Chapter Two: A Lost and Dying World

“Lost! Lost! Lost! Better a whole world on fire than a soul lost! Better every star quenched and the skies a wreck than a single soul to be lost!” - C.H. Spurgeon

“All souls are immortal, even those of the wicked. Yet, it would be better for them if they were not deathless. For they are punished with the endless vengeance of quenchless fire.” - Clement of Alexandria (195 A.D.)

To understand the Ancient faith is to understand also the missionary passion the Early Church had for a lost world. The early disciples saw their Lord lay down His life for others, and they had no other option than to do the same literally. Tertullian was able to boast in A.D. 200, “We have filled every place belonging to you, cities, islands, castles, towns, assemblies, your very camp, your tribes, companies, place, senate, and forum! We leave you your temples only.” The early Church had an overwhelming burden to reach all mankind with the Gospel. Their mission was relentless. Everywhere they went, they shared the love of Jesus. The book of Colossians in A.D. 62 records: “The gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world.” Literally, the entire known world started to receive a witness of the Gospel.

Are we willing to share the pain of a lost and dying world all around us? To have the same heartache as of our Lord for those who are not with Him? We live in a world of great sin, with hurt and needs all around us. The world can seem overwhelming in its brokenness to someone sensitive to humanity and has any amount of empathy for how God feels about the world. The ruin of sin is seen all around us in injustices, immorality, and every type of heinous murder and atrocity. One can easily become numb to the great wounds of mankind, as the “thoughts of men are evil continually,” and there is “no one that does good.”

A Spiritual Agony for Others

Some in Church history have felt the deep agony of the lostness of men around them and shared the heart of God the Father in sending His only Son at such a great cost. Hudson Taylor speaks of the burden of God that came upon him for souls:

“The feeling of bloodguiltiness became more and more intense. Simply because I refused to ask for them, the laborers did not come forward— did not go out to China— and every day tens of thousands were passing away into Christless graves! Perishing China so filled my heart and mind that there was no rest by day, and little sleep by night, till health broke down.”

Some may argue that the preceding is legalistic or extreme, but the truth is that one soul is worth more than all the gold in the world. Finally, Taylor comes to a place of surrender, committing himself to go to China as a missionary. We read:

“Unable to bear the sight of a congregation of a thousand or more Christian people rejoicing in their own security, while millions were perishing for lack of knowledge, I wandered out on the sands alone, in great spiritual agony; and there the Lord conquered my unbelief, and I surrendered myself for this service.”

Oh, that many more reading this volume would share the love of God for humanity and commit ourselves, just like Jesus, to seek and save the lost.

The Masses of Christ-less Souls

A.B. Simpson wrote in a hymn: “A hundred thousand souls a day Are passing one by one away. In Christ-less guilt and gloom. O Church of Christ, what wilt thou say, When in that awful judgment day. They charge thee with their doom?”

Do such words move us at all, giving us any tears or compassion for the world around us?

If we were honest, we would admit that we are often tearless for the lost humanity around us, though God’s heart is always breaking desiring men to come to salvation. It should be normal for us as disciples of Jesus Christ to suddenly be overwhelmed at times for the lost estate of men and women in our midst.

Rev. R. A. Jaffray recounts his personal experience of God showing him his responsibility to share with those around him:

“I am returning from a trip to Borneo and the Celebes, of the Dutch Indies, in the South Seas. The Lord has taken me to ‘the uttermost parts of the earth,’ to some of the dark places of the world, where there is no gospel light, and where, literally, ‘Christ is not named,’ for there is no one there who can name his name.

I was feeling glad after two months’ absence to be returning home. I felt I had done my bit, as it were; I had obeyed his command, ‘Go;’ I had made my report to the board, and could now settle down again to ordinary work at Wuchow, and leave the responsibility of the perishing souls I had found in these uttermost parts to others. I had done my part; the rest was with others to take up the work or not as they felt led.

But the Lord gave me a dream, one of those vivid dreams which leave a deep and lasting impression. I have seldom had such dreams in my life; but when he sends one, there is no question but that it is from him.

It was a horrible dream. I thought I was at home. I was a fugitive fleeing from justice. I thought I had stains of human blood on my hands. It seemed that the Lord Jesus was pursuing me. I was full of fear and was running for my life. The pure white snow was on the ground. I stopped and tried to wash the bloodstains, the ‘spots of lost souls,’ from my hands in the snow. I looked around, and ran again. I awoke. My first words were, ‘Lord Jesus, what does this mean? I do not fear thee. I am not running away from thee. I have no bloodstains on my hands. I am washed clean in thy precious blood, whiter than the snow. Oh, teach me what this means. What can it mean?’

At once this Scripture came to my mind: ‘Son of Man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.’ These are the blood spots on my hands. The blood of immortal souls is required of me till I do my part to warn them, to pay my debt and preach the gospel to them. ‘Necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!’

The Lord Jesus has completely cancelled the great debt of all my sins forever, but requires me to pay my gospel debt to those who have never yet heard his message of salvation. If I warn them not, if I preach not the gospel to them, their blood is required at my hands.”

Jaffray was a committed, life-long missionary to the foreign field, but the Lord still pressed him for more. Just like the Lord told Ananias how many things St. Paul would suffer for the Gospel. In the same way, for those who are seeking the Lord’s heart, the burden of the requirement to share the Gospel can be laid on us. The Lord Himself must do this.

Men and women are eternally lost without Christ. The call for you to share the Good News of Christ is still the same as it was in the days of the Apostles. Are we denying the “Lamp of Life” to many in our generation while we enjoy its warm glow for ourselves?

After fifty generations of Church history, a large part of the world remains Christ-less.

Catching the Vision of Missions

The Early Church was a missionary Church. Its very heartbeat was sharing this good news with others. But when the Church loses its vision for the mission field, it becomes inwardly focused. The very calling of Apostles (bishops) is an outward call to make disciples of Christ. Hear the heart of a missionary to Africa, sharing her conviction of the needs of the field:

“If you had seen them in despair, Beat their breasts and pull their hair, While demon powers filled the air, Would you go back, would you?

If you had seen the glorious sight, When heathen people seeking right. Were brought from darkness into light, Would you go back, would you?

If you had walked through Afric’s sand, Your hand within the Savior’s hand, And knew he’d called you to that land, Would you go back, would you?”

Bishop Moule recounts a story of a crippled old man living in the attic of an old home in London. This “little disciple of the Man of Sorrows” found a way to serve him by dropping little fragments of the Word of God from his window down to the pavement below. His body was wracked with pain, and unable to leave the house, he found a “silent mission” to share Christ with others. When he had the opportunity to be moved to a care home for the final days of his life, he refused, desiring to finish his course, dropping these small papers to the ground and waiting for someone to pick them up.

What is our excuse? How are we sharing Christ with others? The Christ who died for us and paid the ultimate sacrifice for our salvation.

The call for world missions is not something new but very ancient. It was the call of our Lord Jesus Christ to His disciples, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.”

Since the inception of the Apostolic Church, missions have been at the heartbeat of each disciple. All the Apostles died martyr deaths in bringing the Gospel to new peoples (except St. John who they tried to martyr). There was no compromise to this call to be a living witness of the Good News to all nations as their Lord commanded them.

How can we sit at ease when in the world today, over 2 billion people have still never heard the name of Jesus or understood the Gospel of Christ?

Not An Easy Road Ahead

Bringing the Gospel to unreached people groups that have been untouched by the Good News for so long can be fraught with difficulty. The enemy of our souls will not give up ground easily, and we are in a spiritual battle. That battle also means literal physical suffering, slandering, and all other types of evil that can be thrown at us when we represent Jesus Christ to a lost world.

The Apostle John said to the Church in his day that they should not be surprised if the world hated them. Our Lord Jesus said in the Gospel of Luke that all men would hate us. But our Lord also gives us comfort in these words: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first.” We live in cultures that turn away from pain of any kind. There are pills and remedies for even the slightest discomfort in our bodies. In such an environment, persecution and suffering in our bodies for the faith of Jesus Christ seem even more absurd. We need to prepare in our minds to suffer bodily for the Name of Christ. One could rightly rename the first historical book of the Church from Acts of the Apostles to Acts of the Martyrs because we see the martyrdom of two Apostles and one Deacon in the Book of Acts.

It should not surprise us that there have been so many martyrdoms in Church history. According to tradition, this is the list of the Apostles’ deaths by martyrdom: Apostle Andrew, martyred by crucifixion (bound to a cross). Apostle Bartholomew suffered martyrdom by being flayed alive and crucified, head downward. Apostle James the Great suffered martyrdom by being stabbed with a sword. Apostle James the Less suffered martyrdom by being thrown from a pinnacle of the Temple at Jerusalem and then stoned and beaten with clubs. Apostle Mark was dragged through the streets until his death. Apostle Jude met martyrdom by being beaten to death with a club. Apostle Matthew suffered martyrdom by being beheaded. Apostle Peter was martyred by crucifixion in Rome with his head downward. Apostle Philip was martyred. Apostle Simon was martyred by being sawn in half. Apostle Thomas was martyred by being stabbed with a spear. Apostle Paul was martyred by being beheaded in Rome. The Apostles joined this multitude of holy martyrs under the altar of God.

May God give us zeal and love for lost multitudes no matter the cost. The early Apostles traveled land and sea at great cost to bring such precious good news to others. What can we do with the light given us today?

A Continual Sending

In the historic Church liturgy, there is what is called a Benediction (Dismissal) or “Sending.” This is the end part of the service, where a prayer of blessing is said over the people after they partake in the Holy Eucharist.

Yet there is a unique element of meaning in this sending forth of believers. The service sometimes ends with “Let us go forth in the Name of Christ.” Or “Let us go forth into the world, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.” The intention is to essentially recommission the body of Christ each Sunday on their leaving the Church gathering to be re-sent as missionaries into a lost world. After partaking of the Communion elements and being strengthened by the Lord, go out in the power of the Holy Spirit to serve the Lord.

We are not commissioned to lead comfortable lives but to follow the example of our Lord. May each Lord’s Day gathering be a renewing not only of our baptismal vow but a renewing of our missionary call by the Son of God to be His ambassadors even to the ends of the earth.

Sharing God’s Heart

“Lord Crucified, give me a heart like Thine! Teach me to love the dying souls of men—And keep my heart in closest touch with Thee; And give me love to bring the lost to Thee.” As Christians and children of God, we can be in such close union with Him that we begin to share His heart for others. A picture of this is Jesus in Gethsemane, where our Lord says, “My soul is very sorrowful” as He was burdened with the weight of a dying sinful humanity. God does not desire the death of the wicked but that men and women would be saved. God’s very love for sinners must be the love that motivates us to also share the Good News. Any motivation other than love will not bear fruit.

Dr. Jowett said, “We can never heal the needs we do not feel. Tearless hearts can never be heralds of the passion. We must pity if we would redeem.” Feeling and understanding the plight of lost men is critical to our being a help to them. Have we already lost the sense of the grandeur of our salvation? Have our eyes dried up not being able to shed a tear of thankfulness to God for His saving us?

We must weep for those to whom we will preach. The needs of the lost should move us deeply. Are we willing to lose our lives for the sake of others? We can pray this prayer to the Lord:

“Break my heart, Lord, with the things that break Yours.”

A real passion for souls must come as a gift from God to us. This love through the Holy Spirit will allow us to share God’s heart.

Not Caring Anymore

Dr Lawrence M. Gould said: “I do not believe the greatest threat to our future is from bombs or guided missiles. I don’t think our civilization will end that way, I think it will die when we no longer care.” Has this death of a passion for lost souls started in us? Do we simply not care about those who are perishing without Christ and without hope? Careless, indifferent, selfish, and intoxicated with amusement, we are finding no time to consider others who are drowning in the sea of sin.

I was personally greatly moved by seeing a mural drawing of the vision of hell by William Booth. Many people are shown standing on a platform, safe and secure, doing different activities while men and women are drowning in the sea’s boisterous waves all around them. Here is the account in William Booth’s own words:

“I saw a dark and stormy ocean. In that ocean I thought I saw myriads of poor human beings plunging and floating, shouting and shrieking, cursing and struggling and drowning; and as they cursed and screamed, they rose and shrieked again, and then some sank to rise no more. And I saw out of this dark, angry ocean, a mighty rock that rose up with its summit towering high above the black clouds that overhung the stormy sea. And all around the base of this rock I saw a vast platform. Onto this platform, I saw with delight a number of the poor struggling, drowning wretches continually climbing out of the angry ocean

As I looked on, I saw that the occupants of that platform were quite a mixed company. That is, they were divided into different ‘sets’ or classes, and they occupied themselves with different pleasures and employments. But only a very few of them seemed to make it their business to get the people out of the sea.

But what puzzled me most was the fact that though all of them had been rescued at one time or another from the ocean, nearly everyone seemed to have forgotten all about it.

Many spent their time in amusing themselves with growing flowers on the side of the rock, others in painting pieces of cloth, or in playing music, or in dressing themselves up in different styles and walking about to be admired. Some occupied themselves chiefly in eating and drinking, others were taken up with arguing about the poor drowning creatures that had already been rescued.”

What a sad picture of indifference and lack of concern for others. They simply started to not care anymore. This vision greatly impacted a young man, Keith Green, who wrote a moving song called “Asleep in the Light.” I will quote part of it now:

Do you see, do you see all the people sinking down? Don’t you care, don’t you care are you gonna let them drown? How can you be so numb not to care if they come? You close your eyes and pretend the job’s done Bless me Lord, bless me Lord You know it’s all I ever hear No one aches, no one hurts no one even sheds one tear Open up, open up and give yourself away You see the need, you hear the cries so how can you delay?

David Legge offers us a prayer to wake us up spiritually and to get back to that Ancient Path of self-denial and having an eternal mindset: “Oh Lord, help us Lord, help us, for we need so much help. We’ve got so intoxicated with the spirit of the age, and so weighed down by material things that we can’t run this race any more.”

The Sun Is Setting

Soon time will be no more, we will see our Lord face to face.We will experience the true ending, the timelessness of the Holy Trinity being worshipped. It is as if the Lord comes to you and says, “Just a few more years, my child. Share my Gospel. It will all be over soon.”

As you look out at the great need for humanity to embrace Christ, those words ring in your ears, and you see the sun setting; it will all soon be over. Are we spending our lives for eternity, and what really matters?

Every soul is worth all the gold in the world. One brother considered in depth the entire world’s population from the time of Adam till now. According to Bible genealogies, he stated there could be anywhere from 15-20 billion people who ever lived, including those who died in the great deluge (Flood). The very sobering thought is that there are over eight billion people alive on earth right now, potentially just under half of all the people who have ever existed since the time of Adam.

What a huge responsibility this generation has to quickly spread the Gospel message to all peoples. Time is hurrying away; the sun is setting. Let us be found labouring in the harvest.