Can you afford to neglect the Bible? Just supposing it is true in spite of all its critics say. Most people have never bothered to read it carefully to find out its message for themselves. Have you? Many have not opened a Bible since they left school, and only vaguely remember a few well-known stories. To neglect the Bible is a most tragic mistake. It is God’s message to man.
Can you afford to ignore God as if He did not exist? Just supposing He does exist and there is a day of judgment when everyone will have to answer to Him. Have you really thought about it, or just allowed yourself to be brainwashed into ruling God out by the superficial arguments of this proud, scientific age? The Bible tells us that the man who says, “There is no God,” is a fool. He is ignoring overwhelming evidence.
Can you afford to reject Jesus Christ? Just supposing He is the Son of God, that He not only taught the truth, but died and rose again to provide a way of escape for mankind from the terrible situation it has got itself into by rebelling against God. Just supposing He is the only way back to God. Have you ever really thought about Jesus Christ, the most important person in history?
Can you afford to turn a deaf ear to the witness of countless Christians down the centuries? Just supposing they are right in claiming that through the message of the Bible they have discovered God for themselves, through Jesus Christ His Son. Just supposing there is a God of love behind the universe, who cared so much for man, whom He had created, that He sent His Son to die to save him from the consequences of his sin. While Christians are far from perfect themselves, it is their perfect Lord and Saviour that everyone must face up to. Just supposing they have found in Him the answer to all man’s questions and needs.
Can you afford to be indifferent to such important questions and run such a risk? In this life most people insure against every possible eventuality, and cut their risks to a minimum. Yet, when it comes to the far more important life-to-come, so many are dangerously indifferent and careless. Don’t be one of these.
If there were only the slightest possibility that the Bible was true, that there was a God, that Jesus Christ was His Son and rose from the dead, or that the claims made by Christians for Him were true, then surely it would be sensible to read the Bible carefully, to seek God sincerely, and to consider seriously the claims of Christ and the purpose of His coming.
Of course, there is much more than a possibility that all these things are true, and that Christians, who are no better in themselves than anyone else, have discovered in Jesus Christ the way back to God, the purpose of life and the source of eternal life, the age-long quests of man.
Can you afford to be indifferent? It could prove the most costly mistake you have ever made. Don’t run the risk. It is far too great. Just supposing you one day find, when it is too late, that it was all true after all, and you had never given it a serious thought.
Now is the time to face up to these issues. Tomorrow never comes. Start by reading John’s Gospel and looking up the references below, preferably in a modern translation.
“What good does it do a man to gain the whole world at the price of his own soul?”
Bible references: Psalm 53:1; Matthew 7:13, 14; Mark 8:36; John 3:16-18; 14:6; Acts 16:30, 31; Romans 1:16, 17; 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; 1 Timothy 2:5, 6; 2 Timothy 3:14-17; 1 Peter 3:18
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Tom Macartney ( - )
Tom Macartney was born in China and committed his life to the Lord as a teenager at an English Boarding School. As a family man living in London, he served the Lord in the teaching profession. He was a faithful man of God for whom Christ was his life. He was a student of the Bible. He had a gift for expressing profound truth in simple terms both in the spoken and written word.Along with his own illustrations and charts, he frequently used the allegorical stories of John Bunyan and the writings of A.W. Tozer, as well as picture slide presentations to aid understanding. As an evangelist he longed for people, including children, to become true disciples of Jesus. As a pastor/teacher he sought to help people grow in their faith, grounded in the truth.