A Future Date to Repent?

Because all mankind is in sin (Romans 6:23), God demands that we repent (Acts 17:30). For most people, they realize the seriousness of this responsibility and they gladly conform, “looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God” (2 Peter 3:12). But there are always people who are looking for an “angle,” a way out of God’s simple plan. One of the most obvious ways they believe they can neglect God is by waiting until they are almost dead before repenting.

The person who thinks he can live in sin and plan to repent at some future date either does not know what repentance is or thinks God is a fool. Consider the presumption of a one who says, “I am having so much fun living in sin now, that I simply cannot give it up, but someday in the future, I will decide to be deeply sorry for what I am now doing.”

The person who sets a future date to repent will find when that time comes that there is no place in his heart for repentance. This applies to the person in the world who has not obeyed the gospel as well as to the one who has fallen away. God is not a servant that He should stand and wait for you to eat your fill at the devil’s table and throw Him the scraps. Paul said, “And for this cause, God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12). This kind of person can be easily duped into believing a lie because they do not embrace the truth of the true condition. Fear that your heart will become hardened should motivate you to repent now. Your time might run out long before you die (James 4:14).

Adapted from Luther Blackmon

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