Don't Wait Till It Is Too Late

G. Paulraj

Introduction

In 2 Timothy 4:2 Apostle Paul encouraged young Timothy to be instant season and out of season to preach the word. Or in other words he told Timothy to be urgent whether the times be prosperous or adverse, whenever there is an opportunity; and when there is none, strive to make one. The Judge is at the door, and to every man eternity is at hand! Wherever we meet unsaved souls we are share the word of reconciliation. We cannot blame the place or the time because all the time and place belong to God, and are proper for his work. Wherever it can be done, there it should be done. Satan may discourage us to make use of available time and to win the lost however we are not encouraged to waste our time that we may be the instrument of salvation to many. Unfortunately today we are all prone to ignore and delay to take advantage of golden opportunities to preach the word. We are indifferent to preach Christ who was crucified for the sins of the whole world. In spiritual realm we should not either make any delay to preach the Gospel or to accept it when we hear it. Let us spend some time to know the consequences either side.  

Do not delay to preach the Gospel

According to the experts 3 people die every second. If this fact is true, then 180 people die every minute, 10,800 people die every hour, 259,200 people die every day, and 94,608,000 people die every year. Of the six billion people on earth today, experts also say that 2/3 of them have never heard the Gospel one time. If these percentages hold true, then 63, 103,536 people die every year without ever hearing the Gospel one time! Not everyone that has heard the Gospel one time accepts the Gospel. Therefore, many more people die every year without hearing the Gospel! If you are here today and don’t know Christ as your personal Savior, DO NOT WAIT TOO LATE!

We believe that if our friends, neighbors, and business associates are not Christians, they are lost. In describing the condition of the Ephesians before they became Christians the Lord said, “That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12). This is the condition of every lost soul on earth, and every Christian knows that this is so. We know that it is dangerous for the sinner to delay obeying the gospel because life is so short, and the winter of death will soon come. We must do what we can to save the lost, and we must act while there is an opportunity. Our Lord set the example for us when he said, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work” (John 9:4). If we wait to speak to our neighbor we may be too late. Let us act before winter.

Read the following instance to know the consequences of delayed Gospel. Alila stood on the beach holding her tiny infant son close to her heart. Tears welled in her eyes as she began slowly walking toward the river's edge. She stepped into the water, silently making her way out until she was waist deep, and the water gently lapping at the sleeping baby's feet. She stood there for a long time holding the child tightly as she stared out across the river. Then all of a sudden in one quick movement she threw the six month old baby to his watery death. Native missionary M.V. Varghese often witnesses among the crowds who gather at the Ganges. It was he who came upon Alila that day kneeling in the sand crying uncontrollably and beating her breast. With compassion he knelt down next to her and asked her what was wrong.

Through her sobs she told him, "The problems in my home are too many and my sins are heavy on my heart, so I offered the best I have to the goddess Ganges, my first born son." Brother Varghese's heart ached for the desperate woman. As she wept he gently began to tell her about the love of Jesus and that through Him her sins could be forgiven. She looked at him strangely. "I have never heard that before," she replied through her tears. "Why couldn't you have come thirty minutes earlier? If you did, my child would not have had to die." Each year millions of people come to the holy Indian city of Hardwar to bathe in the River Ganges. These multitudes come believing this Hindu ritual will wash their sins away. For many people like Alila, we are arriving too late, simply because there aren't enough of these faithful brothers and sisters on the mission field.

Do not delay  to obey the Gospel

On one hand believers are making delay to preach the Gospel but on the other hand many non believers are just ignore or postpone to accept the salvific message of the Gospel. The Lord says, “Today if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts” (Hebrews 3:7, 8). This admonition is given because of the danger people run when they delay obedience to the gospel. The Lord never says TOMORROW, but TODAY. You cannot find one place within the Bible where it says, “Believe in Christ tomorrow, repent and baptized tomorrow.” It is dangerous to say, “Tomorrow” when the Holy Spirit says, “Today.” The Christ who would save us asks us not to wait till tomorrow, when the leaves are stripped from the fields and when the snow lies on the mountains. He asks us to come before life is over and before we have stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Don't wait till it’s too late. Come to Christ and obey the gospel while you still have time. Jesus said, “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he who does not believe shall be condemned.”

Procrastination can keep you from becoming a Christian. That’s what happened to two people we meet in Acts 24, Felix and Drusilla. Some background on these two individuals will help you understand their spiritual condition. Felix was Antonius Felix Greek by birth; he gained his appointment as Roman Procurator of Judea from his brother. Drusilla, Felix’s wife, was one of three daughters of Herod Agrippa I. Felix induced her to leave her husband and marry him. Her father, Herod Agrippa I, was the one who murdered James, the brother of John, and tried to murder Peter as well (Acts 12). Her great-uncle, Herod Antipas, was the one who executed John the Baptist, and her great-grandfather, Herod the Great, was the one who ordered the murder of all the baby boys in Bethlehem in an attempt to eliminate Jesus. This was Drusilla’s family heritage they were spiritually dark, to say the least.

Paul spoke to Felix and Drusilla about his faith in Christ, and about three further points: “… righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come.” That sermon was well-suited to Paul’s audience that day because Felix and Drusilla were definitely needy in all three areas. Their marriage was immoral and their backgrounds were filled with spiritual darkness. They no doubt felt quite uncomfortable at Paul’s words.

Then Paul moved on to self-control, another foreign word to them. They were used to doing whatever they wanted, unencumbered by moral restraints of any kind. And Facing down the Giant of Procrastination then he concluded with the natural outcome of unrighteousness and lack of self control—judgment. Paul told them there is a Judge sitting on a throne much larger than the throne of the Procurator of Judea; even the throne of the Emperor himself in Rome. Someday, Paul told them, they would stand before that Judge and He would call them to account for their sins. That must have been some sermon, one that Felix and Drusilla never imagined they would hear when they woke up that morning.

“Felix was afraid” as a result of what he had heard from Paul—he was “terrified”. God had spoken mightily to Felix’s heart, and he was overtaken by fear at the prospect of future judgment in light of his past and present life. But then, at the very time when he could have had all of his fears relieved, Felix said that most dangerous of words (in a manner of speaking): “Tomorrow.” Felix sent Paul away, saying he would call for him again at a more convenient time. Felix procrastinated, didn’t he? He put off life’s most important, and sometimes most difficult task—getting right with the God who created, and who will judge, us all. We don’t know if Felix ever believed the gospel of Christ or not. Given his initial response, we would say the likelihood was not good. Even if he did later, we do know that he passed up the first chance God gave him to be saved. He put off until a “convenient time” that which he should have grasped immediately. There is never a “convenient time” to be saved. The time to be saved is when God shows you your need. Who knows whether you will ever sense that need again?

First of all, procrastination gives us the impression that we are in control of tomorrow. It does not take into account the uncertainty of life. If we knew for certain that tomorrow would come, perhaps we could put off some things. But who knows what life holds past today, past this minute? No one. (Proverbs 27:1 “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.).

Scripture uses eighteen different metaphors to remind us of the transitory nature of life. For instance, life is like a vapor, here one minute and gone the next. Who would try to build their future on a vapor? That would be a foolish prospect indeed. Facing Down the Giant of Procrastination To assume we can put off until tomorrow that which we should do today is a prescription for remorse—possibly eternal remorse

Are you putting off until tomorrow a decision about your own salvation? Or a decision to begin walking as a committed disciple of Christ, laying aside the things of this world and living only for Him? Perhaps you hear the gospel presented, and you keep telling yourself you need to respond and get things settled with God. If you are putting this off, you are building your future on a foundation of vapor. You do not know what tomorrow will bring. Today is the day for salvation.

There is a classic story about procrastination and it goes like this. An eagle was flying high over the Niagara River on a cold and wintry day. He saw a dead bullock (young bull) floating down river. He thought to himself, "What a great feast!" He landed and sank his talons deep into the carcass and began to feed on it. He thoroughly enjoyed the feast and was unwilling to let it go. He thought that he had plenty of time to withdraw. He continued to eat. He decided that he would let go at the last minute. Not long after that he was approaching the falls. He tried to fly away. However, he was in for a rude awakening when he found that his feet were frozen to the carcass. In the end, he fell with the carcass. The finest attractions of this world become deadly when we become overly attached to them. They may take us to our destruction if we cannot give them up. The most dangerous of all delusions is that there is plenty of time. Therefore today is the day of your salvation do not procrastinate it to tomorrow.  

Conclusion

If you are here and do not have a burden for souls that you should, DO NOT WAIT TOO LATE! If you are here and are holding back your life from serving God, DO NOT WAIT TOO LATE! WHEN YOU WAIT TOO LATE, THERE IS NO SECOND CHANCES!!!