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LOST SOULS NEED US
Victor M.
Eskew
About six billion people populate the earth. Each one of these individuals possesses
a soul. According to the Christ,
this is the most important possession that one has. “For what is a man profited, if he shall
gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for
his soul?” (Matt. 16:26).
The majority, the vast majority, of these precious souls are presently in
a lost condition. They have sinned
against God. They have not heard of
the good news of salvation in Christ.
Therefore, they have not yielded themselves to the truth. Their souls have not been cleansed by
the blood of Christ. If they remain
in this state, they will ultimately enter into hell, the place of eternal
condemnation.
In I Timothy 3:15, Paul teaches that the church is “the pillar and ground
of the truth.” The church is not
some elusive organization that is set apart from her membership. The church is the membership. The church is composed of all baptized
believers. The church consists of
“the called out ones,” those who have been called out of the world and into
fellowship with God and the rest of the redeemed. What this means, therefore, is that the
truth has been delivered unto each member of the church. Every child of God has the truth of the
gospel placed into his hands. Each
church member is a steward of the saving message of the gospel.
With this in mind, it should be clear to all that lost souls need
us. They are in the bondage of
slavery. We have the means to set
them free. They are under the
sentence of death. We have the
ability to give them life. They are
sin-stained and vile. We can
cleanse them and bring purity to their lives. Their ultimate end is condemnation
within the unquenchable fires of ghennah hell. We can change that destination. We can set them on a path that leads to
rest in the splendors of heaven.
Yes, lost souls need us, but do we feel the burden of their need? Do we arise from our beds of slumber
with the realization that we have the ability to save the lost? Do we wake with a burning desire to tell
the good news of salvation to every soul that crosses our path that day? The apostle Paul had that desire. In Romans 1:14-15, he wrote: “I am a debtor both the Greeks, and to
the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. So, as
much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at
Many in the church do not possess a deep longing to try to save as many
people as possible. Many evidences
of this fact can be set forth.
First, the churches of Christ are not growing in number. In fact, we are declining as the years
go by. Second, very few
congregations have many baptisms each year. Third, there are only a handful of
members within the church who actively conduct Bible studies with the
lost.
Many reasons for our neglect to save the last could be given. The following is a list of some of the
causes of our failure in this area.
1.
FEAR: We are scared to tell people about the
gospel. We think we know how they
will react. They will grow
angry. They will become cold and
distant. They will cease their
friendships with us. They will
slander our good name. We fear
these outcomes. Thus, we remain
silent.
2.
LACK OF
BELIEF: We are not fully convinced
in our mind that we possess “the truth” and that others are really lost. That thought to some is very
arrogant. To hold that position is
judgmental. It involves the
condemnation of another person.
These people, it is believed, are good, moral, and sincere. They, too, have beliefs about God and
the Bible. They dedicate their time
and energies to their religious organizations. Just who are we to say that these people
are lost?
3.
IGNORANCE: Many know that the bulk of the world is
lost. However, they do not possess
the knowledge that is needed to instruct them in the path of righteousness. They do not know where the passages are
that tell one how to be saved. They
do not have enough knowledge to counter the objections that others will raise to
their arguments. They have not
studied the doctrines of other religious groups in order to show where they
conflict with the truth. This
ignorance causes them to keep their mouths shut.
4.
RATIONALIZATIONS: Some have rationalized that the lost are
not interested in the truth. They
have convinced themselves that the lost are satisfied where they are. This is especially true of those who are
caught up in man-made religions.
The thought is that they have their beliefs and they are not going to
change. If they are not going to
change, why spend the time and energy trying to convert
them?
5.
INDIFFERENCE: Lack of concern is another reason that
some do not try to convert others.
Death is a long way off.
There are many others pressing matters of life that must be taken care
of. Too, there are many other
people who are more skillful and knowledgeable who should be engaged in
soul-winning. In fact, we pay
preachers and appoint elders and deacons to do these things for
us.
These five things
are gigantic barriers to soul-winning.
As long as we allow one or more to stand in our way, the lost will
continue to die and perish.
The wise Solomon wrote: “…he
that winneth souls is wise” (Prov.
Lost souls need us. They
many not realize it. They many not
appreciate it. They many not
respond favorably to us, but they need us.
Let’s not fail them. Let’s
go to them and try to sow the seed of the kingdom into their heart. Some, according to Jesus, will hear the
word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience (Luke
