“Today is the first day for the rest of your life,” an adage named to and spoken of everyone. God’s teaching is of even greater blessing than the adage. For with God we (Isaiah 49:8) can use the hour of decision for the Lord. Paul, by inspiration, reaches back to this Old Testament statement and applies it to the church at Corinth (2 Corinthians 6:2). When Jesus prayed for His disciples to be sanctified by the truth (John 17:17) and noted “Thy word is truth,” He wanted His disciples to receive and immediately begin the practice of a ‘set apart’ life. When we believe (John 8:24), we need to move onto a sorrow for sin that leads us to turn away from sin (repent, Luke 13:3, 5). Confessing Jesus as Lord (Matthew 10:32) brings a person to baptism into Christ (Galatians 3:24-27) and, thus, putting on Christ. Further, when a person comes into Christ, he is Abraham’s seed and an heir according to the promise.
Such a decision should not be delayed till the morrow. It’s not good to await another day. Obeying the Lord is the need of this minute, moment and hour. The examples in the Book of Acts of the Apostles show us the practice of these commands as each conversion occurred. Some (Acts 2, 8, 9, 10, 16, 19 and 22) were told to believe, others were told to believe and repent, others were told to repent and be baptized. Everyone being converted was told to be baptized for at that moment of time, he had not been baptized into Christ. Note the men of Ephesus in Acts 19 having been baptized of John the Baptist, had not followed his teaching about following Christ and the knowledge of the Holy Ghost. John had prepared the way for the Lord (Mark 1:1- 5), but baptism by the authority of Jesus Christ was necessary for them. They did not quibble about it. They had the spirit of serving the Lord.
Further, after Simon was baptized (Acts 8), he sinned openly in desiring the power of the apostleship and the ill use of the Holy Ghost, perhaps in his enterprise of magical arts. However, when Peter told him, “They heart is not right with God …repent, therefore, of this thy wickedness and pray God…,” Simon was quickly willing to ask Peter to pray for him that he suffer no ill effects from God for his sinfulness. Immediately, he wanted to be forgiven. Note that he did not return to faith and baptism into Christ for salvation. He had already demonstrated his faith and was baptized. Now, he needed to repent and pray. He wanted the physical person to become more and more the spiritual person in following the Lord. He did not delay his start.
What about your decision for the Lord? Have you already wasted time? Is today the day for your salvation, or is this the day of returning to the Lord as Simon did? Should you delay?
