In the Western world we have many Bibles. There are still many places where the way to God is explained. How is it that so many are still unsaved? Where lies the problem? No one is stopping you going, but instead you turn to things that cannot help your soul: eating out, buying the latest gadgets, entertainment, sports events, celebrities who cannot even order their own lives. Are there no preachers in our society? There are, but most shut their ears to any message about God. If you ask them why, they cannot give you a clear answer. We need to hear this message: that Christ came into the world to suffer and to die for sinners, that we can have his life poured into our souls. Then why are the churches not packed? Because of the hardness of our hearts. It may be someone has heard gospel many times, and you will not respond. Is it perilously near the time when you will be left alone by God? We have been aloof for too long. Perhaps we are not atheists, but we have a god of our own making who flatters us. We need to come to Christ while we can.
Just as Jeremiah appealed to Jerusalem, so we must appeal to the lost in the same way. Salvation is a matter of understanding the problems. God is holy, I am sinful. I have gone away from him. How will he forgive me? He cannot just forget it. I must understand I am in great need. What have I done? I have taken everything he has given me – sun and rain, food, air, life and countless other gifts – and I have lived for self and spurned him. Faith is vital also. Is there no balm in Gilead? There is a remedy for sickness in Gilead and I have to come in trust and use it: faith in him who he is the glorious Son of God. He came to suffer for me and you, if we will only come to him. Trust in his promises: that none who come will be cast out. You must come to the point where you say, ‘I believe Christ has provided salvation for a sinner like me. I believe in the integrity and love of God and in Christ’s saving death on Calvary. You must also yield to him. Some know they need salvation, but they don’t yield over their lives. You must be willing to follow him. Then you will never be condemned. The dominion of sin is broken. If you are an inveterate liar, then the mastery of lying will no longer enslave you. God puts into your heart new tastes and desires, and gives you a nature, a new heart. You have a place in heaven. Is time is rushing past without you responding? It did for Judah, and for them it was too late. How long will you go on without forgiveness? If you continue to delay, the heart will harden, and sin will entangle you, and pride will build up. The devil wants to give impression that God is hard: ‘Repent or else.’ No, this is a tragedy; the heart of God grieved. We must try to convey the lovingkindness and the pity of the Lord. He pleads with us to come to him.