Love for the Lost

“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10)

When one studies the topic of “love” from the Word of God, many times there is an emphasis on the love God has for man as He sent His only begotten Son for the salvation of man, or maybe there is an emphasis on loving one another in the congregation as we have been commanded to “bear one another’s burdens” and “love one another” but there is another type of love that may seldom be studied, and that is the love Christians are to have for the lost. There are an estimated 7.8 billion people in the world, all of which will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ someday (2 Cor. 5:10), but the majority of the 7 .8 billion people alive right now never take any thought to the value of their souls. Many will go through life never knowing that Jesus came to this earth and died for their sins. Many have never heard about Jesus; they are unaware of the kingdom He established (Matt. 16:13ff.) and are ignorant of the eternal rest that is provided in Jesus (Rev. 14:13). When we contemplate the facts regarding the number of lost souls in this world, are we moved with compassion, desiring that all may have the opportunity to hear the Gospel, or are we indifferent and unconcerned with the eternal outcome and destruction of the souls of the lost? We may understand what it means to love God, we may understand what it means to love one another, but do we understand the need to love those that are lost?

Why should we love the lost? We should love the lost because God loves the lost. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). God loves the lost so much so that He sent His only Son to die for the salvation of the lost. God offered perfect deity for the salvation and reconciliation of imperfect man. Those that are lost have had offered a perfect sacrifice and 1 Peter 2:22 reminds us that the sacrifice given “did no sin, neither was there any guile found in His mouth.” The lost are so important that Jesus was sent from heaven for the purpose of seeking and saving the lost (Luke 19:10). Of all the ways that God could have redeemed mankind, He chose to send Jesus to this earth in order to seek and to save those that are lost and separated from God because of sin. God’s love for the lost has been eternal, as the plan for God to redeem mankind was in place from the foundation of the world. “And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Ephesians 3:9–11). God’s plan of redemption for man was an “eternal purpose” and God did not need a “backup plan” after sin entered into the world, but God had all things in order before the foundation of the world for the salvation of man.

God has commanded that the Gospel be preached to the lost. “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matthew 28:18–20). The final instructions Jesus gave to His apostles was that the Gospel was to be preached to all nations (see also Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-47; John 20:21-22; Acts 1:8). Jesus commanded that the soul saving message of the Gospel be preached to every nationality of people. This commission to carry the Gospel to the lost was a Great Commission and was not limited to the Jews only (as the Limited Commission had been, Matt. 10:5ff.). The apostle Paul states that the apostles were successful in carrying the Gospel into all the world (Col. 1:23), and the apostles were accused of “turning the world upside down” (Acts 17:6) by the preaching of the Gospel. Paul would encourage Timothy to “preach the Word” (2 Tim. 4:2) and also encouraged to continue teaching, training men to be able to teach the Gospel to others (2 Tim. 2:2). God depends upon man to preach the Good News of the Gospel. In the Old Testament, God warned mankind of their need to repent through the mouths of the prophets (Ezek. 3:17; Ezek. 2:6), and God has chosen that it would be through the preaching of the Gospel that men and women would be saved (Rom. 10:17; Rom. 1:16; 1 Cor. 1:18ff.). It is God’s will that everyone repents, and the only way man will come to a knowledge of sin and the need to repent and be saved is by the proclamation of the Gospel (Rom. 10:14). If we knew that someone was in physical danger, whether it be a loved one or a complete stranger, we would want to help them or at least try to find help for them, but when we see one in spiritual danger many times, we turn a blind eye and act as if everything is ok, ignoring the eternal consequences of their souls. We cannot sit idle and be comfortable with the number of lost that remain lost and must do all we can to preach the Gospel.

Why should we love the lost, doing all we can to reach them? Because our salvation depends upon us doing all we can to reach the lost. One has said, “the Great Commission was not a request,” stating Jesus did not politely ask the apostles to go preach but the Great Commission was a command by Jesus to go and preach. Just as Paul stated there was necessity laid upon him to preach (1 Cor. 9:16), so also is it a necessity that we preach the Gospel to those that are lost. Paul was unashamed of the Gospel and was ready to preach in order that souls be saved (Rom. 1:14-16). Remember the address given to the church of Laodicea, as Jesus gave them a serious warning because of their lack of effort. “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:15–16).

We must have love for those that are lost. We must have the type of love for the lost that is willing to do all we can to save them. We should love the lost because God loves the lost, because He commanded to preach to the lost, and because our salvation depends upon us doing all we can to reach the lost. What type of love do you have for those that are lost?