When will it be too late...?

[Hestha]

How many times does a person explicitly have to reject God in order to make the decision or fate of going to hell final? Can a person wait until the last minute, on his death bed, to convert to Christianity? Or can he repent by then when he would be dead in only a few minutes?

 

[ebia]

How many times does a person explicitly have to reject God in order to make the decision or fate of going to hell final? Can a person wait until the last minute, on his death bed, to convert to Christianity? Or can he repent by then when he would be dead in only a few minutes?

Why would you leave it as late as possible?

 

[1watchman]

Here is a paper worth considering, and remember that we have no promise of tomorrow ---we may die tonight.

CHRISTIAN COUNSEL
God says: “Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” - 2 Cor.6:2. The STEPS to salvation are the same for EVERYONE:
1. Speak to our Creator-God (note Mt. 6:6-7) and admit you are born in sin and practice sin, as He says in His Word, and cannot that way come to a holy God (please read Rom. 3);
2. Know God gave His well-beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die for our sins and pay the penalty we could never pay in our efforts to be righteous (see John 3). Isn’t that good news?;
3. Know God loves all souls He has created, and wants them to come to Him before it is too late (read Luke 13:23-27). Don’t delay!;
4. Speak to the Lord Jesus Christ in the secret of your heart, and thank Him for dying on the cross for your sins, and declare to Him you are now receiving Him as your Savior and Lord of your life (read John 1, John 3, and John 14).

5. God will then write your name in the "book of life", and you can and should go on walking in fellowship with the Lord Jesus. One MUST walk and talk with Jesus to have fellowship with Him and His Father (please read John 14:23 and 1 John 5:10-13 and see for yourself). Don't let Satan deceive you anymore! Take a stand for the Lord!

"I see conversion to Christianity as the grace of God (unmerited favor) as we are "quickened" (awakened to God and made alive and aware of Him, and stirred to seek to know Him). I see this God-consciousness as something in the soul of every being by the Creator-God, and the reason that Atheists become so upset with Christianity ---being troubled in conscience. Some do not regard this quickening Spirit and shrug it off, but when we respond and see the truth of salvation in God’s beloved Son ---the Lord Jesus Christ, and call upon Him in real faith, the Father responds with the indwelling and sealing of His Holy Spirit --new birth. How precious that is! Certainly our enemy, Satan, will always seek to turn us away from the Lord and learning His Word, so it is good to be diligent to learn more in the Bible. ---RLD” –from biblecounsel.homestead.com

 

[talitha]

Of course a person can wait until he's on his deathbed. The problem with that is that not everyone has a "deathbed". Some people are shot in a theatre while watching Batman or killed instantly in a car accident or.....

Also, I believe there are people who pass a point of no return. I have encountered people who may have become so depraved and so wrapped up in spiritual wickedness that the possibility that they will repent and humble themselves before God become so remote as to be virtually negligible.

But for the most part, I would say that while there is life in the body, there is hope for the soul.

 

[ViaCrucis]

How many times does a person explicitly have to reject God in order to make the decision or fate of going to hell final? Can a person wait until the last minute, on his death bed, to convert to Christianity? Or can he repent by then when he would be dead in only a few minutes?

There's no time limit for grace. I also tend to regard Hell as an eternal, conscious choice. By that I mean, you have to want to remain there to be there.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[bling]

How many times does a person explicitly have to reject God in order to make the decision or fate of going to hell final? Can a person wait until the last minute, on his death bed, to convert to Christianity? Or can he repent by then when he would be dead in only a few minutes?

If a person desires only a selfish type of Love and not a totally unselfish Love, would that person not want to get in all the selfish type love he could, including not want to be unselfish toward others one day of his life?

If the person likes unselfish Love and wants to have unselfish Love He/she would not wait. Heaven is a huge Love Feast of unselfish type Love only, so the person not wanting unselfish type Love is not going to be happy in heaven.

 

[aiki]

How many times does a person explicitly have to reject God in order to make the decision or fate of going to hell final?

Only once if that rejection is not overturned before one's death.

Can a person wait until the last minute, on his death bed, to convert to Christianity?

As has already been asked, why would someone do this? If they have lived their entire life ignoring God, why would they suddenly wish to be one of His children as they are about to die? God sees the heart and is not fooled by a last-minute confession of faith that has more to do with fear than with love of Him. I suppose, though, that it is possible to be truly converted on one's deathbed. It is simply a matter of the sincerity of one's heart. After all, no one gets into heaven because they were good enough, or served God well enough. Everyone is in heaven on the same basis: faith in, and acceptance of, Christ's redeeming work on the cross.

Or can he repent by then when he would be dead in only a few minutes?

Sure. Why not? Anyone who points at such a conversion and says, "I served God all my life! Why should this guy get in when he hasn't served God at all! He's lived a wretched life, but I have lived a life that honors God! Why does he get the same reward of heaven that I do when he has done nothing to deserve it!" doesn't understand that works have absolutely nothing to do with who gets into heaven. Nobody deserves heaven. But God is very merciful and doesn't give us what we deserve.

Selah.

 

[dysert]

Let's not forget John 6:44 --> "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day."

To wait until one's deathbed (even assuming one has that luxury) is presuming upon God, that He will draw the sinner to Christ at the last minute. That's a presumption I certainly wouldn't make.

 

[Knee V]

It is never too late to repent. But the more we harden our hearts the more difficult it becomes to find repentance. If you think you're able to repent, then the time is now. It is later than we think.

 

[drich0150]

How many times does a person explicitly have to reject God in order to make the decision or fate of going to hell final? Can a person wait until the last minute, on his death bed, to convert to Christianity? Or can he repent by then when he would be dead in only a few minutes?

Anyone looking to be a death bed convert does not have the right frame of mind/heart to be a death bed convert. we have an example of a death bed convert with the thief on the cross, and his conversion does not include a life lived in rebellion to Christ, and then a sudden change of heart at the last min.. This man was dying and discovered Christ for the first time and confessed his sin.

God is not a fool, and I pitty the person who's last few mins in this world is spent trying to fool God into a 'loop hole' he thinks he has found.

 

[hedrick]

Someone who genuinely changes at the last minute is fine. However if you try to take advantage of this intentionally it's not going to work. Suppose someone says "being a Christian isn't much fun; I'll keep doing what I want and convert at the end." At that point I don't think the deathbed conversion is real.

I'm actually not so sure why anyone would want to do that. Being an atheist doesn't look particularly fun to me. But for this hypothetical question we have to imagine kind of motivation like that.

 

[Hestha]

I'm actually not so sure why anyone would want to do that. Being an atheist doesn't look particularly fun to me. But for this hypothetical question we have to imagine kind of motivation like that.

What do you mean being an atheist doesn't look particularly fun to you? Wouldn't being an atheist mean you would have one less thing to think about - God?

One motivation to wait to convert to Christianity would be the fear that Christianity or any religion may adulterate the mind, if the person in question works or aspires to work in the scientific profession, especially in the field of biology. Maybe a person can live out his life in his chosen field, before retiring and becoming a Christian. That way, he never has to worry about balancing his spiritual and professional lives.

 

[razeontherock]

How many times does a person explicitly have to reject God in order to make the decision or fate of going to hell final?

Doesn't work that way

"Mercy" is a simple enough concept - until G-d enters the picture

 

[Mediaeval]

Christ is the Truth and Wisdom of God. His Word does not limit the mind but opens it up to new and broader vistas than are possible from an atheistic perspective. In other words, His infinitude overcomes our intrinsic finitude.

 

[Faulty]

When Jesus ceased to teach plainly to the crowds and started teaching in parables, His disciples asked Him why He did so.

His response was one of judgment, specifically so those hearing who rejected Him could not understand and be saved. They had been cut off. Scripture teaches no one can come to the Son unless the Father draws him, and that the gospel cannot be discerned by those who are perishing. They require God opening their eyes to understand, and if they refuse, they risk being blinded for the last time. Paul tells us that the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing.

How many chances does one get? Well, as many a God allows, then they are done. So, don't take a chance and becoming one of the walking damned as a result, because once its too late, then it's just too late.

 

[GrayAngel]

I pretty much agree with what everyone else has said. It is possible to become a deathbed convert, but salvation to happen, there must be genuine change. If the person would be healed expectantly, they would respond by continuing in the faith. But if they do die, that same faith would be enough.

That being said, it's incredibly stupid to put off salvation until the last minute. You never know when your time will end. And if you're choosing to wait until the last minute, then I would seriously doubt the genuineness of your deathbed conversion.

 

[elman]

If a person desires only a selfish type of Love and not a totally unselfish Love, would that person not want to get in all the selfish type love he could, including not want to be unselfish toward others one day of his life?

If the person likes unselfish Love and wants to have unselfish Love He/she would not wait. Heaven is a huge Love Feast of unselfish type Love only, so the person not wanting unselfish type Love is not going to be happy in heaven.

I don't think love is ever selfish nor is being selfish ever loving.

 

[Hawkins]

How many times does a person explicitly have to reject God in order to make the decision or fate of going to hell final? Can a person wait until the last minute, on his death bed, to convert to Christianity? Or can he repent by then when he would be dead in only a few minutes?

Theoretically you can wait for the last moment. But the point is

1) You can't know for sure when you are going to die. You can die anytime any day in an accident

2) You need to gain Jesus Christ's acceptance in order to enter heaven. And He's omniscient enough to know your motive of "decide at last moment". So He might well reject your "last moment conversion" if it is not a decision of good motive.

 

[Moopz]

Thinking about salvation at the beginning of a life vs. the end brings to mind the Parable of the workers in the Vineyard, Matthew 20:1-16. The vineyard people called some at the beginning and some at the end of the day, and if they chose to come then he had work for them to do. He gave to each according to what he desired when he called them. What I take from this story is that he called them at the beginning of the day, up to the end, and all for the same wages.

Can someone be saved on their deathbed? I believe that Christ has limitless grace to save as many as possible, and also that he calls us up to the end of the day, which I take as our life. If Christ is calling to someone and they answer that call on their deathbed, it's between them and Christ. I personally believe that since he sees the heart, if the heart is truly repentant and seeking his holiness and to glorify him in its last breath then there is no reason why I would doubt him giving salvation.

He did it to the criminal on the cross, afterall!

I'm curious, why are you interested in this question?

 

[Ace99]

Totally agree with knee -v, the longer it is left the harder your heart becomes, this could be because we have spent more time in this sinful world. By the time we are on our death bed, if that happens, we will have spent our entire lives, relying on ourselves, we could then say god I want you in my life, I repent of my sins but would we really mean it, remember God looks at a persons heart, he doesn't need to listen to someone, to see if they mean it or not, God knows our hearts.