Interesting, I have done a word search and lost seems to relate to
"found things which then became lost" ie lost coin, prodigal son who was lost then found etc.
Either that or sheep which are no longer part of the fold, which suggests they were also
found but are now lost waiting to be found again.
Luke 15:6-7 NKJV
[6] And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them,
'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!' [7] I say to you that likewise
there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just
persons who need no repentance.
Matthew 15:24 NKJV
[24] But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
Ezekiel 34:16 NKJV
[16] "I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken
and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and feed them
in judgment."
Jeremiah 50:6-7 NKJV
[6] "My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray; They have turned
them away on the mountains. They have gone from mountain to hill; They have forgotten their
resting place. [7] All who found them have devoured them; And their adversaries said, 'We
have not offended, Because they have sinned against the LORD, the habitation of justice, The
LORD, the hope of their fathers.'
Maybe lost refers to people who should be part of God's kingdom but who have gone astray.
By contrast people who don't know God at all, seem to be referred to in different term.
Those outside, sinners, blind etc.
Are there other lost verses which might refer to sinners, ie people who never knew God
in the first place? I haven't come across any so far, but it would be interesting if there are.