1. Christians have a few things in common with car salesmen.
2. Both we and they struggle with the “not right now” syndrome.
3. Retired car salesmen have said a typical sale often goes something like this:
4. “Hi folks; how are you doing today.” The customer says “fine.”
5. The sales person asks, “Are you interested in one of these new sedans?”
6. “We have a great special on them through Saturday night.”
7. “Are you thinking about trading in your vehicle”?
8. Whatever the sales pitch, customers will often say, “We’re just looking.”
9. Very few customers walk into a dealership, point to a car, and say “write up the deal.”
10. Responses to salesmen are sometimes a lot like responses to Christianity.
11. This is true for both Christians and non-Christians.
HOW OFTEN HAVE EITHER WE OURSELVES OR SOMEONE WE KNOW EXPRESSED THIS ATTITUDE TOWARDS A SPIRITUAL MATTER: “I WILL DO THAT IN A LITTLE BIT, BUT NOT RIGHT NOW. LET ME WAIT A WHILE.
a) When lookers are on a car lot, potential buyers try to delay and procrastinate.
b) This is not the only time people try to postpone things.
c) A parent may be talking to his or her young children, perhaps children between the ages of 10-13.
d) The desire is to talk to the young boy or girl about serving God.
e) Maybe the mom or dad gets this response: “I not yet old enough to think about God.”
f) Later in the teenage years the response may change: “I’m too busy to be involved with God right now.”
g) “I will seek him after I finish school.”
h) After school God is still not convenient because of dating or life is too much fun.
i) Then perhaps comes the early years of marriage and there is still no time for God.
j) Children come along from the marriage and then things get really busy.
k) As the children from the marriage age, job responsibilities may increase.
l) Retirement comes one day and there are those who assume a second career.
m) If advanced age finally arrives, we may hear people say they are now too old.
n) We may go through life with a series of excuses for never being obedient or really faithful.
2) If the process I described were secular instead of spiritual, we might see a different response.
a) Suppose a car dealer had the last car that would ever be available for sale.
b) If this were true, we would probably make arrangements to buy the vehicle that day.
c) Or, suppose someone said a natural disaster was coming.
d) We would adjust our priorities whatever they were.
e) School would be put aside, our children’s activities would be altered, and the aged would get moving.
f) Secular illustrations show us that people can get motivated and get the job done.
g) Such is also true and needed in the spiritual realm.
h) Jesus said in Mt. 10:28 to “not fear” those who can destroy the body but not the soul (people).
i) Rather, the Lord said “fear Him” (God) who can destroy both.
j) God does not want people to “wait for a better time.”
k) If we are not a Christian, there will never be a better time to become one.
l) If we are a Christian, there will never be a better time to be actively involved in the service of Christ.
TO THIS SOMEONE MIGHT SAY, “I DON’T HAVE ENOUGH KNOWLEDGE TO YET OBEY GOD.”
a) This is an objection that is often faced by sales people at car dealerships.
b) Someone walking around on the lot might say they are simply gathering information.
c) They do not yet know what they want, need, or should probably purchase.
d) If that’s the case, a good salesman will try to help get the information a person needs.
e) In the case of Christianity, a lot of knowledge is not necessary.
2) I have heard people have intense discussions about how much someone knew to become a child of God.
3) If we look at the book of Acts, we find that a minimal amount of information was required.
4) Acts 2 tells us about 3,000 people were taught on a single day and became Christians.
5) This first conversion account shows that instruction was limited to less than a full day.
6) Acts 2:41 says, “in that day.”
a) Consider another text from the book of Acts – 16.
b) Paul and Barnabas had been imprisoned.
c) It was about midnight (verse 25).
d) The jail keeper began a Bible study concerning the gospel.
e) Listen to verses 32-33 – READ.
f) A lot of information can be communicated in an hour.
g) When it comes to all that is in the New Testament, it all can’t be taught in 60 minutes.
h) Acts 2 and Acts 16 are useful in dealing with people who claim they don’t know enough.
i) Within 60 minutes we can teach people enough about the gospel to help them become a Christian.
j) The eunuch in Acts 8 only needed one study session to become a child of God.
k) After conversion the teaching continues.
7) If a person is not resistant to obeying because of minimal knowledge, they may stress something else.
8) They may say they want to be sure they are not “good enough” to live a Christian life or want to make improvements.
a) Most companies involved in manufacturing want to improve.
b) Improvements are made in how things are made, how to cut costs, improving ergonomics, etc.
c) No business starts with a perfect business plan. There are always changes.
d) A single person or a group of people take the plunge and adjust things as needed.
e) If businesses only started after things were perfect, they would never produce any goods.
9) A similar thing is true for those who become Christians.
10) The jail keeper in Acts 16 was ready to destroy himself.
11) Had he been in our current culture, some may have told him to get some therapy.
12) After he had a better state of mental health, he could learn about and come to God.
13) Eph. 4:28 says “let him that stole steal no more.”
14) That sounds like some brethren at Ephesus still had a problem breaking away from the old life.
15) People have not always fully broken with the old ways when they become God’s people.
16) Now is the time to become a Christian, and the decision to repent means we start stomping out sin.
17) In the Corinthian letter (1 Cor. 3:1-4), Paul called these brethren “babes in Christ.”
18) Paul and heaven knew that new Christians still struggle; there is a growth process.
19) Peter said we are to grow (2 Pet. 3:18), and typically this growth comes after conversion.
20) Saying we have some changing to do before becoming a Christian is incorrect thinking.
21) Another reason we hear for not being obedient is “all the hypocrites in the church.”
22) Let’s think about hypocrites.
a) Is it not true that hypocrites are in nearly every aspect of our lives?
b) People seem friendly to our face but they may stab us in the back every chance they get.
c) Untold millions of dollars have been bilked from the government by hypocrites and crooks.
d) We have teachers how are hypocrites, preachers who are hypocrites, and politicians who are hypocrites.
e) These people live in our neighborhoods, come to our family reunions, and are everywhere else.
f) Very few places are avoided by us, however, because of hypocrites.
g) Saying we will not be obedient to God because of hypocrites is no excuse.
h) Hypocrites do exist in the church, but let’s not forget that they are not right with God.
i) When looking upon hypocrisy, we need to ask ourselves the right question. What is better:
j) Is it better to be with some hypocrites now or be with them all for eternity?
k) God has specifically promised to weed out the hypocrites at the end of time.
l) God knows they exist, and in some respects, they exist to test us.
m) Jesus had a hypocrite among the 12; did He refuse to do the Father’s will?
n) Consider the percentage of hypocrisy in the life of Jesus.
o) Jesus had 12 special disciples; one was a hypocrite, what was the fallout rate?
p) It was close to 10%.
q) What if we went to a congregation today and someone say, “10% of these people are hypocrites.”
r) We might be in a state of shock; we might reason, “this is not the place for us.”
s) Such a percentage would not be too far removed from the very thing Jesus had to face.
23) All kinds of excuses might be brought forward to not obey or to delay obedience.
24) Whatever reason seems to be holding us back, our delay may be hindering others.
25) People might be watching us thinking, “I will obey but only after he or she obeys.”
26) That kind of thinking is not good or correct, but it happens.
27) If we want an excuse to not do the will of God, we can find it.
a) Let’s think about the car salesman once again.
b) Several years ago I remember saying to a sales person, “I need to consult with my wife.”
c) His response went something like this:
d) “Who wears the pants in your family? Do you ask your wife about everything?
e) “Real men make this kind of decision on their own.”
f) He apparently realized it was not going to be a slam-dunk sale so he vented his frustration.
g) Sometimes we do not do something because of someone else.
28) Some of us have heard a person say, “I need to talk to my parents about that.”
29) If this is coming from a young person, perhaps in the teen years, the words are often wise.
30) Children should talk with their parents about Christianity.
31) Later in life deciding about Christ and the gospel is not up to our family members.
32) Husbands have said they would not obey because it would displease their wives.
33) Wives have sometimes been hesitant because of their husbands.
34) Some family situations can make obedience a difficult matter. God said He is first.
35) Heaven gives us information on how to deal with family members that object (1 Pet. 3:1-2).
36) If all these objections are not made to obedience, we may get to still ones.
a) There are those who say they do not feel or think certain things are required of them.
b) Feels and facts do not always agree.
c) We may feel fine but be very ill.
d) We may feel we have a certain medical condition but the facts say that diagnosis is incorrect.
e) Obedience and not excuses is what God requires.
f) This may be the basis for a wonderful question in Acts 22:16 – “why tarriest thou?”
g) Why wait when it comes to obeying God? There is no reason to delay.
h) If we are a Christian, our desire each day should be to know and do the will of God.
i) If we have never become a Christian, our interest should be being obedient to the heavenly Father.