All Applications Will Be Accepted

T

rying to find quality television programming on Saturday morning is the equivalent of a man standing at the ocean with a bucket trying to drain it dry.  In other words, it is an impossible task.  Nonetheless, I find myself each Saturday morning on the couch, remote in hand, flipping through the channels, hoping against hope that something will stimulate my still sleepy brain cells and jolt them into reality.  Several minutes later I come to the realization that I will have to be a self-starter if I am to have any success waking up!  Bummer!

One more jog through the channels provides me with enough motivation to get up off the couch and start my day.  The shows run the gamut from how to cook a perfect cheese soufflé to infomercials for must-have items for your home all of which carry a price tag of just $19.95 if you call within the next 5 minutes. 

But my favorite shows, hands down, are the car dealerships who try their best to entice people to pick up the phone, dial the number on the screen, and buy a car.  All of them promise the same thing, that all applications for credit will be accepted.  If a bank has turned you down, they have the solution you’re looking for.  Low payments and any car you wish are just a phone call away, regardless of your past credit history.  Bad credit, no credit, bankruptcy, slow pays, blemishes, you name it, they stand ready to help.

I can only take so much of this and I have to turn off the television.  Yet there is a kernel of truth in what they are saying.  Unbeknownst to these car dealers, they are actually wonderful examples of a great biblical truth and one we need to understand and share with those around us who do not know Jesus Christ as savior and lord.

Most people have difficulty with the concept of salvation because they believe God can’t and won’t forgive them.  They are convinced they what they have done in the past is so bad that God can never overlook what they’ve done much less forgive them for it.  Only those who come from a certain background, social class, or certain economic levels are ever good enough for God’s salvation, they believe.  And that is where people have it wrong—dead wrong!

In Romans 10:12-13, Paul writes these wonderful words, “For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."  What a deal!!  Paul states categorically there is no difference in standing, either socially or economically, for those whom God forgives.  The words all and everyone are all-inclusive, not mutually exclusive.  In short all are accepted; no one is denied at the throne of God! 

This is great news!  Regardless of our pasts, God offers us His salvation.  It is not based on what we’ve done or not done, who we know or don’t know, how much we make or don’t make, or how much we try or don’t try.  God’s salvation is based on the sacrificial work of Jesus Christ and the infinite resources found in him.  No matter what’s in your past, God stands ready to forgive your sins and extends His salvation to all (not just a select few) who ask for it!  But that is the key, we have to ask and when we ask, Paul tells us God will save us!

I never believed a used car salesman would ever preach the gospel.  But in their own unique way on my screen each Saturday morning, they allude to a true biblical principle.  Salvation is offered to all, it is a gift from God, and in order to obtain it, all we have to do is hit our knees, call upon the Lord, confess our sins, and accept Jesus Christ as savior and lord.  And, by the way, all applications are accepted! Have you applied today?