Tony Yable’s family found him not breathing and without a pulse. They preformed CPR on him until paramedics arrived. They were, likewise, unable to revive him. He was taken to Kettering Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio, after being unresponsive for 45 minutes with no vital signs. Only when his son Lawrence screamed: “Dad, you’re not going to die today” did his heart begin to beat once again. Doctors cannot explain his recovery. He was dead, but now he is alive.1
Tony’s physical condition, in many ways, mirrors our spiritual condition before trusting in Christ. The Apostle Paul describes us as being “… dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). He confirms our condition prior to salvation by repeating that “…you, being dead in your sins…hath He quickened… (and) forgiven…” (Colossians 2:13). Regardless of how religious we might be, until we place our trust in the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus as our only hope for eternal life, we remain dead in our sins with no spiritual heartbeat. We are nothing more before the Lord than “…by nature the children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3). Only at the moment we respond in faith to the call of God’s Son, through the Gospel of Grace, are we granted forgiveness and eternal life. It is only then we are “quickened” or made alive (Ephesians 2:1) by one miraculous instantaneous act of God.
When most people have a near-death experience, they conclude God intervened and they were spared for a reason. In the spiritual realm of our salvation, this is certainly true. God intervened through His Son to bring us life. We are now to “…walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4), “… walk honestly…” (Romans 13:13), and “walk in the Spirit (or control of the Holy Spirit–Galatians 5:16). We were “created (or saved) in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath…ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). Are you seeking to walk in the path God intended for you when He saved you? If not, let’s begin that journey today. If you have been walking on the biblical path for which God saves you, keep walking.