Why Did He Drown?

Anyone who has taken the Fisher's of Men Person to Person Evangelism Course knows the answer to the question before we tell the story.

A man is in the water and he is drowning. He yells for help. A nearby boater gets to him and says, "Get in!" He pushes the boat away and says, "Leave me alone." Another boater gets to the scene and throws a life vest to the man. He throws it back saying, "I don't want that. Can't you see I'm drowning?" In the meantime, a man on the bank had a rope from his campsite, and he throws it to the man saying, "Grab the rope and I'll pull you to shore!" The man pushed the rope away also. The two boaters witnessed the whole ordeal with shock and disbelief. Before they could get to the man to rescue him, the man had gone under for the last time and he drowned. Now comes the question. Why did he drown?

It was not because he rejected every attempt to rescue him. It was not even because he may have wanted to drown. The only reason this man drowned is because he was in the water.

What does this mean to us?

A man was dying in sin. He asked for help from many of his acquaintances. There were some who befriended him and invited him to church. Some from the Church tried to talk to him about his soul. Others showed him a real Christian example and encouraged him to do what was right. They taught him about God's love and Jesus' sacrifice. They made sure he understood what grace was all about and the necessity of accessing that grace (Romans 5:2) by obedience to the Gospel of Christ. But, that man simply rejected the Gospel. He was a good man, but he just would not make that commitment to the Lord. Eventually he died, and he was lost for eternity. Now we can ask a similar question. Why was he lost? The answer is not because he rejected the Gospel. It was because he was in sin.

Today we must realize that the world's greatest problem isn't global warming or a nuclear Iran. The world's greatest problem is sin. It always has been and always will be. Sin will destroy many people for all eternity. Jesus said, "If you believe not that I am He, you shall die in your sins" (John 8:24). There are people all around us who are "in sin." We must renew our sense of urgency in carrying the Gospel to a lost and dying world!