To Delay Is Dangerous

Rev. J. den Hoed, Franklin Lakes, NJ

Again a year has come to a close. It was a year filled with joy and sorrow. It was also a year filled with the long-suffering of the Lord. It is a wonder that we may still be in the land of the living when there are so many who, in the past year, have been taken away by the cold hand of death. They had to appear before the righteous justice of God.

What a labor of love has the Lord bestowed upon us! He gave us His Word. That Word continually called unto us that we must be converted. What have we done with this Word? Have we left it all behind us? Is the testimony of our life no desire after the ways of the Lord? What an awful eternity it will be when all the callings of God testify against us. Do you not know that to delay is dangerous?

You can see this in the lives of Felix and Drusilla. Felix had been appointed governor over Judea. He was married for the third time. At this time, his wife’s name was Drusilla. She was a daughter of Herod who had murdered the Apostle James and was eaten of worms. They were people who lived in sin, yet the Lord brought them in contact with the gospel. By doing this, the Lord said that He has no desire in the death of sinners but that they may turn from their evil ways and live. What a wonder of God’s grace that the Lord will still have dealings with sinners!

Paul had been taken prisoner in Jerusalem. It was there that the Lord stood by him and said, “Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of Me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also in Rome” (Acts 23:11). However, because of the plot that was formed to kill Paul, Lysias, the captain of Jerusalem, brought Paul to Caesarea. Felix was governor there, and he would become involved in the court case of Paul. The first hearing had already taken place, but Felix had not yet given his verdict. Curiosity had taken hold of him; he had a desire to hear more of Paul’s preaching. That was why Paul was brought into the presence of Felix and his wife, so that together they might listen to the preaching of Paul. In all faithfulness, Paul as a servant of Christ proclaimed the Word of God unto them.

No, he did not say, I have no message for you. No matter how sinful and corrupt their lifestyle might have been, Paul told them that with God it was possible for the sins of the greatest sinner to be forgiven. He pointed to the holiness and justice of God, that as a sinner we cannot stand before God but that this God was moved from within Himself and had chosen a multitude of sinners to be saved. Further, he told them that from heaven (because from this earth there could be no expectation) the Lord had opened a way in His only beloved Son whereby man could be saved.

In this manner Paul stood before them and preached the necessity of conversion, saying that outside this conversion we will perish forever. No, he did not compromise his message. The Word of God says, “He reasoned of righteousness.” He preached how God is a holy and righteous God, how man lost his original righteousness and cannot stand before God. His words were as hammer blows when he spoke of the wrath of God and that being outside of the righteousness of God is as a burning fire.

Paul could point to the grossness of the sin in which they were living; how that they had trampled upon the ordinances of the Lord; how that in the sight of God they stood as guilty, condemned sinners, and that soon the day of God’s judgment will come when they will be judged according to their works. Then their sentence will be, “You must go into outer darkness.” In this way the faithful servant of the Lord sought to move them. He spoke with soul concern for never-dying souls. He called unto them, “We pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20b).

That call to conversion also comes to us. How often in the year gone by did the Lord admonish and warn us? How many times has the message come unto us, “This is the way, walk ye in it”? Did you take notice of the message, or did you lay it aside as something that had no value in your life? Know for certain that the time is approaching when the Lord will come back upon this message.

The sermon of Paul made a deep impression upon Felix and Drusilla. The apostle had entered with the candle of the Lord into the deepest recesses of their bosom and disclosed all those images of wickedness which, with all the cowardice of conscious guilt, they had striven to conceal for themselves. Of Felix it is written that he trembled. No, he did not mock with Paul’s sermon, but he became afraid. That, in itself, is a blessing when the Word of God strikes fear in our hearts. It means that we are not yet so hard and indifferent that the Word never leaves the slightest impression. However, some of us continue to sit in God’s house, listening to the message of God’s Word but remaining unconcerned.

Felix concluded that he could not stand before God. His soul trembled. Truly, he was not far from the kingdom of God. He was standing before a crossing. What must he do? Felix, there are only two possibilities. One is to bow before the Word of God, and the other is to harden your heart. Do you have advice for Felix? Perhaps you say, “Harden not your heart. Pray that the Lord may give you a place at His footstool, and pray to your Judge for grace.” My dear reader, have you done this in the past year? Perhaps there were sermons you will never forget. The truth of God’s Word came so close to you that you trembled inwardly. What did you do? Did you bow your knees, saying, “Lord, open this heart, and convert what is unconverted”? Or did you set it all aside? Then you are just like Felix who tried to silence the voice of his conscience.

Felix trembled and answered, “Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee” (Acts 24:25b). No, he did not get angry. He felt that Paul had the truth on his side and that he sought his eternal wellbeing. However, Felix delayed. He did this as courteously as possible. He said, as it were, “I am sorry, Paul, but I am pressed for time right now. Later, I will call for you.” In this manner he sought to silence his conscience. He will delay for a time to think seriously about Paul’s words. He will apply himself to this message at a later date. Then he will think seriously about the necessity of conversion. Poor Felix, he was caught in the snares of the devil. He had only one desire, to crawl out from under the outstretched hand of the Lord. Politely, he put the need for conversion aside. How often have you done that?

Take a close look at Felix and see how dangerous it is to delay. How often do we politely lay aside the serious admonishments of God’s Word? How easily it comes to our lips, “Unless the Lord works in my heart, then I am not able to do anything.” What grace it would be for you if that “I cannot” would become a living experience within! Then you would come upon your knees and stretch forth those empty hands unto the Lord, saying, “Oh, God, that Thou would be merciful to me, a sinner.” Now, by your actions, you say, “I will wait for a more convenient time.” When will that be—next year or ten years from now? Do not deceive yourself. That time will never come, for inwardly we are haters of God and our salvation. The Lord Jesus says, “Today when you hear My voice, harden not your heart.” Tomorrow it may be too late.

Know that if you continue to harden your heart, then in your dying hour you will stand alone in judgment. For how many in this past year did death come suddenly and unexpectedly? Should this not be a warning to you that to delay is dangerous? Felix never received another convenient time. He and Drusilla both died in their sins. How terrible! The Lord gave them a convenient time to be converted, and because of the hardness of their hearts they delayed. Oh, that today you might come as a guilty one to God’s throne, begging your Judge for mercy! How blessed you would then be!

Ask God’s children what the service of the Lord is, the tokens of love in Christ Jesus, and the blessed communion they, by moments, may experience. They would not miss this for an entire world. Yes, God’s children are blessed; they are for God’s account. He cares for them, and when the day of death comes, He will gather them into His everlasting kingdom. There they will never sorrow, never doubt, never fear anymore, but there they will sing forever. There they will sing, “Through Thee, through Thee alone, because of Thy eternal good pleasure.”

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