Second Friend Day - Elmer Towns

(Rom. 6:23). Because you have sinned, you must pay the penalty. When you break a speed law,
you don't get caught for every offense. If you speed through a radar trap, unless you're a good
talker, you pay the fine. You never escape God's radar, for He catches every offense and the
penalty is "death."
"Even for one sin?" a woman asked at the church altar. The soul-winner showed her,
"Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all" (James
2:10). One sin makes you a sinner. You give an excuse to the patrolman, "I was just speeding
down this one hill." He assumes you've been speeding all day and gives you a ticket.
"The wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23). You get wages for your work. Wages is what
you have coming to you. This verse means you have death or 'hell coming because you have
sinned. In contrast, "The gift of God is eternal life." The gift is free and undeserved; it's not
wages. You get death for your sins, but God gives you life as a gift.
3. The third step—Knowing God's provision. "But God commendeth his love toward
us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8). The word "commendeth"
means to give. God has given His Son to die for our sins. This is the gospel. Christ received our
punishment - His life for our death, His death that we may live. The meaning of Calvary is that
Christ was our substitute.
4. The fourth step—You must respond. Knowing Christ died for you will not get you to
heaven. Even if you are doctrinally correct, you do not have eternal life. Satan knows doctrine:
"The devils also believe, and tremble" (James 2:19). Yet they are not saved.
You will end up in trouble unless you do something about it, when you travel down the
expressway and the needle says the gas tank is empty. You must find an exit and go off to get
gas. Belief in Jesus Christ is finding the exit that leads to heaven. When you find it, you must do
something about it. "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe
in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" (Rom. 10:9).
A man in Roanoke, Virginia, confessed to his wife that he had committed adultery. In a
blinding rage of temper she ripped the curtains from the window, broke all the dishes and
announced she was suing for divorce. The next Sunday morning the couple attended church and
during the invitation he went forward, crying like a brokenhearted lover. A few minutes later she
followed him to the church altar. After the service was over, those who stood around were
embarrassed by their hugs and kisses. Theirs was an emotional salvation, both before and after
receiving Christ.
Pastor Curtis Hutson, Forrest Hills Baptist Church, Decatur, Georgia, visited in the home
of Cleo Jenkins, a Certified Public Accountant. After analyzing the gospel, Cleo received the
Lord. Later Hutson confessed, "I didn't think he was saved because he didn't show any feelings."
Yet Cleo has gone on to be one of the greatest workers in the church.
What place does emotions have in conversion? We should never judge a man's
seriousness by his tears at the altar. "Felix trembled and answered, Go thy way for this time;