November 8, 2016

Why can’t I confess my Sins to Jesus just before I die?

Q: I was told that I can just confess my sins and Jesus will forgive me. Then why not sin my whole life and confess just before death?

The way to have a relationship with God is by coming to Jesus who died for us and by rising from the dead now lives forevermore. But, when we come to Jesus we realise the folly of a life lived in seeking pleasure from the temporal things of the world. Broadly speaking, the pleasures of this world are of two kinds: legitimate and self-destructive.

We recognise that legitimate pleasures are genuine but yet are short-lived. They seem to point us to something higher and beyond – a pleasure that is permanent and unabated. Conversely, other kinds of pleasure destroy us either instantly or, as is more often the case, gradually. These are accompanied by guilt and other psychological impairments and very often physical scarring.

If the choice is between slow death through destructive pleasures or the lasting joy of a living relationship between God and me, I’m not sure why anyone would choose the former? It may have to do with a inadequate understanding of the good news. The Bible calls us to a relationship with Jesus not to kill joy, but for ‘pleasures at His right-hand for evermore’.

So when we are in a relationship with Jesus we find greater joy in the legitimate pleasures of this world, yet knowing that we have unimaginable greater joy awaiting us.

Finally, we may think that we can repent at the 11th hour. But, we cannot predict the end of this life. As a popular saying goes: Those who say they will repent at the 11th hour die at 10:59! God is not to be mocked!

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