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In another article (222) we asked the question: "Where shall we find the content of the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ?" Our answer was that it is found in the Bible, the Word of God. In this article I want to ask a related question. If the content of the saving Gospel is found in the Bible, why are more people not saved by believing what the Bible says?
Let me see if I can sneak up on the answer to that question. Those of us who watch television are aware that one of the publishing companies is promising to give away a significant amount of money each day for a month, now that they have given away the biggie on Super Bowl Sunday. One of the reasons this advertising ploy is so effective is that it promises a big bundle of money to the lucky one whose name is drawn. Now let me ask you a question: if you knew that your name would be drawn for the big prize if you simply sent it in according to the promotion, would you send it in? There may be a few of us who would not send it in because of our disdain for big bucks and the materialism of our society, but most of us wouldn't even blink in the process of hurrying our entry down to the post office. If we knew we would win if our name was submitted, we might even take the extra precaution of sending our entry by registered mail just to make sure that our name was there.
Why is that? Because we are convinced that more money would make our lives infinitely more fun, and sending our names to a publishing house is relatively easy. In other words, we would send it in because we think the prize is worth the effort (which is rather minimal). Now, let me ask a second question: If you knew that you would win ten million dollars by having your name in the pot where the drawing would take place, but you also knew that there would be people going through the mail to take peoples' entries out, would you go to the trouble of making a trip all the way to the headquarters of the drawing so that you could hand over the entry form personally and bypass those who would try to cheat you? Remember, the only thing that must happen for you to win is to get your entry in the drawing. Would you make the effort? For ten million? Would you consider the reward worth the effort and expense?
What if you had to book a flight (and pay for it) to Delhi, India in order to get your name in the drawing? Would you do that? It would cost you about $2000 and 80 hours of flying time with layovers. What I am asking is really this: If you knew that you would win, how much effort would you put out?
Now you know why more people are not saved by what the Bible says. The Bible makes an iron-clad guarantee of salvation to those who believe what it says, but it requires a bit more effort than mailing in our name. What do you suppose God meant when He said "Ye shall seek Me and find Me when ye shall search for Me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13), or "I love them that love Me; and those that seek Me early shall find Me" (Proverbs 8:17).