Wanted: Dead or Alive

Dead not Lost

As a Marine trained in land navigation, I have never been lost. I have taken a wrong turn every now and then or maybe taken the scenic route but never have I been lost. The world has trained us to define lost as making a mistake and let’s face it, men don’t like to admit when they’re wrong. But lost really has a more definite meaning, it’s the opposite of being found. The Bible relates lost to being Dead. Now that’s definite, and we understand what dead means, it’s permanent, not alive. We all have someone who has died and we wish they were still with us. We don’t like death but we understand it is real. We try our best to prevent death. In some cases, people have even given their own lives to save someone else. Our military men and women risk their lives everyday to protect our freedoms and we are thankful for their sacrifice. We clearly understand the word dead, so when we think about those who are lost in sin, we need to remember the Bible says they are dead. Ephesians 2:1-3 says;  “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins ⁱⁿ which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— ^among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

            The world wants to sugar-coat it and make it sound like someone who is lost in sin is just around the corner, or they are not far away, so they don’t have to feel guilty about either turning their life around or they don’t have to feel guilty about not trying harder to share the gospel with their loved ones. The truth is, if you are outside of Christ, you are dead. The only way to live is to be IN Christ. Colossians 2:12 “having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.”

            God’s plan of salvation is clear. In order to have our sins washed away, we must be buried with him in baptism. When the first Gospel sermon was preached in Acts 2, religious people asked, what must we do. In Acts 2:38 the answer was given and it is the same answer for us today. “Repent and be baptized for the remission of sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” We are either “In Christ” or “Out of Christ”. We are either Alive or Dead.