Oh, the unbelievable horror of putting off Christ! The eternal sadness of waiting one day too long is like the terror of those who missed the ark in the days of Noah, or those who failed to escape Sodom and Gomorrah when they had the opportunity. Think of the scoffing thief who died Christless within inches of the Savior—at the very moment Jesus sacrificed Himself on an adjacent cross. Think of the multitudes at the Great White Throne Judgment who will frantically insist their names "must surely" be written somewhere in the Lamb's Book of Life. But they will have waited too long.

When We Don't Have the Promise of Tomorrow…

The Bible warns that every human being is subject to sudden death. No one has the promise of another day or hour. We never know when we'll be swept into eternity by a car wreck, a heart attack, an act of violence, a natural disaster, or freak accident. There is a story of two Canadians who were killed by an airborne black bear that smashed through the windshield of their SUV. The bear had been struck by a car in the oncoming lane, catapulting it like a 440–pound missile into their vehicle.

Thousands of people will die today, and many don't see it coming. They woke up this morning, showered, dressed, grabbed a cup of coffee, and dashed out the door never dreaming they were leaving their doorstep for the final time.

The Bible teaches that our days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle (Job 7:6), like flowers that quickly fade (Job 14:2), and like a mist that appears for a little time then vanishes (James 4:14).

Jesus told the story of a rich man who lived in affluence while a beggar named Lazarus lived nearby in squalor (Luke 16:19–31). The beggar was ready for eternity. When he died he was carried away to be with Abraham and the saints of all the ages. But when the rich man died, he found himself in Hades. Jesus said, "Being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and … cried and said, "Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue" (Luke 16:23–24).

But it wasn't possible, and that man is still there, today, without a whisper of hope. One of the worst things about hell is that one's memory doesn't die. The inhabitants of hell will remember all the opportunities they spurned. They'll remember church services they attended, tracts they did not read, invitations they shrugged off, and Bibles they disregarded.

One thought that tormented the rich man was the idea of his brothers joining him. He longed for Lazarus to go to his father's house to warn them "lest they also come to this place of torment" (verse 28).

When I worked on the freight docks during seminary years, I met some of the hardest men I've ever known. I tried to witness to them. Sometimes I'd ask them what they thought would happen to them when they died. Often the response was something like this: "Well, I'm going to hell. All my friends will be in hell, and that's where I want to be. We're going to have a great time."

Don't you let your mind trick you like that. The rich man in Luke 16 didn't want his relatives with him. He didn't want his brothers there. Hell is not a place of fellowship. Hell is the most lonely place you could imagine. It's foolish to think so flippantly of one's eternal destiny. It's foolish to wait too long to be saved, to wait until the day after.

In his book, One Minute After You Die, Erwin Lutzer writes of those who, a minute after death, "will be shrouded in darkness, a region of deprivation and unending regret. There, with their memories and feelings fully intact, images of their life on earth will return to haunt them. They will think back to their friends, family and relatives; they will brood over opportunities they squandered and intuitively know that their future is both hopeless and unending."

Writing vividly, Lutzer said, "While relatives and friends plan your funeral—deciding on a casket, a burial plot, and who the pallbearers shall be—you will be more alive than you have ever been. You will either see God on His throne surrounded by angels and redeemed humanity, or you will feel an indescribable weight of guilt and abandonment."¹

Are you ready to meet Christ? Or are you in danger of waiting a day too long?

We Need to Prepare Today!

A prominent judge was raised in a Christian home by godly parents, but he never professed his personal faith in Christ. He married a woman who became a radiant believer. At the time of their marriage, he gave her the promise that he would get saved. She frequently reminded her husband of his promise, only to be put off with the words, "Sometime I will get saved, not now."

This continued until the wife contracted a serious illness and died shortly afterward. Her final pleadings were for his salvation, but he continued to put off a decision.

One night the judge had a vivid dream, and his whole life appeared before him as a panorama, scene after scene. He saw himself as an infant in the arms of a godly mother. He saw himself as a child listening to his mother's prayers. He saw himself as a young man, drifting into dark company and bad habits as his mother knelt earnestly in her home, interceding for him. Then he saw his wife and heard her voice pleading with him to be saved. In his dream, he could hear himself saying, "Sometime, not now … Sometime, not now …"

Then came a vivid scene of his own death, and he saw himself in the lake of fire. He could hear the shrieks and moaning of lost souls, and he heard the jeering ridicule of demons around him who were snickering, "Sometime I'll get saved. Not now." They roared with laughter and cried: "It is too late now!"

The judge awoke in terror …

But I don't know the end of the story. This is a true account of a judge who corresponded with evangelist E. E. Byrum. In his 1903 book, What Shall I Do to Be Saved? Byrum recounted the story, but for some reason he doesn't tell us whether or not this judge ever yielded his life to Christ. It's left for us to wonder.²

What about you? Have you yielded your life to Christ or is your attitude the same as that of the procrastinating judge: "Someday I'll get saved—not now"?

The Bible uses the word NOW to express the urgency of salvation.

Acts 17:30 says, "God … NOW commands all men everywhere to repent."

The apostle Paul said, "Behold, NOW is the accepted time; behold, NOW is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2).

The Book of Isaiah says, " 'Come NOW, and let us reason together,' says the LORD. 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow…' " (Isaiah 1:18).

Evangelist John R. Rice once preached a sermon in which he said that over half of all Christians are saved before the age of fifteen. That statement was carried in a local newspaper in Dubuque, Iowa. Later when Rice went to Dubuque for a revival campaign, a high school student came forward during the invitation. He had read Rice's sermon in the paper, and through tears he said, "I read where over half of the people who ever get saved are saved before they are fifteen. I am just fifteen years old! Oh, I hope I haven't waited too long to be saved!"

He was wise, said Rice. He trusted Christ that night.³

I hope you aren't waiting too long to be saved. If you'd like to trust Christ as your Savior NOW, let me suggest a simple prayer you can sincerely offer to the Lord before you close this article: Dear God, right now I confess my sins. I don't want to delay another moment. I invite Jesus into my heart to be my Savior. Today I confess Him as my Lord. I claim His promise of eternal life. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Let today be your day of salvation!

¹Erwin Lutzer, One Minute After You Die (Chicago: Moody Press, 1997), 10.

²E. E. Byrum, What Must I Do to Be Saved? (Anderson, IN: Gospel Trumpet Company, 1903), 166–179.

³John R. Rice, The Bible Garden (Murfreesboro, TN: Sword of the Lord Publishers, 1982), 125.