OceanSide church of Christ
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WHAT IT MEANS TO BE LOST
Victor M.
Eskew
INTRODUCTION
A.
The term “lost” is not used
that frequently in the New Testament.
1.
In Matthew 10:6 and Matthew 15:24, Jesus referred to “the
lost sheep of the house of
2.
Luke 19:10 records Jesus’
mission.
For the Son of
man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
3.
In Luke 15:24 and 32, the
prodigal son was said to have been lost while he was away from his home in the
far country.
4.
II Corinthians
4:3.
But if our
gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost.
B.
The definition of the word
“lost” is very interesting.
1.
Strong: To destroy fully.
2.
Vine:
a.
To destroy, destroy utterly, kill.
b.
To perish.
c.
Loss of well-being hereafter.
d.
Spiritual alienation and destitution from God.
3.
Thayer: To incur the loss of
eternal life, to be delivered up to eternal misery.
C.
These definitions help us to
understand in a very small way what it means to be lost. Let’s attempt to understand this more
fully in the remainder of this lesson, “What Is Means to Be
Lost.”
I. THE
LOST ARE SEPARATED FROM GOD.
A.
The lost are in sin. Sin is what separates one from God (Isa.
59:1-2).
Behold, the
Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that
it cannot hear, but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and
your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not
hear.
B.
Sin, according to I John
3:4, is the transgression of God’s law.
II John 9 teaches that those who transgress do not have
God.
Whosoever
transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not
God.
C.
Two Old Testament
examples.
1.
Adam and Eve (Gen.
3:23-24).
Therefore the
Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence
he was taken. So he drove out the
man; and he placed at the east of the
2.
Saul, the king of
And Samuel said
unto Saul, I will not return with thee:
for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected
thee from being king over
II. THE LOST ARE
ENEMIES OF GOD.
A.
James
4:4.
Ye adulterers
and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with
God? Whosoever will a friend of the
world is the enemy of God.
B.
The word “enemy” comes from
a root word meaning “to hate.” The
lost do not love God; they hate Him.
In their hatred, the oppose Him.
They stand against Him as adversaries (i.e., Osama bin Laden is the enemy
of the
III. THE LOST ARE ALLIES OF
SATAN.
A.
In the New Testament, when
individuals opposed the works of God, they were referred to as children of
Satan, or, as Satan himself.
1.
Peter (Matt.
16:23).
But he turned,
and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offense unto me: for thou savourest not the things that
be of God, but those that be of man.
2.
The Jews (John
8:44).
Ye are of your
father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning,
and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of
his own: for he is a liar, and the
father of it.
3.
Acts
13:8-10.
But Elymas the
sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn
away the deputy from the faith.
Then Saul, (who also is called Paul), filled with the Holy Ghost, set his
eyes on him, and said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of
the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the
right ways of the Lord?
B.
These words are not applied
much to the lost in our day. To
refer to the lost as “children of the devil” is not socially acceptable. The Bible, however, is not concerned
with man’s idea of correctness. It
paints the picture of the lost vividly. They are children of the evil one
himself.
IV. THE LOST ARE
DEAD.
A.
This is another concept that
is sometimes difficult to grasp. As
long as one is physically alive, death is not contemplated. The reality, however, is that one can be
dead while he is living.
B.
Several verses indicate this.
1.
The prodigal son (Luke 15:24).
For this my son
was dead, but is alive again.
2.
The Ephesians (Eph. 2:1).
And you hath he
quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.
3.
Young widows (I Tim.
5:6).
But she that
liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.
C. It is
interesting that no one who is living physically desires to be dead. Yet, many will be content to be dead
spiritually while they are alive.
The sad thing is that this state is more grotesque than one being
physically dead. It involves a
decay and deterioration of the inner man.
V. THE LOST
HAVE NO HOPE.
A.
Paul describes the condition
of the Gentiles when they were lost in Ephesians 2:13.
That at that
time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the
B.
Hope involves those things
that are not seen (Rom. 8:24-25).
For we are saved
by hope: but hope that is seen is
not hope: for what a man seeth, why
doth he yet hope for? But if we
hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for
it.
1.
The second coming of Jesus
Christ.
2.
The resurrection of the
dead.
3.
The reunion that we will
have with the faithful of ages gone by.
4.
A
home in heaven where a mansion awaits us.
5.
Rest from our labors and
wonderful fellowship with the Godhead.
C.
The lost do not possess
these hopes.
VI. THE LOST FACE A FEARFUL
FUTURE.
A.
The lost are not
well-pleasing to God. Their future
beyond this life is bleak.
B.
It consists of torments in
hell throughout eternity.
1.
Outer darkness, weeping and
gnashing of teeth (Matt. 25:30).
And cast ye the
unprofitable servant into outer darkness:
there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
2.
Torment in flames (Luke
16:24-25).
And in hell he
lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in
his bosom. And he cried and said,
Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of
his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this
flame.
3.
Separation from God in the
hereafter (II Thess. 1:9).
Who shall be
punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from
the glory of his power.
CONCLUSION
A.
There are some in this
audience who are lost today. Some
know it. Some do not. Some have deceived themselves into
thinking they are saved.
B.
Being lost is a horrible
condition. It is difficult to
describe (Ex., little girl lost at a fair).
C.
This condition can be
changed very quickly by yielding obedience to the gospel.
1.
We can be made nigh unto
God.
2.
We can become children of
God.
3.
We can be reconciled to
God.
4.
We can be given
hope.
5.
We can be made
alive.
6. We can have future joy.