A TITANIC TRUTH

"A TITANIC TRUTH"

Guest Blog by Pastor Steve Powell

Pastor of Mt. Zion Baptist Church

Tillers Corner, Alabama

A few weeks back our family went to see the Titanic exhibition in Atlanta.

The exhibit is set up as an interactive tour. At the beginning of the tour, each person is given a card with the name of someone who was on the ship. You are given some slight biographical information on the person such as sex, age, reason for the trip, family on board, class of cabin, etc. but you are not told whether the person survived. It made for interesting conjecture among us, trying to figure out if “our” person “made it” or perished when Titanic went down. Since the great majority did not survive, you know from the beginning that the odds are against your passenger. If they were an adult male, the odds were even less. If you were a poor, adult, male, you didn’t hardly stand a chance. As we continued the tour, seeing all kinds of artifacts pulled from the wreckage, photos of the ship, and items about the voyage, the lighting grew more dim, and the atmosphere was purposely made more morbid and threatening. From the excitement of leaving port you moved to the horror of the collision with the iceberg. I had been given the name of an adult male, relatively poor. Viewing scenes of wreckage from the destruction of the great ship, I began to hope against hope, that “my” person somehow survived. At the end, I was not surprised, however, to find his name among those who were lost at sea. I heard someone say that it would be wonderful if a person could go back in time and warn the people about what was going to happen. “Think of all the lives you could save!” they said.

I, however, had the unpleasant knowledge that even a time traveler would have little or no effect on the fate of these people. If you could go back and be on Titanic, you would be utterly frustrated. No matter what you said, or how passionately you might plead, or how much proof you offered, almost everyone would continue on exactly as they had before. That is the nature of people. They would rather go on in ignorant bliss and would resent someone disturbing that bliss.

The worst part of all, is that you would be on board that ship with those same people that were destined for disaster. Even if your safety were guaranteed, if you knew that you would be whisked to safety right before the disaster, you would not be happy. You would mourn for the people that were going to die. They would not be mere names on a slip of paper. They would be living, breathing people, with hopes and dreams, and families. Some of them you might not like, and they might not like you. But some of them would become your friends. Some would be very likeable, admirable, warm and engaging people. You might even find some that were kin to you. And though you might enjoy their company, you would have the knowledge that each day you were drawing closer to at time when those same people would be crying in terror and pain, freezing or drowning in frigid waters. Some would be on lifeboats watching their husbands and fathers going under with the great ship. The weight of that knowledge would temper every thing that you experienced. Folks may tell you to “lighten up” and “quit being so dramatic” and maybe “have some fun”. After all, you were on an unsinkable luxury liner. Couldn’t you just relax and let everyone enjoy the trip?

Eventually you would be forced to make a decision, whether to “chill out” and let them go ignorantly to their deaths, or be a fanatic, a nuisance, and hope to convince some to be prepared for disaster. Either way, it would certainly be no vacation.
Fortunately we will never have to make that decision. The disaster of the Titanic is history now, and that page of time is forever turned. But, as Christians, we live, work and associate with people every day in a very similar circumstance. We have the certain knowledge of a great disaster for them that makes the sinking of the Titanic pale in comparison. That knowledge allows us to be safe from the horror but lays a heavy burden on our shoulders for the people we come in contact with. Our desire is to warn them about what is to come, but so very few will even heed the warning.

I listened to a certain radio host who was talking about going to pre-marital counseling with a Baptist preacher. The host said that the preacher had insulted him horribly and left a really bad taste in his mouth for organized religion. He said, “I go in there for marriage advice, and the first thing this guy asks me is, ‘Are you a Christian?’ I wanted to tell him that I was an idol worshipper. I mean, what an insulting question. How dare he ask that?”

As I listened I tried to comprehend why this man should feel so insulted. What if he had gone to a doctor for a checkup before his marriage and the doctor asked him, “Are you healthy? Do you have any major physical problems?” Would the radio host be insulted at the doctor’s question? In fact, the question asked by this preacher is exactly the first question that should have been asked. The Bible specifically states that a believer is not to be unequally yoked with an unbeliever. It is the same thing as marrying a live person to a dead one. The preacher was merely asking, “Are you alive?” It is more than a concern for this man’s marriage; it is concern for his eternal fate.

Most people in America consider themselves to be a Christian. They, like this radio host, are very insulted if you ask them about their spiritual condition. And yet, the Bible tells us that the vast majority of people, no matter what they call themselves, are doomed to an eternity of eternal damnation. Like the folks on the Titanic, they have contented themselves with false sense of security and do not want that feeling to be challenged. They are very resentful if you dare question it. If you had asked a passenger on the Titanic, “What will you do if the ship sinks?” You would probably been answered with a sharp rebuke for daring to ruin their voyage by making them think about such a thing. After all, they were on an unsinkable ship, what could go wrong?

In hindsight, we see that many things went wrong. The Titanic disaster has raised a lot of questions. Why did the ship not have enough lifeboats? Why was she moving so fast in an area noted for icebergs? Why did the ship sink so quickly? Why did the captain ignore repeated warnings? If hard questions had been asked before the ship left for sea, then there would not have been a disaster. Instead, buoyed by false confidence and arrogance, questions were put aside and the ship steamed full speed ahead to a terrible fate. Even as the ship was sinking, many refused to believe it was happening. That is the way that people are. We do things like avoiding medical checkups because we are afraid that the doctor might actually find something. After all, what we don’t know won’t hurt us. It might, however, just kill us. It might even doom us for all time.

Every day I see people that I know and love. I run into friends and strangers alike I see friends that I care about deeply. I see family that means the world to me. I wish I could pretend that they were all going to be safe and sound for all time. But I have the terrible knowledge that a great many of them are headed for disaster. They are cruising full speed ahead, heedless of warnings, confident in their safety, unquestioning of their future. They worry about retirement. They worry about mortgages. They worry about the stock market, college tuition and health costs. But very few of them worry about their eternal destiny. When we leave this planet, all the worries of this world will be left behind. Many will realize then, that there was only one concern that absolutely had to be acted upon here on this earth; where they ended up when up when their time was up.

False hope. False confidence. False assurance. It sent the Titanic to the bottom of the sea, and many of its passengers along with it. The same will send many a soul to Hell.

In the third chapter of the Gospel of John, a man named Nicodemus sneaks over to see Jesus in the night. Nicodemus is a religious leader; a Pharisee. He is a teacher of the Word of God. He is a leader of the people, an instructor in righteousness. He is worried about his eternal destiny. Jesus looks into the heart of Nicodemus and answers the question that has driven this man to lay aside his pride and to seek answers. Jesus tells him, “Verily, verily I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

Jesus elaborates, “Except a man be born of water, and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.”

That message, my friend, is to the point, final and unchangeable. It is the most important thing that you will ever hear or read. It holds the key to where you will spend your eternity also. Jesus answered not just for Nicodemus, but also for you and me. YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN!

This is the knowledge that bears such a weight in the heart of a true Christian. We know that unless a person is born again by the Spirit of God, they are doomed for eternity. They cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. Instead of being insulted, when asked whether he was a Christian, that radio host should have asked himself, “Have I ever been born again?” The question is not, have you ever been baptized, or have you ever joined the church, or have you ever prayed a prayer, or have you ever had a religious experience. The question is, have you ever been born again by the Holy Spirit of God?

It’s a question that every person needs to ask. It’s the most important question you will ever answer. It is a very specific question with very specific guidelines. You can only be born again by the blood of Jesus Christ. He said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me.” (John 14:6) You can only come if the Holy Spirit convicts you of being a sinner. You must come with a repentant heart. You must come in faith, having nothing to offer for your salvation but the blood of Jesus. You must be born again!

I wish that every person had some sign that a pastor could see that would let them know who is saved and who is not. That knowledge, however, is only between each individual and God. The “proofs” of salvation are not for someone else to judge your eternal fate. They are given for you to know if you are saved. I can’t look at a diabetic and tell if they need insulin, at least not until they start showing severe symptoms. The diabetic person has to keep a check on their own blood sugar level, for their own benefit for their own well being. That is why God gives several “indicators” for each of us to check our spiritual health. You can call them “proof of life.”

First, have you ever come to Jesus in repentance and, in faith, asked Him to forgive you of your sin? Did you then make a public profession of your faith? That public profession does not save you, but it shows yourself and others that you really believe. Did you obey the first command of God to be baptized? (Again, the baptism does not save you, but it shows that you believe and obey, that you are willing to be identified with Jesus.) Do you have the witness of the Holy Spirit in your heart? Has God placed a love for the other children of God within you? Do you desire to please Jesus and to have a loving relationship with Him? Do you have any of the “fruits” of the Spirit, such as peace about your eternal fate, faith in the Word of God and love for others? If you cannot answer “yes” to these questions, then you need to realize that you may be on the road to eternal disaster.

People do not like to think about Hell. It is a very unpleasant topic. Jesus, however, spoke a lot about Hell. He was very specific about its reality. The icy waters of the North Atlantic provided only a few moments of suffering for those lost on the Titanic. Many of those same poor souls awoke in the flames of eternal damnation. In Luke, chapter 16, Jesus tells of a man suffering in the flames of hellfire, who begs for someone to go and tell his brothers to repent, that they would not come to the same horrible fate he suffered, but he is told that even if one rose from the dead to warn them, they would not repent. That is the way of people. We would rather stay comforted in false assurance, than take heed to an uncomfortable warning.

Jesus has risen from the dead. He has warned us. Pastors, preachers and evangelists proclaim over and over the dire warning of Almighty God. And yet, every day we pass through a world that is oblivious to the disaster waiting just ahead. Each person, charting his or her individual course of disaster. Full speed ahead. As I pass among them, I just want to grab, shake them and pound some sense into them, but I know it would do no good. The Bible tells us that only a small number will be saved, that only a portion will hear the truth. They did not listen to Jesus then and they are not listening to us now. So we go about with this terrible knowledge, while we shake hands at the grocery store, and enjoy a meal in restaurant, that the majority of those around us will perish. Even looking out over our own congregation, we know that there are those sitting on our pews that will never see the Kingdom of God. At family gatherings or with good friends, people that we really like and care about, that knowledge hangs over us. It is a burden that is almost crushing. Our best consolation is that God says that one day, He will wipe away the tears from our eyes.

Only God will be able to wipe them away those tears because it is a depressing and sorrowful thing to realize that people that we know and love are not going to make it. Some will find the narrow path to eternal life, but most will sail down that broad highway to destruction.
So, dear friend or family member, if you see me with a bit of sadness in my eyes, if I seem a might downcast sometimes, it is only because I care about you, and I worry about you, and I dearly hope that we will be able to share eternity together. Jesus Christ died for you and He loves you dearly. Friend, there is still time to turn your ship around. I pray that you will heed the warning. God, who knows the future, has reached out to you in time to save you. Now, how you receive that warning is entirely up to you.

Eternity awaits!

~Steve Powell

Pastor of Mt. Zion Baptist Church
Tillers Corner, Alabama