The Day After This Life

Oh, the unbelievable horror of putting off Christ! The eternal sadness of waiting one day too long! It’s akin to the terror of those who delayed boarding the ark with Noah or the scoffing thief who died Christless within inches of Christ Himself! Think of the multitudes at the Throne of Judgment who will insist their names “must surely” be written in the Book of Life. But they waited too long.

When We Don’t Have the Promise of Tomorrow…

            The Bible warns that no one has the promise of another day or hour. We never know when we’ll be swept into eternity by a wreck, a heart attack, a violent act, a natural disaster, or freak accident. Thousands will die today and never see it coming. They woke up this morning and dashed out the door, never dreaming they were leaving their doorstep for the final time. The Bible teaches our days are like a mist that appears for a little time then vanishes (James 4:14).

            In Luke 16:19-31 Jesus tells of a man living in affluence while a beggar, Lazarus, lived in squalor. Lazarus was ready for eternity. When he died, he went to be with the saints. 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….and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue’” (Luke 16:23-24). That wasn’t possible, and there he still is without a hope.

            I worked on the freight docks during seminary, meeting some of the hardest men I’ve ever known. Asking what they thought would happen to them after death, I heard: “I'm going to hell. All my friends will be there. That’s where I want to be. We’ll have a great time.” Don’t let your mind trick you like that. The rich man didn’t want his brothers joining him. He wanted Lazarus to warn them, “lest they also come to this place of torment” (verse 28). Hell is not a place of fellowship. How foolish to think so flippantly of one’s eternal destiny.

We Need to Prepare Today!

            A prominent judge, raised by godly parents, never personally professed faith, but married a believer. At their marriage, he promised to get saved, but always said, “Sometime I will get saved, not now.” This continued until the wife died. Her final pleadings were for his salvation, but he continued to put off a decision. One night he had a vivid dream, his whole life before him as a panorama. He saw himself an infant in the arms of a godly mother, a child listening to his mother’s prayers, a young man drifting into bad habits, his mother kneeling, interceding for him. He saw his wife pleading with him to be saved. He heard himself saying, “Sometime, not now.” He saw his own death and himself in the lake of fire. He heard moanings of lost souls, and jeering ridicule of demons who snickered, “Sometime I’ll get saved. Not now.” They cried, “Too late now!” He awoke in terror. 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 doesn’t tell whether this judge was ever saved. We’re left to wonder.[1]

Have you yielded your life to Christ or is your attitude like the judge: “Someday I’ll get saved. Not now.” The Bible uses the word NOW to express the urgency of salvation. Paul said, “Behold, NOW is the accepted time; behold, NOW is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2, emphasis added). 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, emphasis added).

I hope you aren’t waiting too long. If you’d like to trust Christ NOW, here is a simple prayer you can sincerely offer to the Lord: Dear God, right now I confess my sins. I don’t want to delay another moment. I now invite Jesus into my heart to be my Savior, confess Him as my Lord, and claim His promise of eternal life. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Let today be for you the day of salvation!

David Jeremiah is the senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church and the founder and host of Turning Point for God. For more information about Dr. Jeremiah or Turning Point, visit www.DavidJeremiah.org.