Went to get some smoothies with Shannon after a tennis match today. It was a health food place. I asked the young ladies that were helping us if the smoothies would guarantee us long life. They laughed and said no. I asked them if they knew what would guarantee long life. They said no. I told them that the gospel could guarantee them eternal life. I asked them if they knew the gospel. They said they did. I asked them if they had obeyed the gospel.
The Apostles Paul and Peter emphasized the importance of obeying the gospel. Of the Jews, Paul wrote to the Romans as follows: "But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “LORD, who has believed our report (Rom. 10:15-17)?" Paul warned the Thessalonians that the Lord "will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus (2 Thessalonians 1:8)." The New King James Version renders that same verse a bit more graphically, noting that the Lord will come "in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." Similarly, Peter declared that "judgment [will] begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God (1 Peter 4:16-18)?"
The girls said they had. Really, I asked. That's great. How do you obey the gospel, I asked. They both basically said they try to be good and do the right thing. One girl, Becca, said that she tries to follow the 10 Commandments. I was interested in that answer, because I wondered if she thought she had actually kept them and if she actually knew them. Turns out she really didn't know but a couple of the commands and she admitted when asked that she had lied, stolen, and probably broken the other commands as well. She realized she would be in trouble on the day of judgment but said that she had asked forgiveness for her sins. I told her that asking forgiveness for her sins is important but not sufficient for salvation unless she's trusting in Jesus Christ alone as having made substitutionary payment for her sins. She began to understand the significance of Jesus taking the punishment she deserved so that she could receive the mercy and forgiveness of God. I asked her if she knew the two things Jesus said to do in order to be born again and inherit eternal life. She didn't but wanted to know. I explained that Jesus said to repent and believe in Him as the one who alone had paid for her sins and could save her from them (Mk. 1:15; John 3; Nu. 22). I asked her if she had ever repented of her sins and placed her full faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for her salvation. She admitted that she hadn't. I asked her when she was going to do it, because she didn't know if she had another day left. She said that she wasn't sure when she was going to repent and trust Christ. She thanked me for talking with her, and I thanked her for the smoothie and her honesty. I urged her to repent and trust Christ before it's too late. Pray Becca will be born again.
No comments:
Post a Comment