BDCMINISTRIES

Now

Isaiah 1:18 NKJV — “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool."

2 Corinthians 6:2 NKJV — For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

Romans 13:11 NKJV — And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.

Our Appointment

We read," And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation (Hebrews 9:27-28 NKJV).

I am not sure if the certainty of death is appointed to us or if the exact time of our death is appointed, but either way, at some point we are going to die unless we are saved and alive at the rapture.  There is an "after this" for everyone who dies.  The judgment here appears to be a judgment with regard to whether the person was "eagerly waiting for Him."  If they were, the Lord appears a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.  If they were not waiting for him when they die, it appears that their judgment is eternal condemnation.

My Friend

Recently, a close friend of mine was called home.  We had studied the Bible together for over 40 years.  I have many acquaintances but he turned out to be a true friend.  He was forced to leave the American University at Beirut because of the 1973 war.  He lost everything and ended up in Waverly in 1976, the same year that I opened an office as a CPA there.  He took a position at Wartburg and needed a CPA since he had foreign income.  I was the one recommended to him.  We were casual friends for many years.  But I remember the day he agreed to study the Bible with me.  About three sessions in, we got to John 3:36.  I asked him if he had eternal life.  I also asked him if he was in the first part of the verse or the last part.  He didn't answer either question as we sat in McDonald's having a cup of coffee.  As he got up to leave, he said, "I know I have eternal life."  I was surprised to hear him say that.  At our next session a week later, he asked me if I remembered what he had said.  Of course, I had remembered.  He said he had never told anyone that before and he was telling me things he had never discussed with anyone, because "religion" was for him a private matter.  But what interested me was that he said, "There are things that have bothered me all my life that are not bothering me now!"  I believe he had passed from death to life in that previous session.  While his homecall was expected at some point since he was over 100 years old, it still was a shock.  But I take comfort in the fact that he seemed to understand that a believer in the Son had eternal life.  

Over the years we studied the whole of the Bible in its context.  While he was always impressed with my ability to find and explain passages, I am quite sure that in later years his understanding of the Bible exceeded many of those people who preach from pulpits today.  We didn't study books about the Bible, we studied the Bible.  When we got done with our reading of the whole Bible we began to look at subject studies.  I learned a lot by studying with him and I know that he learned a lot by studying with me.  I am certainly going to miss him and these study sessions.

NOW

That word "now" has been impressed upon my mind these last few days.  First of all the Lord says to come NOW and reason together.  This is a message to the nation of Israel who were and are disobedient children.  However, in the passage we are told that there is forgiveness for Israel as a nation and for those of us reading this passage today.  The verse says, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool."  When Israel as a nation finally confesses that they murdered their Messiah, God will forgive that believing remnant and make them the centerpiece of His coming earthly Kingdom.  If God can forgive the nation, He can forgive us.  There is no sin so great that it cannot be forgiven.  

But we need to remember that this is not something that we deal with when we are about to cross over into eternity.  NOW is the day of salvation.  We don't know what each day holds for us personally and we need to prepare now while our minds are good and while we have the opportunity to reason with the Lord.  Even Solomon reminds us that it is best to do this in our youth, rather than late in life.  He says, "Remember NOW your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the difficult days come, And the years draw near when you say, “I have no pleasure in them (Ecclesiastes 12:1 NKJV)."

Sleeping Saints

We live in a day in the United States when Christians are not taking the command to preach the Gospel as found in John 3 seriously.  There is a tendency to tell everyone before they die that they cannot KNOW that they will be in heaven when they die. However, most preachers seem to know that the person in the casket is in heaven when they preach their funerals.  It is better to know our eternal destiny before we die and not assume all will be well after we die. We should be energized by the fact that many people will go into eternity, even today, and most of them will die unsaved.

Paul reminds the Romans that there was a time when they believed (or trusted in the Lord).  But NOW our salvation (not the new birth but the deliverance from the presence of sin at the rapture), is nearer than when we believed.  Paul wrote that 2000 years ago.  How much closer is His coming today.  Peter tells us that the reason that the Lord has not come is because He is not willing that any should perish.  He says, "The Lord is not slack (slow) concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9 NKJV)."  Peter has noted in this passage that people will be saying, "Where is the promise of His coming?"  And Peter makes it clear that the reason the Lord has not come the second time is that He still wants more to be saved.  However many Christians who are saved are sleeping instead of preaching.  They are like the ten wise virgins who had oil in their lamps but who were sleeping while they waited for the bridegroom (See Mattew 25:1-13).

What do we Lose by Believing the Bible?

Many people tell me that I am believing a fantasy.  Normally these people are atheists or agnostics.  I tell them knowing is more important than believing because we can all believe what we want to believe and we may not be believing the truth.  However, the apostle John tells us, "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may KNOW that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God (1 John 5:13 NKJV)."  I KNOW I am saved based on the promises that God has made me.  But I am a risk averter.  If I should be wrong in trusting the Bible, when I die I have lost nothing.  But if a person who rejects the Bible and the Christ of the Bible dies and finds out they are wrong, they have lost everything.

I believe my friend has found out that the Bible he studied with me is and was dependable and I believe that he is enjoying the presence of the Lord today.  His bodily weakness and pain is behind him.  Only glory and blessing is his now.  All because of a simple truth.  He BELIEVED God.

Bruce Collins

Meditation for the week of March 9, 2025

If you would like further conversation about the issues in these meditations, contact me at collinsbd@yahoo.com and I will try to accommodate you with a virtual Bible Study.

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