Now is the Time

There is an old saying, “Why do today, what you can put off till tomorrow.” This is probably not the best way to operate in life, but many do. Procrastination is something that many of us have to deal with, especially when we are young. Nobody wants to do homework, so we put it off till the last minute. Same with our chores, nobody wants to take out the trash, so we wait till the can is overflowing before we decide to take it out. Don’t even get me started about those who will not go to the doctor till they can hardly breathe or walk. We do not want to exercise, so we wait till we can’t button our britches, or someone asks if we’re pregnant. This is embarrassing, especially if you are a dude.

If we are honest, there are many things we really do not want to deal with, so we put them off till we can’t any longer. Sadly, salvation is one of those things many try to put off. Most don’t really know why; they just do not want to deal with the idea of recognizing their sin and their need for saving. Paul gives a warning about putting off salvation in II Corinthians 6:2, “for He says, 'At the acceptable time I listened to you, And on the day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is “the acceptable time,” behold, now is “the day of salvation.”

This is not only an urging, but also a warning not to put off coming to Christ for salvation. There are many reasons why people will not accept salvation, and I could go through some, but we all kind of know the reasons because we were there ourselves once. I would rather dive into why we should receive salvation as soon as we are given the opportunity.

One reason is that the earlier we give our lives to Christ, the sooner we come to Christ, the longer we have to live for Him while we are on this earth. It’s amazing that, as long as I’ve been in ministry, I have not once heard anybody say that they wished they had waited longer before being saved. For those who receive Jesus later in life, they always, always have regret that they did not come to Him sooner. Now, it’s not always their fault; many times, no one has ever taken the time to share the gospel with them. But, for those who do hear the gospel, there should be a great desire for salvation. Another reason we should receive salvation as soon as we can is that we do not know if we will ever get another chance. We always assume we have tomorrow, but there are millions who are now in eternity that had that same thought. The other reason we should receive Christ as soon as we are able is that we do not know when the Lord will call His church home; in fact, it can happen at any moment. NO one, and I mean no one, wants to be left behind when that day comes.

So, I close not only with the challenge to receive salvation as soon as you are able, but to share the gospel with as many people, and as often as we can. Remember, today is the acceptable time. Now is the day of salvation.