Ray Confort of the "Way of the Master" series, has written a book on how to know that God exists, and in it, he presents an illustration on conversion. The context is on how Christianity is differentiated from other religions, and here is the quote: Ray Comfort illustrates: “You are standing on the edge of a 10,000-foot drop. You have to jump. Your heart is thumping in your chest. Why? Because you know that the law of gravity will kill you when you jump. Someone offers you the original Mona Lisa. You push it aside. Another person passes you the keys to a brand new Lamborghini. You let them drop to the floor. Someone else tries to put ten million dollars into your hands. You push the hand away, and stand there in horror at your impending fate. Suddenly, you hear a voice say, ‘Here’s a parachute!’ Which one of those four people is going to hold the most credibility in your eyes? It’s the one who held up the parachute! Again, it is your knowledge of the law of gravity and your fear of the jump that turns you toward the good news of the parachute. In the same way, knowledge of what God’s moral Law will do to you on the Day of Judgment produces a fear that makes the gospel unspeakably good news! It solves your predicament of God’s wrath.” (How to Know God Exists, pp.97-98)
Yes it does solve the predicament, and God promises eternal life to whoever believes. The late pastor, Adrian Rogers, once commented that if you repent of your sin, and God does not receive you, and does not forgive your sin and does not make you Born Again, then I will close my Bible forever and never preach again. But He will save you! Do it today. Today is the day of salvation. That was Adrian Rogers' message. When you turn to Him, you will be confirmed and sealed. This is what the Gospel is. Yes, people do love their sin, but they also fear Judgment, as the living and active Gospel makes the fear of Judgment a gnawing reality. (see Acts 2:37, John 16:8, Acts 26:14) Fear is a game-changer. The Holy Spirit's intervention is a game-changer. The very fact that God intervenes at all, proves that no one is simply "left to their free will." God is in the middle of it, but how God intervenes, is a question that Calvinists and Arminians continue to argue about it.
