You Almost Persuade Me

“Then Agrippa said to Paul, ‘You almost persuade me to become a Christian’” (Acts 26:28).  Agrippa’s choice that day was the worst he ever made.  He chose to forego heaven, embrace hell, and to remain in the misery of sin.  Men and women who turn down the gospel invitation continue to make the same choice as Agrippa.

“You almost persuade me to become a Christian” is the same as saying, “You almost persuade me to go to heaven.”  Heaven is where the saved will be free from sorrow, sickness, and death (Rev. 21:1-4).  It is the eternal home of the redeemed, where all is joy and peace and love.  Why would one turn down an offer to go there?

“You almost persuade me to become a Christian” is the same as saying, “You almost persuade me to avoid hell.”  Hell is where the unsaved will spend a never-ending night in torment; where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched (Mk. 9:44-48).  In hell there will be ceaseless weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 25:30).  Why would one turn down an offer to avoid it?

“You almost persuade me to become a Christian” is the same as saying, “You almost persuade me to give up sin.”  Sin brings countless sorrows and immeasurable pain (1 Tim. 6:9-10).  “The way of the unfaithful is hard” (Prov. 13:15).  Why would one turn down an offer to escape such misery?

The reason people turn down an offer to go to heaven, avoid hell, and to remain in the mire and muck of sin is because the devil has deluded them.  He is the god of this world that blinds the minds of men (2 Cor. 4:1-4).  They, therefore, love darkness rather than light, unrighteousness rather than truth (Jn. 3:19-21; 2 Thes. 2:9-12).

That which has been is what will be,
That which is done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
- Ecclesiastes 1:9

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Worship In The Age of Showbusiness
By Dan Chambers