God is not only able, but willing

By Ben Fleming

For the Appeal

It was a summer's day toward the end of the 19th century when an English city boy went north to visit rural Scotland.

In the afternoon, the boy went swimming in a small countryside lake. He swam out from shore a distance and a cramp seized him so that he could not continue to swim. He was in great pain and yelled at the top of his lungs for help.

A farm boy working nearby heard the boy's screams and ran as fast as he could to the lake. The farm boy tore off his shirt, jumped into the water and brought the city boy to the shore.

Several years later these two boys met again.

The city boy was still filled with gratitude for the other boy who saved his life and he was thrilled to see him again and asked him what career he wanted to pursue in life. The boy said that he wanted a career in medicine.

Since the city boy's parents were wealthy, he promised to pay for the farm boy's education.

The city boy's parents came through and the farm boy went on to a brilliant career in scientific medical investigation. In 1928, that farm boy - a medial doctor and a bacteriologist - discovered the famous wonder drug penicillin. In 1945, Alexander Fleming won the Nobel prize with two other scientists who helped to discover and develop that antibiotic. In 1955 Fleming died.

The city boy also became famous, during World War II he contracted pneumonia. He only recovered at a hospital that was able to give him the drug penicillin. That city boy was the famous wartime Prime minister Winston Churchill. Indirectly, Alexander Fleming saved Winston Churchill's life twice.

I can imagine that it is a wonderful feeling to save someone's life and even a greater feeling to save their life twice - especially when the one saved was Winston Churchill. Think about the number of people that Alexander Fleming saved with his drug, but all of that is nothing compared with saving a person's eternal soul.

Every person is going to eternally live with God or eternally be separated from God. There is no other word in the Bible that is as blessed - hopeful - comforting and assuring - as the word salvation. The message of the Bible is that "man cannot save himself from the eternal damning consequences of his sin."

But God can and will rescue from condemnation all those who trust in Him and believe His word. The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 5:8, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us."

Not only does God love sinners - but He alone is able to rescue them since salvation belongs to the Lord. Not only is God able to rescue but God is willing to rescue sinners.

1 Timothy 2:4, "He desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."

It does not say that all men will be saved - we know that is false -it says God is willing.

• Ben Fleming is pastor of Silver Hills Community Church in Carson City and a member of the Carson City Ministerial Fellowship.