Author: Unknown
A restless dying man lay on his bed after spending many summers in which he had plenty of time to make his peace with God. He had come down to death’s door with no apparent hope in sight. As his loved ones stood by his bed, they heard him saying these words over and over, “What must I do to be saved? Lord, bring me to repentance.”
Day and night these words would be repeated. It seemed he knew what God required of man, for as he asked the question, he then would say, “Lord, bring me to repentance.”
It seemed he felt there was no conviction, no repentance for him, but nevertheless he would call upon God. As he faced eternity, how dark it must have looked to him as he kept saying, “What must I do to be saved? Lord, bring me to repentance.”
There was a time when this dear man could have easily repented, but he rebelled against God and His Spirit. He had no desire to go to service and no time to talk of spiritual things; yet he enjoyed every pleasant thing in life outside of salvation.
He was a jolly sort and enjoyed having his friends and neighbors come around, but when anything was said about God and salvation, his mouth would close and he would not be interested.
Now he had come down to where he had to face the thing he repeatedly pushed away. He was looking out into eternity, and at the end of every man’s road is God. He was facing God, and, oh, how he did call upon Him then.
As we looked upon him going out little by little, we prayed earnestly for the Lord to show mercy, if there was any that could be shown. But sadly, he left us without much hope of his being saved, though he called and called.
In Matthew 3:2 we read of John the Baptist saying, “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” and in Mark 1:15 we hear Jesus saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” Again, in Luke 13:3, He says, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”
Dear friends, today is the day of salvation. We have no promise of tomorrow. God is calling people to repentance now. There is no other way to be saved. We all must repent of our sins if we ever get to heaven, for “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
After John the Baptist and Jesus preached repentance, Peter came along with the same message. In Acts 3:19 we read, “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.”
In II Cor. 7:10, Paul preached that “godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation.” So to repent we must be sorry because we have sinned against God. When Bible conviction gets deep in our hearts, we will be so tired of sin that we will want to quit it in every form. Then when we call on God to save us, He, for Christ’s sake, erases all our sins, for He says in II Peter 3:9 that He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
My friends, we all are fast moving toward death just like the man of whom I spoke. You too, must face the same God and give account to Him for the life you have lived.
What a sad thing to come before the Lord with a wasted life! What anguish there will be to leave this world and look over into eternity and see one’s doom. How sad when hope is gone and the darkness of eternity rolls before us! Friends, this will be real with every soul who fails to repent of his sins. Remember, the Word of God says those who neglect salvation shall be cast into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Do not lightly pass this by, dear friends. If souls who are in hell today had the chance which the living have, there would not be a moment lost. They would call on God until every sin was washed away by the blood of Jesus. But they can not come back, for when once we have gone from this life, we can not return. This life is when we must prepare to meet the Lord. There is no time after death. There will be no opportunity in eternity when folks can repent.
My advice is to call on God now to convict your soul. Oh, friends, if you put this most important thing off, you, too, will face God with all hope gone and your prayers unanswered.
Remember, at the end of every man’s road is God. How will we be able to look Him in the face, the One who did everything He could to save us, if we carelessly go on in sin and trample His mercy?
Each of us must die. We must leave the pleasures of earth and our wealth behind. We must tell our friends goodbye. But what then? We can not get around God. We must meet Him. We must go to the place for which we prepare in life.
Folks do not like to think of hell; but, friend, it will be real to every soul who fails to repent. Remember, Jesus said, “Except ye repent, ye shall perish.” Do your repenting now. Confess and He will surely save your soul when you meet the conditions of His Word. Do not wait till death is near to say, “What shall I do to be saved? Lord, bring me to repentance.”
The people to whom Peter preached asked, “Men and brethren, what must we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.” If we do this, death will have no terror for us. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, spilt His blood and now it is up to each one to repent or be lost. Remember, God is calling and if we do not heed His call there will come a time when we will call and He will not answer.
Listen to this Scripture, “Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at naught all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord: They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.” Prov. 1:24-31, 33.
Won’t you seek the Lord now, and be saved?
