I’ll spend my youth enjoying sin and then turn to God when I am old

Answer:

"Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth; walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes; but know that for all these God will bring you into judgment. Therefore remove sorrow from your heart, and put away evil from your flesh, for childhood and youth are vanity. Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say, "I have no pleasure in them"" (Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:1).

It is interesting how people only see what they expect to find. While citing the prior letter of the elderly man who wants to go to heaven, you completely missed the simple fact that as he looked back on his life of sin he regrets what he had done. Because you want to sin, you look at it and think, "Great, I can sin and change later." But there are a number of flaws in your plans.

You assume you'll live a long life. It is a common assumption among the youth, but one that is inaccurate -- especially for a person given over to sinful living. Sins contain a lot of risks that tend to shorten a person's lifespan. "The fear of the LORD prolongs days, but the years of the wicked will be shortened" (Proverbs 10:27). For example, you are caught up enjoying sex with whoever and whenever you wish. I can guarantee that sexually transmitted diseases are low on your list of concerns, but multiple sex partners mean a very high probability of catching these diseases, several of which have no cures. "Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding; he who does so destroys his own soul. Wounds and dishonor he will get, and his reproach will not be wiped away" (Proverbs 6:32-33).

You also assume that you'll change your mind later. That is not a given. You don't notice the contradiction in your position. If sinful living is more balanced and better for a person, then why change? How can you turn to God fully when you are convinced that following God isn't enjoyable? Yet, you know that the life of sin you have chosen is wrong because you won't enter heaven while involved in these sins. Your current plan is to sin, but in your later life, you only plan to change your behavior.

Repentance is changing your mind about sin and changing your behavior. As it is, you have no plans to ever truly repent.

"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" (Romans 6:1-2). Sin is contrary to godliness. God is willing and able to forgive the sinner, but you have no such desire.

"Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, "The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously"? But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up" (James 4:4-10).

Sin is a trap. You may continue to think that one day you'll leave it, but today is never a convenient day to change. Much like the smoker, who says he can quit any time he wishes, quitting sin is always in the future and never comes. Eventually, you'll die, sooner than you expect, with all those plans undone.

There is an assumption that the sins that you plan will carry little or no consequences. You don't see the elderly man wondering if he can get to heaven because he is seeing the result of his life of sin. Farmers understand this matter better. They know that if you plant a corn seed, you don't get a crop of wheat. You get back what you sow. "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life" (Galatians 6:7-8). You think you can plant a life of sin and not see any impact from it. And there is another farming fact that you are overlooking. No farmer plants a seed and expects to get a seed back. He plants with the expectation of getting back much more than he put in. "They sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind" (Hosea 8:7). When you plant sin, you get consequences -- consequences that are far out of proportion to the amount of sin that you committed.

The life you are living means you will never know love. You won't have a wife who is completely committed to you and will be your companion for the rest of your life. Why do I say that? Because such women are not interested in men who are uncommitted to them and bounce from woman to woman and think they can bed anyone they please. You'll have children, but you'll see them grow up in broken homes. You'll think of them as drains on your income and not as precious gifts from God.

Another flaw is the view that being righteous is somehow a miserable existence. God's laws don't harm people, they make life better because they keep the followers from making serious mistakes.

"And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good?" (Deuteronomy 10:12-13).

"Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it" (Psalms 34:11-14).

"My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands; for length of days and long life and peace they will add to you" (Proverbs 3:1-2).

"For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come" (I Timothy 4:8).

Life without laws is chaos and anarchy. What a silly and blind notion that you can only have fun by sinning. "You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore" (Psalms 16:11). I've lived the life of a Christian. I have a great deal of fun and I can do it with a clear mind and a clear conscience.

I don't know of any Christians who find living a godly life miserable. I've never met a man who regrets that he didn't get drunk more often or stoned one more time or committed fornication more often. What I see all the time is the opposite; people who look back on their lives and wonder how they could have been so dumb as to think that sin would make their life better. Even in the hardships caused by the world's rejection of godliness, the joy of holiness remains a stable foundation. "By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible" (Hebrews 11:24-27).

I can't stop you from your self-destructive behavior, but I will ask you to remember what I told you as you move through life and see your house of cards collapse around you time after time.