I've been reading "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire" by Ps. Jim Cymbala. One particular story told by Jim in the book about the late Dwight L. Moody has stirred in my spirit an understanding of this issue, so I would like to share it with you. The following excerpt is from pages 125-126 of the previously mentioned book...
Dwight L. Moody was haunted all his life by an occasion when he felt he got too clever in presenting the gospel. Six years before he died he recounted what had happened back in Chicago in the fall of 1871:
"I intended to devote six nights to Christ's life. I had spent four Sunday nights on the subject and had followed him from the manger along through his life to his arrest and trial, and on the fifth Sunday night, October 8, I was preaching to the largest congregation I had ever had in Chicago, quite elated with my success. My text was 'What shall I do then with Jesus which is called the Christ?' That night I made one of the biggest mistakes of my life. After preaching...with all the power that God had given me, urging Christ upon the people, I closed the sermon and said, 'I wish you would take this text home with you and turn it over in your minds during the week, and next Sunday we will come to Calvary and the cross, and we will decide what we will do with Jesus of Nazareth.'"
Just at that moment, a fire bell rang nearby. Moody quickly dismissed the meeting and sent people out of the building. It was the beginning of the Great Chicago Fire, which over the next 27 hours left 300 dead, 90,000 homeless, and a great city in ashes. Obviously, Moody never got to finish his sermon series. He continued:
"I have never seen that congregation since. I have hard work to keep back the tears today....twenty-two years have passed away...and I will never meet those people again until I meet them in another world. But I want to tell you one lesson I learned that night, which I have never forgotten, and that is, when I preach to press Christ upon the people then and there, I try to bring them to a decision on the spot. I would rather have my right hand cut off than give an audience a week to decide what to do with Jesus."
A wise proverb reads 'Rescue the perishing; don’t hesitate to step in and help. If you say, “Hey, that’s none of my business,” will that get you off the hook? Someone is watching you closely, you know— Someone not impressed with weak excuses'. (Proverbs 24:11, 12 MSG)
To be left with the guilt of what you "could have, should have" done is not how I want to live out my life in Christ. Ezekiel 3:17,18 says "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked person, 'you will surely die,' and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood." Similarly, today we are charged with spreading the good news of Jesus Christ to everyone. We are all wicked sinners that need a saviour in our lives. It does not matter what our sin is...only that it is sin and it is in our lives. When we remain quiet around those that need this revelation in their life, we are condemning them to an eternal death and we will ultimately be held accountable for our unwillingness to see them saved.
To be left with the guilt of what you "could have, should have" done is not how I want to live out my life in Christ. Ezekiel 3:17,18 says "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked person, 'you will surely die,' and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood." Similarly, today we are charged with spreading the good news of Jesus Christ to everyone. We are all wicked sinners that need a saviour in our lives. It does not matter what our sin is...only that it is sin and it is in our lives. When we remain quiet around those that need this revelation in their life, we are condemning them to an eternal death and we will ultimately be held accountable for our unwillingness to see them saved.
So, to those reading this that are born again Christian believers...speak AND act out the message of the gospel to those around you with boldness and with confidence. Remember, it is Christ's message, not yours. He will produce the results if you will act in obedience.
To those reading this that are not Christians, whether it is because you have never really been exposed to the message or because you choose not to believe it, I urge you to come to this understanding. We are all born sinners in a fallen world. There is no "good enough" that we can live out to change this fact. Sin is sin, no matter how small or large we view it as. There is not one of us that does not require someone to pay the price for our sins, whether our sins are few or many. Jesus has paid the price for those who will accept Him. It does not matter what your sin is, He is willing and able to pay the price for it on your behalf. For those who choose to reject Him, the price for sin will be eternal death in Hell. There is no sugar coating that.
Accepting Jesus is a start, like the starting line of a race. You are not even running in the race until you accept Jesus. However, accepting Jesus and then doing nothing is like entering a race and then never leaving the starting line. Simply standing at the starting line will never see you to the finish. Jesus came and ran the race and then told us to follow Him. Run the race, walk, even crawl if you have to...only make sure you follow Christ through to the finish. Better to finish on your hands and knees than to be disqualified for not finishing!
No one knows what tomorrow holds. Don't put off to tomorrow what you could easily do today!
With love,
Mike
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