Just read that Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, accepted Jesus as his Savior shortly before his death, according to a letter shared after he passed. Apparently, he had received countless messages from Christians over the years and finally responded before losing his battle with cancer at 68.
I’m curious how others feel about these deathbed conversions. Do you think they’re genuine expressions of faith, or is it more about fear and uncertainty?
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9
Grace alone.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” John 5:24
Hears. Faith comes by hearing. If someone is about to die, and they call out to God and say they believe, I believe they are saved. Think about the thief on the Cross. He was about to die, and he believed, and Jesus said he would be with Him in paradise.
Now, as for whether the confession is true, or fear, legit or not, that is solely between them and God. God, who knows the heart, will be the final judge. But do I believe it is possible they are saved? Yes.
It’s not for me to judge a person’s salvation experience, only God knows the heart❤️. However, I do believe a person can receive salvation on their death bed. The story of the thieves on the cross confirms for me that it is possible to receive Christ before taking your last breathe. Jesus told one of the thieves, “today you will be with me in paradise.”
I do think on your deathbed, you have no one to impress and your perspective probably shifts to what’s truly important and lasting, so I think it’s entirely possible that someone would respond to the Spirit’s prompting in this situation.
These kind of situations also make me think of Pascal’s Wager—basically that it’s more rational to choose to believe in God because the rewards are potentially great, while if you choose not to believe in him, you risk eternal separation from him and all that’s good if you “loose” your wager.
great question. i think it might be case-by-case, but also, i think people often know deep down what the truth is, and they can have quite amazing clarity at the end of life. we hear lots of stories about people making deathbed confessions, etc… another example is when many on their deathbeds get down to the basics of life- they never lament whatever money they didnt make, but they very well often lament the time they spent on their job instead of their families. so, i tend to find it believable, but i think caution toward believing such pronouncements can be healthy, also. so ill keep my thoughts open on this one. i appreciate you raising the question. ill keep it in mind the next time i hear about this kind of thing, and ill go ahead and read this particular one to see how it strikes me.
i once read an eerie deathbed story where the guy denounced christ up to the end, with a very ugly spirit, despite his family praying in front of him there and hoping so much he’d accept christ before death. the guy didnt just deny christ, but was being obscene and nasty about it. next thing they knew, their loved one looked absolutely horrified, and said something like, “no…. NOOOO!!!” and died. the family just sat there quietly, stunned, and the nurse that is telling the story, says she never wants to know what he saw right before he died, as it didnt seem good, whatever it was.