I am a missionary. I am writing from somewhere in South America. We are that other part of the world that so many people think has such ready access to the gospel that perhaps it is reached. But it is far from reached. In fact, if Jesus were to come today, 95% of South America would be left behind.
So that is why I am writing this today. It's my chance to remind the Christian church of the hundreds of millions of lost men and women in South America.
Let me define "lost." "Lost" means that a person has not repented of their sin. "Lost" means that person stands condemned already because he or she is separated from God by their sin. "Lost" means being controlled by a sinful nature, led by the passions of that nature and by the Prince of this world--Satan. "Lost" means that if a person were to die in the condition of being lost, that person would be eternally separated from God in a very real place called Hell.
Let me define "saved." "Saved" means being delivered from the condition of lostness. "Saved" means being rescued from the kingdom of darkness and transferred, or placed, in the kingdom of light--which is the kingdom of God. "Saved" means being purchased; the price was blood, pure blood.
How does one go from being lost to being saved? One must believe; he must repent. In other words, a person must exercise his will to turn from lostness to the salvation that has been offered.
Believe? Believe in what? One must believe that one person and only one person can be their savior. That would be Jesus, the Christ. He is God come in the flesh. His life was a perfect one. His singular mission was to seek and to save that which was lost. He lived perfectly, died perfectly, and was perfectly raised from the dead. Jesus' death was a barbaric and cruel death. It was a cross, a torture instrument. Yet neither the Romans nor the Jews killed him. Jesus gave up his soul. No one could take his life from him; it was his to lay down for us. And he did. But God raised Jesus bodily from the dead. And Jesus lives today. To be saved, one must believe that.
To be saved, one must make Jesus Lord of his or her life; this is because Jesus is Lord! To be saved, one must turn away from that Christ-less life to a life with and in Christ. That is called repentance. You turn your mind and your heart to Christ. You do it with your will.
As I said, some 95% of those living somewhere in South America have not made such a commitment to Christ. They are lost. They are in danger of dying lost.
While so many of my group's leaders and "theologs" are debating procedural events, I want to try to use this to call a few of us back to focus on the main thing. Some days I will write about Somewhere in South America. Other days I will take on issues special to the United States. Everyday I hope to exalt Jesus Christ.
Just another missionary
