Who are the ‘lost’
In Ezekiel: God’s people gone astray
In Luke: The son who has rejected his father
The problem that this creates: insider/outsider language
We can create an unhelpful (and unbiblical) barrier between those who ‘belong’ and those who don’t.
In one sense, the lost and the saved are no different
Coins, sheep, sons… they’re all the same
‘ontologically’ (in their substance) they’re the same
But in another sense, they’re in completely different circumstances
The coin, the sheep, and the son in danger.
‘functionally’ (in what’s happening) they’re different
So are the lost really lost?
more importantly, how do we respond?