, but unless there has been a heart change it does not matter. I believe every Christian should strive to obey the Word of God as best they can, but simply going through the motion does not earn points with God. What is it that shows a person is lost or saved; there is no set answer? Just because a person has spiritual activity does not mean that they are saved. Just because a person prays that doesn’t make them saved, just because a person goes to church doesn’t make them saved. Just because a person believes in God, the Bible or Jesus does not make them saved. Just because a person does and says spiritual things does not mean that they are saved.
1. Cornelius --Acts 10:1-2
The text tells us that Cornelius was devout, which probably meant he went to the church services at the Temple. He was God-fearing, which meant he probably strived to obey God’s commands. He gave generously, and he prayed to God. Cornelius did all those things, and by our standards he would have been a great church member, but was Cornelius saved at that point in time? NO! He was lost, and he had to believe in Jesus, and repent of His sins, and be baptized to wash his sins away, just as we do. Cornelius was a great guy, devout and God-fearing, but he wasn’t saved until he was in Christ. The world would be a better place with more people like Cornelius in it today, but he was not saved. Being good and having spiritual activity does not make one saved.
2. Lydia --Acts 16:13-15
Lydia was called a worshiper of God. She would by our standards be considered a great church member, but was she saved based on the fact that she worshiped God? NO! She still needed to believe in Jesus, and repent of he sins and wash her sins away in Christian baptism. She had spiritual activity, but was lost. Just because a person has spiritual activity does not make them saved.
3. Apollos --Acts 18:24-26
Apollos was a preacher who was lost. He was learned. He knew the scriptures. He spoke well. He even taught about Jesus accurately. He was a successful preacher, but he was lost because his sins were not washed away. He did not know of Christ’s baptism. Perhaps there are some among us like that. Just because a person has spiritual activity does not make them saved, no matter what that activity is.
II. What Does it mean to be Lost?
Ephesians 2:11-18
a. To be without Christ
One of the worst things about being lost is being without Christ, and that is for eternity. Some have said what makes Hell so bad is the absence of God and I believe that is true. I remember what it was like in my life to be without Christ. I remember what it was like to be lost. Being without Christ is the worst thing that could possibly happen. I cannot explain adequately with words what a blessing it is to have Christ in your life. The only thing I can say is that life is better, there is much more joy and peace with Christ. If someone is lost they are without Christ for eternity. Perhaps you remember what it was like to live without Christ, and you can testify to how dark and horrible of a life it was. There are billions, literally billion of people in the world who are without Christ and we have the duty to show Christ in our lives. The worst thing a person could do to me would be to separate me from my savior, but I know that nothing, absolutely nothing can separate me from the love of Christ. There are people living by choice without Christ, and that is the worst thing about being lost. It is bad because you miss out on blessings here on the Earth, but more so you miss out on the blessing of spending eternity with Jesus, the very one who died to bring us into a right relationship with God the Father.
b. To be without citizenship
Being lost means that you are without citizenship. Because we are Christians we have a citizenship, and that is not to any place in this world, but it is in Heaven.
Philippians 3:20
We at one time were not a people, but now through Jesus Christ, we are of God. One of the greatest things about being a Christian is that our citizenship is in Heaven, and we can know that we are not home in this Earth, but we are just passing through to our home and where our citizenship belongs; heaven.
c. To be without covenants of promise
The people in the Old Testament times received covenant from God promising the Savior to come into the world, but those covenants did not offer hope. A covenant is simply an agreement between God and man. God has given anyone who is in Christ a covenant that their sins will be washed away and they will spend eternity in Heaven. Anyone who is not a Christian has no covenant from God, no promise, no hope of eternal life or the forgiveness of sins, only they can hope is for death and judgment. It would be a horrible thing to go through your life without any hopes of the promises of God being fulfilled. Lost people do not have the promises that we have in Christ. Think about the covenants, and promises that we have in Christ: Forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit, the ability to go to God the Father in Prayer and the promise that he will answer us, ability to understand God’s Word, friendships and relationships that are inexpressible, true love, pure joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control, a church family, a home in Heaven, a hope that will not disappoint, he will never leave us or forsake us, a hope for Jesus’ return, a way out in our trials, the privilege to tell others about God’s redeeming love. Those are the promises the lost miss out on. He has been good on all his promises and he will be to all his others as well.
d. To be without hope
The lost are without hope. It is a sad thing to go through the world without hope. The world is longing for the hope of something. Some people hope for a long life and a successful job, but we hope for eternity with Christ. Hope is foundational to the Christian life. Researchers have proven that people who have a hope beyond this Earth live longer and happier lives.
A Man approached a little league baseball game one afternoon. He asked a boy in the dugout what the score was. The boy responded, “Eighteen to nothing—we’re behind.” “Boy,” said the spectator, “I’ll bet you’re discouraged.”
“Why should I be discouraged?” replied the little boy. “We haven’t even gotten to bat yet.”
Could you imagine how sad it would be to live your life with no hope of seeing Jesus? With no hope of Heaven? Hope is what helps us carry on during difficult times, hope is what excites us and motivates us. To be lost means that you have no true hope of anything beyond this life.
e. To be without blood
Hebrews 9:22
Jesus’ blood is where our salvation comes from, and anyone who is not covered in his blood will not be saved from God’s wrath. The blood during the Passover in the Old Testament saved Israel from the plague of the firstborn and the death angel. The blood of Jesus cleanses us from our sins. Imagine without blood covering you, you would stand guilty before God and come to Him on your own righteousness, but those who have been immersed into Christ come to God on the righteousness of Jesus, which is perfect.
What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
O Precious is the flow that makes me white as snow
No other fount I know
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
f. To be without peace
Philippians 4:7
One of the greatest things about being a Christian is the peace that we have. The peace of being able to go to bed and not to be afraid of what would happen if we die is truly amazing. Those who are not is Christ do not have any peace. The lost go to bed scared of death because they are not at peace with God. The lost are without peace with God.
That’s what it means to be lost! Knowing what it really means to be lost teaches me two important things. First of all, it teaches me that I do not want any to be lost and therefore I have a responsibility to tell people about Jesus so they can find their way. Secondly, it makes me want to ensure that I am not lost myself.
Perhaps then, you realize that you are a good person, but you are still lost, and need to follow Jesus. Perhaps, you know someone that is lost, and since being lost is such a horrible thing are compelled to tell them how to be saved.
Aren’t you glad that you are saved and do not have to experience what it means to be lost any longer.
