Seeking the Lost

Dan Bailey

We often sing, "Seeking the lost, yes, kindly entreating, wanderers on the mountain astray; 'Come unto me', His message repeating, Words of the Master speaking today." -- W.A. Ogden.

This is such a beautiful and encouraging song. It is not unusual for us to sing about seeking and teaching the lost. Our hearts ring with joy at the thought of leading just one soul to the Lord. This article is written for the express purpose of encouraging every child of God to be active in soul winning. We read in Proverbs 11:30, "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise." It takes love, prayer, time, effort, and patience to win a soul for Jesus. Prayer helps to prepare our hearts so that our minds might be attuned to the word of God. Without love we'll never even try to talk to someone about Jesus, His church, or the truth. Love for God, love for lost souls, and the love of the truth will motivate us to be more diligent in teaching the lost.

Many congregations wonder why they are not growing much. There are obviously various reasons for congregations in different areas, but one of the reasons is that there is a shortage of soul winners. Brethren, we were won to the Lord to win others to the Master. The Captain of our salvation gave the apostles and, by implication, all the disciples, the great commission. "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned" (Mark 16:15-16). All Christians are acquainted with this passage. The problem is not knowledge of this scripture, but diligence and courage and effort in doing what Jesus so clearly commanded.

Sometimes articles in the bulletin are read then forgotten. Please do not dismiss this one idea from your heart. "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). Brethren, when we bring lost souls to Jesus, we not only help to save others by the gospel, we help to save ourselves, for surely God expects us to obey his commands and teachings. "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 alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen" (Matthew 28:18-20).

It is good for us to reflect upon the very time when we became children of God. Peter encourages Christians to "...add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins" (II Peter 1:5-9).

The great apostle, Peter, warns us that it is possible to forget about the purging of our sins, or the time in which we received forgiveness. Everyone who has obeyed the gospel from the heart can remember the joy of salvation and the peace that comes from being forgiven of sin. Surely, at that very moment we were ready to teach the whole world about Jesus.

Then as the mists of time roll by, many hearts wane in zeal and love for the lost. Some find it "difficult" to even faithfully attend the worship services. The Bible lies upon a shelf overladen with dust. Prayers become a burden, and fervency is no longer present. Lukewarmness sets in and there is little, if any, "seeking the lost!"

God wants us to go out into the world and teach our relatives, friends, neighbors, and even our enemies. He wants us to "... Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind" (Luke 14:21). The Lord says, "Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled" (Luke 14:23).

Let us be honest with ourselves. Let us search our hearts and let us remember when we were purged from our old sins. Let us plant the seed of the kingdom. "Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God" (Luke 8:11).

Let us thinkabout it, pray about it, and then with God's help, let us DO something about lost souls! Someday we are going to meet our Lord and Savior. He is going to judge us according to our works. Let us not meet him empty handed.