What would it be like to come into the instant possession of forty million dollars? Mike Wittowski knows. In September of 1984 the numbers on his Illinois lottery ticket matched up with those of the Grand Prize drawing. The result: two million a year for the next twenty years. A stupendous sum of money.
In the four years since he won, Mike has married and started a family. Recently he was asked, "Mike, what was the most important thing about winning all that money?"
"Security," Mike replied. "It has given me plenty of security, and you can't beat that. Security is the most important thing, and I have it for my whole family. My family is what means most to me."
Security is a most important thing. It's wonderful to have it for ourselves and also our loved ones. But money, even millions, cannot really make us secure.
One reason is that, "Our times are in Thy hands"—that is, God chose the time we were brought into this world, and He will choose the time we leave it. "This night thy soul shall be required of thee," are the words God spoke to a certain rich man in Luke 12, and all the wealth that man possessed was powerless to extend his life one day longer.
Another reason is that, even if you could take a fortune with you when you died (which is impossible) it wouldn't be enough to buy an exit from a lost eternity. Die without Christ, and money—even millions— will not buy your way out of hell.
Soul security, eternal security, is the possession only of those who believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Of such believers the Lord Jesus said, "I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand."
Forty million dollars is a tremendous amount of money, but it cannot buy eternal security. That costs far more: it cost the life of the Son of God! At the cross of Jesus Christ, God in His infinite love made a way for souls to be saved from their sins—and from hell.
How did He do this? "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Rom. 10:99That 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. (Romans 10:9) tells us the way to be saved: "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."
Are you seeking security in money and possessions, while ignoring God, the only true source of security? Don't do it! Only through the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, can you be secure—secure now and forever.