It is amazing to me the lengths people will go to in order to justify a works-based salvation. In a discussion about the validity of deathbed conversions the following was stated:
Therefore, in my opinion, a person who waits until they are about to take their last breath, has waited too long. Please do not remind me of the thief on the cross. That is not a good and proper analogy since we did not even have Pentecost yet. Therefore, the Christian church had not been established yet, and the people were still under the Law and not under Grace.
My initial thought when I saw this was to say, "What is a legitimate confession of faith?" In my opinion, the heart behind a statement like this is one that has been steeped in religion and a works-based salvation all their lives. To those in the clutches of legalism, because they can't see the heart of an individual, the evidence of salvation is always by what someone is doing. But, even the works that are supposed to be evident are subject to the laws and traditions of a particular church or denomination. You see, by default, legalists have to judge others in the way in which they are being judged. If, in their mind, God is an unrelenting taskmaster you better believe they will be too. If they have to dedicate their lives to the never-ending, ever increasing demands of their church, you know they are not going to be alone in their endeavor. They are forced to judge others the by the laws they have submitted themselves to. One of the fruits of that oppression is doing away with the deathbed conversion. After all, a deathbed conversion exonerates that individual from having to do any "work" for the Lord. In other words, they can't earn their salvation if there is no life left in which to do so!
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." 1 Corinthians 4: 4-8
The attributes of God described in the "love" chapter of 1 Corinthians 13 talks of two important areas of His love. Those being God's patience and His not keeping records of our wrongs. In order for God to not honor a "death bed conversion" He could not be either of these things. There would have to be a limit to His patience if He were to give up on somebody before they died. Scripture tells us that it is appointed for man to die once and then the judgement. Well, if you're not dead there is still time for you to accept the gift of God. And, if God were keeping record of your wrongs, there would be no time to repent of a lifetime of sins stored up before your death. Furthermore, we must then conclude that Jesus was lying when He said, "It is finished." Depending on how old someone is at the time they were about to die, they would need another lifetime just to remember every sin they commited in their life. That is why the individual who doesn't believe in a "death bed conversion" has to try and explain away the conversion of the thief on the cross. His was a perfect example of a deathbed conversion honored by the Lord. And if you have to throw out a classic event in scripture in order to validate your theology, then that is evidence that your belief is not biblical. The thief on the cross is one example of salvation by grace alone that has thrown a wrench in the workings of more than one doctrinal error. His conversion is proof that, although he was under law, it was his faith that saved Him.
"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: 9-16
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard is applicable to this topic as well. In it we see were the Kingdom of God is accessible by those who have been believers for a long time and for those who came to the Lord late in life. God is not a respector of persons. Therefore, He is not impressed by our lifetime of so-called dedication to him. Besides, if it is the Lord who is living His life in and through us, what do we have to boast about anyway? The Bible tells us that even the angels rejoice whenever a sinner repents. It doesn't give a condition on when that repentance takes place. I find it strange that many people will accept the supposed conversion of a little child to Christ, but deny that of an adult who does so just prior to death. It stands to reason that the child knows very little, if anything, about what they are doing. While one could argue that the finality of death, after a lifetime of sin, is the final mirror to look into that reveals the sinners condition and turns them to Christ. The door to Heaven is open to all who come to faith in Jesus Christ. As long as one is alive the opportunity for them to repent of their unbelief is available. There is no condition of a lifetime dedicated to the burdens that men put on each other in a futile attempt to earn through works, what can only be received as a gift. Whether you are 8 or 80, young, crippled or crazy, the offer of salvation is open to whosever will accept Christ by faith. And, perhaps, that one final act of faith will do more for the Kingdom of Heave than a lifetime of dedication to the rules of men!
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