Don’t wait for a deathbed confession

“and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed,”
-Proverbs 5:11

You’re going to die. I can say that with almost 100% certainty. Now, I’ll allow for the possibility of Jesus’ return before that happens, which is why I’m not quite ready to say 100%, but I am almost certain of your eventual death.

You know it too. You may not want to think about it or acknowledge it, but you know. Maybe you’re a little closer than you would like. Maybe it’s so far off that it never crosses your mind.

Sometimes I think about it, but not too often. I’m not in great shape, so it crosses my mind that I may be facing an earlier than desired death, but I’m also in better shape than I’ve been since I was a teenager, so it seems like I may be pushing it out some.

Of course, the truth is for all of us that we could get run over tomorrow. We could go to sleep tonight and not wake up in the morning. Perhaps these things are unlikely, but they are not impossible.

Solomon is doing something interesting here. He is telling his sons to not go in to the forbidden woman, sometimes known as the adulterous woman. He has listed a couple of reasons for that – spiritual standing with God, your reputation amongst men, and possible determents to prosperity.

But here he begins a new reason, one that is all too true, and yet so rarely heeded. Don’t chase after sinful pleasure, because you’re going to die someday.

And this is the ultimate reason. Look, you could commit all the sins of the world and still prosper and still have a good reputation. You could get away with it, but then you’re going to die. And that may not be far off. It may be tonight.

We will all die, and we will face judgment. God will judge us according to our thoughts, words, and deeds. That’s right. It’s not just about doing the right thing, it’s about THINKING the right thing too. We will be held accountable for every sin.

And the wages of sin is death. Not just the physical death that we will all encounter, but an eternal death in hell.

Solomon is telling his sons to consider where they stand with God now in preparation for that day. Don’t put it off, thinking you can worry about it tomorrow. We may not have one.

One that day, it’s not going to be about how good we are. Let’s face it, we all at least thought an evil thought, which is enough to get us tossed into hell forever. Most of us have acted on those thoughts occasionally. It’s going to be able who we have with us.

In His death on the Cross, Jesus took upon Himself our sins. He paid the price that we owe. If we repent and believe in Him, He will be our advocate with the Father. If we reject Him, we will stand before the Father on our own.

It’s so easy to wait until tomorrow. You may end up on your deathbed, desperately trying to figure out where you went wrong. Worse still, maybe you won’t even consider it then.