The "Now’s” Of The Bible

Intro: The little word "now" is a very interesting word. The word means, "at the present moment of time; or without any further delay." The Holy Spirit moved the writers and translators of the Bible to use that little word quite often throughout the Bible. The word “now” is used exactly 1355 times in the KJB. Of course, with just 45 minutes teaching time, it would be impossible to deal with all occurrences of the word. However, I am going to take you to at least seven places where these "now’s" can be found in the Bible.

I. The "Now" of Sacrifice (Heb. 9:26). It is just during these last 2000 years which began with the 1st coming of Christ that we have known that He came down to earth to be the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. Christ’s sacrifice doesn’t need to be repeated because it is completed and perfected once for all (Heb. 10:10, 12). It is only through Christ’s Person and finished work at Calvary that we can approach the Father in heaven. There is no other way.

II. The "Now" of Safety (Jude 1:24). The Bible says that Christ is able to keep the believer from falling and failing. We are secure in God’s care, through the powerful cleansing blood of Christ, and through the Spirit’s sealing and indwelling. If you are a real Christian, your soul does not have to wait until you die and leave your body to get a sense of safety. We are safe in the arms of the Father and Son whether we live or die on earth (John 10:28-29). The protection of the soul is a present privilege of every believer.

III. The "Now" of Serenity (Rom. 15:13). We are told in this verse that God fills us with joy and peace as we believe Him. There is divine joy, peace and hope from God that every child of God can still enjoy even in the midst of the most difficult of circumstances. Only trust the Lord; He is the God of peace. The peace from God gives you hope that all will eventually be well in Lord’s timing because He is God Almighty who is in His throne and still in control (Isa. 26:3).

IV. The “Now” of Surety (Heb. 11:1). Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Faith is the believer’s “second pair of eyes” that sees and believes the invisible (Heb. 11:27; Eph. 1:18). Faith understands what can hardly be known by the natural man. It is a fruit of the Spirit and comes by hearing God’s word (Rom. 10:17).

V. The "Now" of Sonship (I John 3:2). We are told that we are NOW the sons of God. Thank God we can know that we have been born spiritually and that we are children of God. The testimony God’s Spirit is the main reason why we can be assured of divine sonship at the present time (Rom. 8:15-16). Friend, do you have assurance of sonship now?

VI. The "Now" of Salvation (II Cor. 6:2b). One is not wise to procrastinate or put off personal salvation. He can wait until it is too late to be saved. He should be saved NOW because life is passing and because Jesus is calling. Every time a person rejects Jesus, it will probably be harder for him to be saved at a later time. That is why God says through the Apostle Paul, "NOW is the day of salvation." If you are not yet saved, may your prayer be the psalmist’s prayer for God’s mercy and salvation in Psa. 69:13.

VII. The "Now" of Stubbornness (II Tim. 3:8). This refers to Pharaoh’s chief magicians – Jannes and Jambres (Exo. 7). These men withstood Moses to the face. Note that when they fought God’s man who only spoke the truth to them, it was just as though they were fighting God Himself, when they fought God’s messengers – Moses and Aaron – and rejected God’s serious message (I Tim. 6:5a).

Conclusion: So, what does a believer in Christ have that an unbeliever does not have? At least six things that we have seen today – SACRIFICE, SAFETY, SERENITY, SURETY, SONSHIP, and SALVATION. However, if you are a real believer in Christ, it is better not to have STUBBORNNESS at all. My friend, if you are still unsure of salvation, you can be 100% certain right where you are, even right NOW!