WHAT IT MEANS TO BE LOST

Gen. James Green

Note: The New Testament word, "Church," is found 79 times in the King James version. This is the Greek word "Ekklesia".This word means the, Christian community. It is not referring to the "church" that we have today where people live separate from each other, do their own thing, and come together a couple times a week for fellowship. It is the united body of genuine believers in Christ, separated from the world and consecrated and dedicated to Christ's Will!

THE LOST estate of all humanity, outside of Jesus Christ, is the unanimous testimony of the New Testament. This tragic fact cannot be doubted by those who accept the testimony of the Scriptures as authoritative and valid in matters of human belief and conduct. There are really only two classes of people: the saved, and the lost. And, every person is in one or the other of these classes; there is no middle ground, no halfway place.

The natural man recoils from considering his lost condition. He realizes that he is not perfect—far from it—but he can hardly think that the situation amounts to lostness. He feels that there must be something in him, or something he can do, which will commend him to God and gain some favor in God's sight. God is surely not so unmerciful as to cast him out altogether he concludes. Persons living according to average high moral standards find great difficulty in accepting the Scriptural estimate of themselves, at least until the Spirit of God does His convicting work in their lives. The Bible is the only reliable source of knowledge on this point. Philosophy, science, ethics, and non-Biblical religions are not revelational (given by God) and therefore tend to commend man instead of condemn him. Human consciousness and opinion are altogether untrustworthy. For man, as a sinful creature, has a DEPRAVED HEART AND A DARKENED MIND. HE CANNOT FORM CORRECT JUDGMENTS ABOUT HIMSELF APART FROM DIVINE REVELATION.

The entire Biblical plan of redemption rests upon the truthfulness and factuality of the utter lostness of mankind. We must accept the Bible's teachings here or else reject them all along the line. We must weigh this testimony carefully. The New Testament reveals that there may be wide variation in degrees of personal human sinfulness. Yet there is no variation in the fact of man's universal sinfulness and separation from God. Obviously some are worse sinners than others, but nevertheless all are sinners and all sinners are lost. Sinners are COMPLETELY LOST, NOT PARTIALLY. They are lost here and now, in this life, unless they repent and believe in Jesus Christ. They do not have to wait until their works are investigated and weighed before the judgment bar of God to know their status and destiny. These facts are determined here and now by their actions and their attitude toward, and relationship to, God's Son.

Christians will never experience a compassionate concern for the salvation of the lost until the teachings of the Bible sink deeply into their hearts. They must know the desperate condition of men before they will attempt to try to win them to Christ. The three greatest passages in the Bible concerning the lost are: Romans 3:9-20; Ephesians 2; and John 3. Beginning with these passages, and listing the items separately, we will find at least a hundred ways in which the New Testament describes the lost condition of humanity.

Following the American Standard Version of the Bible, we will make a list of these indictments beginning with Romans 3:9-20, which refers to all men, both Jews and Greeks (those not part of God's chosen people):
1. All are under sin (vs. 9).
2. There is none righteous, no, not one (vs. 10).
3. There is none that understandeth (vs. 11).
4. There is none that seeketh after God (vs. 11).
5. They have all turned aside (vs. 12).
6. They are together become unprofitable (vs. 12).
7. There is none that doeth good, no, not so much as one (vs. 12).
8. Their throats are open sepulchers; with their tongues they have used deceit. The poison of asps is under their lips (vs. 13).
9. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness (vs. 14).
10.Their feet are swift to shed blood (vs. 15).
11.Destruction and misery are in their ways (vs. 16).
12.The way of peace have they not known (vs. 17).
13.There is no fear of God before their eyes (vs. 18).
14.Every mouth is stopped, and all the world is brought under the judgment of God (vs. 19).
15.By the works of the law shall no flesh be justified in God's sight (vs. 20).

This is a carefully studied and constructed indictment of the entire world. Many of these items are mentioned in the Psalms; one of the most loved books of the Old Testament. EVERY CONDITION AND SIN NAMED IS TRUE OF EVERY UNSAVED PERSON, EITHER ACTUALLY OR POTENTIALLY. Someone has suggested a unique way of using this passage in dealing with the unsaved to bring them under conviction. If someone should deny the application of this passage to himself, ask him to read the passage aloud and insert the phrase, "except me" after each item. Thus he would read: "they are all under sin except me", "as it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one except me", "there is none that understandeth except me." Such an interpretation would prove to him that HE IS NO EXCEPTION, and that no one dare except himself from the condemnation of this passage. The Scripture never meant to except [omit] anyone.

Ephesians 2 is another prominent passage regarding God's estimate of those outside of Jesus Christ. The chapter is addressed to those who have been saved, and reveals what the mighty power of God has done in redeeming them from a fearful past. All the items in this chapter also apply, as a present experience, to all unsaved people, particularly Gentiles:
16. They are dead in trespasses and sins (vv. 1, 5).
17. They once walked according to the course of this world (vs. 2).
18. They walked according to the prince of the powers of the air, of the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience (vs. 2).
19. We also all once lived in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh, and its mind (vs. 3).
20. We were, by nature, the children of wrath; even as the rest (vs. 3).
21. We were separate from Christ (vs. 12).
22. We were alienated from the commonwealth of Israel (vs. 12).
23. We were strangers from the covenants of the promise (vs. 12).
24. We had no hope and were without God in the world (vs. 12).
25. We once were far off (vs. 13).

The third greatest passage concerning the lost is the well-known third chapter of John's Gospel. If these truths applied to Nicodemus, a religious Pharisee of high standing, then they must also apply to all other unsaved people. Let us add these items to those already listed:
26. All must be born again, or they cannot see the Kingdom of God (vs. 3).
27. All must be born of water, and of the Spirit, or, they cannot enter into the Kingdom of God (vs. 5).
28. The natural man is flesh, and must be born of the Spirit (vss. 6, 7).
29. The natural man does not understand these spiritual realities (vss. 9, 12).
30. Those who do not believe are perishing (vs. 16).
31. The unbeliever is judged (condemned) already because he hath not believed on the Name of the only begotten Son of God (vs. 18).
32. The lost love darkness rather than light, for their works are evil (vs. 19).
33. Unsaved evildoers hate the light, and do not come to the light, lest their works should be reproved (vs. 20).
34. He that believeth not the Son (obeyeth not) shall not see life (vs. 36).
35. The Wrath of God abides on the rejecter of God's Son (vs. 36). We admit that some of these items are equivalent to each other, and that they could be combined and reduced in number, but, our purpose is to show the varying phraseology of the New Testament in emphasizing the fact of man's lost condition. But, we are only well-started in considering God's analysis of what is wrong with humanity.

Another passage is 2 Timothy 3:1-9 which deals with the grievous times of the last days. We add its statement to the others:
36. Men shall be lovers of self (vs. 2).
37. They shall be lovers of money (vs. 2).
38. They shall be boastful (vs. 2).
39. They shall be haughty (vs. 2).
40. They shall be railers (vs. 2).
41. They shall be disobedient to parents (vs. 2).
42. They shall be unthankful (vs. 2).
43. They shall be unholy (vs. 2).
44. They shall be without natural affection (vs. 3).
45. They shall be implacable (vs. 3).
46. They shall be slanderers (vs. 3).
47. They shall be without self-control (vs. 3).
48. They shall be fierce (vs. 3).
49. They shall not be lovers of good (vs. 3).
50. They shall be traitors (vs. 4).
51. They shall be headstrong (vs. 4).
52. They shall be puffed up (vs. 4).
53. They shall be lovers of pleasure, rather than lovers of God (vs. 4).
54. They shall hold to a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof (vs. 5).
55. They creep into houses, and take captive silly women, laden with sins, led away by divers lusts (vs. 6).
56. Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. (vs. 7).
57. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. (vs. 8).

This last list of sins are those who men (Greek anthropoi,), the human race, shall commit. Perhaps Paul does not mean to teach that every unsaved individual will outwardly commit them all, for that does not seem to be the case. BUT, THESE SINS ALL GO INTO THE ONE CATALOGUE OF SINS FLOWING FROM OLD UNREGENERATE NATURE. THEY ARE ALL LATENT IN EVERY UNSAVED [and even saved] PERSON. And, no one can tell how many of them he may commit before his life ends. When we consider that thinking [of doing] a sin is one way of committing that sin (Matt. 5:28), it is not hard to believe that the unsaved are guilty of all these sins. If these sinful actions compose a texture so that to commit one of them is to commit all, then there can be no doubt that all men are guilty of all (see James 2:10). Certainly every sin in this catalog is committed every day, hundreds of times, in every modern city.

In Mark 7:21-23, Jesus gives a list of the sins that come from within, out of the hearts of men:
58. Evil thoughts (vs. 21).
59. Fornication (vs. 21).
60. Thefts (vs. 22).
61. Murders (vs. 21).
62. Adulteries (vs. 21).
63. Covetings (vs. 22).
64. Wickedness (vs. 22).
65. Deceit (vs. 22).
66. Lasciviousness (vs. 22).
67. An evil eye (vs. 22).
68. Railing (vs. 22).
69. Pride (vs. 22).
70. Foolishness (vs. 22): all these evil things proceed from within, and defile the man" (vs. 23).

Similarly, we can say about these sins, that while they are not outwardly evident in every unsaved person, yet, they are possible, and to entertain them in the mind is the same as to commit them. Other facts in the New Testament concerning the unsaved complete the list of a hundred items:
71. They walk the broad way that leads to destruction (Matt. 7:13).
72. They are against Jesus because they are not with Him (Matt. 12:30; Luke 11:23).
73. They are lost (Luke 15:24, 32; 19:10; Matt. 10:6; 2 Cor. 4:4).
74. They cannot worship God acceptably (John 4:22-24; 14:6; 5:22-23; 8:42; Acts 17:23).
75. They dishonor the Father, because they do not honor the Son (John 5:22-23).
76. They belong to the world; which hates Christ (John 7:7; 15:19; 1 Cor. 2:8).
77. They cannot go where Christ is (John 7:34; 8:21).
78. They are servants (or slaves) of sin (John 8:34).
79. They are children of the devil (John 8:42-47; 1 John 3:10).
80. They are at enmity with God (Rom. 5:10; 8:7).
81. They belong to a crooked generation (Acts 2:40).
82. They are in darkness, and are under the power of Satan (Acts 26:18; Eph. 2:2).
83. They are under the wrath of God revealed from heaven against all ungodliness, and unrighteousness of men (Rom. 1:18).
84. They cannot please God (Rom. 8:8; Heb. 11:6).
85. Everything they do is sin because it is not of faith (Rom. 14:23; Heb. 11:6).
86. The things of God are foolishness to them (1 Cor. 2:14; 3:19).
87. The Gospel is veiled to them because the god of this age (Satan) has blinded their minds (2 Cor. 4:3-4).
88. They do not have on the wedding garment, and will be cast out (Matt. 22:11-13).
89. They omit to do the good they should do, and, to them, this is sin (Jas. 4:17).
90. They have no excuse for their sin (John 15:22; Rom. 1:20; 2:1).
91. They are ignorant of the blessed ministry of the Holy Spirit (John 14:17, 26; 16:13, 14).
92. They resist the Holy Spirit, always (Acts 7:51; 28:27; John 16:8-11).
93. They harden their hearts and treasure up against themselves wrath in the day of judgment (Rom. 2:5; Heb. 10:29).
94. They are dominated by the unregenerate nature, which produces the fifteen works of the flesh: Fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, parties, envyings, drunkenness, revelings, etc. They who practice such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God (Gal. 5:19-21; cf. 1 Cor. 6:9-11).
95. Paul would classify them as foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another (Titus 3:3).
96. They shall die in their sins unless they receive Jesus Christ (John 8:24). Everyone either dies in his sins, or in Christ.
97. They are in danger of destruction; every moment they live without Christ (Acts 3:23, 1 Thess. 5:3; 2 Thes. 1:9).
98. They are due to receive the wages of sin, which is death: physical, mental, spiritual, and eternal (Rom. 6:23).
99. The Lord Jesus will take vengeance on them when He will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, because they know not God and obey not the Gospel (2 Thess. 1:7-8).
100. They shall stand in the judgment before the great white throne, and be judged out of the things which are written in the books according to their works. As a result, they shall be cast into the lake of fire for all eternity, which is the second death (Rev. 20:11-15).

These items all apply to you actually, or, potentially. They are not the idle imaginations of a morbid mind, nor the lurid fancies of a medievalist. A thousand times, no! THEY ARE THE SOBER RECORD OF GOD'S ETERNAL WORD, WHICH LIVETH AND ABIDETH FOREVER. We have presented this list in a hundred statements, not because that is the exact number in the New Testament. No, it could be made longer. We have tried to make it impressive—we wish to make overwhelmingly plain the nature, condition, walk, danger, and destiny of the unsaved. They should know, and their friends and relatives should know, how they stand in God's sight. What does it mean to be lost? NO human mind is capable of fully understanding, but God knows. And, He has tried to give us some idea of what it means through these various statements in the New Testament.

Let us not be deceived or lulled to sleep by outward appearances, by man-made philosophies and religions, by the jests and wisecracks of worldlings, and by satanic lies. The lost are all around us. Their peril is exceedingly grave. Let us believe it! Christians lack concern, burden, compassion, and prayer power—the lostness of men seeming like a light thing. May the Lord, through His Word, and by His Spirit, awaken us to the truth, SO WE WILL LIVE, AND LABOR, TO SEEK AND TO SAVE THOSE WHO ARE LOST NOW!

--Gen. Jim Green

HAVE YOU BEEN SAVED? JESUS IS REAL!! PRAY LIKE THIS.

Dear Jesus, I come to you with all the sins I've committed and I beg you to forgive me. Rescue me from eternal damnation in Hellfire. I confess that I am a sinner and that I cannot save myself. Don't let me die in my sins. Please cleanse my body, soul and spirit with your precious blood. I need your help and I ask you to come and live in my heart. I want to serve you, obey your commands and do what is right. I want to live for you everyday and receive everlasting life. Please lead and guide me by your Spirit into righteousness. Help me live a clean and holy life that is pleasing unto God. Thank you Jesus for hearing and answering my prayer. Amen! Read the BIBLE!

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