Articles
Be Saved Today
I learned to swim in a lake in Georgia. An older friend of the family decided to teach me the “old-fashioned way” which consisted of tossing me off the end of a pier and telling me to swim to the shore. Did I know how to swim? No. Did I learn how to swim properly? No. But I did learn how to flail around in the water and make a lot of noise and even more splash. I yelled for help while he laughed. I doggy-paddled toward the shore, only to be hoisted off my feet, carried to the end of the pier, and tossed out into the water again! To be honest, it’s amazing I’m willing to stick my toes in the water anymore.
This illustrates sinners in a lost world. We are merely kids in the water, splashing desperately, shouting “save me!” to a world that can do nothing for us. We are lost and dying. We are drowning in sin. We are unable to get out of our mess. We need to be saved!
God does this for us. He tosses out a lifeline called grace. He provides this grace for us through the sacrifice of Jesus. He stands as our lifeguard, patiently and lovingly waits for us to grab the lifeline that is in the reach of each of us. He wants to rescue us and has provided the way for our salvation. He shouts to us to trust Him, grab the lifeline, and He will pull us in to safety.
Yet, we bear some of the responsibility for our salvation. We must accept the salvation offered by God by grabbing the lifeline He has tossed to us. This requires trusting that He will save us like He has offered (faith). We must desire to get out of the water we are drowning in (repentance). We must trust that doing things His way, like grabbing the lifeline, will cause us to be safe (confession). We must actually grab the rope He has tossed us by which He will save us (baptism).
Who among us would not accept rescue, if we were drowning?
Many will. There are drowning people who don’t want to get out of the water. There are people who have decided not to trust the lifeguard standing on the pier offering help. They will argue about the necessity of the rope. Or the effectiveness of the rope. Or the purpose of the rope. They argue all of these things to their own demise, while drowning and dying in sin.
Don’t be foolish today. Look around you and decide where you are. Are you drowning in sin? Are you in the water, helpless and desperate? Don’t allow the day to go by without being rescued. Grab the spiritual lifeline of baptism and let God wash away the sins which are killing you. Be saved today.
“The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble” (Psalm 37:39).
