In the Nick of Time
And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. 1 Thessalonians 2:13
Last week I was telling my husband the story of an older woman who had come to know the Lord. She had been invited to go to a Bible Study by a friend. She had retired and the friend thought she would enjoy the time out.
She was reluctant and quiet at first but as the Lord gave her more and more understanding she got more involved in the study. I don’t know all the details. But the essence is that she began the study never having opened her Bible — she was about 70 years old – and she finished the study at the end of the year in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. How exciting. It made me think of 1 Corinthians 3:6 when Paul says, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.” This lady’s friend invited her, the teacher taught – but it was God who worked through the study of His word to bring this lady to saving faith.
As I was telling my husband he jokingly said, “In the nick of time.” I smiled but before I could respond he said, “I guess we are all saved in the nick of time.” As I thought about it – I could see he was right.
When Jesus was dying on the cross one of the criminals hanging next to Him expressed his faith in Jesus, rebuking the man on the third cross by saying that Jesus had done nothing wrong and did not deserve to die as they did. With that he turned to Jesus and said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into Your kingdom.” Jesus assured that man that He would see him that day in paradise. (Luke 23: 39-43). That was a deathbed conversion.
Most of us don’t wake up thinking, “Today is my last.” But, the truth is that we have no idea from day to day if God plans for us to see another one. He is in sovereign control over the number of our days. That should cause us to stop and think from two different perspectives.
The first is this: If you are not a believer in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ you need to consider your eternal destination. There is life after death and it is divided into two locations: Heaven and Hell. We all go to one or the other. Which one is it for you?
Like my friend in the Bible Study, God calls us to faith in Him. Look at the healings of Jesus. He often said, “Your faith has made you well.” It is faith that He cares about. No works will get us into heaven. This is good news – we are not to worry about whether or not our good works out-weigh the bad. All we have to know is whether or not we believe that Jesus Christ knows I am a sinner and took the punishment for my sins when He died on the cross. If you know that – you will be in paradise with Him. If you refuse to believe that, you will be in Hell without God at all.
The second perspective is: As believers, we need to look at this truth about not knowing the time we have on earth and think about who we need to talk to about the Lord. We are all born sinners. So, unless they hear they will not know to turn from their sin. Romans 10:13-14 say it this way, “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?”
The people that we know and love will not hear about the debt they owe because of sin – nor the payment God made when He sent his Son to die for the sin of all who would believe – unless we care enough about them to tell them the most important truth they will ever hear. Jesus died so they could have eternal life with Him in heaven.
We have no idea for ourselves or others what “the nick of time” will be. Are we willing to talk to someone about Jesus? If not, there is another option, we could invite them to do a Bible Study. They can hear the truth from Someone else at our invitation.