“For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Romans 10:10
Believe
Several years ago, I saw a play that had scenes of believers and unbelievers, and what happened to them upon their deaths. The scene I remember most is of two truckers. One was a believer and the other was not. They are shown sitting in the cab of the truck talking, and during conversation, the unbeliever accepts Jesus as his Lord and Savior. Almost immediately they are in an accident and are killed, and both go to heaven.
It reminds me of one of my favorite stories in the Bible—the two thieves. “Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left” (Matthew 27:38). They both start out as unbelievers—“Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing” (Matthew 27:44), but something happens to one of them. “Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, ‘If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.’ But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise’” (Luke 23:39-43).
In the play, the new believer’s death came within minutes, the thief on the cross within hours, and they both (the trucker figuratively and the thief literally) have eternity to spend with Christ. Salvation is instantaneous. God doesn’t care how long you have been a believer, or what you have done prior to believing. He only cares that you believe. Of course, His desire is to have fellowship with you all the days of your life, so His Spirit can help you make right choices, give you peace and joy and help you impact the world around you for His good.
The beauty of grace is that you don’t need to believe and then spend decades working it out, or work it all out and get it right before you believe. It’s a free gift, open to all (see Titus 3:4-7).
I urge you today, if you have never accepted Jesus to be the Lord of your life, do it right now. “…if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). It really is that simple. He really does love you that much. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
Ladies, He can’t wait to spend eternity with us in Paradise.
Lord, thank You for opening my eyes to this truth. Now I ask You to open the eyes of anyone reading this who does not yet believe. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.