But, in the other commoner use of it, that word “world” simply means the whole race of men.  And we must remind ourselves vigorously of the plain truth that this is a lost world.  That is to say, men have gotten away from God.  They completely misunderstand Him.  Then they do more, and worse, they misrepresent and slander Him.  The result is complete lack of trust in Him.  They have lost their moorings, and have drifted out to deep sea with no compass on board.  Thick fogs have risen and shut out sun and stars and every guiding thing.  They are hopelessly and helplessly lost, and need some one to bring the compass so as to get back to shore, back home to God.

But this world of men is to be won.  Jesus said He came to save a world.  And He will not fail nor rest content until He has done it, and this has become a saved world.  He said that He gave His life for the life of the world.  And the world will yet know the fulness of that life of His throbbing in its own heart.

This does not mean that all men will be saved.  There seems to be clear evidence in the Book that some will insist on preferring their own way to God’s.  And I am sure I do not know anything except what the Book teaches.  It is the only reliable source of information I have been able to find so far.  It must be the standard, because it is the standard.

There will be a group of stubborn irreconcilables holding out against all of God’s tender pleading.  John’s Patmos vision of glory, with its marvellous beauty and sweep, has yet a lake of fire and a group of men insisting upon going their own way.  If a man choose that way, he may.  He is still in the likeness of God in choosing to leave out God.  He remains a sovereign in his own will even in the hell of his own choosing.

God’s Method of Saving.

The method of saving is by winning.  The Father would not be content with anything else.  Such a thing as might be represented by throwing a blanket over the head of a horse in a burning stable, and so getting it out by coaxing, and forcing, and hiding the danger, is not to be thought of here.  Sin is never smoothed over by God, nor its results, their badness and their certainty.

He would have us see the sin as ugly and damning as it actually is, and see Him as pure and holy and winsome as He is; and then to reject the sin and choose Himself.  The method of much modern charity, the long-range charity that helps by organization, without the personal relation and warm touch, is unknown to God.  He touches every man directly with His own warm heart, and appeals to Him at closest quarters.

Man’s highest power is his power of choosing.  It is in that He is most like God.  God’s plan is to clear away the clouds, sweep down the cobwebs that bother our eyes so, and let us get such a look at Himself that we will be caught with the sight of His great face, and choose to come, and to come a-running back to Himself.  The world will be saved by its own choosing to be.  It will be saved by being won.  Men will choose to leave sin and accept God’s Saviour Jesus Christ.