I quit drinking 14 years ago, even though I wasn’t saved at the time. My oldest daughter was 12 years old back then and I knew that I didn’t want her to drink. So I thought how can I tell her not to drink when I always have alcohol around the house? So I quit drinking because I didn’t want to be bad influence on my children.
Even though I don’t drink anymore, I have to admit when I hear “last call” the first the thing I think of is the bartender calling for one last round before he closes up. I think of it getting near closing time and if you want another drink, you have to order it quickly or that’s it for the night. I’m sure that I’m not the only one that thinks of this when you hear “last call.”
But there is another last call; a much more important last call. It is the last call from God Almighty. It’s the last time God, in His great mercy and grace, sends someone to you to share the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ with you. It’s the last time you hear the message of salvation before you take your last breath. But with this last call, you never know that it will be your last call. Unlike a bartender giving you a warning that it’s just about closing time, you don’t know when your next breath will be your last one. You never know each time you hear the Gospel proclaimed if it will be the last time you will ever hear it.
So if God has been working on you, if He has been convicting you of your sins and you know that you need to get right with God, please, please don’t put this off. We are all sinners and we all fall short of the glory of God. There’s nothing we can do on our own to get back in right relationship with Him. Even one little sin (like an evil thought) is rebellion against God. Even one little white lie is enough to separate you from God for all of eternity if you die in your sins as an unrepentant sinner. You may think this is too harsh, but it’s not about you, it’s about Him. His is so Holy, so perfect and so infinite, that rebellion even in the smallest form calls for eternal punishment. And Hell is no laughing matter.
But God is gracious, He is merciful and He is loving. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16). Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. You see, propitiation means substitute, it means atonement, but more than that, it also means the wrath was satisfied. God is angry with you over your sins (John 3:36). There is nothing you can do on your own to change that. You can’t undo, take away or cover up your sins. Only Jesus can save you.
Only Jesus can take away the wrath of God that abides against you. Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life and he died a cruel death on the cross, was buried and rose again on the third day. Jesus kept the 10 Commandments – perfectly. He did what you and I could never do. He hung on that horrible cross and God’s wrath, God’s anger was poured out against Him for guilty sinners like you and me. But there isn’t universal salvation. Everyone isn’t automatically saved just because Jesus was the propitiation for our sins. You must receive salvation. You must turn away from your sins and put your faith in Jesus (Acts 20:21).
You have to quit trusting in your own goodness, your own self righteousness, your own good works. There is none righteous, no not one. You can’t earn your salvation. For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). You must recognize that you are a sinner and that you need a savior, the only Savior – Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus said you must repent and believe the Gospel (Mark 1:15).
This may be the last time you hear (or read) the Gospel. Do not harden your heart. Come to Jesus. Admit that you are a sinner. Ask God to have mercy on you. Then repent by turning away from your sins and put your trust in Jesus. Surrender your life to Him today. Don’t put this off. Still not convinced? Watch the powerful video Last Call – go to Videos.