Hope. God forgives our sins
God gives us a guarantee of forgiveness of sins and eternal life if our sinful lives improve. Among other things, the Old Testament speaks of this:
Ezekiel 18.21-32 "[21] But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. [22] All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. [23] Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?
[24] But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die. [25] Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal? [26] When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die. [27] Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. [28] Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die. [29] Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal? [30] Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. [31] Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? [32] For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye."
So we read that there is hope for each of us, even for those who have committed the worst crimes. If you're afraid that it's too late for you, because you've committed terrible acts and God won't forgive you, then you have a guarantee from God Himself that if you believe in God, reject the old bad life, accept Jesus then you will be saved by His grace. You need to change your whole conduct, approach to life, heart tenderness, sensitivity, love and believe in God, start a "new life".
Life with God versus life without God
It is often the case that a person in old age begins to take more interest in the church. The question is: will a person who has sinned all his life, and in old age begins to attend church and pray every day, be saved? If the improvement would consist only in this, it is certainly not the expected change, but only covering oneself with a cloak of supposed piety. God judges our heart, and if even if we do something that others may call "good," and we have evil thoughts and intentions in our heart, pretending to be a "better person" won't do us any good. God also expects us to change our entire "center," not just some activities. The problem is also rejecting the true Word of God, in favor of what is said by a spiritual person we listen to and believe what he says, without checking with what is written in the Scriptures. In this way, we do not worship the true God, but a hypocritical image presented by another person. How can one truly love God with access to the source (Scripture) and not even read it.
What about people who have lived a pious life all their lives, and at the end of their lives have rejected God? For them there is only one way: the way of death, they will not keep their souls after the Last Judgment. If it were otherwise, salvation would depend not on the grace of Jesus, but on the calculus of good and bad deeds, if you have more good you live forever. The Lord doesn't want us to think that way. This is also good news, for all those who converted at the end of their lives. What would be the point of living a pious life at the end if it was still decided by how much good, evil we did throughout our lives. A person who lived according to God's law, but rejected it at the end, would act the same way in eternal life. Why should there be souls in heaven, people who turn away from the Lord over time? To this day we still have the consequences: pain, suffering, death and all the worst things. After the resurrection and eternal life, we are assured peace from the evil that surrounds us now, rather than waiting for rebellion again in heaven.
Finally, the words of Jesus, who again gives us the guarantee that our sins can be forgiven:
Mark 2.15-17 "And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him. And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
