Pay Him Now or Pay Him Later

Philippians 2:9-11 (ESV) Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

In the 1980’s, there was a commercial about Fram oil filters that ended in what became a popular slogan… Pay me now or pay me later. The obvious inference was that you could either pay the mechanic for a new Fram oil filter now or pay him later to fix the engine when it broke down due to dirty oil.

In a small way this commercial parallels the truth of Philippians 2:9-11. Paul has told us of how Jesus Christ gave up the glory of Heaven to live in the form of a man in order to be the perfect sacrifice for mankind. He then makes this profound statement ,“ …so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…” All of creation will one day bow down and acknowledge the Lordship of Christ. The question is, “Will we do it now or do it later?”

Our society is overflowing with people who refuse to buy the filter now. They think they don’t need the filter. They don’t see the sludge building up in their spiritual engine that will one day cause the engine to break down. They live their lives without a thought of the need for God. Or they say in there heart “There is no God”. They don’t realize that one day they will be called into account and will be judged by the Righteous Judge.

Even worse is the situation we find in churches all across America. Church pews are filled Sunday after Sunday with believers who profess faith in Christ but often leave that profession at the door when they go back out to the “world”. They refuse to buy the filter of purity. Ephesians 5:3 (ESV) “But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.” They will not buy the filter of forgiveness. Ephesians 4:32 (ESV) “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” They would rather let the sludge of pride build up in their engine rather than let God install the filter of humility. James 4:6 (ESV) “But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” We could go on and on but suffice it to say that we need regular service by the Mechanic, the Holy Spirit. We need new filters and oil changes. We must allow Him to renew us with His Word. Romans 12:2 (ESV) “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” We cannot afford to live our lives in the sludge of sin that builds up without regular maintenance. If we do the engine will break down and eventually we will need a major overhaul. We, as Christians, need to live the faith we profess. We need to live our lives in true acknowledgement of His Lordship. He is the Lord and we will all bow down sooner or later. The world around us needs to see us humbly bowing down to His Lordship. They need to see how well the engine runs when the Mechanic is doing the work of continual renewal.

He is the great Mechanic of the human heart and desires to keep it in top running condition. May we “pay Him now” the worship and obedience He deserves. May we lead others to the Savior so they will “bow down” now rather than later.