On television or radio, it is not uncommon to hear a pitchman tell you that the particular opportunity to purchase whatever product he is promoting is "the greatest opportunity ever offered!" You know that isn*t the case, however, because the next week you will see the same product offered with new packaging and at a new price, but still with the promise, "This is the greatest opportunity ever offered!" As the old saying goes, "If it seems too good to be true, it probably is!"
But such is not the case with God*s offer of eternal life through faith in Christ. God*s offer is as good as it seems. Eternal life is a free gift, through faith in Christ. His offer has never changed, and His price is still the same. Indeed, God’s offer of eternal life through Christ is the greatest opportunity ever offered!
1. It Is An Opportunity For All Who Lose!
This opportunity is for all who lose, which is each of us! For the Bible makes it clear that all of us, apart from Christ, are losers. Jesus made that clear when He said, "apart from me you can do nothing," (John 15:5)! Thank God, this offer is for "whoever." No one is excluded, no matter how big a loser in life they may be.
Apart from Christ we are all losers! We are all condemned, for example, to experience loss with respect to knowing freedom from the burden of sin.
The Bible tells us that each of us is guilty of sin. The Bible tells us that, "No one is good - not even one," (Romans 3:10). Though some may try to deny it, what the Bible says is, nevertheless, true.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the famous creator of Sherlock Holmes, reportedly played a practical joke on twelve of his friends who were highly respected and considered by society to be quite virtuous. Doyle sent every one of them the same telegram: "Flee at once, all is discovered." Within twenty-four hours, each of them had taken a trip out of the country.
The point is that no matter how noble our reputation is, we each have things in our lives (whether in our past or present) that we would rather not have anyone else discover.
When people are honest about it, they have to admit to the fact that sin has left them with a burden of guilt. And their guilt is something from which they cannot run away!
Apart from Christ, you will never know freedom from the burden of your sin, and, as a result, you will never know freedom from the bondage of Satan.
Satan is out to deceive all who do not know Jesus. In Ephesians 2:2, Paul describes the bondage under which a person lives apart from Christ, when he tells us that without Christ in one*s life, he follows "The ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient."
In a large city some very creative crooks broke into a department store. They entered the store unnoticed and stayed long enough to accomplish their mission. What was their mission? They switched the price tags on everything in the store. $400 price tags were swapped with price tags that read $3.95, and so on. When the store opened the next morning you would have expected total chaos. Surprisingly, though, for four hours, the store operated just as it normally did. Some customers literally got some steals while others thought the merchandise was significantly overpriced. Incredibly, four hours slipped by before the hoax was discovered.
In the department store of life, Satan has deceptively switched the price tags, and too many people have not yet caught on. He has deceived them into thinking that things which are only temporary and passing are worthy of having one’s life given completely to them, while matters of eternal consequence (like making sure you are right with God) are things that can be left to take care of on "another day."
One of Satan’s chief strategies is to convince people that when it comes to making sure of your eternal destiny and whether or not you are right with God, there is no hurry. He has been very successful at this strategy. Consequently, countless thousands upon thousands of people who think they are in control of their lives are really living under the bondage and influence of the evil one.
Please understand, Satan is out to destroy all who do not know Jesus. Concerning the work of the Devil, Jesus said, "The thief comes only to kill, to steal, and to destroy . . ." (John 10:10a).
Once upon a time a wolf, a fox, and a bear went hunting. As luck would have it, fortune smiled on them and each got a deer. After the hunt, they sat down to discuss how the spoils should be divided.
The wolf said, "It is obvious that the only fair way of distribution would be for us each to get one deer." The bear promptly ate the wolf! Then the bear asked the fox his ideas on the subject. The fox said immediately, "I think you should have all three deer." The bear was pleased. "Where did you get such wisdom?* he asked. "From the wolf," said the fox.
Satan "prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour," (1 Peter 5:8). So, learn a lesson from the wolf. Do not bargain with sin and Satan. Instead, give your life to Christ!
In an article that appeared in the March 1991 edition of Reader’s Digest entitled, "Stepping Out At 10,000 Feet," Michael Parfit described the exhilaration of his first parachute jump in this way, "The very sensation of falling disappeared." Yet he was falling at more than 150 feet per second. He detailed the hypnotic beauty of his surroundings as he plummeted toward the earth, a fall that would bring instant death if he did not use a parachute.
In the same way, Satan will seek to cause a person to lose all sense of the fact that apart from Christ, he is plummeting toward eternal torment. Don’t let him do that to you.
Apart from Christ, we are at the mercy of both sin and Satan! We cannot know freedom apart from Christ! Apart from Christ, we are losers! We experience loss with respect to knowing freedom and with respect to knowing fulfillment. Apart from Christ, we are kept from living with a sense of internal peace.
A black hole is a swirling mass deep in outer space that, like a ravenous beast, swallows any bit of matter that comes close to it. Apart from Christ, the human heart is like a black hole. In the effort to find peace, people try to fill the vacuum with wealth, pleasure, travel, art, fame, learning, friends, etc., but nothing fills the void. None of these things can fill the emptiness of the human heart any more than a handful of pebbles can fill the Grand Canyon.
King Solomon sought to fill the void of his heart with everything that his wealth and royal power could acquire. "Anything I wanted, I took," he said, "I did not restrain myself from any joy," (Ecclesiastes 2:10). But what was the result of this search for peace and fulfillment? Solomon concluded that rightly relating to God was the key to fulfillment in life (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
Saint Augustine said, "Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in God." Jesus came to give us peace. He said, "I am leaving you with a gift - peace of mind and heart," (John 14:27a NLT).
Apart from Christ, however, we are kept from living with a sense of internal peace. And we are also kept from living with a sense of eternal purpose.
Through Christ, one is called to live on a higher level - for things of eternal significance. That*s why the apostle Paul said, "for me to live is Christ and to die is gain," (Philippians 1:21).
When we become followers of Christ, we are enlisted in the Lord*s army, called to "storm the gates of Hell itself," (Matthew 16:18).
Followers of Christ have been given their "marching orders" in Matthew 28:19-20: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
It has been said that Christianity can be summed up in four words: Admit, Submit, Commit, & Transmit. Each of us need to ADMIT our need of Christ; SUBMIT our lives to Him; COMMIT ourselves to following His will; and TRANSMIT our knowledge of Christ to as many others as we can. The cause of Christ is indeed a purpose worth living and dying for, because it is an eternal purpose.
Yes, apart from Christ, we are nothing but losers! We lose the opportunity to know freedom from sin’s burden and Satan’s bondage. We lose the opportunity to know fulfillment through a life lived with internal peace and eternal purpose, and we experience loss with respect to knowing a future in which we will dwell in God*s presence.
One who has chosen to follow Christ can rest assured of one day dwelling forever in the presence of the Lord. Jesus promised, "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also," (John 14:1-3 NKJV).
The story is told of a little boy whose family was very poor. He never complained because he had no toys and received no gifts at Christmas time; but he wished for them. He spent his spare time looking in the store windows at the pretty things other little boys could have that he could not.
One day he was run down by a car and taken to the hospital. When he started to feel better, one of the nurses bought him a toy. As he touched it he said, "There is not any glass between."
Some day all those who have given their lives to Christ will see Him face to face, with no "glass" between. This is God’s promise to every person who places his trust in Christ as his personal Savior.
But apart from Christ, we have no freedom, no fulfillment, and no future! Truly anyone who does not know Christ as his Savior is a loser. Yet all that can change, for God*s offer is for all who choose to believe. John 3:16 says this promise is for "whoever will believe."
2. It Is An Opportunity For All Who Choose!
Don’t miss out on the opportunity God offers to "whoever will believe." Make sure you are right with God by trusting Christ as your personal Savior.
When anyone chooses to believe in Christ as his personal Savior and Lord, he can pass from a life with no freedom to a life of perfect freedom! He can pass from a life of no fulfillment to absolute fulfillment! He can pass from a life with no future to a life with a glorious future! But the key to it all is making the choice to believe in Christ as his Savior and Lord!
Evangelist J. Edwin Orr said that "the first word of the gospel" is repentance. Salvation begins with repentance. Repentance involves a change of mind about sin, which leads to belief in Jesus Christ and brings us the forgiveness of God. Realizing the consequences of living apart from Christ, let me urge you to give your life to Him, if you have not already.
A little boy brought home a dog and asked his mom to let him keep it. The mother passed the decision to her husband and told her son he would have to wait until his father got home. The boy played with the dog all afternoon as he anticipated his dad’s return. When the father finally arrived the boy met him in the driveway. His enthusiasm erupted as he begged his dad to let him keep the dog. The father probed to find out more about the dog. The son assured his dad the dog was lost and he would now provide a wonderful home for the little pup. The father suggested the dog might not be lost, but might just be out of his yard playing. He asked, "How do you know the dog was lost?" The son answered, "Because I saw a man looking for him."
Jesus said that He came to seek and save those who are lost (Luke 19:10). Jesus came to earth, looking for you. Why not let yourself be "found" by Him today? Don’t miss out on the opportunity to know freedom, fulfillment, and a blessed future by trusting Christ. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime, so don’t let your life pass without taking advantage of it!
