We sing a song often times, one that has for a long time been a favorite of mine because of the message, Almost Persuaded, by Philip Paul Bliss. I can remember leading this song as a young Christian on Wednesday evenings or Sunday nights as the invitation song, because I felt like it really impressed the utmost importance upon the hearer the necessity of obeying the Gospel and following the Lord. And that is typically how we always think about this song: that its primary application is for the non-believer who has never committed their life to following God.
And in reality that was the objective that inspired the author of this song. After hearing a sermon on the sad state of King Agrippa when he said to the apostle Paul, “In a short time you will persuade me to become a Christian” (Acts 26:28), to which the preacher that day concluded with the following remark: “He who is almost persuaded is almost saved, and to be almost saved is to be entirely lost.” Bliss, impacted deeply by the weight of this thought immediately set out to write a hymn that carried the same message. Drawing additionally from the apostles Paul’s prior experience with Felix, who after hearing Paul preach about righteous, self-control and the judgement to come, famously said, “Go away for the present, and when I find time I will summon you” (Acts 24:25). And thus was born the hymn Almost Persuaded, which ends by saying: “Almost persuaded, harvest is past! Almost persuaded, doom comes at last! Almost cannot avail; Almost is but to fail; Sad, sad, that bitter wail, Almost, but lost!” What a powerful and sobering thought, especially for the individual who is teetering on the fence about whether or not they are going to turn their lives over to God. No wonder we sing this so often as a song of invitation at the end of our worship periods.
But recently as we sang this song (coincidentally as the invitation song at the end of a sermon) I happened to take a look around the auditorium and something struck me: there was not really anyone (besides young children) in the worship assembly that morning who were not already disciples. And as I reflected on that notion, I began to consider whether or not a song like Almost Persuaded was still applicable to those who were singing it that day. And though we may tend to just chock it up to being a song that only has import to the complete non-believer, I do not believe that that is entirely the case.
Consider for a moment just how many professing Christians there are in the church who are not totally, deeply, genuinely committed in their service to the Lord. There have always been (and probably always will be) those among the brethren who are at best marginal in their fervor and zeal for the Lord. And acknowledging this sad reality, I would encourage us who have at one point committed our lives to the Lord, but have become lax in our attitude of devotion toward Him, to pay attention to the sobering sentiments of this song. That is if we have at one point submitted to Him in baptism, had our sins washed away, and have risen to walk in newness of life, but along the way we have gotten off course, and have wavered in, if not our total commitment, then at the very least in our zeal for actively serving and working for the King; then we need to realize that being in a state of “Almost Committed” is just as dangerous spiritually as falling into the “Almost Persuaded” category.
Our great and awesome God is not satisfied or pleased with half-hearted, semi-devoted followers. Christ Himself said to the Christians in Laodicea: “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth” (Revelation 3:15-16). He goes on to admonish these brethren, saying, “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me” (3:19-20; emphasis mine). If we really want to have a meaningful relationship with God, we cannot be mediocre or “lukewarm” in our pursuit and service of Him. We have to be “zealous” towards Him! Because anything less just won’t cut it.
Jesus, during His earthly ministry, turned around one day and saw a ton of people following after Him. Jesus, no doubt because He is able to see into the hearts of man, shared some very sobering words with the crowds that day…words that stressed the vital importance of how He must take absolute priority in the life of those who would be His disciples. He said, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26-27). These are pretty emphatic statements. If we want to be His disciple, then He must be the most important thing to us. Nothing can take precedence over Him. Jesus went on to illustrate the care that one should take in counting the cost before making this kind of commitment, and the potential shame one would bring upon themselves if they were unable to finish the task. He then concluded by saying, “So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions. Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (14:33-35). The picture Jesus is painting is of those who began to follow Him, but have turned aside to other things. They have lost their devotion, their real commitment and desire to serve and follow Him. The end result for this kind of individual, the one who is “almost committed”, is to be thrown out, cast away from the presence of God.
So, each of us, whether we have never obeyed the gospel or have responded to the gospel call, should, as we sing this song (and songs like it) attempt to make personal application of the words we sing. We should, as objectively as we can, ask ourselves if we are “almost persuaded” to believe in Jesus, or if we have believed, are we “almost committed” to a life of serving Him? Either way, we would do good to remember: “Almost cannot avail, Almost is but to fail, Sad, sad, that bitter wail, Almost but lost!”
-J.L.
Almost Persuaded
By Philip Paul Bliss
Almost persuaded now to believe;
Almost persuaded Christ to receive;
Seems now some soul to say,
Go, Spirit, go Thy way,
Some more convenient day
On Thee I’ll call.
Almost persuaded, come, come today;
Almost persuaded, turn not away;
Jesus invite you here,
Angels are lingering near
Prayers rise from hearts so dear;
O wanderer, come!
Almost persuaded, harvest is past!
Almost persuaded, doom comes at last!
Almost cannot avail;
Almost is but to fail!
Sad, sad, that bitter wail
Almost, but lost!
This bulletin is being published for the purpose of encouraging a further study of the Word of God. Editor – Josh Liggin
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