People often view time with mixed emotions. Some look back with nostalgia, convinced the past was better, while others cling to hope that the future will be brighter because the present feels difficult. Scripture does not deny the importance of either. The past reminds us of God’s faithfulness and teaches us hard-earned lessons. The future holds the promise of ultimate freedom when Christ returns. Yet the Bible consistently directs our attention to the present—the “now”—because it is the only moment in which we can respond, obey, and live faithfully.
One of humanity’s most common struggles is procrastination. We delay obedience, postpone repentance, and defer faithfulness, telling ourselves there will be a better time later. But the past cannot be changed, and the future has not yet arrived. What remains is today. Ironically, today often feels ordinary and unremarkable, lacking urgency, even though God repeatedly emphasizes its significance.
Reflecting on 2 Corinthians 5, we are reminded of the heart of the Gospel: God made Jesus, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. This truth is not meant to burden sinners with anxiety, but to delight them. Humanity was created to desire and delight in God’s righteousness. Jesus affirms this when He says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
Righteousness is more than a legal status or a list of moral deeds. It carries deep relational meaning. To be righteous is to be made right with God—to be reconciled to Him. This reconciliation restores a broken relationship and places us back into right standing with our Creator. As those reconciled to God, we are also entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation, serving as Christ’s ambassadors in the world. To become the righteousness of God, then, is to live in a restored, ongoing relationship with Him.
Building on this, Paul urges believers in 2 Corinthians 6:1–2 not to receive God’s grace in vain. The grace he refers to is the grace of reconciliation grounded in the “great exchange” or double imputation: our sins were credited to Christ at the cross, and His perfect righteousness was credited to us by faith. In this exchange, we lose nothing and gain everything. We are the primary beneficiaries of this astonishing grace.
To receive God’s grace in vain does not mean losing salvation, but failing to live out the purpose for which we were saved. Salvation is not the finish line; it is the starting point. God saves us in order to draw us into a deeper relationship with Himself, to sanctify us and shape us into Christlikeness, and to send us out as ambassadors who proclaim and display the Gospel. A life that stops at conversion but refuses transformation misses God’s intended goal.
Scripture consistently describes God’s purpose for His people after salvation. We are called to live lives worthy of the Lord, to please Him in every way, to bear fruit in every good work, and to grow in the knowledge of God. We are strengthened with His power so that we can endure with patience and joy, even through trials. All of this flows from the reality that God has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption and forgiveness of sins.
Paul repeats this call across his letters, urging believers to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel and to live lives worthy of their calling. These repeated exhortations reveal how easily believers drift back into old patterns. The pressures, temptations, and distractions of the world constantly pull us away from Gospel-shaped living. We therefore need continual reminders to walk in humility, gentleness, patience, and love, maintaining unity in Christ.
The warning against receiving God’s grace in vain implies a real and present danger. For the Corinthians, one major danger was pride. They boasted in spiritual gifts, knowledge, and allegiance to particular leaders. This self-centeredness shifted their focus from living for Christ to living for personal glory. When pride takes root, grace is sidelined, and the Christian life becomes about self rather than the Savior.
Another serious danger is false teaching. Paul repeatedly warned against embracing a different gospel—one that distorts the truth about Christ and righteous living. False teaching subtly reshapes our view of God, sin, and grace. To claim belief in Jesus while living as though His sacrifice carries little weight is a deep contradiction. Right belief and right living are inseparably connected.
Against these dangers, Paul issues a striking declaration: “Now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” The language is intentionally urgent. The repeated emphasis on “now” is meant to arrest our attention. This urgency applies both to believers, who are called to proclaim the Gospel without delay, and to unbelievers, who are summoned to respond while the opportunity remains.
Paul grounds this declaration in Isaiah 49:8, where God promised a time of favor and salvation for Israel’s release from exile. Yet the salvation accomplished through Christ is far greater. Through His finished work on the cross, Jesus has fully paid the debt of sin, satisfied God’s righteous wrath, and secured God’s favor for His people. Because Christ has completed the work of redemption, the “now” of salvation is open and available.
This present moment is the divinely appointed time when God graciously answers prayers and rescues sinners from bondage. It is a season in which mercy is freely offered through the death and resurrection of Jesus. To delay or reject this grace is not merely unwise but profoundly tragic, given the immeasurable cost at which it was secured.
For believers, living between Christ’s first coming and His second, the “now” is a critical window for faithful obedience. It is a time for the most important work of all—the proclamation of the Gospel and the salvation of souls. Jesus urges His followers to lift their eyes and see that the fields are ripe for harvest. Opportunities to share Christ are always present, often embedded in ordinary moments and gatherings.
This “now” is not a season for spiritual laziness, fear, or distraction by worldly pleasures or false teaching. It is a time to hold fast to the truth and boldly proclaim Christ. Jesus reminds us that we must do the works of Him who sent us while it is day, because a night is coming when that opportunity will cease.
At the same time, the “now” is a season for growth and sanctification. Even after conversion, believers face ongoing temptation. The enemy seeks to dull our love for Christ and lure us back into former ways of life. We must therefore examine ourselves honestly. Are we growing in Christlikeness? Are we adding to our faith goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection, and love in increasing measure?
As children of God, we enjoy extraordinary present privileges. We are united to Christ, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and strengthened to resist sin, endure suffering, and find comfort in trials. Yet these privileges carry corresponding responsibilities. We are called to serve now, pray now, read Scripture now, resist sin now, and pursue holiness now. Faithfulness today prepares us for greater usefulness tomorrow.
If we desire to know God more deeply, love Him more fully, and serve Him more faithfully by the end of the year, the essential question is simple: what are we doing now? Procrastination, excuses, and spiritual complacency hinder growth. God works through willing and obedient hearts, and present obedience lays the foundation for future strength.
For unbelievers, the message of Scripture is clear and urgent: now is the day of salvation. God extends mercy to repentant sinners in the present moment. Many assume they can delay this response until a more convenient time, but Scripture never guarantees a tomorrow. Life is fragile, and the opportunity to respond is finite.
When God declares that now is the time of His favor, it implies that this window will one day close. A time is coming when judgment will replace mercy, and those who rejected Christ will hear the devastating words, “I do not know you.” Apart from Christ, sinners remain under God’s righteous wrath, making the present moment eternally significant. Yet God welcomes even the worst of sinners, and even weak faith is sufficient to come to Him now.
The “day of salvation” is not a literal twenty-four-hour period but a window of grace lasting until death or Christ’s return. Both mark the end of opportunity and the beginning of judgment. To live within this window and yet die without salvation is a profound tragedy.
Ultimately, we are living in a time of both great opportunity and great danger. It is a time of opportunity because God’s favor is freely offered through Christ. It is a time of danger because rejecting that offer leads to eternal separation from Him. Believers must therefore lovingly and urgently call others to respond while there is still time.
Scripture exhorts us, “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” Hardness of heart does not always appear as open rejection; it often takes the form of indifference or spiritual numbness. We are called to encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of us are hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. May God help us to treasure the present moment—the now—as the time of His favor and the day of His salvation, and to live lives worthy of the calling we have received.
[AI-generated notes from the sermon]
