The short answer here is “Yes”. Is that fair? What if person A spends his whole life serving God, goes to church every Sunday, faithfully gives a tithe (tenth) of his income to the church, and never drinks, smokes, or chews – and never goes out with the girls who do? Person B drops out of high school, moves into his parent’s basement, and spends all of his days sleeping off the effects of the party the night before. Does B deserve to go to Heaven? No. But neither does A. I discussed this in my previous article “Can a mass murderer get to Heaven?”
Jesus addressed this question with a parable. I’m sure you have heard of the prodigal son.
“There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.”The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ”But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ’Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ ”The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ ”‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” (Luke 15:11-31, NIV)
Jesus did not tell this parable because he condoned irresponsible behaviour, or to belittle the commitment of the son who stayed and worked with his father. Rather, the point of the parable is to show the incredible value of each person to God. This story is the third parable in Luke 15. The context is that the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were muttering, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” (John 15:2) Jesus’ response was to tell three parables: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the one that I quoted – the lost son. In all three parables the meaning is the same – the value of the lost item, and the extent to which the owner will go to find what was lost.
So – we are valuable to God. What about my original question – is the deathbed too late? In a word, “No”. As long as we still have breath on this side of eternity, God is faithful and redeems the prodigals who finally see their need for forgiveness and mercy. Does that sound fair? Jesus told another parable to answer this question:
”For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. ”About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. “He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ ”‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.”He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’ ”When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’ ”The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ’These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’ ”But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ ”So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” (Matthew 20:1-16, NIV)
The point of this parable is not to belittle the workers who worked all day, or to condone the attitude of those who think that there will be time to think about God on my deathbed. Who knows if there will be time later?
One thing that I have to point out here is that the deathbed confession is real – the prodigal son repented and asked his father if he could come back as a servant, and the workers hired for only one hour had to make the decision to accept the landowner’s job offer and go with him.
On a personal note, my Mother died of lung cancer. She had only a few months to live. A Pastor who visited her asked her if she was ready to accept Christ. She asked if it was too late, since she lived her whole life without going to church. He told her that it was not too late. I sent Mom an email to tell her about the parable of the workers, and how the ones who only worked for one hour received the same reward as the others. Two months later, she said that she knew that she was going to Heaven. She faced death so bravely and calmly. I have no doubt that I will meet her in Heaven.
So how about you? Do you believe that Heaven and Hell are real places, and that each of us has to make a decision while we are still on earth? Sorry, but there is no fence-sitting allowed. Hell is the default choice. This is not my opinion; this is straight out of the Bible, Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.
Do you think anyone lives a life good enough to deserve going to Heaven? And do you feel anyone lives life evil enough to deserve going to Hell? And what gives you the right to judge?
Regards,
Inna
I’m sorry to hear about your mother losing her fight with lung cancer, but glad to hear she believed and accepted Christ before she died. Since no one is perfect, it’s a beautiful act of grace that God gives anyone who believes, whether on their deathbed or not. That’s why it’s called “amazing grace,” I guess!
Inna – It doesn’t matter what I think – it’s what the Bible says. I only present God’s word. (When I give my own opinion, I clearly state that it’s only my opinion.)
God’s word says that none of us are good enough for heaven. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) That is why Jesus came and gave His life as a sacrifice to atone for our sins. It isn’t up to be or anyone else to judge. The ones who accept Christ’s sacrfice as a payment for our sins – those are the ones who will join Him in heaven.
We can recognise other Christians by the fruit of the Spirit – evidence of the indwelling Holy Spirit who is given as a deposit to all who accept Christ, as a guarantee of God’s promises. The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self control. (Galatians 5:22)
This is a very interesting peace of work (even for a non-believer..hehehe), Some bible stories have sometimes good points as well as bad.
But thanks for sharing it nevertheless : )
Take care
Marie Milton
Interesting article – you might consider embedding links in your article when you reference another article you’ve written. That way it would be easier to find the reference and also should increase your page visits.
Keep up the good work!
I think it is a good article. I am sorry about your mother. My father was a good man but did not get saved until a few months before he died. He was sick for a long time with COPD. If I remember right all we have to do is ask for forgiveness. I remember a neighbor who was a \” Christian \” told me he waited too late and she was sure my father was in hell. What a Christian.
Louis – you are absolutely right! In fact, this article was declined at first (Triond’s copyright infringement program picked up on the Bible verses and declined it), so I wrote a new version – and in that one I have the reference linked. But then Triond finally got my emails about whether or not Bible verses should infringe on copyright laws, and they went ahead and published both versions.
Pamela – I am so sorry for your experience. I don’t know this neighbour, so I can’t say anything about his/her knowledge of the Bible, but I apologize to you on behalf of the Christian family. We all make mistakes, and some of our mistakes really hurt other people, and some turn them off from Christianity altogether.
Dear Mrs. Karen. Thank you for all your articles, they really show me more of God. It’s just, I do so many bad things, some that are really bad, then I tell God I’m sorry, and I won’t do it again, but I do. And I feel so ashamed
But, I need to ask you something. You compared someone who doesn’t drink/smoke and someone that does.
Is it Really bad to drink? Did not Jesus drink Wine? I did some research on this before I read this article and found this.
Mathew 6:31
So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
1 Tim 5:23 “Use a little wine for your stomach’s sake &
your frequent infirmities” (I think this means medicinal purposes)
Genesis 27:28
“May God give you of heaven’s dew and of earth’s richness– an abundance of grain and new wine.”
There are also some that speak of wine as God’s blessing and a lack of it as a curse.
But, when they say this
LEVITICUS 010:009
“You and your sons are not to drink wine or other fermented drink whenever you go into the Tent of Meeting, or you will die. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.”
Isn’t that kind of strong? I mean…Die?
Can’t we repent. I mean it seems that God in the old testament was so strict and had harsh punishments. I think it was because of how much sin we had before Jesus. But it does say “for the generations to come”
thank you and please respond
your questionier
-Cory
Cory – I’m sorry, but I don’t remember comparing people who smoke and drink alcohol to people who don’t. If you could find it and refresh my memory, that would help.
I don’t believe that drinking alcohol in medicinal amounts is wrong. Some studies have shown that one drink a day can be a healthy habbit. The Bible warns against drunkenness. Many Christians have chosen to just forgo alcohol altogether so they won’t be tempted to drink too much. As for smoking, it is a very unhealthy habit. My mother just died of lung cancer. I wouldn’t want anyone to go through that.
James – thanks for your comment. It just goes to show what a difficult topic this is. Yes, deathbed confessions ared honoured by God, but that certainly doesn’t mean that I recommend that anyone adopt the attitude that I can do whatever I want now and then repent later.
What if person A spends his whole life serving God, goes to church every Sunday, faithfully gives a tithe (tenth) of his income to the church, and never drinks, smokes, or chews – and never goes out with the girls who do? Person B drops out of high school, moves into his parent’s basement, and spends all of his days sleeping off the effects of the party the night before. Does B deserve to go to Heaven?
That’s what I meant. Sorry about any confusion I may have caused.
Thanks Cory – my short term memory is getting pretty bad – as is my ability to read my own article.
I was just making a contrast with this statement. You are probably too young to remember but the phrase \”He don\’t smoke and he don\’t chew, and he don\’t go with the girls that do!\” is just a way of saying that someone leads a clean life.
I just noticed that I didn\’t finish answering your last question. Re: Lev. 10:8 is talking about a specific group of people – Aaron and his descendants, who were the only priests authorized to enter the Holy of Holies in the Tent of Meeting, and later in the Temple.
Interesting to note: at the moment Jesus died, the curtain closing off the Holy of Holies was torn from top to bottom. It was 42 feet high and 6 feet wide. This tearing of the curtain symbolized that we now all have access to God\’s mercy seat. We no longer need the priests to intercede on our behalf.
The Old Testament laws were fulfilled by Jesus. So we are no longer living in an age of law, but of grace. Because Jesus paid the penalty, we who have chosen to accept this gift are forgiven for our past, present, and future sin. We no longer stone people who break the law of the Old Testament.
The difference between OT law and NT grace can be compared to the rules for a child and the freedom of adulthood. Children need specific rules, and supervision to make sure they follow them. As adults, the rules are internalized and we have more freedom but also more responsibility. Jesus said: you have heard do not commit murder, but I say hating your brother is as the sin of murder. You have heard do not commit adultery (sex outside of marriage) but I say do not even look at someone and allow yourself lustful thoughts.(this is part of the sermon on the mount, Matthew 5-7)
This looks, in essence, like a duplicate of your other article “Does God Honour Deathbed Confessions of Faith?” with a fresh coat of paint. Same point… Same approach… Actually, the last four paragraphs were the same. And you reused a parable… In fact, this article is a carbon copy of the last one with a new parable added in.
tl;dr: I call shenanigans.
@ MassterGee – you are correct here. This article was first declined because I quoted too many verses – Triond said my work duplicated work already published. I rewrote the article, paraphrasing the Biblical account, and it was published.
In the meantime, I wrote to Triond about their policies regarding Bible quotations, and an editor checked the first version and posted it. So now both versions are posted, and they both have comments which I don’t want to delete.
Karen, i’m so glad i read this post, my hope and faith was renewed after reading this. thank you and God bless you always.
This article is extremely dangerous and can easily be just as misleading! While it is meant (I’m sure.) to be uplifting and encouraging, since it does not indicate what the nature of salvation is nor the requirements of salvation, MANY people may be inclined to believe, like the recent mass-murderer as well as most of so-called “christianity,” that they can get an instant get-out-of-hell free pass anytime that they need or want. There is no such pass.
While deathbed conversions are probably possible, it is HIGHLY likely that almost ALL of them are insincere; they are mostly just fearful attempts to hide from the consequences of their lives and or from death itself. There are NO insincere conversions, regardless of whether or not they are on the deathbed. GENERALLY (meaning “NOT NECESSARILY ALWAYS”), deathbed confessions are insincere by their very nature–”Now that I have done whatever I have felt like my whole life with little or no regard for God, others, or consequences, I am going to use a loophole of an arbitrary God to get a get-out-of-hell-free pass (see reference to witchcraft below). And on the off-hand chance that we are actually supposed to BE good after getting saved, I’ll do it on my deathbed, since I no longer have OPPORTUNITY to sin anyhow.” The point being, if they were to get up from that bed healed and well and continue on with their lives, would they live as Jesus lived, or continue living as their master the devil has dictated for their whole life?
Inna,
The “christians” make “Jesus” a magic word, practicing “christian” witchcraft, which the Bible expressly forbids, as well as sin. There will be an ocean of “christians” going to hell with only a scattering of Christians making it into Heaven. Mat 7:12-27, 25:30-46, 15:8, Mark 7:6, Rom 2:14, & Luk 6:39-49. You are told “It doesn’t matter what I think – it’s what the Bible says.” But she never says what the Bible says. The only verse given is taken out of context and only talks about the past and makes no indication for the present nor future.
PR Mace: I agree that your neighbor does not know your father’s end. However, ASKING for forgiveness is not the way to salvation. REPENTING of sin is the way, and repenting means to “turn away from,” not to “ASK for not being responsible for the consequences of (or ‘the responsibility for’).”
Cory: It sounds like wine may not really be a relevant issue, if you are having issues which you are CERTAIN are bad. Evil actions come from an evil heart; search out the CAUSE of these actions and KILL it (lies are killed with truth), and you will no longer be bound by it. Another difficult issue is that many sins have become “automated” so that they no longer require beliefs to occurs (i.e. Pavlov’s dogs); these habits were developed over time and may take EFFORT to overcome, so don’t wait on outside magic to fix internally-caused issues. Take charge of your “talents” and do GOOD with them! If you stub your toe and filth pours from your mouth, then PRACTICE spilling other things from it, like “Praise the Lord,” or even “ouch.” Additionally, examine why you view such a precious gift from God (feet, the thing you stubbed it on, and even pain, as a necessary gift for dealing effectively in our physical world) as such a vile thing as to curse it so horribly. Truth kills lies; placation FEEDS them.
Regarding WINE, they did not have refrigeration back then; wine (grape juice) did not last long unspoiled. Note that even one of your verses (Gen.) calls it “new” wine (= grape juice). Fermented wine was an unavoidable consequence in those days, but alcohol is a dehydrating poison, not to be drank by those who follow God. For what REASON would you be drinking it? That question alone should answer the question for a sincere person. If it is not for medical purposes or to better follow God, then it would be for intoxicating purposes, to fulfill the lies that this existence is not good enough the way GOD made it. What GOOD reason do we have for drinking poison, and expensive poison at that (buy grape juice and give the price difference to the needy; don’t be greedy).
Re. Leviticus, that’s because nothing evil or corrupted is allowed in God’s presence. That alone should make it clear enough for anyone who is sincere.
Karen: Once-saved-always-saved in ANTIchrist and not biblical!
“Because Jesus paid the penalty, we who have chosen to accept this gift are forgiven for our past, present, and future sin. We no longer stone people who break the law of the Old Testament. The difference between OT law and NT grace can be compared to the rules for a child and the freedom of adulthood. Children need specific rules, and supervision to make sure they follow them. As adults, the rules are internalized and we have more freedom but also more responsibility. Jesus said: you have heard do not commit murder, but I say hating your brother is as the sin of murder. You have heard do not commit adultery (sex outside of marriage) but I say do not even look at someone and allow yourself lustful thoughts.(this is part of the sermon on the mount, Matthew 5-7)”
You contradicted your own theology with your purported support for it, which it must, since the “support” itself was correct, just not supportive of the theology proposed. You have to continue past that Rom 3:23 taken out of context and look at verse 25; the Bible even says for the forgiveness of sins “PAST.” There is NO mention of present or future because that is false doctrine. There is no Bible for the justification of present or future sins; this is a creation of the devil, this is antichrist theology for the approval of sinning (ask the mass-murder from Pa.). However, almost ALL modern “christianity” does not teach Christianity; they violate clear and often repetitive teachings of the Bible in their attempt to justify “getting away with” doing whatever they feel like. This guy just took it a little more extreme than most. PRIOR to this mass murder, I recently did an interview with 3 church leaders, from two campus ministries, for mainstream Protestant religions, at one of the largest universities in our country, and was given the EXACT same responses as this killer was given––once saved, alway saved. The EXACT same question was even asked, basically, “Couldn’t one then do whatever one wanted, even mass murder, and get away with it?” With the definite and immediate answers being, “Yes.”
If it’s not sin sending non-”christians” to hell, then what is it? It certainly cannot be sin, since all “christians” sin and claims to be going to heaven. Us no longer stoning people does not indicate the acceptability of what they do. As you indicated, the NT was the passage of the OT from the external to the internal; the rules are not gone, we are supposed to be living a standard so much HIGHER than them that they are not longer an issue. The rules were a LIMIT; if you cannot live good, then AT LEAST don’t …
Back to the internal inconsistencies though. Children need rules, so that they learn HOW TO BEHAVE AS ADULTS and/or how to live long enough to do so. Does this mean that once we become an adult that we no longer have to be adults, but that children still are? That’s absurd! When we become adults, we are “SUPPOSED” to be mature enough to not have to be told to act like an adult, but the standards not only are still there, but we are MASSIVELY more responsible for them. If you cannot see this, then see how many young children are in jail for taking the toys of others, compared to adult thieves. Adults are MORE responsible because they are expected to UNDERSTAND! The same “rule” applies to Christians! The reason that “christians” do not subscribe to this rule, is because they are still the children, still the unsaved.
Christians might have the freedom to decide how to live the sabbath (ie. Jesus vs. the Pharisees re. picking and eating grain while walking through a field), but it is still required (not one jot or tittle shall pass away+ –Mat 5:17-18), not whether or not to keep it. Look at how you clarified the difference; “adults” are held to a MUCH higher, an EXTREME standard!
Did Jesus come to set the captives free? Is He whom Jesus set free, free indeed? Did this mean literal slavery? Then how come He told the Pharisees that they were slaves and they got angry and responded that they were the servants of nobody? Because they were servants to sin and the lust of the flesh. So if Jesus came to set the captives free, from what did He come to set them free? “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness?”–Rom 6:16. He whom Jesus set free, is free indeed from the bondage once escaped, so long as he does not return again unto bondage and the beggarly elements.
If it’s a “free gift” and so good works are not required, then how come everybody isn’t saved? And if the good works are a RESULT of it, then they aren’t required, but you surely aren’t saved if you didn’t get the results of salvation. The freedom from sin is the free gift. If the gift must be accepted to be gained, then it can also be returned, unless God takes away free-will upon receiving salvation. But wait, if He did that the saved WOULD stop sinning! The return to sin is “returning the gift.”