{"id":35980,"date":"2012-06-21T17:22:00","date_gmt":"2012-06-21T22:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=35980"},"modified":"2021-06-21T17:25:38","modified_gmt":"2021-06-21T22:25:38","slug":"death-bed-repentance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/death-bed-repentance\/","title":{"rendered":"Death Bed Repentance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

by David J. Riggs<\/p>\n

A neighbor lady who had become a rather close friend to my wife, came into our home and said, “Do you believe in death-bed repentance?” This was not the first time I had been required to give an answer on this topic.<\/p>\n

\"\"My answer is, “I believe in one kind of death-bed repentance, but not the denominational kind.” Any sincere Christian who repents, whether at death or before, God forgives, but He will not forgive the one who has never become a Christian. “Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him<\/em>” (John 9:31). “One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination<\/em>” (Proverbs 28:9).<\/p>\n

The issue, therefore, with our denominational friends and neighbors hinges on just how one becomes a Christian. This must be determined by the written Word of Christ. His Word is the only means by which we can have certainty concerning eternal life. John said, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life…<\/em>” (I John 5:13). We should not let the “death bed” thought add emotionalism and detour us from the issue.<\/p>\n

Repentance alone is not what makes one a Christian.\u00a0Acts 2:38 teaches that repentance and baptism are necessary for the remission of sins.\u00a0Mark 16:16\u00a0makes faith and baptism necessary. In\u00a0Romans 10:9, a\u00a0verbal confession is essential. Thus, all of these things are required and since baptism is the last act of obedience for conversion, one is saved at its point, not before. This is all I have the right to say about one’s condition whether healthy, sick, or dying.<\/p>\n

I know of an evangelist who while doing some preaching in the mountains of Virginia ran into several families who supposedly had been baptized into Christ, but were completely unfaithful. He found that their problem was faith in death-bed repentance. They thought there was no need to serve God a whole lifetime, just wait until the end, repent, and be saved. One would be surprised at the immense number today who have likewise put their trust in this idea.<\/p>\n

There is no passage anywhere that would uphold the faith and hope of such people. What makes one think he can be stubborn and rebellious to God’s laws all his life and at the last minute repent and God will accept him? What makes him think God will give him an opportunity to repent? On several occasions in the Old Testament, God’s people were rebellious and would not listen to God’s reproof. When calamity came upon them, and they finally decided to call upon God, He said He would not hear them (Proverbs 1:24-28;\u00a0Ezekiel 8:17-18). Death bed repentance is not taught in the Bible, but rather, “Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth…<\/em>” (Ecclesiastes 12:1).<\/p>\n

Someone will say, “What about those who were called at the eleventh hour in the parable of Jesus in Matthew 20, weren’t they rewarded the same as the others?” There is no comfort in this for those who trust in death-bed repentance. All those in the parable obeyed and went to work when called. Death bed repentance is equivalent to the first-hour man saying, “It’s too early; I’ll wait to the eleventh hour.” Would he have been accepted?<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by David J. Riggs A neighbor lady who had become a rather close friend to my wife, came into our home and said, “Do you believe in death-bed repentance?” This was not the first time I had been required to give an answer on this topic. My answer is, “I believe in one kind of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[52,54,50],"class_list":["post-35980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-baptism","tag-obedience","tag-repentance"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":16927,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-a-christian-commits-adultery-and-dies-without-repenting-of-his-sin-will-he-go-to-hell\/","url_meta":{"origin":35980,"position":0},"title":"If a Christian commits adultery and dies without repenting of his sin, will he go to hell?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 1, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hypothetical:\u00a0 If a Christian commits adultery and dies without ever asking forgiveness of this sin (whether he lives 5 seconds after committing adultery or 5 years), does he go to Hell because he did not repent of this sin?\u00a0 Selected references: Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:3-6: I Corinthians 6:9-11. Answer:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":67198,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-you-be-forgiven-in-old-age-if-you-willfully-sinned-in-your-youth\/","url_meta":{"origin":35980,"position":1},"title":"Can you be forgiven in old age if you willfully sinned in your youth?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 26, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good day, minister, I have been faced with this question a few times and even got the question recently again, but I never had any real good answer to it. I have read your article about deathbed repentance, but my question doesn't really extend that far. Whether it is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18068,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-does-repentance-take-place\/","url_meta":{"origin":35980,"position":2},"title":"When does repentance take place?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 4, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I once doubted the death, burial, and resurrection part of my baptism. I have cleared my conscience on that part. I came to realize that I knew what I was doing on that part. For some reason, I have started doubting my repentance before baptism. I knew before I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25690,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-fornicator\/","url_meta":{"origin":35980,"position":3},"title":"What does it mean to be a fornicator?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 23, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What does it mean to be a fornicator? Does it mean, \"I\u00a0committed\u00a0it today, but I won't tomorrow,\" but doing it the next day anyway? If repentance is changing habits, then such a person remains as a fornicator and is a fallen brother or sister. That person can't keep on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27136,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-we-die-to-sin-at-the-point-of-repentance\/","url_meta":{"origin":35980,"position":4},"title":"Do we die to sin at the point of repentance?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 6, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: After viewing your web site, my brother and I saw the graphic on\u00a0the gospel re-enacted.\u00a0 I appreciate the way it is laid out.\u00a0 I am attaching a similar graphic that is being taught in this area and in many other areas also. In this graphic, it is taught that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":36279,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-would-you-say-to-a-young-teenager-who-committed-fornication-and-who-came-out-for-altar-call\/","url_meta":{"origin":35980,"position":5},"title":"What would you say to a young teenager who committed fornication and who came out for altar call?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 27, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What would you say to a young teenager who committed fornication and who came out for altar call? Answer: There is no \"altar call\" in the Bible. But if a young person wished to become a Christian and was willing to give up his sins, then that is just\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35980"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35980\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}