Is It Ever Too Late To Repent? The apostle Paul, describing the honor God has conveyed upon Jesus wrote, "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:9-11).

In Luke 16:19-31 Jesus told a very sad story of two men after their death. A rich man, who cared nothing for the poor or even God, was in torment, and remembering his five brothers, still living, presumably as he did, wanted someone to be sent back from the dead to warn them of their future if they continued to live as they were. The rich man was told, "If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead" (Luke 16:31).

Repentance is generally defined by most religious folks as a change of mind or will. It is like the Prodigal Son whom it was stated "came to himself" (Luke 15:17), and resolved to go back to his father and simply be a servant, not a son.

Although some would say that being sorry for sins is repentance, it is obvious that repentance demands more than just sorrow. Again the apostle Paul wrote, "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation" (2 Corinthians 7:10).

One could say that Godly sorrow is one motive, which causes one to change his mind and way of living. After one is persuaded that Jesus is the Christ, they desire to live and honor Him as the Savior of the world. This is repentance.

It is absolutely necessary for the unsaved to repent of their past life of sin followed by being baptized in order to be forgiven of sins, which is what caused them to be lost in the first place, (Isaiah 59:1-2; Romans 3:23; 6:23; Acts 2:38).

One of the frightening things concerning the human will is that it is possible for one to actually get to the point of not being able to repent! It is a fact that one's conscience will be hardened by continuing to violate it by knowingly practicing sin (Hebrews 3:13). It was said of Esau after he had sold his birthright that "when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully [diligently, ASV] with tears" (Hebrews 12:17). Thus, it is truly important that one not put off repenting when he first hears. Some have reasoned that they have many things they want to do, and they have good intentions to serve God, but just not yet!

This writer has known of a few that we felt were hardened to this extent. Some think this is exactly the problem described in Matthew 12:31-32 when Jesus mentioned the sin of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit being an unforgivable sin. Another example is in 2 Peter 2:14 where people are said to be so hardened that they have "eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin."  One can be so hardened in sin that his conscience no longer functions as it ought. We also know that after one dies physically, it will be too late to repent, as both the story of the rich man and Lazarus teaches and the Hebrew writer says, "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). Live for God today before it is too late!

Ed Rodgers, Forney, TX