Lost is a chilling word to anyone who has had the experience. Our emotions are stirred and whole communities and nations are aroused when some child strays away or some daring aviator is lost in the mountains. Thousands of men will volunteer to search for the child; rescue planes and millions of dollars come to the aid of stranded aviators. But where is the interest and concern for the multitudes that are lost in the churches?

What do we mean, "lost" in the church? Isn't the church one of the institutions God ordained to prevent that very condition? Yes, it is, assuming it is a church as depicted in God's Word. How then can one be lost in the church? One who is lost in the church is outside the fold, although he is a member of a church.

Examples of Being Lost

Two sad illustrations of lost men are Judas Iscariot and Simon the sorcerer. Judas Iscariot, as a personal disciple and apostle of our Lord, is an illustration of one who did not continue in the grace of God. He went into apostasy and died without hope. Some people do not believe Judas was ever saved; they say he was a devil from the beginning. But our Lord would not have chosen a devil as an apostle, nor would He have sent out such a one to cast out devils, heal the sick, and preach the Gospel as He did the Twelve. Judas was lost even though he was under the personal ministry of the Son of God. God Himself will not keep a free-moral agent who departs from or ignores the conditions of safekeeping as laid down by the Gospel of Christ.

Simon the sorcerer (Acts 8) is another example. He lost his way when he thought of spiritual things in monetary terms. Simon was told to repent of his wickedness and false profession, but history records that he did not, but became instead an opponent of Christianity and fought it until death.

"Is My Heart Right with God?"

Of greatest importance to everyone is the question, "Is my heart right with God?" It is evident that many people will face the sad fact that they are lost after it is too late.

You may have had Christian parents, but that will not pass you through the gate of heaven without Christ.

You may observe the ordinances of the church, which are right and necessary for saved people, but that will avail you nothing if you are living in sin.

You may deny yourself many worldly pleasures and pay all of your financial obligations to the world and to the church, but this is no passport to glory without the grace of God.

You may be honest and fair with your fellow men in every way, but this will not make you a Christian. On the other hand, rest assured that if you are born again, you will be conscientiously honest and fair in every activity and transaction in life.

You may be a Sunday school teacher, a church worker, and a class leader and spend much time in Christian activity and yet not know the Lord.

"Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity" (Matthew 7:22, 23).

Jesus did not come to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners (Matthew 9:13). No one but a lost soul has any claim on the saving grace of God, nor will anyone but the lost feel the need for it. If you have not recognized yourself as a sinner, then you have not sensed the need for salvation, and Christ has not done anything for you personally.

Jesus will call the self-righteous to repentance because self-righteousness is sin also. But He is making the point that as long as one maintains his self-righteous attitude, there is nothing He can do for him until he gets over his self-righteousness and sees himself as a needy sinner. Then He can and will do wonders for him. "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners."

Take this Test

1. Have you confessed your sins and forsaken them? (1 John 1:9)
2. Has your confession led you to make restitution as far as humanly possible? (Luke 19:8)
3. Do you desire to go to the house of God for worship? (Hebrews 10:25)
4. Do you enjoy private prayer and fellowship with God? (1 John 1:6)
5. Does Jesus Christ have the pre-eminence in your life and thinking? (Colossians 1:18)
6. Do you know that "old things are passed away" and "all things are become new" as an evidence of the new birth? (2 Corinthians 5:17 and John 3:3)
7. Does the Word of God feed and satisfy your soul's desires? (Psalm 19:10)
8. Does it send a twinge of horror into your soul to hear people take the Name of God in vain? (Matthew 5:34; James 5:12)
9. Are you conscious of the leading of the Holy Spirit in your life and conduct? (John 16:13)
10. Have you found the companionship of the unsaved to be unpleasant to you since you became a Christian? (1 Peter 4:3)
11. Does it grieve your heart to see professing Christians going to or participating in the sports craze, swimming pools, card parties, and other worldly attractions and amusements? (1 Peter 4:3, 4)
12. Do you have a desire to see others saved, and have you testified to the unsaved concerning the reality of salvation? (Acts 4:20)
13. Do you have love toward all men and the witness of the Spirit within, and are you maintaining a conscience void of offense toward God and men? (Romans 8:16)
14. In other words, are you saved and do you know it? It is God's will that we know. (2 Timothy 1:12; 1 John 5:13)
15. Are you practicing the Biblical admonitions regarding church life within a Scriptural church? (The Epistles in the Bible)

Those who are "lost" in the church, like someone lost in a woods, need a compass. Sometimes the pastor who has a compass (the Bible) fears the sheep will not follow if he tells them what the compass really says. He is a hireling and cares more about his money than the eternal welfare of the sheep. Sometimes the problem is the sheep, if you can call them that, who refuse to go the direction the compass says to go when the pastor proclaims the truth. Too often, neither the pastor nor the sheep are willing to go the direction the needle of the compass points.

The Remedy for Being Lost in the Church

The remedy is simple. Follow the compass (the Bible) and never deviate from the way it says to go. Some churches are doing that. Not all people are lost in the church. Some pastors do lead into green pastures, sound the alarm at spiritual danger, and expel an erring sheep from their membership so that it does not lead other sheep away. When an erring sheep repents, such pastors restore its membership into the fold, and the shepherd and all the sheep rejoice together. But if they allow even one sheep who has lost his way, to influence the other sheep by allowing it to remain in the fold, many other sheep soon lose their way and become lost in the church.

God keeps His Word, and He has made many promises in His Word that affect the eternal destiny of your soul. Some of them are John 3:16; 1 John 1:9; and John 6:37. He also gives clear direction in His Word regarding church life. The Epistles are full of it. Generally, it is self-will that fogs the way through issues. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). Jesus' promises usually contain conditions. But if and when those conditions are met (and His conditions are neither grievous nor impossible), He always keeps His Word.

Will you be ready for the wedding when the cry goes forth, "Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him"? Multitudes will be like the foolish virgins, having a profession but no light (Matthew 25). To be lost in the church when death finds you, or when the Lord returns, means to be lost forever. Salvation is too precious, the Saviour too loving, eternity too long, and the opportunities to be saved too numerous to justify anyone remaining in an unsaved state.

"Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon" (Isaiah 55:6, 7).

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