This is a question that can apply to many areas of life. Employers ask this of employees that want to follow other jobs. Parents ask it of children who don’t want to obey. People ask it of one another when a relationship is about to break up, but the most important time this question is asked is in reference to a relationship with Jesus Christ.
If you are a Christian, what did it take for you to decide to become one? Was it the knowledge that He loved you enough to die in your place on the cross? In John 15:13, Jesus teaches us that there is no greater love than the love of dying for a friend. The most valuable possession we have is our life. To willingly give it up for someone else shows the utmost extent of love. If that were not enough, think about a love that causes a person to die for His enemies. That is what Romans 5:10 teaches about the love that Christ has for us. Was love your deciding point?
John 15:13 “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
Romans 5:10 “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”
For many, the decision to become a Christian was determined by circumstances that God allowed in their lives. It may have been an illness that brought them to a realization of the frailty of life. When you are lying on your back and have nowhere to look but up, it puts a different perspective on how you have lived your life and where you will spend eternity. In I Peter 1:24, our lives are compared to grass. It withers away in the cooler times of the year. Spring and summer end quickly, and it is gone. Compared to eternity, this life is but a season that quickly comes and goes. Was the uncertainty of life your deciding point?
I Peter 1:24 “For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withered, and the flower thereof falleth away:”
What about the fear of eternal punishment in Hell? That definitely was a determining factor for me. The mere thought of burning forever, separated from God and all that is good sent me to my knees. Jesus said in Matthew 25:41, Hell was prepared for the devil and his angels. The great deceiver and hater of anything good will be in Hell. Peter tells us in I Peter 5:8, that he seeks to destroy us. In Matthew 13:50, Jesus said it will be a place of fire where there will be wailing and gnashing their teeth. Jesus taught in Mark 9:48 that the fire will not be quenched, and the worm dies not. It is the most gruesome tormenting place imaginable. It is a place of no retreat. It is a place we should all fear and do everything we can to avoid. Was the fear of eternal punishment in Hell your deciding point?
Matthew 25:41 “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:”
Matthew 13:50 “And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
Mark 9:48 “Where their worm dies not, and the fire is not quenched.”
What about tragic events to get our attention? God is God, and He can do and use anything to get our attention. He does that because it would be better for us to suffer events here than to spend eternity in Hell. He used tragic events in the bible. In Numbers chapter 16, God judged the wickedness of Korah and the people to get their attention to turn back to Him. He caused an earthquake and a plague to turn them back to Him before it was too late. In Acts 12:21-24, God judged Herod to get the attention of those who were following him. He equated himself with God. God will share His glory with no one. A false god will lead people to death in Hell, a place that God went to extreme lengths to provide a way to escape. Because of Herod’s death, the word of God multiplied, and people were saved. In our time period, we have seen many tragedies that have given people the opportunity to turn back to Him. I believe the horrific events of 9/11 were used to get America’s attention. God did not cause it, but He used it to wake us up. Covid should also be a warning to us of the uncertainty of life. A life that can and should be committed to God. Was it a tragedy that got your attention?
Act 12:21–24 “And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost. But the word of God grew and multiplied.”
What is it going to take to get you to trust and obey with your whole heart? Will it be His love for you, the uncertainty of life, the fear of eternal punishment in Hell, or a tragedy that causes you to get serious about your relationship with Him? Now is the time to decide for Christ, while there is still time. He wants sinners to be saved, and those who are saved to be sold out to Him alone.
