Death Bed Salvation

Can you live like Hell your entire life and get into Heaven with a death bed confession?   While this appears like quite a complex question, I think the answer is fairly simple.  Yes.

My personal view of Soteriology (the study of salvation) really has little to do with the “confessor” and a majority to do with the recipient of the confession.  The Bible teaches that salvation comes from God and God alone and that man is incapable of coming to God without divine intervention, which comes in the form of regeneration (God renews the heart and mind of a fallen man to draw the individual to Himself).  If it were up to us, Scripture is quite clear that we would never come at all because we are naturally at opposition to God.  So God calls when God wills, whether that is at an early age or at the end of a life.  So it is entirely possible that someone could live their entire life in sin and then experience of the grace of God immediately before death.  Doesn’t seem fair?  Let’s explore.

One Biblical example in particular stands out on this subject.  While Jesus is hanging on the cross, one of the thieves cries out for mercy.  Jesus responds by promising that they would be together in paradise.  Now, this thief died soon after this interaction and has no opportunity to preform redeeming acts to compensate for his life of sin.  Fortunately for him, it was never about what he can do.

Salvation does not represent a perfection of the recipient, but a covering of righteousness that ends in justification in the eyes of God.  I am not a better person on my own now than I was before Christ called me into a relationship with Him.  The difference is that my sinful life is now covered in Christ’s righteousness, not because of anything I have done since, but because of what Jesus did previous.  So the long and short of it is, whether you are a follower of Christ for 80 years or thirty minutes, the righteousness of Christ is sufficient to make you just. 

To the Christian, if this angers you then your priorities are quite out of whack I’m afraid.  We are taught that living this life in a relationship with Christ is the most amazing blessing that we can have.  I look forward to being able to serve Him for 60 years (hopefully) and I am blessed to have been called earlier in my life.  To live life here with Christ is to live life like it was truly designed.

On Theism and Deism

Another response to chillin’s questions on the Ask page.

Chillin asks, “What makes theism any more valid than deism?”

Deism contends that there is a “first creator” who brought about the existence of the universe and then left it spinning on it’s own accord.  This removes the personal intimacy that theism presents, stating that the God who created the universe also fellowships and participates in it.  So what makes the latter more valid than the former?  I’m not sure that this is a very valid question, because the perceived validity of worldviews is relative to the holder, but I will tell you why theism is more valid to me.  I held a deistic theology/worldview for a few years of my life because I had some “intimacy issues” with God.  Through unforeseen events in my life and the studying of the Bible, I began to see the evidence of a God who does not merely watch the universe go by, but who intervenes in a constant and personal way.  In a more generalized sense, I would say that both theism and atheism are more valid in respectability than deism.  Deism itself is a sort of cop out (similar to agnosticism).  It seems rather noncommital, identifying a god, but to lazy to attempt to know it.  This is not a complete answer, but if I presented why theism is most valid, you would surely respond by calling me closed minded.  Also, discussing why theism, and Christian theism in particular, is the most valid worldview would be a book more than a post.

The Morality of God

Another chillin question from the ask page.  I promise I’ll get caught up soon, everything is just a touch hectic lately.

Chillin: How did god decide what’s moral and what’s not?

I’ll try to keep it short and allow for most of the dialouge in the comment section.  When you look at God’s moral law (the ten commandments), the laws that are held within are based upon God’s character.  God is perfectly holy and unparalleled, thus worshipping a created being is not moral.  God gives life, and thus murder is man acting as God and taking life (I’ll rebut after you give me the typical “so why did God kill people in the Old Testament” spill.  Just put it in comment form).  God is pure truth, so lying is contrary to God’s character and thus immoral.  The idea of morality is based solely on God’s unchanging character and immorality are actions and heart conditions that are contrary to that character.