Death Bed Conversion Questions - My Response

These questions come from a member of the church and are important to think about from a Christian perspective. Here's what this person wrote to me:

The other day the subject of death bed conversions came up in a conversation. I was wondering if you could do a blog on Nikos about this subject. I know how I feel about it, but since I was raised in a Christan home my beliefs may be some what distorted. Questions such as the following were asked:

1. Do you believe in death bed conversions?

2. Are death bed conversions real? Or do they only happen because some one is dying?

3. What happens to those people who don't have the opportunity to have a death bed conversion? (For example, you may be killed instantly in an auto accident)

4. Do those people who have death bed conversions, enjoy the same joys of heaven as someone who has always lead a Christian life? If they do, is this fair to the person that has always led a Christian life?

I hope that you do not think that these are silly questions. I know what I believe, but I would like to know what an United Methodist Minister such as yourself believes. Any references to scripture would be very helpful in discussing this topic.

My Response:

Great questions! First, I would like to offer a normative statement about people receiving the gift of salvation. God's grace is a gift that we do not earn. We can only receive it and live our lives in response to that gift of grace.

Many verses come to mind like this one from Romans 6:23 - "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

It's very humbling to know that God's gift of salvation through Jesus Christ (forgiveness of sins, eternal life, abundant life, & assurance of faith) is not something we earn. We can only receive it by faith and be thankful.

But once we accept God's grace, our process of salvation is not over. Yes, we can have assurance that nothing can ever separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (not even death) and we can look forward to spending eternity with God. However, the whole point of God's gift of grace isn't just so that it becomes my ticket into heaven but that I allow God's grace to work in my life to sanctify me and to help me to be the person God created me to be. And this is a life-long process!

For some people, this is a life long process because they received God's grace early in their life. For others, it may come later for a variety of reason. The thief on the cross next to Jesus is a good example. Even though he was dying on the cross, Jesus said, "Today you will be with me in paradise."

All of this is to say that when someone receives Christ the issue isn't really about when they did this. Yes, an impending death does cause many people to think about God and their faith, but I don't see how that would be different from somebody who earlier in life might have faced a scary life situation and that led them to receive Christ.

The more difficult of your questions is the one about a sudden death for a person who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. My first thought is that only God can make that determination. Yes, we form opinions about what was in that person's heart, but ultimately that is a matter between God and that person.

I am not a universalist, the belief that all will be saved and redeemed. I do believe that each person has a choice to receive or not receive the gift of salvation. But this also raises some complicated issues such as "What about someone who was not exposed to hear the message of God's salvation?" or What about people who are not mentally/emotionally able to receive or not receive God's offer of salvation?" Does God take these complexities into consideration?

I think God does and this is the reason that I lean toward a sense of humility in responding to these kinds of questions. I believe that God's mercy is much greater than what I or any one of us can fathom. There's a hymn in our United Methodist hymn book called, "There's a Wideness in God's Mercy." How true!

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If somebody has lived a life a part from God and has a deathbed conversion, I don't feel that this is unfair to people who have lived their lives in a manner that is godly. Since living for God is what we were created to do and this is what brings us the most joy and peace, it's actually more unfair for the person who didn't receive Christ until the last minute. They were the ones who missed out on what it means to be fully human and fully alive in God.

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Hope this helps!