Why There Is Only One Deathbed Conversion in the Bible

It cannot be too often, or too loudly, or too solemnly repeated, that the Bible, which ranges over a period of four thousand years, records but one instance of a death-bed conversion—one that none may despair, and but one that none may presume.—Thomas Guthrie (1803-1873), a Scottish preacher, in chapter 1 of Early Piety
From Justin Taylor's Between Two Worlds.

Jesus and the Old Testament Sacrifices

Alec Motyer in an article, "Preaching From the Old Testament" imagines a conversation between a typical Old Testament believer and his son. The believer has been to the altar of God with his sin offering, and has come home.
His son asks, "Where have you been?"
"I've been to the tabernacle."
"What did you do?"
"I brought a sin offering."
"What did you do with it?"
"I laid my hand on the head of the beast."
"Why did you do that?"
"Because that is the way that you appoint a substitute."
"What did you do then?"
"I plunged the knife into it and the blood was caught by the priest."
"Why?"
"It is symbolic of a life laid down in payment for my sin."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that God has accepted the animal in my place and my sins have been forgiven."
"How do you know that your sins have been forgiven?"
"Because that is what the Lord has promised."

Motyer argues, rightly I believe, that this imaginary conversation accurately represents Old Testament thought regarding salvation. The people of the Old Covenant, like the people of the New Covenant (Us), were justified by faith, resting on the promises of God as those promises were expressed to them.

Now, keep in mind, when they offered sacrifices they probably weren't looking forward, as if saying to themselves, "This is a picture or shadow of the true; the perfect sacrifice is yet to come." That is, God's promises were given to them in relation to the sacrifices they were told to offer (Lev 1:4; 4:20, 26, 31, 35).

However, in the course of time, a prophet named Isaiah was inspired by God to see that ultimately only a Person could fully substitute for persons (Isa 52:13-53:12)--because only a person brings to the transaction a consenting will, matching the defiled will (Isa 53:7-9; Heb 10:5-10).

Consequently, when the Lord Jesus offered the one sacrifice for sins for ever (Heb 10:12), he was bringing the reality of the sacrifices to their full reality.

God Chooses the Foolish, the Weak, the Low, and the Despised

Here is an interesting post by Stephen Altrogge on how God does things so that no human being might boast in the presence of God (1 Cor 1:29).

If Leonardo DiCaprio Got Saved

Permit me to dream for a moment. Imagine if Leonardo DiCaprio got saved. Then he could star in a Christian remake of the movie “Titanic”, and when he stood at the front of the boat and said, “I’m the king of the world!”, Rose would say, “No you’re not, Jesus is.” Then he would repent of sins right there on the Titanic and start an on-boat evangelistic ministry called “Big Boat, Bigger God”. Then, when he died at the end of the movie it wouldn’t be nearly as sad, because he would be in heaven.

Millions would probably see the movie, especially if it was in 3D, leading to a worldwide revival and the spread of the gospel. Maybe DiCaprio and Kirk Cameron would team up to make a couple of movies. Maybe Steven Spielberg would get saved through DiCaprio’s influence. Who knows.

Do you ever wonder why stuff like this doesn’t happen more often? Why don’t more celebrities and shakers and movers get saved? 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 gives us some insight into this:

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
God doesn’t gravitate toward the people that the world gravitates toward. He gravitates toward the weak, the lowly, the ordinary, and the unimpressive. He calls those whom the world ignores. If God primarily saved rich, powerful, and beautiful people, those people might have some reason to boast before God. But God saves unimpressive, weak people, so that there might not be any boasting in his presence. And when God saves these people and uses them to spread the gospel, it demonstrates the power of God, not the power of the people.

D.A. Carson described the Corinthian church as, “…a low class operation with a few sophisticated exceptions.” I find that quote to be very encouraging, because it pretty much describes my church too. We are a low class church, with me at the head of the pack. Sure, we have a few exceptions. We have couple doctors, a few professors, and a few folks with lots of money. But not many. Our worship team is not overly impressive either. No one is going to think that they accidentally walked into a U2 concert when they come to our church. Our preaching isn’t anything to boast about either. We strive to do our best, but we’re not like Piper or Driscoll.

But God likes to work through ordinary, unimpressive people. God likes to use worship teams that occasionally train wreck and miss transitions. God likes to use ordinary preachers. God loves to use ordinary church members to do extraordinary things.

So I love my ordinary, low-class church. We’re just a bunch of weak people that love Jesus, and I love seeing God work through us. When we succeed as a church, it certainly won’t be because of our brilliance or influence. It will be because we serve a mighty God who does great things through weak people.

Another Thought on Our Identity in Christ

So near, so very near to God, I cannot nearer be; For in the presence of His Son, I am as near as He. So dear; so very dear to God, More dear I cannot be; The love wherewith He loves the Son, Such is His love to me (These verses are usually quoted without attribution. When a source is given, it is usually attributed to Catesby Pager from the 19th century)

A Thought on Our Identity in Christ

When God calls, "Adam, where are you?" the Spirit leads us (believers) to answer, "In Christ," (Mike Horton, The Christian Faith, 662).

Salvation: An Act of Grace, Reconciliation, and Conquest

This is a glorious statement on the need and nature of salvation.

The disastrous consequences of our false faith must be put right. Salvation must be an act of illumination, for we have exchanged the truth about God for a lie, worshipping idols instead of the true God. Salvation must be an act of liberation, for we are captive to the delusions of our false faith, and cannot save ourselves. Salvation must be an act of divine grace, God’s work from beginning to end, for the desires of our hearts are set against God—we do not even want to save ourselves. Salvation must be an act of reconciliation, for we are alienated from God and hostile to him. Finally, salvation must be an act of conquest, for we are oppressed by the devil, and need someone to win the victory for us (Jeffery, Ovey, Sach, Pierced for Our Transgression, 125)

"Conversion" Described

I don't think I've come across a better way to describe a sinner's conversion to Christ than J.I. Packer:

Knowing oneself to be a sinner, and Christ to have died for sinners; abandoning all self-righteousness and self-confidence, and casting oneself wholly upon him for pardon and peace; and exchanging one’s natural enmity and rebellion against God for a spirit of grateful submission to the will of Christ through the renewing of one’s heart by the Holy Ghost (“Saved By His Precious Blood: An Introduction to John Owen’s The Death of Death in the Death of Christ”).

Note, this description involves the intellect: ("knowing"); it involves the will ("abandoning," "casting," "exchanging," and "submission"); and it involves the affections: ("grateful submission"). In other words, a true, Spirit wrought conversion to Christ involves our whole person. It should not surprise us that conversion is holistic because it is graciously and effectually achieved through the renewing of one's heart by the Holy Spirit.

In other words, even our conversion is all of grace. Soli Deo Gloria!