The Lost?
by monty keeling
8/15/2004
It happened again in the Faith and Values section of Saturday’s Ocala Star Banner. A story on page 4D headlined "Scripture & Wings" told of Christian group, Singles Focus of Atlanta that meets for Bible study in a Hooters Restaurant. That seems certainly something different. But then, while explaining how the group’s nontraditional meeting place has attracted several Hooters employees to the Christian faith, leader Rick Lamborn says the reason for the unusual location is to reach out to "the lost."
Same old line of thinking that plagues so many Christian organizations. Do we Christians really believe that folks who don’t attend church are any more lost than a lot of people who worship every Sunday? Of course the answer to this question depends on what being "lost" means. If "lost" is the opposite of another overused religious term "saved" it means those who are on their way to Hell and suffering from the results of a sinful life.
People who are "saved" are those who are going to Heaven and saved from eternal judgment because of their sinful lives. Sin, after all, is any thing that separates us from God. And the common understanding of Christian tradition is that those who are "saved" will sin less – and therefore suffer from sin less – than those who are "lost."
Not all Christians today share this understanding of being "lost" and "saved." But the majority of believers still hold to some form of this belief. But even this majority is divided between those who believe that baptism and acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord of a person’s life "saves" one forever, as apposed to those who believe that such "salvation" can be lost again.
After pasturing and being in other levels of leadership of a number of troubled congregations I definitely fall into the second category who believe that salvation can be lost again. In fact, I would go so far to say that most of the people active in our churches are probably just as lost as many people who eat at Hooters.
Accepting a place in a Christian family fellowship (a congregation) doesn’t offer a guarantee against "lostness" any more than eating at Hooters guarantees a good time. What being in Christian community does offer is the constant light of spiritual fellowship to swim towards among the waves of confusion that unbalance our lives.
We are all saved by the Grace of God and maintained by the love and care of other believers around us. And the difference between many of those in the community of believers, and those who are swimming by themselves in a different direction than God’s revealed light, is not that we aren’t just as lost as those others in the life’s storm, or even that we sin with less damage to ourselves and others, but that we know where we are going because of the light, and we aren’t swimming in that direction alone.
The light that I speak of is Jesus Christ who has shown us how to live in God’s kingdom successfully. We have as a lifeguard in our lostness the Holy Spirit who organizes Christian communities so that the stronger swimmers are always looking out for those who are struggling.
Recognizing that there is no boat of salvation but just a sea of lostness should keep Christians from smugly thinking we are superior to our other brothers and sisters still outside our groups. It should also remind us that as believers we are just a breath or two away from sinking in our own faith. We believers should recognize the important advantages that swimming with the group provides. And because our God loves us all, we should be constantly encourage others to become part of our faith family.
Finally, just in case there are those who are wondering I consider myself one of the swimming, but hopeful, lost.
Falwell And Trouble In The SBC
A Big Event Makes The Difference 7/08/2004
Trusting Doubt 7/29/04