Now! Sermon

 "BEHOLD, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."

(2 Cor. 6:2.)

"Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts." (Heb. 4:7.)

There is a prevalent idea extant in the world today that there is no

particular hurry about obeying God; that it is all right to take plenty of time

to think it over. This is of the devil, devilish. After one knows what God will

have him do, but refuses to do it, he must harden his heart to keep from doing

it. This is indeed a dangerous process.

Perhaps you remember that Jesus said this to a certain man: "Follow me.

But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto

him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of

God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid

them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No

man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom

of God." (Luke 9:59-62.) From this we would learn that the Lord expects us

to obey immediately. There is no tarrying. There is no looking back. Nothing

must take precedence over our obedience to God—not even burying loved

ones and bidding farewell. Christ expected these men to follow him

immediately. They knew they should follow him, so they must not harden

their hearts. Every time we harden our hearts it becomes that much more

difficult to follow the Lord. The time to follow him is immediately upon

learning of him. To delay obedience means to harden your heart. God says do

not do this.

We turn to Acts 13 and we have there the gist of a wonderful sermon Paul

preached in Antioch of Pisidia. The Jews spoke against those things which

were spoken of Paul, contradieting and blaspheming. How did these inspired preachers meet this

situation? ''Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary

that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put

it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to

the Gentiles." (Verse 46.) Paul preached the truth to them, they refused to

hear it, and then Paul turned from them. "But they shook off the dust of their

feet against them, and came unto Iconium." (Verse 51.)

Paul went to Corinth. He reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and

Greeks. ''And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul

was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. And

when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and

said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from

henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles." (Acts 18:5, 6.) Paul thought there was

no use of wasting efforts on folks who would oppose themselves and

blaspheme. He turned from them, and he was clean in thus turning. Their

blood was upon their own heads. We cannot make people obey the gospel.

We can preach it to them plainly and kindly. If they will not obey, their blood

is on their own heads, not on ours. There are those who v. ill obey, and we

ought to do as Paul did at Corinth—turn to them.

If people will not obey the gospel, they are left without excuse. It is too

plain to be misunderstood. The mysteries have been made plain relative to our

obedience to God. "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the

world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his

eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse." (Rom. 1:20.)

When God says people are without excuse, it must be so.

We have a record of two men who learned the truth of the gospel, and

then asked for more time. Felix needed some plain gospel preaching. He got

it at the hands of Paul. Paul took for his subject, "Righteousness, temperance,

and judgment tocome." The preaching was so powerful that it made this wicked man tremble.

But he hardened his heart. He knew what he ought to do, but he postponed

his obedience, and never did obey. ''Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way

for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.'' (Acts

24:25) That "convenient season" never came. It never does. Quitting

wickedness and sin is a very inconvenient something. When gospel preaching

makes a man tremble, he had better obey right then.

King Agrippa postponed his obedience and died a miserable death. No

greater sermon was even preached than the one preached by Paul to Agrippa.

Read it in Acts 26. After the king had heard the marvelous sermon, he said

unto Paul: ''Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.'' (Acts 26:28.)

Almost, but lost! He hardened his heart. He was not ready to quit sin.

In New Testament conversion all who obeyed the gospel obeyed it when

they first heard it. On the birthday of the church the ones who obeyed did it

on the first sermon they heard. "Then they that gladly received his word were

baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand

souls." (Acts 2:41.) "Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and

preached Christ unto them. And the people with one accord gave heed unto

those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did

.... But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the

kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men

and women.'' (Acts 8:5-12.) The eunuch heard one sermon and obeyed. (Acts

8:26-40.) Paul obeyed the moment he was told what to do to be saved. (Acts

9.) Cornelius heard one gospel sermon and obeyed. (Acts 10.) Lydia heard the

first sermon and obeyed. (Acts 16:13-15.) The jailer heard the gospel and was

baptized the same hour of the night. (Acts 16:24-34.)

After a man hears the gospel and does not obey it. he is adding sin to sin.

He begins to commit a new sin. "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good,

and doeth it not. to him it is sin."(James 4:17.) Of course this will go for members of the church too. There is

no more dangerous sin than a willful sin. "For if we sin wilfully after that we

have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice

for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation,

which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without

mercy under two or three witnesses: of how much sorer punishment, suppose

ye, shall he be thought worthy!, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God.

and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an

unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?" (Heb. 10:26-

29.)

And, brother, when the saints assemble and you forsake the assembly, you

have ''trodden under foot the Son of God" and "counted the blood of the

covenant ... an unholy thing." Do not forget that the passage here quoted

comes immediately after Heb. 10:25, which says: "Not forsaking the

assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one

another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." You had

better think of this next Lord's-day evening. Think of it every Lord's-day

morning. Think of it on the midweek prayer meeting night. Think of it every

night of the revival. Do not harden your heart. Do not trample the Son of God

under foot. Do not count the blood of the covenant an unholy thing.

When we refuse to obey the truth as revealed by the Holy Spirit, we are

rejecting the Holy Spirit. Jesus said: "Wherefore I say unto you, All manner

of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against

the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a

word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh

against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world,

neither in the world to come." (Matt. 12:31, 32.)

"Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."