August 11, 2002
The man was awakened for the fifth time. “Get up. It’s time to get ready for church!”
He replied grumpily, “I don’t want to; I don’t want to go to church today. Those people at the church don’t like me; I don’t want to go.”
She rebutted, “You have to go.”
Said he, “Give me three good reasons why…”
She answered, “Because, it’s Sunday, I’m your mother, and you’re the pastor. Now get up!”
This morning I would like to give you three good reasons. The reasons are the very things I would want you to share with me if you met me on the street and found out I had never made a decision to accept Jesus Christ as my savior. If I was stubborn I would want you to argue with me – hot and heavy if necessary. I would want you to give me three good reasons for putting aside my pride and getting right down on my knees to pray – ask God to forgive my sins for Christ’s sake and to allow me to give my life to Him.
Here are three good reasons to be saved today:
Reason #1 is Design
27And as it is appointed unto men once to die,
but after this the judgment: Hebrews 9:27 (KJV)
behold, now is the accepted time;
behold, now is the day of salvation.
2 Corinthians 6.2b (KJV)
God designed us in His own image. It is God, our Designer who knows us best. He knows our need for him, and has encouraged us to come close to Him, to know Him.
8Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.
James 4:8a (KJV)
It is said that the last words of Third Viscount Lord Palmerston as he lay dying in 1865 were these: "Die, my dear Doctor? That’s the last thing I shall do."(1)
The problem with that is that it just seems like the last thing we do. Deep down inside we know there is more to it. Unfortunately for us, we have trouble admitting our need for our Designer. An astonishing twenty-four percent of Americans believe in reincarnation, though there is not one word to support it in either the New Testament or the Old.(2)
Mankind is God’s design, and therefore salvation is His call and provision for our deepest need. The story begins in the Garden of Eden. God placed man there, perfect, innocent, and without anything to interrupt the relationship between God and he. But, Genesis 3 tells us that Adam and Eve wanted more (isn’t that always the way?). Their way led to death, spiritual and physical death. The Bible states it in many ways – they thought they were getting something good – what they got was opened eyes to just how far they had drifted from God:
23For the wages of sin is death; Romans 6:23a (KJV)
Their departure from God’s way created the need for salvation. And that is also God’s design. Design is a wonderful thing. It’s like having the instructions.
When our children were small we got a swing set for the back yard. Elizabeth’s parents bought it – that was the easy part! Assembly was left to me. The instructions were included in the box…a 38 page manual entitled “some assembly required”.
Well, I, “Russell the Right” decided I did not like the language I read in those instructions. The manufacturer talked a language that was alien. It said, put bolt A-17J through spindle assembly (right and left) in a windmill fashion until you discover the framastat connected to integer-driven-molly bolt fasteners located in the blue stermer-gadget and secure with nut C-17.
Nuts, indeed! I wanted to do it my way. After four afternoons of struggling to get that swing set together I finally gave up and took it apart – I went back to the manual and did it the designer’s way.
25There is a way that seemeth right unto a man,
but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Proverbs 16:25 (KJV)
It is the same thing when it comes to us human swing sets. We are designed by the Master Designer; we come complete with a manual, the Bible. In that manual it says NOW is the day of salvation. That’s a good enough reason by itself…but there’s more…
Reason #2 is Deception
24For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders;
insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Matthew 24:24 (KJV)
There are a lot of false offers of salvation out there. Great “signs and wonders” abound! The New Age movement is all about solutions for human problems. Astrology can predict your life’s pathway. In Florida we had a state run mobster gambling thing called “The Lottery”. Astrologers advertised all the time how they could help you win it all by predicting the numbers. One time the Lotto rolled over for 17 straight weeks because nobody picked the winning numbers. Wonder why?
It is the same reason the serpent had an easy mark with Eve – we are prone to deception. We grasp at anything to be independent from God. We think science, with its computers and sophistication will come up with all the answers we need. Recently Ted Williams died. While his son has been busy trying to make a zillion bucks selling clone material, Ted’s body lies in a freezer. His instructions dictated that. He is obviously awaiting the time that science can discover the cure for what took him out. He is looking for one last home run.
Unfortunately for Ted that kind of thinking is deception. The only true resurrection hung on a cross two thousand years ago. The problem with Ted’s theory is that if science could get him back breathing and even thinking, they can’t do anything with his soul. That didn’t stop Ted from attempting to create his own brand of salvation. It comes from the arrogance of man never wanting to accept God’s way.
Fallon, Nevada, is the arsenic capital of America. According to the Chicago Tribune, the Environmental Protection Agency found that Fallon’s water system delivers more arsenic to its customers than any other large town water system. Folks there even joke about it: "Arsenic? It only bothers you if you’re not used to it."
Tim Miller, who has lived in Fallon all his life, jests, "Arsenic is no biggie. I’ll die of something. It’s called life. Once you’re born, you start dying."
The arsenic levels remain high, not because people like drinking arsenic, but because they don’t want to pay for the solution-a $10 million treatment plant. Said one official, "This is Nevada. They don’t want to feel government is intruding in their lives."
Talking about sin often gets about the same response. It’s not that we wouldn’t like to get rid of it, but we don’t like anyone-even God-telling us what we have to do. "Sin is no biggie," folks seem to say. "I’ll die of something. It’s called life."(3)
Design and Deception, and…
Reason #3 is Destruction
11And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Revelation 20:11–15 (KJV)
One of the chief deceptions under which we live is that there is ultimately no consequence to the way we live. If that is so, the Bible needs to be scrapped. Men have been attempting to make their own standards since the Garden of Eden. It didn’t work then, and it won’t in the final judgment.
In Words We Live By, Brian Burrell tells of an armed robber named Dennis Lee Curtis who was arrested in 1992 in Rapid City, South Dakota. Curtis apparently had scruples about his thievery. In his wallet the police found a sheet of paper on which was written the following code:
1. I will not kill anyone unless I have to.
2. I will take cash and food stamps—no checks.
3. I will rob only at night.
4. I will not wear a mask.
5. I will not rob mini-marts or 7-Eleven stores.
6. If I get chased by cops on foot, I will get away. If chased by vehicle, I will not put the lives of innocent civilians on the line.
7. I will rob only seven months out of the year.
8. I will enjoy robbing from the rich to give to the poor.
This thief had a sense of morality, but it was flawed. When he stood before the court, he was not judged by the standards he had set for himself but by the higher law of the state.
Likewise when we stand before God, we will not be judged by the code of morality we have written for ourselves but by God’s perfect law.(4)
God is the one who sets the standards – that’s His design.
God is the one who tells us the truth – without deception.
God is the one who warns us against the consequences of ignoring the truth in his design – it leads to our destruction.
Yes, I would want you to argue with me, debate, shame, push, and overwhelm me if you can to accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
Show me God’s design.
Warn me of the deception and destruction to come. Teach me how I can confess my sins and be saved.
Urge me to do it now, during the acceptable moment.
Now, for me, you don’t have to convince or debate – I accepted Christ many years ago. I’m glad I did.
But, what about you? Have you not yet accepted Christ? Have you ever heard of Elisha Gray? Probably not, because he was late for a golden opportunity. On March 7, 1876, Mr. Gray submitted his brilliant idea to the U.S. Patent Office. The only problem was, patent #174,465 had been given to another man with the same invention just a few hours earlier. Elisha Gray was a few hours late, so we now remember Alexander Graham Bell as the inventor of the telephone.(5)
Your opportunity lies before you. You’ve got three good reasons to come to Christ right NOW. You are not guaranteed tomorrow…or even this afternoon. For what are you waiting?
Are you not convinced of His design – that you are created in His image and He has already died for your sins, and that He longs to have you close to Him so He can bless you?
Are you deceived, thinking something better than Christ will come along, in science, computers, or maybe the Hale Bop comet thing is really true?
Are you willing to chance the destruction? When is the time to be saved? Hear it again…Behold, NOW is the accepted time.
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FOOTNOTES
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(1) Robert C. Shannon, 1000 Windows, (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing Company, 1997).
(2) Ibid.
(3) Lee Eclov, Lake Forest, Illinois; source: Chicago Tribune (4-18-01)
(4) Craig Brian Larson, Choice Contemporary Stories and Illustrations (Baker, 1998), p.181; Brian Burrell, Words We Live By, (S&S Trade, 1997) © 2000 PreachingToday.com / Christianity Today, Inc.
(5) Jeff Dixon, Proclaim, Fall 2002, 39.
