What Would it Take

What Would it Take?

This morning I want to ask a very simple question—What would it take? I think sometimes about the Jews there in Jesus’ day, especially around Jerusalem and the area of Judea, who would not believe in Jesus. What would it have taken for them to have believed? If all that they saw and heard during those short years of His public ministry were not enough, then I wonder, what would have been enough? Here was a man, more than that actually, but, here was a man who could bring the dead back to life! To me, that seems like it would have been pretty convincing! It would have at least caused me to stop and wonder what was going on. That’s not the kind of thing you see every day. Here was a man who could give sight to the blind, heal the sick, and cast out demons. But, for many of them, that was not enough. Here was a man that the Pharisees, lawyers, and Sadducees could not catch in His words. Here was a man, that while He hung on that cross, the skies grew dark for the last three hours. When He did die, the veil in the temple tore down the middle, the earth quaked, and many of the saints that were dead came back and appeared to many in the city. Still, after all of that, not to mention all of the Old Testament prophecies that were fulfilled in Him, they still would not believe. Is there any thing more that the Son of God could have done to cause those people to believe? Many of them did, but what about all of those who didn’t, what would it have taken?

When the rich man and Lazarus died and went to Hades, the rich man begged Abraham to send back Lazarus to warn his brothers, but Abraham said, “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one go to them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, if one rise from the dead” (Lk. 16:29-31). They would not believe even “if one rose from the dead.” If someone coming back from the dead is not enough, what is there that could have convinced them? What would it have taken?

There are some who won’t believe no matter what any one says and no matter what anyone does. They just won’t do it. It wouldn’t matter if someone walked on water, brought back the dead, or anything else. They just will not be convinced!

There are some who will only listen to God and obey Him after some tragic event has happened in their lives. We all know the story of Jonah, how he tried to flee from his responsibilities, how he tried to run from God. There he went on that ship, bound for Tarshish when God prepared a great fish to go and swallow him after he had been thrown overboard. Three days and three nights Jonah spent in the belly of the fish; that was a pretty tragic event for Jonah. It woke him up and brought a certain realization to his mind that he was at the mercy of God. It caused him to change his mind and call upon God for help. So, God spoke to the fish, it vomited Jonah up onto the land, and he then obeyed the world of Jehovah. Jonah obeyed God, but it took a tragedy in order for him to do it. First we see him running away from God, then running to God, then we finally see him running with God.

Why wait for a tragedy before we will believe? There are some who finally obey the gospel after a heart attack, after a death in the family, or something big happens to them. In the end, though, we will all believe. We will all be made believers when we pass from this life and we see for ourselves what lies beyond it. But, how tragic that would be to remain unwilling to believe until a person finds himself there standing alone before the throne of God! We may not have an opportunity if tragedy strikes. What if it never does happen until we die and find ourselves facing the worst tragedy of them all? It will be too late then. If you have not already done so, will you obey the gospel this morning, while you have the opportunity?

The crucifixion of Jesus was a terrible tragedy! I’m glad He was willing to do it, but at the same time, it was a terrible thing. In the mist of that, there were two robbers, one on each side of Him, also being crucified. The one who was penitent was very fortunate. What were the odds that he would be crucified at the same time, on the same day, and only feet away from the Messiah? What if he had been crucified some other time or at some other place? There he was in this tragic situation, and he called out to His Savior there beside him and was spared just there in the last moments of his life. That’s a little too close for comfort in my opinion. But, today, we can’t do like that thief on the cross did. Jesus had not died yet when that took place; they were still under the law of Moses. The Bible tells us today that if we want to be saved we must repent and be baptized: “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned” (Mk. 16:15-16). If we wait until our dying breath to confess Christ, but have refused every opportunity up until that moment to be baptized, it’s too late. Today you still can.

Then there was the other robber on Jesus’ other side. Even in the midst of a tragedy such as that, even with the Son of God only feet from him, he just would not repent! Friends, I wonder what in the world it would have taken. Some people just will not accept the truth.

For others, though, it doesn’t seem to take much at all; their minds are open and ready for the truth. Look at the Day of Pentecost there in Acts chapter 2. The Bible tells us that about three thousand people were added to the church in one day (verse 41). Well, what happened to cause such a response? It must have been something spectacular, it must have been something amazing to cause something like that. What was it? They heard the gospel proclaimed. “Surely not”, someone says, if miracles are performed and some still will not believe, surely 3,000 wouldn’t believe all at one time because of preaching! Well, let’s look. “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4). So there was a miracle that took place. It was performed upon the apostles who, when they received the baptismal measure of the Holy Spirit, began to speak in tongues. What was the result of this? Verse five,

Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound was heard, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speaking in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying, Behold, are not all these that speak Galilaeans? And how hear we, every man in our own language wherein we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, in Judaea and Cappadocia, in Pontus and Asia, in Phrygia and Pamphylia, in Egypt and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and sojourners from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians, we hear them speaking in our tongues the mighty works of God. And they were all amazed, and were perplexed, saying one to another, What meaneth this? But others mocking said, They are filled with new wine.

So what happened because the apostles were speaking in tongues? Were the people ready to repent, were they at that point convinced that Jesus was the Christ? No. What did it do? It got their attention; a crowd gathered; they knew there was something unusual going on; but at that point, they were basically confused; they didn’t know what to think!

Peter then stood up with the eleven, and the preaching began. In verse 37 we read that the people asked Peter and the other apostles, “brethren, what shall we do?” Why did they ask that? Because they were “pricked in their heart” (verse 37b). Why were they pricked in their heart? The Bible says, “Now, when they heard…” (37a). When they heard the gospel, they were pricked in their heart, and they asked Peter and the other apostles what to do about it. “And with many other words he testified, and exhorted them, saying, Save yourselves from this crooked generation. They then that received his word were baptized: and there were added unto them in that day about three thousand souls” (verses 40-41). What was used to convert those people? “Words.” Who was baptized, and thereby added to the church? “They that received his word.” The gospel was preached. The gospel was believed. The gospel was obeyed.

Well what did the speaking in tongues do then? It got the people’s attention, it showed that God was working with them and through them, and it made it possible for the message to be transmitted to each person present in his own tongue, or language. But, it was the preaching of the gospel that pricked their hearts and led to their conversion.

When Philip preached the gospel to the eunuch, the eunuch listened. There he was returning from worshiping in Jerusalem, reading from Isaiah 53, when Philip ran up to his chariot and heard what he was reading. He asked,

Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some one shall guide me? And he besought Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the Scripture which he was reading was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before his shearer is dumb, So he openeth not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: His generation who shall declare? For his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other? And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture, preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on the way, they came unto a certain water; and the eunuch saith, Behold, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thy heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip; and the eunuch saw him no more, for he went on his way rejoicing. (Acts 8:30-39)

What happened there? The gospel was preached, the gospel was believed, and the gospel was obeyed. Paul said in Romans, “the gospel is the power of God unto salvation (1:16). We have already seen that if a person won’t hear the truth, even miracles won’t change that. Abraham told the rich man that if his brothers wouldn’t listen to the word of God through the Scriptures, “the law and the prophets”, it wouldn’t matter if one were to come back from the dead. Sometimes a life-changing event will open our eyes, but what if that never happens, or it’s too late? Even then, a life-changing event can only sober us up, we would still need the gospel. What did it take there on the day of Pentecost? The gospel to be preached, the gospel to be received, and the gospel to be obeyed! What did it take on an individual basis there with the eunuch? The same thing, the gospel preached, the gospel believed, and the gospel obeyed.

When the gospel finds a receptive heart, the result is very predictable. It is just as predictable as if I were to put an apple seed in the ground. If I plant an apple seed, then I will get an apple tree. If I plant an orange seed, I’m going to get an orange tree. When the seed of God’s word is planted in the fertile soil of a good heart it will result in a newborn Christian. Miracles won’t do it. Tricks and gimmicks won’t do it. Entertainment won’t do it. What would it take to convert the lost today? The same thing it has always taken, the gospel preached, the gospel believed, and the gospel obeyed. When a person is willing to hear the truth, all that is needed is for conversion is for the gospel to be preached. When a person will not hear the truth, unless they change their mind, there’s not really anything that we can do.

By the end of John chapter 9, the man who had been born blind was ready to listen. Jesus asked him,

Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, And who is he, Lord, that I may believe on him? Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and he it is that speaketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him. (verses 35-38)

In Matthew chapter 13 we find the parable of the sewer: “the sower went forth to sow,” some seed fell by the way side, some fell on rocky soil, some among thorns, and some on good soil. The seed that fell on the way side was eaten by birds. The seeds that fell on the rocky soil grew up fast, but then withered and died when the sun came up. The seeds that fell among thorns were choked. But the seeds that fell on the good soil “yielded fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” Then, beginning with verse 19, we read the meaning of the parable,

When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the evil one, and snatcheth away that which hath been sown in his heart. This is he that was sown by the way side. And he that was sown upon the rocky places, this is he that heareth the word, and straightway with joy receiveth it; yet hath he not root in himself, but endureth for a while; and when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, straightway he stumbleth. And he that was sown among the thorns, this is he that heareth the word; and the care of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. And he that was sown upon the good ground, this is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; who verily beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. (Mt. 13:19-23)

The difference is not in what is preached, or anything else that is done, the message is the same, but the difference is how it is received; the condition of the heart of the hearer. When a person has a heart that is ready to hear the gospel and be changed by it, that is what makes the difference between the believer and the unbeliever. Both might hear the same message, but the way that they receive it is drastically different. A seed will only grow and bear fruit if it finds good soil.

It is up to each one of us to decide which kind of soil the gospel is going to land on when the gospel is preached to us. We can be that good soil, or we can choose to be that rocky soil. But that is something that we all have to decide for ourselves. God won’t force it on us. Jesus didn’t force it on man when He walked upon this earth, and He doesn’t force it on anyone today. If He did, we would no longer have free will; we would no longer have a choice, but we do.

Sometimes I’ll talk to someone about the Bible and I want them to accept what it teaches so badly that I feel like I want to just grab them on the arms and shake them and wake them up so that they will just listen and believe. If someone is sleeping and you want to talk with them, you can just tap them on the arm or something to wake them up, but when it comes to teaching someone about Christ, they’re already awake, just not willing to hear what they so desperately need to.

What would it take to lead a lost soul to Christ? It would take the gospel taught, the gospel believed, and the gospel obeyed.

What would it take for us this morning? Not just someone who may not yet be a Christian, but what would it take for each and every one of us here in this room this morning? If you are already a Christian, does God take top priority in your life? If not, what would it take for that to happen? Some might say that if they could just see a miracle, then they would be sure. Some might say that if a deceased loved one could just come back and tell tham what is really on the other side of the grave, then they would be completely convinced. What we have is the Bible. Abraham said that if that’s not enough, then even a loved one coming back from the dead won’t be enough to convince us. Will we be convinced? If we are willing to put God first in our lives, than we can, but it’s up to us; we have to make that decision. Jesus said, “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that doth not take his cross and follow after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it” (Mt. 10:37-38). Will that seed of God’s word find good soil in our hearts this morning? If He is not first in your life right now, will you make that commitment right now?

If you are here this morning and you have been baptized into Christ, but you have since then turned down a different path, and you have stopped living as you should, will you come forward as the invitation song is being sung and let us know that you are ready to come back and be a faithful member of the body of Christ?

If you are not a Christian this morning, what would it take for you? How is your heart this morning? Jesus gave His life for you so that you can repent of your past sins, confess your faith in Him, and have your sins washed away in the waters of baptism. Will you obey the gospel this morning?