1. Before you die! You could die at any time. Be prepared. Be a faithful and dedicated child of God. The Bible declares, "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:" (Heb. 9:27). There is a horrible price to pay for the person who dies outside of Christ.
2. Before you can't! A person can live in sin and then suffer in a terrible accident of some kind or suffer from a stroke or other disease and be rendered incapacitated and thus unable to make rational decisions such as obeying the gospel or being restored to faithfulness. There is a high price to pay for delay in obeying God.
3. Before you become hard of heart! The Bible declares, "Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron" (1 Tim. 4:2). When a person continues to delay in doing right he will eventually lose all sensitivity to the Word of God. When a person becomes past feeling it is impossible to reach him with the truth. Again, there is a high price to pay for delay in obeying God.
4. Before you lead others to sin! Every person influences others. No one will go to heaven alone and no one will go to hell alone. We will take others with us to eternity. By our delay in obeying God we are leaving a terrible example for others to follow. You may not even know of those who are being influenced by your example and thus are being led away from God. The Bible says, "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump" (Gal. 5:9). You are the "little leaven" that will influence the "whole lump." What kind of example are you? Again, there is a high price to pay for delay in obeying God.
5. Before Jesus comes! The Lord declared, "Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh" (Matt. 25:13). We do not know the time when the Lord is going to return. However, we do know that he is coming again some day. Thus, we must always be prepared. When you delay in obeying God you are endangering your soul for the Lord could come today and if he did you would be unprepared and thus lost. There is a high price for delay in obeying God. Obey today!