Posted on 08/08/2018 10:50:29 AM PDT by ebb tide
But he’s a big lefty, so...
Well, perhaps I am missing your point.
As I see it, there are two general cases:
1) You are raised in the Church and behave as a solid, believing Christian all of your life.
2) You are a johnny-come-lately and achieve conversion to Christ only at the end of the day.
In each case, your reward shall be the same: salvation in heaven.
But when I used “Nazi” as a category I was not picturing a Johnny-come-lately. I was picturing a Johnny-come-never. Someone who always and forever rejected Christ and the tenets of His teaching.
Shall salvation in heaven be granted even to such a person?
Well there IS the “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ [as Savior] and you will be saved” thang. Mercy, yes... but it comes with the deal of surrendering yourself to Christ.
Such a person doesn’t want salvation. Salvation by definition means surrender too.
Being saved is a package deal. You don’t end up belonging to you (which is really to end up belonging to the devil). You end up belonging to Christ.
I have heard it preached that if Hitler accepted Jesus in his bunker during the last days of World War II, that through Grace he would be received and accepted by Jesus. My faith questioned that, but my blind faith had to accept it - as it is written in scriptures.
That’s a hard one to swallow isn’t it? But if you look at some of the rites associated with those who are condemned to the executioner, they are given a moment to choose. Some, may mouth the words - but deep inside their hearts... that only Jesus knows, are they really surrendering? That is something that we cannot know because we cannot look into the hearts of men.
My hope would be that people who make professions of faith, are not making those statements through vanity. Repentance does require change and sometimes a very limited amount of time means the only change that can be made is in their heart. And in their heart is a place that we, as humans, cannot see. If it is a ruse then no good can come of it.
When people were burned at the stake during inquisitions, they were asked if they accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, if they said yes they accepted Jesus, they were immediately garroted and then the fires were lighted. If they said no then the fires were lighted and they were burned alive. That was the choice that the Inquisitioners gave them. That is not the choice that the Lord would find acceptable, at least that’s what I would think. But who am I?
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