Do we Treat the Urgent Gospel of Christ with Urgency?
© 2020 by Tom Boynton (editing by Kathy Boynton)
I fear we (myself included) tend to become complacent about the urgency of the Gospel message.
Consider, with me, the events in West, Texas on April 17th, 2013. The fertilizer plant exploded, destroying much of the town. It left many wounded and dead. Suppose, that day, you’d been allowed to know, with certainty, that the explosion was imminent.
Suppose, further, you had treated that urgent information in the same way we treat the Gospel message. Your interaction with an unsaved inhabitant of that city would have been quite casual. You would probably have been very careful not to alarm the one you were trying to warn. You wouldn’t want that individual to think you’re too radical. You’d probably begin efforts to befriend that individual. That way, in the future, when you finally got around to presenting the warning, he or she might pay more attention to you. You’d probably make plans to accompany that individual to sports and entertainment activities in town, further cultivating your friendship. However, the end result would almost certainly have guaranteed the death of your unsaved friend. Together, you’d have entered eternity in the West, Texas explosion. Your new lost friend would be lost forever.
Your lack of urgency (or mine) would lull your friend into a false sense of security. He would not be forced to deal with the fact that his or her eternal soul was in jeopardy. While accompanying your friend to hours of entertainment, you, yourself, would likely forget the urgency of eternity. Actually, our enemy purposely uses much entertainment for that very purpose.
One of the Apostle Paul’s letters to Corinth sought to reemphasize the urgency of the Gospel message.
“We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:1-2)
Do you remember God’s statement to the rich man devising long term plans for storage of his wealth?
God said to him:
“… Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?” (Luke 12:20)
Will tomorrow be too late?
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