Thought of the Day 04.28.10

One of the questions people often ask about Christianity is whether someone can live an evil life and then repent on his deathbed. So long as the repentance is genuine, the enthusiastic Christian answer is, “Yes!” We know this for certain based on the poignant story of the thief on the cross, who confesses his sins, expresses faith in Jesus, and immediately receives the promise of salvation.

“But how can that be fair?” comes the natural follow-up. Aside from the erroneous assumption that sinning is beneficial and godliness harmful, there’s another mistake here. In reality, the deathbed conversion is easier to accept.

This is because at least he lived a life of sins for which he may not have known better. In contrast, those of us who convert midway through our lives and continue to sin afterward seem more guilty than he is. In any case, we both trust Jesus to wipe away an entire life full of sin. This is because the key fact isn’t whether we come to faith before, during, or after our sins occur, but that we come to that faith at all.