"But I Asked Jesus Into My Heart!" - Decisionism's Deadly Deception
Back in 2005, two brothers, Rick and Marty Lagina, started searching for a legendary treasure on Oak Island off the shore of Nova Scotia. There's a TV docuseries, The Curse of Oak Island, that started in 2014; it's still going today. The total investment into the project is estimated at around 130 million dollars! After all that searching... all the blood, sweat, and tears... does it seem reasonable to imagine Rick and Marty postponing, procrastinating, delaying, or deferring their elation upon finally finding the treasure?
For anyone saying, “Only God can judge,” that's not accurate or true. Scott Adams had cancer. He knew his time was short. Mr. Adams made it abundantly clear that he was intentionally holding out for the last minute. Up to, and including his last breath... Adams wanted to be the master of his fate and destiny. That's not supernatural regeneration. That's sinful rebellion.
Scott Adams was quoted as saying that every Christian should be compelled to convert him... yet he didn't want that joyful privilege looming over his carnal, hedonistic, selfish life... so he made the decision to follow his fictional version of Jesus into the afterlife. The testimony of Scripture is that the one welcoming him to his eternal residence won't be Christ... it'll be the other guy.
John 7:24 — “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.” Here, Jesus commands righteous judgment, not the prohibition of all judgment.
1 Corinthians 2:15 — “But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.” Here, the person regenerated by the Holy Spirit discerns/judges all things spiritually.
1 Corinthians 6:2-3 — “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels?” Here, the redeemed will judge, implying present competence in judgment/discernment.
Matthew 7:15-20 (context after “judge not” in 7:1) — Jesus commands judging false prophets “by their fruits,” requiring discernment of true vs. false.
1 Thessalonians 5:21 — “Test everything; hold fast what is good.” Here, the saints are commanded to examine and judge all things.
1 John 4:1 — “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” Explicit command to test/discern spirits.
Hebrews 5:14 — “But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” Maturity involves trained discernment to judge good from evil.
The Christian reality, identity, and disposition always include(s) supernatural discernment to judge good from evil. Not because the saint is (self)righteous, but because of the Holy Spirit's indwelling. The aforementioned passages emphasize the call, command, and duty of the saints to rightly discern/judge by Scripture and the Holy Spirit's illumination, not by words, actions, feelings, appearances, or hypocrisy (as Matthew 7:1-5 condemns). Righteous judgment leads to the edification of the Body; it guards against deception and ALWAYS aligns with obedience to God's Word.
Holy Scripture doesn't present salvation as a risk-management strategy for the afterlife. Claiming Jesus as LORD and Savior isn't a magical incantation. Uttering the right words in the right order at the right time... that's sorcery, not Christianity. It's nothing more than a selfish desire to purchase soul-insurance at the eleventh hour while maintaining: A) hostility toward Christ’s authority, B) apathy toward the Father's will, and C) rejection of the Holy Spirit's presence.
King Jesus doesn't call people to manipulate or negotiate the timing of their salvation. He doesn't encourage us to add Him later; He calls sinners to repent and die to self right now. “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23). There is no category in Scripture for a redeemed faith that seeks Christ’s benefits in the afterlife while rejecting His reign and rule in the now. That category is reserved for those who will hear, “Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’”
Pascal's Wager, i.e., the idea of “hedging bets,” exposes the issue that nothing has really changed. Hedging reveals something other than mere uncertainty about the truth; it exposes the willful suppression of it (Rom 1:18-20) out of a desire to exercise autonomy. Biblical repentance, by contrast, flows from revelation, not risk analysis. Repentance isn't fear of consequences; it's a Holy Spirit-compelled willful, joyful, turning from sin & self to Christ because He is LORD. Anything less or other isn't repentance—it's self-preservation.
This is precisely why Jesus warned, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven… Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness.’” (Matt 7:21–23). Notice the language. Jesus doesn't say, “I knew you once, but you walked away.” He says, “I never knew you.” Relationship is the fundamental, core issue.
The tragedy of deathbed “conversions” isn't that God cannot save at the last moment—He absolutely can and sometimes does. The tragedy is the assumption that salvation is about securing the perks, benefits, and eternal inheritance rather than embracing the fullness of the relationship. That depraved mindset mirrors both of the sons in Luke 15:11-32. The younger son squandered his relationship with his father through rebellion. The older son's selfishness made him oblivious to his relationship with his father despite proximity. It was only after the younger son squandered all the stuff in wild living that he finally came to his senses, valuing the relationship with his father as the fullness of his inheritance. Sadly, there's no evidence in the story that the older son ever got there.
Ephesians 1:3 utterly dismantles this heresy: “He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” Our inheritance isn't postponed until postmortem; it is relational union with the Father in Christ in the now! Postponement of blessing is only present in those who have no desire to live under Christ’s lordship, to be joined to His Body, to suffer with His people, or to submit to His Word. The truly regenerate don't delay inheritance. We are like the man who found treasure buried in a field (Matt 13:44-46). In contrast, people, like Scott Adams, who want to control the timing... expose that they don't value or desire the TREASURE of the relationship with the Father at all. Like the two sons in Luke 15, they want His stuff; they just don't want him.
An oral profession/incantation strategically orchestrated is no substitute for supernatural regeneration. Manufactured, synthetic belief that avoids transformation... or a manufactured “conversion” that treats Christ as some sort of afterlife contingency plan rather than the KING of kings... these point to the same reality: not delayed inheritance, but ongoing rebellion. That is why Jesus’ words are so devastating—not “you waited too long,” but “I never knew you.”
The Gospel doesn't offer Christ as a postmorteum perk; it heralds Him as YAHWEH NISSI! The LORD is my BANNER! My life belongs to King Jesus now and forevermore! Those who truly know Him don't wait, strategize, orchestrate, or hedge our bets—we joyfully surrender our EVERYTHING!
...if you seek it like silver
and search it out like hidden treasure,
then you will discern the fear of the LORD
and discover the knowledge of God.
Blessings & love,
Kevin M. Kelley
Pastor
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