this post was submitted on 04 Apr 2024
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Well, that's the rub.
If you sincerely make the choice to follow Jesus, you would feel immense empathy and guilt about bringing calamity on your fellow human beings. If you had already done so, you'd be moved to repent and atone with those you afflicted, with whatever life you had left.
That's the power of Christ's love.
If you were an evil mustache twirling villain who thinks "I can just say some words and act real sad and I get zero consequences for all the evil stuff I enjoyed doing", you're fooling yourself. As if God would be some kind of mall cop and not see the evil heart right through it lol.
You know someone's heart by their works and their nature. They aren't saved by good deeds, but good will towards their neighbors is a side effect of being saved.
This is why it's so heartbreaking seeing how people abuse the name of Christ to get people's guards down, before dragging both through the mud. Evil's best footsoldiers are hateful "Christians in name only".
People always ask about a certain funny-mustached dictator's final thoughts alone in a bunker. "What if he really meant it? Would Jesus forgive him?"
Yep! But I imagine if we're honest with ourselves and he was actually leaning that way, he would have put a stop to his atrocities much sooner. A confession only out of the sudden realization of impending consequences is seldom a change of heart.
I hope this helps.