Call to salvation scripture
Sin brings disastrous consequences to people. God has since played the role of stirring up cascades of troubles for persons, people, and nations who indulge in sinful deeds. God wanted to prevent His people Israel from falling into the catastrophic consequences of their sins so He called them to repentance that He would forgive them and save them from whatever trouble yet to come. Isaiah wrote:
“Come now, and let us reason together,
” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.”
Isaiah 1:18
The begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ, when He came to this earth continued to do what His Father had been doing for ages. Since Jesus Himself is God’s only means of salvation to all mankind, He did well to raise His voice to call people, whoever is willing, to come to Him for salvation. Jesus was recorded by Matthew to have said:
28 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest. 29 “Take My yoke upon you and
learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30
Light and darkness have no association; neither does righteousness have any relationship with lawlessness, nor Christ and worldliness. For one to receive salvation, he would have to come out – come out of the world and the sins thereof and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. This was what Paul was teaching in 2 Corinthians 6 when he added this call to salvation, saying,
17 Therefore “Come out from among them and be separate,
says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean,
And I will receive you.”
18 “I will be a Father to you,
And you shall be My sons and daughters,
Says the LORD Almighty.”
2 Corinthians 6:17-18
One day Jesus worked a great miracle of feeding over 500 people with 12 loaves of bread and two fish. He had hoped that the Jews would believe in Him as the long-awaited Messiah on account of this miracle, but that did not turn out to be the outcome. The Jews still demanded of Him a sign – an extraordinary sign greater than the miracle of the falling of manna in the days of Moses. Jesus responded to their request of a sign, using it as an opportunity to call them to salvation:
35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life:
he that cometh to me shall never hunger;
and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me;
and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
John 6:35-37
What do you expect to hear from the Savior of the world if He stands to preach? It should not be a wonder that often times Jesus Christ advertised Himself, drawing the attention of the people to Himself and calling them to salvation at the same time. One of such events it this:
In the last day,
that great day of the feast,
Jesus stood and cried,
saying, If any man thirst,
let him come unto me,
and drink.
John 7:37
In the past, God said through His servant Isaiah, “In the time of my favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you …(Isaiah 49:8 NIV)” Apostle Paul quoted this Scripture and taught that that time of salvation spoken of by the Lord has come and it is now. Apostle Paul wrote:
For he says,
In the time of my favor I heard you,
and in the day of salvation I helped you.”
I tell you,
now is the time of God’s favor,
now is the day of salvation.
2 Corinthians 6:2 NIV