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God is calling us to repentance today. Let us share His saving gospel with others before it is too late for them to enter into covenant with Him and be redeemed from their sins.

As we stood around the walls of the small, dark meeting room outside the court, the barrister said firmly: “This is your last chance. If you plead guilty today, the Judge may mitigate your sentence, but if you plead not guilty, you will go to trial. You cannot win; all the evidence is against you.”

The accused man balled his fists, set his jaw like flint and snarled: “I will never plead guilty.” So it was. He went to jail for a very long time.

For centuries, both children and adults have loved the story of Noah and the animals. For most, it is like a fairytale. There’s a big boat, a funny old man who somehow gets his family and two of every kind of animal into it just in time before the whole earth is flooded. When the water goes down, there is a beautiful rainbow and a promise from God.

“The animals came in two by two – Hurrah! Hurrah!” Who doesn’t love that song?

In his introduction to Floodgates,¹ Dr Malcolm Hedding notes: [p. 11]

… the most important testimony of the Flood comes from Jesus, who spoke of it as a real historic event and warned of a similar cataclysm in the last days, saying:

“And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.” (Luke 17:26-27)

So, are we in the days of Noah? Are there signs today similar to the time before the flood? Many believe the signs are obvious and, like the accused man, we have a choice. Jesus made it very clear. Now is the time to repent.

Lifelong Process

When I was introduced to Christianity at the age of 16, I was told that to come into a right relationship with God, I needed to repent. I was adamant I had no sins to confess. I hadn’t committed murder; I didn’t steal. On the whole, I was a good person.
The challenge came when I read Jesus simplified the Ten Commandments to just two:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind’… And ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’.” (Mark 12:30-31)

Oops! Now it was in my face. I knew I didn’t love God with all my heart, neither did I love my neighbour [oh, no, that includes everybody] in the way I should. It was time to repent.

Repenting once is never enough. What Jesus is calling for is ongoing repentance. It’s an attitude of humility that acknowledges His Sovereignty and our dependence on Him. Repentance then becomes a daily attitude.

God’s Promise

After the destruction of the earth in the Great Flood, God makes a covenant with Noah. He promises to never flood the earth again. As a sign of His covenant, He says:

“Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember My covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind.” (Genesis 9:14-15)

The rainbow is one of the most beautiful representations of God’s love, mercy, grace and forgiveness. Whenever you see a rainbow in the sky – not on an ice-cream truck, or in a flag, or on a fairy castle – remember that God is remembering you.

Like the man with his barrister, we are given a choice, before it is too late. Inevitably, we will one day stand before the Righteous Judge. We can choose not to stand alone! We have Someone better than any barrister. We have Jesus, our Advocate, who will plead our case.

He says to the Judge: the person before you is not guilty because the debt of his guilt has already been paid. Jesus is an advocate for everyone who puts their trust in Him.

“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:1-2)

The Time is Now

It’s not too late. Each person who knows Jesus as Saviour, needs to find the role they are to play to warn those who don’t know. We all have a part to play, but play we must. Do not be fooled; the prophecies of Joel 2:28-32 and Zephaniah 1:14-18 will be fulfilled. The day of judgement will be more horrific than we can imagine.

This is not the time to be comfortable and say: “My salvation is assured. I’m okay.” This may be true, but while we breathe we must do all we can to save others from that ‘great and terrible day’.

Many people are suffering because of their struggle with moral issues. They are calling what we know is wrong, right, and what we know is right, wrong. We should be compassionate and care for them. But we should be straightforward in saying what the Bible says on clear moral issues.

To do this, we need to be certain in our minds and hearts about what the Bible says. We serve a Holy God. He has graciously given us the way to forgiveness and eternal life. Let’s embrace it and ensure that all within our ambit are given the opportunity to embrace it too – before it’s too late.

So why did God destroy the earth in the Great Flood? The clue is found in Genesis 6:11 —

Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence.

As thousands watched Noah build the Ark, they were oblivious to the danger they were in. Are we living in similar times? Are we in danger of accepting wrong as right and right as wrong? Are we so comfortable we are missing the signs? I sincerely hope not.

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1. David R Parsons, Floodgates: Recognize the End-Time Signs to Survive the Coming Wrath. Whitaker House.
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Photo by Tomas Anunziata.