What does it mean to be lost according to the Bible?
According to Scripture, being lost describes mankind without salvation: the gospel is hidden, leaving a person helpless and without direction, anchor, or solid principles. Like a sheep without a shepherd, the lost have no self-defense or ability to care for themselves, and the old Adamic nature rules and reigns like a king.
Les explains that the verse "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost" points to a condition many do not understand. He uses the analogy of a sheep: a sheep would not last 48 hours in a wilderness without the shepherd because it has no self-defense and no smarts to defend itself; it is dumb and lost the minute it is turned loose. Picture a sheep in the Sahara Desert—it might last only hours, with death lurking, having no talent to feed or defend itself. That is exactly what Scripture means: mankind without salvation. The lost are without any direction in life, have no anchor and no real solid principles, and the old Adamic nature is ruling and reigning like a king, but they are lost.