Almost Persuaded

“Almost persuaded” now to believe; “Almost persuaded” Christ to receive;
Seems now some soul to say, “Go, Spirit, go Thy way, Some more convenient day on Thee I’ll call.”

“Almost persuaded,” come, come today; “Almost persuaded,” turn not away;
Jesus invites you here, Angels are ling’ring near, Prayers rise from hearts so dear; O wand’rer, come!

Oh, be persuaded! Christ never fails—Oh, be persuaded! His blood avails—
Can save from every sin, Cleanse you without, within— Will you not let Him in? Open the door!

“Almost persuaded,” harvest is past! “Almost persuaded,” Doom comes at last; “Almost” cannot avail;
“Almost” is but to fail! Sad, sad that bitter wail—”Almost—but lost!”

Be now persuaded, oh, sinner, hear! Be now persuaded, Jesus is near;
His voice is pleading still, Turn now with heart and will, Peace will your spirit fill—Oh, turn today!

This particular hymn was written by Phillip Bliss, author of the great hymn “O Happy Day!”  He wrote this song after listening to a sermon in church based upon the passage of Scripture found in Acts 26 where Paul is speaking before King Agrippa.  Paul proceeds to give his testimony, and in Acts 26:28, King Agrippa makes the following statement “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian (KJV).”   Paul has passionately told the story of Christ and shared with the King his own powerful testimony, and then pleaded with the King to become a follower of Christ, but the King’s response was “Almost.”  What a sad word and a sad ending to that story. The Bible does not tell us if King Agrippa became a believer so we are somewhat left in limbo.

I like the fact that this particular hymn expounds on those two simple words in a unique and powerful way, and forces us to do a little thinking.

Couple of phrases worth spending some time on:

• “Some more convenient day” – Do you feel that “convenience” is the word that describes our culture?  You can find everything under the sun at the local “convenience” store (gas, food, drinks, medicine, clothes, knick-knacks, etc).  We want “fast food” 24 hours a day – who really wants a Krystal at 2:00 in the morning?  We want to access our bank accounts via a branch, an ATM machine, online, and even through our cell phones.  However, many important things in life do not necessarily come at “convenient” times.  Some things require us to be patient and to perservere.  Other times in our life we will be required to be decisive and not to procrastinate.  I think about God testing Abraham in Genesis when He instructed Him to sacrifice his own son.  He made him travel three days with a group of people and his young son, made him climb the mountain with wood for the sacrifice, and only provided the ram after Abraham had tied Issac to the altar and pulled out his knife.  How inconvenient that had to be!  Couldn’t there have been an easier, more convenient way?  However, I have come to realize that the more we wait on “ease” or “convenience,” the less likely we are to do what God has lead us to do and the more we will “flip-flop” in our decision.  The reality is that in some areas there will never be “some more convenient day.”  That is just not how God works.  We must do the things we are lead to do whether convenient or not, whether easy or not – because it is right, and because we may not have a second chance.

• “Cleanse you without, within” – When someone becomes a Christian, do you think God cleanses only the inside, only the outside, or both?  I tend to think that God changes the inside, and the effect of a true change on the inside results in the change on the outside.  In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, the son returns home with a repentant heart and the Father accepts and forgives him.  But the Father also does something to his outward appearance.  The Message version reads “When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him. The son started his speech: ‘Father, I’ve sinned against God, I’ve sinned before you; I don’t deserve to be called your son ever again.”  But the father wasn’t listening. He was calling to the servants, ‘Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then get a grain-fed heifer and roast it. We’re going to feast! We’re going to have a wonderful time! My son is here—given up for dead and now alive! Given up for lost and now found!’ And they began to have a wonderful time.”  The Father forgave the sins of the son (cleansed within) and put new clothes on him (cleansed without).  Isn’t it interesting that in the story, the Father doesn’t verbalize “I forgive you,” but his actions showed that he did?  The Father begins to clean him up on the outside, prepare for a feast, and welcomed him home, but never said “I forgive you.”

I heard Dr. Conn, President of Lee University, preach about this passage of Scripture several years ago.  He talked about how the word “almost” is unique in that it’s meaning has everything to do with the context we find it used.  For example, he quoted from the Nashville Tennessean newspaper the day after the Titans were in the Super Bowl several years ago.  The Titans had a chance on the last play of the game to score a TD to win the game.  The receiver caught the pass, and was tackled on the 6 inch line, and never reached the end zone.  The headline in the paper the next day read “Almost.”  “Almost” was not good enough in this particular circumstance.  In some areas of life, “Almost” is okay.  “I almost had a million dollars in my bank account” would not necessarily be a bad thing.  Many times the word “Almost” can be interpreted “not bad”, or “close.”  However, “Almost” in other areas may mean the difference between winning and losing, success and failure, or life and death.  “Almost” can be a really tragic word.  In King Agrippa’s case, “almost” was the difference between eternal salvation and eternal damnation.  Close enough just didn’t cut it.

I am hopeful that the people that read the “Hymn of the Week” emails have settled the decision to make Jesus Christ Lord of their life.  If not, I hope you listen to the urgency found in the Verses 3 and 5 of this hymn, and let Him be Lord of your life today.  However, for those of us who are believers, I think it is important to ask ourselves “Are there things in our lives that are “almost” finished?”  “Are their people that we know that have been on the fence when it comes to making a decision to serve the Lord and are almost persuaded?”  If so, do something about it.  Finish the things that God has laid on your heart to do. Don’t procrastinate.  Secondly, communicate the urgency found in this hymn to non-believers for today is “almost” gone.