{"id":86930,"date":"2025-05-02T12:14:47","date_gmt":"2025-05-02T17:14:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=86930"},"modified":"2025-05-02T12:14:47","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T17:14:47","slug":"go-away-for-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/go-away-for-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Go Away for Now"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t<p>by Terry Wane Benton<\/p>\n<p>Felix trembled at Paul&#8217;s word regarding righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come (Acts 24:25).<\/p>\n<p>His best chance at salvation was right then, but he knew he would have to change, and right then was not a good time to change, he thought.<\/p>\n<p>Eternity was hanging by a thread. He said he would call for Paul when he had a more convenient time. There&#8217;s the trouble! We think we have time, so we push our preparation for the judgment aside, deceiving ourselves into thinking we will do the right thing by God and our own soul at some magic moment in the future.<\/p>\n<p>Those who remind us that today is the time are flippantly dismissed. &#8220;Go away for now!&#8221; Those thoughts prevent our salvation now and trick us into thinking that there will be another moment ideal for solidifying our relationship with God.<\/p>\n<p>As far as we know, the clock ran out on Felix. There was likely never a convenient time for him. Don&#8217;t trick yourself into believing that there is a better time in the future to obey the gospel of Christ! Time is a precious thing. You have it now, but you don&#8217;t know how much is left for you! Be wise today while you have it!<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Terry Wane Benton Felix trembled at Paul&#8217;s word regarding righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come (Acts 24:25). His best chance at salvation was right then, but he knew he would have to change, and right then was not a good time to change, he thought. Eternity was hanging by a thread. He said&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[390,47],"class_list":["post-86930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-conversion","tag-salvation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":41163,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-happens-to-people-who-die-without-being-baptized\/","url_meta":{"origin":86930,"position":0},"title":"What happens to people who die without being baptized?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 27, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I have been reading about the church of Christ and the issue of baptism. If baptism is required for salvation, what happens to people who die without being baptized? Thank you. Answer: What happens to a person who disobeys God? \"Do not marvel at this; for an hour\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8122,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-we-pray-for-satans-salvation\/","url_meta":{"origin":86930,"position":1},"title":"Should we pray for Satan&#8217;s salvation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 15, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How do we respond to someone who asks why we do not pray for Satan's salvation? Answer: While the potential for change is exists, one thing that many people have a hard time accepting is the fact that some people won't ever change; not because they are unable to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":40852,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-didnt-answer-the-altar-call-when-i-should-have-have-i-offended-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":86930,"position":2},"title":"I didn&#8217;t answer the altar call when I should have. Have I offended God?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 7, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I think I messed up big time this past Sunday. During a song, my pastor stepped to the pulpit and gave an invitation to the lost. The Spirit moved so powerfully during the song that the preacher didn't get to preach that morning. I'm saved, but during this invitation,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":92259,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/save-me-that-i-may-observe-your-testimonies\/","url_meta":{"origin":86930,"position":3},"title":"Save Me, That I May Observe Your Testimonies","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 19, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Edwin Crozier Sometimes you just need to talk about Scripture with other people. This past week, I was involved in a Bible study with several men in the area discussing Psalms 119:145-149. I was absolutely stunned by what I learned. The psalmist wanted to do right. According to Psalms\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38375,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-just-cant-seem-to-keep-away-from-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":86930,"position":4},"title":"I just can&#8217;t seem to keep away from sin","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 14, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I am 18 years old and I'm really struggling to be a good Christian. I want to change so much, but I just can't. I read the Bible and pray every night, but I never put the verses into practice. I pray and ask God to help me\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":66800,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-salvation-be-lost\/","url_meta":{"origin":86930,"position":5},"title":"Can salvation be lost?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 28, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I was hoping you could shed some light on an issue that only seems to get more confused as I try to look into things from a biblical perspective. That issue is whether or not it is possible to lose your salvation following baptism. My understanding and belief\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86930"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86930\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}