Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
NOW OR LATER
"Special offer-today only!" Salesmen frequently present special offers to customers who choose to make a purchase the same day.
Jesus Christ is making a similar proposal. There are a number of things that everyone will do- either before death or after death. Christ declares that if you act NOW, on the things which you will do later anyway, He has a special offer, and that is the salvation of your soul.
Let's note 7 things which you will do now or later.
1. You will hear the call of Christ.
NOW---"Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live" (John 5:25) The dead referred to here are those spiritually dead in sin, yet physically alive. Today, Jesus is calling to everyone who is dead in trespasses and sins. "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
LATER--- If this tender call of Jesus is refused now, "The hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth" (John 5:28,29)
To reject Jesus' tender call today is to later hear His loud and thunderous call to the judgment bar of God. So why not answer today?
2. You will call on God for mercy.
NOW--- the Bible urges us to "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near"(Isaiah 55:6) God's ear is anxiously listening for any calls for mercy.
LATER--- He is nearby, ready to pardon. But the time is coming when men shall call for mercy and God will mock. Notice why. "Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh... Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me" (Proverbs 1: 24-28) So why not call for mercy now?
3. You will confess that Jesus is Lord.
NOW---The promise of today is "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" (Romans 10:9)
LATER--- If this confession is not made now, God has declared "That at the name of Jesus EVERY knee should bow... and that EVERY tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord... " Those waiting until the Judgment Day to confess Jesus, will confess to their own condemnation. So why not confess Him now?
4. You will forsake sin.
NOW--- The command to the Christian is "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts therof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God... " (Romans 6:12,13) The child of God forsakes sin now because he simply cannot go to heaven with the sins and lusts of this world.
LATER--- But neither can one go to hell and take this world's sinful thrills with him; for "the world passeth away, and the lust thereof. " The pleasures
of sin are only for a season. There will be no sinful pleasures in hell; no immorality, no liquor, no tobacco; only suffering and torment. So why not forsake sin now?
5. You will find a judgment for sin.
NOW--- I John 1:9 tells us that "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. " when we make proper confession of our sins they go to the throne of grace, the mercy seat of Christ, where Saviour from sin.
LATER--- Those who refuse to repent and confess their sins today will have their sins follow them to the judgment. Romans 2:5 declares that the wicked treasure up wrath "against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. " When they stand before God and He opens the books (Revelation 20:11-15) all their unforgiven deeds will be there to prove them guilty and damned to the lake of fire. Judgment for sin now through forgiveness at the mercy seat is a much easier judgment than the future one will be at the great white throne so why not send your sins to judgment now?
6. You will lose self and selfish interests.
NOW--- Jesus said, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:24-26)
LATER--- Many feel the price of losing friends, possessions, and personal pursuits is too high a price. Yet if they refuse to give up now, they will lose these things later anyway, but at a far greater price. So why not lose yourself now?
7. You will suffer.
NOW--- "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" ( 2 Timothy 3:12) No Christian escapes suffering persecution, although it may be only ridicule or mockery behind his back. Nevertheless, Christ pledges " that if we suffer, we shall also reign with him. "
LATER--- The sufferings of the Christian here, however, are not to be compared with the experience of the sinner throughout eternity, for there they will be " suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. " Each one will suffer at the hands of the world now, or at the hands of God eternally. So why not suffer now?
These 7 things you will assuredly do---now or later. God's special offer is only for those who act now.
-Aaron Shank
http://californiabible.org
"Special offer-today only!" Salesmen frequently present special offers to customers who choose to make a purchase the same day.
Jesus Christ is making a similar proposal. There are a number of things that everyone will do- either before death or after death. Christ declares that if you act NOW, on the things which you will do later anyway, He has a special offer, and that is the salvation of your soul.
Let's note 7 things which you will do now or later.
1. You will hear the call of Christ.
NOW---"Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live" (John 5:25) The dead referred to here are those spiritually dead in sin, yet physically alive. Today, Jesus is calling to everyone who is dead in trespasses and sins. "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
LATER--- If this tender call of Jesus is refused now, "The hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth" (John 5:28,29)
To reject Jesus' tender call today is to later hear His loud and thunderous call to the judgment bar of God. So why not answer today?
2. You will call on God for mercy.
NOW--- the Bible urges us to "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near"(Isaiah 55:6) God's ear is anxiously listening for any calls for mercy.
LATER--- He is nearby, ready to pardon. But the time is coming when men shall call for mercy and God will mock. Notice why. "Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh... Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me" (Proverbs 1: 24-28) So why not call for mercy now?
3. You will confess that Jesus is Lord.
NOW---The promise of today is "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" (Romans 10:9)
LATER--- If this confession is not made now, God has declared "That at the name of Jesus EVERY knee should bow... and that EVERY tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord... " Those waiting until the Judgment Day to confess Jesus, will confess to their own condemnation. So why not confess Him now?
4. You will forsake sin.
NOW--- The command to the Christian is "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts therof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God... " (Romans 6:12,13) The child of God forsakes sin now because he simply cannot go to heaven with the sins and lusts of this world.
LATER--- But neither can one go to hell and take this world's sinful thrills with him; for "the world passeth away, and the lust thereof. " The pleasures
of sin are only for a season. There will be no sinful pleasures in hell; no immorality, no liquor, no tobacco; only suffering and torment. So why not forsake sin now?
5. You will find a judgment for sin.
NOW--- I John 1:9 tells us that "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. " when we make proper confession of our sins they go to the throne of grace, the mercy seat of Christ, where Saviour from sin.
LATER--- Those who refuse to repent and confess their sins today will have their sins follow them to the judgment. Romans 2:5 declares that the wicked treasure up wrath "against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. " When they stand before God and He opens the books (Revelation 20:11-15) all their unforgiven deeds will be there to prove them guilty and damned to the lake of fire. Judgment for sin now through forgiveness at the mercy seat is a much easier judgment than the future one will be at the great white throne so why not send your sins to judgment now?
6. You will lose self and selfish interests.
NOW--- Jesus said, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:24-26)
LATER--- Many feel the price of losing friends, possessions, and personal pursuits is too high a price. Yet if they refuse to give up now, they will lose these things later anyway, but at a far greater price. So why not lose yourself now?
7. You will suffer.
NOW--- "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" ( 2 Timothy 3:12) No Christian escapes suffering persecution, although it may be only ridicule or mockery behind his back. Nevertheless, Christ pledges " that if we suffer, we shall also reign with him. "
LATER--- The sufferings of the Christian here, however, are not to be compared with the experience of the sinner throughout eternity, for there they will be " suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. " Each one will suffer at the hands of the world now, or at the hands of God eternally. So why not suffer now?
These 7 things you will assuredly do---now or later. God's special offer is only for those who act now.
-Aaron Shank
http://californiabible.org
