7 Sermon Illustrations on Salvation Call

A certain businessman arrived at the airport 30 minutes in advance of his flight. He went to the ticket window and received his boarding pass. Next, he checked his suitcase in plenty of time to get it on the proper flight with him, then sat down with a magazine in the lobby waiting for time to board. Since this was his first chance to relax all day, he closed his eyes for what he thought would be a ten minute "cat nap." He rested his eyes right through the first, second, and final boarding calls on his flight. When he awoke, a quick glance at the clock on the wall snapped him back to reality. The flight had taken off without him. He had done everything right except one. He had not gotten on board. Some people are going to miss the plane spiritually if they do not get on board. It is fine that we have faith and Christian parents and atmospheres in our homes. But we must accept Christ to get on board. Do You Believe in Your Sins? A pastor in New York urged an intellectual but dissipated man to become a Christian. The man replied, "I cannot believe in the inspiration of the Bible, in the deity of Christ, or in prayer." "Do you believe in your own sins?" asked the pastor. "Oh, yes," replied the honest soul; "there is no doubt about my being a sinner and sometimes I am in hell!" "Are you willing to bring your sins to Christ for forgiveness and let Him, whatever you think of Him, take your guilt?" "But," he said, "I cannot believe in the inspiration of the Bible, or in the deity of Christ, or in prayer." "Just now," persisted the wise pastor, "I am not asking you to believe these things. You know you are a sinner, and in sin there is a taste of hell. Now, I offer you Jesus Christ as your Savior from sin. Will you accept Him as such, and leave all questions that puzzle you for future solution?" The man went to his home, and that night he accepted the Christ he knew as his Savior, and came to the meeting the next night to tell the people the joy of forgiveness that was in his soul. After several days of testimony which led others to Christ, the pastor gently asked, "What do you think now of the deity of Christ?" "Such a Savior," he said, with great emotion, "must be divine; if He were not divine He could not have done what He has done for me!"

It was day at Jerusalem in Christ's time; at Ephesus, in St. John's time; at Corinth and Philippi, in St. Paul's time; at Crete, in Titus' time; at Alexandria, in St. Mark's time; at Smyrna, in Polycarp's time; at Pergamos, in Antipas' time; at Antioch, in Evodius' and Ignatius' time; at Constantinople, in St. Chrysostom's time; at Hippo, in St. Augustine's time. It is now night with most of them, and yet day with us. Jerusalem had a day; and every city, every nation, every church, every congregation, every man, hath a day of grace, hath an accepted time if he do but accept of it; and he may find God if he seek him in time: but if he let the Sun of righteousness go down, and work not out his own salvation whilst it is called to-day, he must look for nothing but perpetual darkness when time will be swallowed up into eternity, when there will be no time at all. Spencer.

During a religious awakening in a factory-village in New England, a foreman was awakened, but could not find peace. His superior sent him a letter, requesting him to call at six o'clock. Promptly he came. "I see you believe me," said his master. The foreman assented. "Well, see; here is another letter sending for you by One equally in earnest," said his master, holding up a slip of paper with some texts of Scripture written on it. He took the paper, and began to read slowly, "Come — unto — Me — all — ye — that — labor," &c. His lips quivered, his eyes filled with tears; then he stood for a few moments, not knowing what to do. At length he inquired, "Am I just to believe that in the same way I believed your letter?" — "Just in the same way," rejoined the master. This expedient was owned of God in setting him at liberty.

"It was my lot," said a shipmaster, "to fall in with that ill fated steamer, 'The Central America.'" The night was closing in, the sea rolling high; but I mailed the crippled steamer, and asked if they needed help. 'I am in a sinking condition,' cried Capt. Herndon. 'Had you not better send your passengers on board directly,' I said. 'Will you not lay by me till morning?' answered Capt. Herndon. 'I will try,' I replied; 'but had you not better send your passengers on board now?'—'Lay by me till morning,' again said Capt. Herndon. I tried to lay by him; but at night, such was the heavy roll of the sea, I could not keep my position, and I never saw the steamer more. In an hour and a half after the captain said, 'Lay by me till morning,' the vessel, with its living freight, went down; and the captain and crew, and a great majority of his passengers, found a grave in the great deep. But for this delay, all might have been saved.'