“But he who does not believe is condemned already,
because he has not believed in the name of the only
begotten Son of God.” — John 3:18
A minister once said, “I have the most marvelous news for lost sinners, if only I could find one.” He added, “The problem with most people in America is not getting them saved. They think they are saved already. The problem is getting them lost.”
Unless we understand the bad news, we can’t begin to appreciate the good news. Jesus says the world is condemned already. But so many people suppose that if they just live a reasonably decent life, it will be all right with them in the end and they will finally make it.
It was 12:45 A.M. on April 15, 1912, when the first lifeboat was lowered from the stricken Titanic, one hour after the ship struck the iceberg. The passengers were told that they must leave the ship. Many of them didn’t believe it. Even if the ship was taking on water, they were quite confident they were in no danger. Surely this ship couldn’t sink, after all, a White Star Line employee at the time of Titanic’s launch on May 31, 1911 had said, “Not even God himself could sink this ship.” So they went inside into the warmth of the interior chambers and refused the offer of a lifeboat. Most of them died. They couldn’t accept the good news that there was a place in the lifeboat for them, because they wouldn’t accept the bad news that they were in danger of perishing.
We cannot be saved until we first recognize that we are lost and need to be saved.
Dear Lord, how permanent this life seems to be. But in reality, how fleeting it is. Help us to live for eternity and not just for the very short time of our earthly sojourn. Give us strength for today to share the Gospel with those who are lost, even if they don’t know it…
© 2019 by D. James Kennedy Ministries
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