Every Christian pays lip service to the proposition that the world is lost in sin, that everyone is, or was until conversion, lost. But how seriously do we translate that concept to our individual acquaintances? All sinners are lost, to be sure, but what about the particular sinner you rub elbows with at work, or school, or home? Do you look upon him as lost? Or does some other quality or characteristic he reflects obscure his spiritual condition? All Christians need to understand what it means for a man to be lost in sin!

What does it mean to be lost?

To be lost means the opposite of salvation. "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life (John 3:36)—that is salvation. The rest of the verse details what it means to be lost: "He that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."

Note the tenses of the verbs. The Christian has life already. The sinner has wrath already. The wrath of God abides on him now, already, not just after the last judgment, but now. "He that believeth not is condemned already," states John 3:18. Again the tense is present. The sinner is not in danger of being condemned, he is already condemned. To be condemned is to be sentenced to hell.

May God grant that the reader never understands by experience what it means to be lost, for he would have to go to hell for that. Christians will never understand hell by experience. Yet one wonders if a sample might help increase our concern for the lost. General William Booth reportedly shocked a class of his students with the remark, "I wish I could send you all to hell for a week!" Actually an hour would be enough to arouse believers to a burden for the lost! Coming back to earth from an hour in hell, a Christian could never again look a sinner in the face and ignore his lost condition.

Theologically we believe in hell, but actually do we? Do we really believe in hell—to the same extent that we believe in heaven? We rejoice that everyone who is saved is going to heaven. Do we grieve that everyone who is lost is going to hell?

Heaven is real; hell is real. Heaven is eternal; hell is eternal. Between the two a great gulf is fixed, an impassable chasm. Everyone who is not saved is lost! Everyone! Lost already! But not lost beyond hope!

While a lost man lives he can be saved! "Now is the day of salvation" (2 Cor. 6:2). He may not know he is lost, but you know! He may not be concerned about his condition, but you can be concerned! One reason why sinners show so little concern about their lost condition is because Christians show so little concern! May God stir every believer to the understanding of what it really means to be lost, and then to soul-winning action!

—Sel.