Why Some Are Lost

By John M. Duvall

They say the first step to overcoming a problem is to admit that you have a problem. Such an admission is not always easy. Well, the time has come in my life for me to say those healing words: I have a problem. I have tried to conquer this problem on my own, but to no avail. This problem presents itself whenever I first move to a new area. I struggle and work, but I just cannot seem to defeat this problem. This problem has even caused some intense moments between my wife and me. After a while, the problem will weaken. However, at the most unexpected moments, it surfaces. I did not know what to do. To make matters worse, my daughter has inherited my problem. (At least I believe it is likely hereditary to some degree.) My wife had to finally intervene. She told me that if I did not get help, then I would remain in a lost state. After much thought and consideration, I realized that my loving wife was right and that I needed help. Together, hand-in-hand, we went to find help. After much searching, my wife and I found the help I had so long needed. We bought a GPS or a global positioning system device to help me to tackle my lousy sense of direction.

In a similar fashion, the Bible serves as a “GPS” for those lost in sin. That is to say, the Bible will show the lost the path to salvation and will show the Christian the path to heaven. Man needs such directions to salvation. The prophet Jeremiah wrote, “O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.” (Jeremiah 10:23 ) Like the man who refuses to ask for directions, so are many people unwilling to follow the Bible, the word of God, to heaven. What causes a person to choose not to follow the Bible? There are many possible reasons. Let us consider a few of those reasons.

Some people follow directions written by men, not by God. In the book of Galatians, the apostle Paul wrote, “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.” (Galatians 1:6-7) It seems that some of the saints in the region of Galatia had chosen to listen to the teachings of those who were binding elements of the Old Law upon Christians. The only way to avoid those wrong directions is to study the word of God. Consider the Bereans who “received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily . . .” (Acts 17:11) The challenge of the hearer is to test and try those truths being taught by other people. The apostle John wrote, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1) There are many teachers of false doctrine who try to gather up followers by teaching them things which appeal to their hearts. Peter, in his warnings regarding false teachers wrote, “For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.” (2 Peter 2:18-19, ESV*) Jude, in his admonition wrote, “It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.” (Jude 1:19, ESV*)

Then there are people who openly reject the instructions and directions found within God's word. Like Ahab, who rejected the counsel of Micaiah, choosing instead to heed the counsel of lying prophets (1 Kings 22:4-28), there are those who seek teachers and preachers who will cater to them. The apostle Paul wrote, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

There are many instances where people are taught and influenced by family members. However, the doctrine which they are exposed to does not follow the path taught in God's word. Quite often, family loyalties will leave a person biased to their family's view of the Bible. “My parents and my grandparents have always believed this. Surely they were not wrong,” is a statement often heard by those teaching the truth. Many Christians have the emotional scars of family rejection brought on by their faith in Jesus Christ. One of the requirements of Jesus is to put Him first and one's family second. Jesus said, “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” (Matthew 10:37)

Jesus taught His apostles saying, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6) However, in order to come to God, one must follow Jesus Christ, doing His will until his journey on this earth has ended. The next stop: Eternity in heaven with God. All maps by men claiming to lead to God are fake and will only lead to the worst of all destinations—an eternity in hell.

While other hindrances, distractions, and detours may be listed (i.e. pride, arrogance, stubbornness, etc.), these are sufficient to illustrate the possibility of a person following the wrong path through life. Do not remain lost. Follow the guide given by God to salvation and on to eternity with God in heaven.

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