I remember as a child
watching scary movies such as Frankenstein, The Werewolf,
Dracula, Bride of
Frankenstein and The Mummy, just to name a few. Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney,
Jr. never ceased to hold my attention as a young boy.
The scariest movies though of
that time, at least to me, were those where a lady is in a place all alone,
maybe an old house. As she walks through the darkness, you know the monster is
going to reach out just any second and grab her. Meanwhile the tension builds as
he comes up behind her. As a youngster, you can hardly stand it.
Writers of that day were
experts in scaring us with what we could not see. Today, these movies are so
tame; they could be used as a sedative for most people.
Have you ever thought about
what scares you more than anything? Most of us have probably thought about
this, and the answer for most people may be that thing called “death.” Let me
say before I go any further that I don’t think death is the scariest thing for
us to face … for a Christian that is. Now for an unbeliever that’s a different
story, but an unbeliever can be saved, if they just trust in Jesus while they
are living.
When I was in school being
called to the principal’s office was certainly scary. That’s why the smart ones
behaved ourselves and avoided that area.
I can remember talking during
the church service and my parents saying, “Just you wait ‘til we get home.”
Another is when my Mother would say, “Just you wait ‘til your Dad gets home.”
Now those times were attention getters and quite scary.
I can’t imagine how scary it
must have been for our soldiers on D-Day, or for any soldier to face the guns
and bombs of the enemy.
There are many things in life
that can scare us until it seems our blood runs cold. Sometimes they are via
movies, but we know they are not real. Other times, real life grabs us by the
throat with wake up calls like cancer and other horrible illnesses.
Let me now state what I think
is the scariest of all for any person to face. In my opinion, an unbeliever who
has grown so cold toward God their conscience is seared is the scariest of all.
The Lord Jesus said through the apostle Paul when he wrote his protégé Timothy
that:
“The Spirit clearly says that
in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and
things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose
consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” (1 Timothy 4:1-2
emphasis mine)
Can anything be scarier than
having no desire to know Jesus? A person who has come to this point in their
life has sealed their doom. There is nothing to look forward to but certain
eternal judgment in hell.
Notice that Paul is speaking
specifically of “hypocritical liars” who have reached this point in their
hearts. Their hearts have become so cold, so hard; they have no desire for
Christ. Is that to say that this only applies to this select group? Not really.
For any man who has no desire for Christ is a hypocrite and a liar.
If there were ever a group of
people who could be called the “walking dead,” this would be the group. Is
there any hope at all for anyone who has reached this point in their lives? Yes,
I believe there is hope. I believe that any person can be saved if they will
call upon Jesus in this life, but here is the rub. Will they do so? Have they
allowed themselves to become so cold and calloused they will never have any
feelings for God but hate and/or indifference?
The thing about salvation is
that Jesus is a perfect gentleman. He will not force Himself upon anyone. He
has done everything possible to provide the only way to be saved from a devil’s
hell, but now it is up to each one of us to come to Him individually to be
saved.
Death is something each one
of us must face alone. However, Jesus waits for the believer on the other side
of death’s door, but the only thing waiting for the unbeliever is the judgment
of hell. The same is true with salvation. We must make that decision, for or
against, all by our self. No one else can die for us, and no one else can
decide for us about Jesus.
I and anyone else who has put
their faith in Jesus as their Savior can rest on the following Scripture
passage.
“The goal of this command is
love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”
(1 Timothy 1:5)
How can we have a good conscience
toward God? We have a “good conscience” toward God because of our faith in Him,
knowing He cannot lie. We wholly trust Him and want to live for Him.
“In hope of eternal life, which
God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;” (Titus 1:2)
If you will believe in Him,
you too may have a good conscience, because you have rested your trust in Him.
However, if your conscience has been “seared as with a hot iron,” fall on your
knees today and ask Him to melt that stony heart. Why?
To reiterate, it is true that
God’s grace can save anyone right up until they die, but every time we say no
to Him our heart gets harder. It may get so hard we reach the point of no
return. Each time one refuses the Holy Spirit’s call, it gets easier, and
easier to do so. The heart and conscience become so hardened, so numb and so
past any feeling, there is no going back. Eventually, God may pull away His
convicting Spirit and leave one to his own ways.
“Therefore God
gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity
for the degrading of their bodies with one another.” (Romans 1:24 emphasis
mine)
“Because of this, God
gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural
sexual relations for unnatural ones.” (Romans 1:26 emphasis mine)
“Furthermore, just as they
did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God
gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be
done.” (Romans 1:28 emphasis mine)
There is nothing scarier than
having a heart with no feelings, a heart that is stone cold. It may seem macho
to you, but you are a fool. You are insanely begging for the judgment of
Almighty God to fall upon you.
Call upon Him today, while
you still can.
Grant Phillips
Email: Phillip5769@twc.com
Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
Rapture Ready: http://www.raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips.html
