Ron Hutchcraft Ministries - While He is Near

As a follow up to my recent blog titled "Happy Assumptions," where I addressed three things we falsely assume when it comes to reaching a lost world with the Gospel, I want to offer another perspective on the second assumption we discussed. We assume that we as Christ followers have more time to reach people for Christ than we really do. I wrote on this point from the perspective of the brevity of life. We often put off having spiritual conversations with people who are lost until it is too late. Fate or circumstance takes them away before we are ready to share.

But now I want to address this assumption from a different angle, and it has to do with how God deals with individuals. The Scripture is clear that a person cannot come to Jesus (or even desire Him) unless the Father draws him (John 6:44 ). We do not turn to God on our own. Even faith is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:9-10 ). But then there is a responsibility on the part of the lost person to submit themselves to God while He is dealing with their heart. When He (the Holy Spirit) comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment (John 16:8 ).

Isaiah 55:6 tells us that we are to "Seek the Lord while He may He found; call on Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him, and to our God for He will freely pardon." We often misinterpret the preaching of this passage as fear mongering on the part of the preacher when he reminds us that there is no guarantee that God will choose to continue dealing with a person's heart if they choose to reject His drawing them. But there is no guarantee that God will always "be near." This verse does not imply that God is not everywhere at the same time (He is omnipresent). But rather His personal dealings with someone who is far from Him in a spiritually dead condition may not be given another opportunity to respond in faith to God for forgiveness of sins and to receive new life in Jesus Christ.

I know, I know. You are probably thinking of the same verses that I am thinking of right now - the Scriptures that remind us of the unlimited patience that God has with people (1 Timothy 1:16 ) and how He is forgiving and doesn't want anyone to perish but for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9 ). And heaven knows, if it weren't for the truth of God's character in these verses, I would still be lost today. But the point I want to make is this: we cannot afford to "roll the dice" when it comes to the eternity of a soul and hope that God gives them more time when He is in fact calling us to act on behalf of someone who is apart from Him. And the Scriptures go on to say that we will be held accountable for that person's blood if we decide not to act (Ezekiel 3:17-18 ).

So what does this mean to our assumption that we have more time to reach people with the Gospel? I believe it reinforces the importance of our obedience to Christ in telling others about Him and doing so when His Spirit prompts us and gives us opportunities to share. It may be that God is impressing on your heart even now the need to share the Gospel with an individual, and it very well may be because God is at work on the other end drawing that person to Himself. You may be the only link in the chain of that person's spiritual journey that's needed to help them cross over from death to life. I urge you...go ahead and have that conversation with them while there is still time; while He is still near.