Christians have been known to use the word “lost” to identify those who are unsaved, and many of these Christians don’t know that “lost” is used 96.2% of the time as an identifier of lost Jews or lost things only in the old testament. (basically, nobody ever considered any nonJew to be lost in the old testament)
- the other 3.8% is found in 2 Corinthians 4 in which Paul writes that “our gospel” is “hid” because the god of this world has blinded the “minds” of the lost who don’t believe
- if this gospel of Christ would shine unto this new group of lost people, they’d know it was also for them all along
Humanity actually has a god of this world who is blinding people and so opposing God’s will that all be saved.
It is not that God let’s bad things happen to some so that they go to Hell, but that He has the gift offered to all in a world of blind people.
This changes our perspective since the blind by the pool needed to first believe and then sight was given.
*When God went from nation singular to nations plural, even the terminology changed in meaning.
bibleG&S 