Loved But Lost
“so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him”
(John 3:15-17).
1. All human beings start life as “lost” people.
Since he was the first man, Adam served as representative of the human race. When he sinned against God (Genesis 3) his spirit became one of rebellion and sinfulness. (Romans 5:12) That “sin nature,” which is passed along to each generation, results in our being “lost.” Neither our deeds nor the fact of God’s love are the determining factors.
2. Mankind is dead in trespasses and sins. (Ephesians 2:1)
When Adam sinned, his intimate relationship with God died. We, his descendants, are born into that state. Although we are physically alive at birth, our spirit – the only part of us that can relate to God – is dead.
3. We are eternal beings.
Because we are made in God’s image, our souls are eternal. Yet Scripture tells us that those who reject Christ as Savior will perish. (John 3:16) This does not mean annihilation; it means that the “lost” will live forever but eternally separated from God.
4. New birth is required. (1 Peter 1:3)
To have a relationship with God requires that the part of us which has been dead to God now become alive. When we trust in Jesus, the very life of God is born in us, and we move from being spiritually dead and lost to being alive and saved.
God, out of love for us, provided just what we needed – a Savior. Start spreading the truth!
Related Links:
Who do you Know that is “loved but lost?”
http://retirementwithapurpose.com/tcintroduce.html
About the Author
This article was written by Charles Stanley. You can read more about this author by clicking this link:
http://www.talk.thelife.com/charles-stanley/
This devotional is protected by copyright laws and may not be reprinted or posted to a site without permission from TruthMedia Internet Group. All readers are welcome to forward the devotional to a friend or link to it. If you would like to seek permission to reprint the devotional in full, please contact us:
http://www.truthmedia.com/contact/index.html
