LOST

The most common Greek word representing this idea is apollumi. The term can suggest the idea of an object that is estranged from its owner. A shepherd loses his sheep, a woman loses a coin, a Father loses a son (Lk. 15:4, 9, 32). When men, by their sins, wander away from their Creator, they are "lost" (Lk. 19:10; cf. Isa. 59:1-2). Only through the gospel of Christ can reconciliation be enjoyed. When apollumi is used in the middle voice, it denotes "irretrievable ruin" (Jn. 3:16; 17:12), though never ANNILILATION (see).