When is it Too Late to Teach the Lost?

UNION GROVE CHURCH OF CHRIST, CLEVELAND TN.

WHEN IS IT TOO LATE TO TEACH THE LOST?

By God’s grace, the forgiveness of sins or redemption is available in Jesus (Ephesians 1:7). In fact, there is no way to be saved from sin except through Jesus (Acts 4:12). What is the spiritual status of one that has committed sin, but has not yet had his/her sins cleansed by the blood of Jesus? The Bible word is "lost": such a person is lost in sin (2 Corinthians 4:3).

The gospel is God’s power to save from sin (Romans 1:16,17). The Lord Jesus wants His followers to declare the gospel message of salvation to every person in the world (Mark 16:15,16). Knowing that no one can be saved without obeying the gospel (2 Thessalonians 1:8,9), God’s children ought to be fired up and active in telling others the good news of Jesus and the salvation that He offers, would you not agree?

But, there are some occasions when it is simply too late to teach the lost. Because of medical advances, many people in our generation are living longer. In a number of cases, however, their mind “goes” before the rest of the body. In the case of one whose mind is "gone,” he/she would be unable to comprehend the gospel, so trying to teach such a person would be fruitless. I have a 99-year old aunt who lives in assisted living quarters. She has not recognized any of the family members for about ten years. She is still hanging on physically, but her mind is no longer “with it.” How sad.

A second scenario in which it is too late to teach the lost is when a person has already died. Jesus’ story of the Rich Man and Lazarus makes it clear that after death, one is not given any additional chances to get into the right relationship with God. On a different occasion, Jesus said, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work” (John 9:4). While the intent of Jesus’ words points to His own earthly mission, would the principle not apply to our efforts to teach the lost? We need to work while it is day – when people are still alive and their brain is functioning properly. There will come a time, because it happens to all (Hebrews 9:27), that a person crosses the river of death – that would be “the night,” meaning that we would have no opportunity to teach him.

It is also true that once you and I have died, there will be no chance for us to teach others. That is a third case in which it will be too late to teach the lost. Going back to Jesus’ story of the Rich Man and Lazarus, the rich fellow became evangelistic-minded in Hades, but then it was way too late! Do you recall how he wanted someone to be sent to warn his brothers so they did not end up in the place of torment, where he was? (Luke 16:28). He was concerned about the eternal welfare of his family members, but at that point, he could not do anything to help them.

Brothers and sisters, we must have an urgency in our efforts to teach the lost! As we have seen, there are times when it is simply too late for us to try and teach the lost. How tragic is that?! Today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). For the lost, that means that they need to become a Christian while they can. For members of the Lord's church, that means that we have got to get with it and try to teach the gospel to the lost – do it now while we are alive and while they, too, have a mind that still has the capacity to understand and receive the gospel.

There is huge hole inside of us when we lose a loved one. That hole is even bigger when we know that that person left this world in a lost condition. The pain we feel goes up yet another notch when we know that we did not really make an effort to teach him/her God’s saving truth. The love of the Christ compels us to act while we can! (2 Corinthians 5:14). Question: Do you know any lost people?

-- Roger D. Campbell