THESE words of the apostle Paul above quoted are very striking, and exceedingly solemn. To some souls the gospel is hidden. The Scripture declares such to be the lost. And the reason is that the god of this world (Satan) has blinded the minds of those still in unbelief. His object is manifest. To prevent the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, from shining unto them. Solemn consideration for every unsaved, because unbelieving soul.
Now the question arises, Who are lost? Does this solemn word apply only to a special few, sinners of very deep dye―the openly profligate and protium? To have such an idea is a profound mistake. The fact is, my reader, that unless you have already been saved by the grace of God, you are a lost sinner, he matter what your bygone history or character may have been. The Psalmist had a full sense of this when he said, “I have gone astray like a lost sheep” (Psa. 119:176176I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments. (Psalm 119:176)). A lost sheep, in the true sense of the word, is one who has reached a position of peril and danger, out of which the shepherd cannot extricate it. Such in shepherd parlance is the lost sheep. That we are all in a similar case is manifest from the testimony of the prophet, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way,” albeit he then blessedly adds, “and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isa. 53:66All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)).
When we come to the Gospels, our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, in the striking tripartite parable of Luke 15, describes the condition of man under the figures of the sheep, the silver, and the son; and each is said to be lost. Of the first it is written, “Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost” (vs. 6). Of the second, “Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost” (ver. 9). Of the third the Father says, “Let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead, and is alive again: he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry” (vers. 23 and 24). Nothing could be plainer. Man viewed as a sinner is away from God, and is utterly lost. No effort of his own can save him, no change in his own behavior redeem him. Lost, he needs to be sought. Dead, he needs life. Far away, he needs by divine grace to be drawn back to the bosom of God. Now that is just what the gospel effects, when seen and believed.
But further, when dealing with, and blessing a sinner, the Lord Jesus says, when Zaccheus had obeyed His word and received Him “This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:9, 109And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. 10For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:9‑10)). The seeking Saviour had found the lost sinner. The lost sinner in simple faith and obedience received the seeking Saviour, was saved on the spot, and had the joyous tidings communicated to him, “This day is salvation come to this house.”
Now, my friend, are you yet saved? If not, does not the reason lie in this, that you have not found out that you are lost? Depend upon it, it does. Very possibly you will say, I am not lost. Remember that in saying this you are going full tilt against the testimony of God’s Son. The gospel is hidden from your eyes, and the reason is simply because you are lost and do not know it. It is the dawn of blessing on the soul when it consciously owns that it is lost.
I wish you could say what a weeping lassie said awhile ago to me one bright spring afternoon. I was walking along Princes Street, Edinburgh. The street was full of carriages, and the pavement lined with passing crowds, full of life, gaiety, and energy. At the foot of Hanover Street I beheld a piteous sight, a bonnie little weeping lassie of five. With her hat in her hand, her hair streaming down her back, and tears flowing down her cheeks, she sobbed in bitter grief. Touched by the sight, I said, “What is the matter, little woman?”
She put her hands together, looked up, and in the most pathetic tones, said, “Please, sir, I’m lost.” I took in the situation in a moment. She had wandered from her home, and knew not where she was, nor how to get home.
Wondering what I should do, for she was too excited to tell me where her friends lived, I waited a moment. Then, looking up Hanover Street, I saw a young woman of eighteen years or so, running, and looking this way and that, evidently on the search for some one. Presently she drew near, and I turned the child round, thinking that she might be the one whom the seeker sought. Catching sight of the weeping child, the young damsel ran faster than ever, made a final spring, and caught her in her arms with, “Eh! Jeanie lassie, I’ve found ye.” I need not say that all was then right. The lost one was found, and the child nestled in her sister’s breast with deep delight.
Now Jesus has been seeking you, friend. All you have to do is to take the place of being utterly lost, and let Him save you. Trust Him simply just where you are, and as you are, and you will be blessed just now. The gospel is the declaration of the love of God to man in his ruin and need, expressed in the death of His dear Son the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for sins, and for sinners. He was made sin when on the cross, and thereby wrought atonement, and gave God righteous ground for saving the vilest and the utterly lost. You have nothing to do but trust in Him who died and rose again.
Let Satan no longer blind your eyes. Awake to the fact that you are lost. When this is known really your eyes will be opened. Turning then to God, light will stream into your soul, and the gospel, so long hidden from your view, will shine in all its glory. What is that gospel? It is really Christ now known in glory. Do you know Him? If not, then is it true of you, “If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them which are lost.”
Friend, is this solemn word “lost” to be always true of you? Why not come now to Jesus, and be saved? Come!
W. T. P. W.