2 Corinthians 6:2

(For he saith, At an acceptable time I hearkened unto thee, and in a day of salvation did I succor thee: behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation).

The passage in Isaiah from which this comes is:

Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: I will preserve thee and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth (Isaiah 49:8).

This passage was addressed "To the Servant of Jehovah, the type primarily of Christ, and then of all who are `in Christ.'"[6] Thus it is clear that in his appeal to this scripture, Paul was referring to the gospel age as "the day of salvation" and the "acceptable time." However, Paul at once added some inspired comment of his own making the application personal and immediate.

Now is the acceptable time ... now is the day of salvation ... The urgency of immediate acceptance of the gospel was also stressed by the author of Hebrews (Hebrews 3:7,8,13), and for discussion of this subject, see my Commentary on Hebrews, pp. 74-75.

Now ... It should be noted that this tightens the urgency even beyond the passage of Hebrews. There, the message is "TODAY ... harden not your hearts"; here it is "NOW is the day of salvation."