Almost Christians Will Forfeit the Prize

“Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.’” Acts 26:28 NKJV

Conner Mantz made history Sunday by besting an American running record that had stood for 18 years. The former BYU runner finished the Houston Half Marathon in 59:17, 26 seconds faster than Ryan Hall’s 59:43 from 2007. With his performance, Mantz further cemented himself as one of the best distance runners in the world right now. He’s just the fourth American in history to break the 60-minute barrier in a half-marathon, and he’s the first to do it in nearly seven years, according to Citius Magazine. Although Mantz shattered the American record — and improved his own personal best in the half-marathon by more than a minute — he just missed out on winning the race. It was a photo finish after a final sprint, and race officials gave the win to Addisu Gobena of Ethiopia, determining that he’d edged out Mantz by 0.01 seconds.

And you know, as this story shows, missing the mark by even a centisecond means “almost” winning the race but forfeiting the grand prize. In the same way, a person who “almost” accepts Jesus as their Savior (the person who has a head knowledge of who Jesus is, and who might even appear to be a follower, but doesn’t give up his or her complete life to follow Him) will “almost” grasp the prize of eternal life upon reaching the finish line but will hear the words “I never knew you. Depart from me” instead. You see, “almost” being a Christian means that a person almost has eternal life and will almost be delivered from the judgment of hell; but almost isn’t enough. Far from being admired for how far he did come, King Agrippa condemned himself even more by admitting how close he had come to the gospel and how clearly he has understood it, while still rejecting it. Sadly, King Agrippa was estimated to be about 33 years old when he heard the words of Paul, who gave a clear defense for the reason he trusted in Jesus and why everyone else should do so as well, since the evidence that Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of God he shared could not be refuted nor disproven. After his refusal to accept Jesus as his Savior, Agrippa then died at the age of 73, having traded 40 years of worldly living only to die and spend eternity in hell. In other words, Agrippa traded 40 years for an eternity in heaven.

So, don’t be an “almost” Christian my friend. Jesus was very clear that whoever is not completely with Him is totally against Him. Which means that by making the decision to “almost” follow Jesus is making the decision to not follow Him at all.

Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that those who choose to follow the world like King Agrippa did will forfeit the prize of eternal life. Lord, help us to understand that this life is short and eternity is forever so we would see the futility of taking hold of the world rather than taking hold of Jesus. In addition, Lord, help us to see that nothing that we gain here can be taken into eternity. It’s in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.

Happy Running!