Can you be saved on your death bed?
Question:
I have a question! Can you be saved on your death bed? I know you must be baptized, and I'm trying to teach my aunt. She said that you don't have to be baptized and that her grandad was saved on his death bed but was not baptized! Is that OK? If you can't get baptized?
Answer:
Your aunt thinks she has found an exception to God's rule that you must be baptized (Acts 2:38). Notice that this isn't a matter that God said there was an exception, but that she wants there to be an exception because she is uncomfortable with the fact that her grandfather didn't start thinking about righteousness until he was near death. Then because she claims there is an exception in one case, she then extends it to any situation, whether it involves her imagined exception or not.
Let me illustrate it this way: Suppose you were driving down the highway and didn't notice that the speed limit dropped. You get pulled over, but the policeman, being in a kind mood, tells you to be more careful. Do you then conclude that it doesn't matter what speed anyone drives because the policeman made an exception for you one time? No, what we state is the rule that speed limits will be enforced. Notice also that in this situation a person in authority (the policeman) made the exception. The driver isn't able to claim an exception for himself.
It remains that God makes the rules. Men are not in the position to change those rules. As God told the Israelites, "Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it" (Deuteronomy 12:32). When we fall short of God's commands, we can hope for mercy from God, but that is His decision as to whether mercy will be extended. It isn't for the sinner to demand mercy.
