Imagine for a moment that your are traveling down the road in route to reach your destination. Picture two large ditches on each side of the road as you are on this trip. If you lose control of the car and slide into either one of these ditches you will not make it to your destination. Let's picture the destination as being heaven and one ditch is the ditch of presumption and the other is the ditch of despair. If a person falls in either one of these ditches they will not make it to heaven.
The Ditch of Presumption
If a person slides into this ditch it is a great danger to their soul. Many people quickly presume that they are Christians and this presumption could lead to eternal damnation. They trust in certain principles rather than in the person and work of Jesus Christ. They trust in the facts that they are from a christian family, attend church, read their bible, give tithes or because they said the sinner's prayer. They simply presume that because they have done all or some of these activities that they will be accepted into heaven. Jesus Christ gave a stern warning to those who find themselves in the ditch of presumption:
"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, case out demons in your name, and done many wonders in your name?' And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness" (Matt 7:21-23).
The principle from this verse is that many a presumptuous person is going to be surprised on judgment day when they are condemned to hell. To their shock and horror Christ is going to say to them, "Depart from me." My prayer is that this will not be you! Make your calling and election sure lest you be too presumptuous and face the condemnation of Christ.
The Ditch of Despair
The ditch on the other side of the road is equally as dangerous. The ditch of despair can keep a person from reaching the eternal destination. The individuals that find themselves in this ditch cry out and say that there is no way God could ever forgive them. They conclude that because of the severity of their sinfulness they could never be accepted by Christ. To these individuals I present some glorious promises that are found in the bible:
"I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:32).
"And it shall come to pass, that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Acts 2:21).
"For whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Rom. 10:13).
To the person that may find themselves in despair I exhort you to look to these precious promises. Test God see if He will hold true to His promises. I challenge you to trust in these promises. God's promises are "Yea and Amen" so I know if you look to the Lord Jesus Christ you will be saved!
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