Why Doesn't God Give People a Second Chance After Death to Choose Him?

Many have wondered "Why is a person's choice for or against God sealed at death?" "Why doesn't God give people another chance after death to choose Him?" Since God is all-loving and infinitely merciful, why does He close the door at death, and not give people as much time and as many chances as they need to make the right choice?
Let's first establish that a person's chance to choose God really does end at their death.
"...it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:"

Hebrews 9:27
And here we see in Hebrews that a person's chance definitely is up at death, because after death they face judgment, and if they still had not made their final choice, then judgment certainly could not be meted out and apportioned.

If you are a converted Christian, I'm sure you've engaged in the thought exercise where you try to imagine what it would take to bring your unconverted family members to believe in Jesus. You've had long conversations with God about what to pray for on their behalf, and what He could do to bring them into the faith. Perhaps you've wondered if a miracle would convince them, and maybe you've wondered why God doesn't seem to be doing as many miracles in our day as He did in Jesus' time. Will the reduction in the amount of miracles in our day and age affect a person's choice? Are we supposed to do something about this and pray with more faith so God can do more miracles to reach them? Or perhaps you've considered that when a person is converted and changed from death to life - spiritually - that this is indeed the greatest miracle of all, and you're hoping that your family will be able to witness the true conversion of someone as a witness that will bring them to Christ. I'm sure you've prayed and asked God to do whatever it would take to save them!

I believe the truth is that God is certainly merciful and loving enough to give people as many chances as it would take for them to choose Him. When He gave His own life as a sacrifice for their sins He showed that there wasn't any good and right thing that He wouldn't do to save them. In that sacrifice we see that there is nothing God would hold back from saving them.

The Bible gives us the answer as to why God doesn't give more time. The scriptures say "it is impossible" for those who have once believed and been filled with the wonderful fellowship of God's Holy Spirit, and who have tasted the goodness of His Word, if they fall away and choose to ultimately reject Jesus in this life...to be converted after death.

And later we will see that this same truth also applies to those who never became Christians in this life, but heard God's voice speaking to their soul and never responded. They too can not be brought to repentance after this life is over.

Impossible, really?

"For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,

And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,

If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance..."

Hebrews 6:4-6

At this point you might be thinking "But I thought all things are possible with God?" Yes, all good things are possible with God - He is Almighty - but sinful things it is not possible for God to do.

Another place in the scriptures where the word 'impossible' is used is in reference to how it is impossible for God to lie.

"it is impossible for God to lie..."

Hebrews 6:18

God cannot do anything sinful. He is perfect Goodness personified. He is also almighty and infallible, so no one can tempt Him into sin. There is no point of weakness or lack of knowledge where a tempter could gain any kind of advantage over Him. He literally cannot be overcome, or experience any inclination towards weakness or fallibility.

"When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;"

James 1:13

This is why Jesus had to become a man in order to be tempted like as we are. (Hebrews 4:15)

Not only this but God is eternal; He cannot die.

"who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light..." - 1 Timothy 6:16

The definition of 'immortal' is "cannot die" or "incapable of death", "existing forever".

These are all things God cannot do. They are all either sinful things, or things that show weakness or a finite nature.

Anything good and anything difficult God can do. There is no limit to God's power, His ability, or His knowledge and understanding.

"Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit." -Psalm 147:5

'Impossible' in the verses we've been looking over, in reference to God, always means sinful things, or weaknesses. It's impossible for God to do anything immoral or show any weakness at all.

We know that it would have been impossible for God to forgive us any other way than through Christ's blood on the cross.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus took our sins upon Himself, and fell down in agony with great drops of blood He prayed:

"O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt."- Matthew 26:39

He asked the Father to take the cup from Him if it were possible - but it was not possible. His blood was the only way to forgive us of sin. God will not do anything sinful or immoral, and forgiving us without the blood of Christ would have been immoral on His part. The law called for the blood of Christ as the only payment sufficient to meet its demands.

There was no other way. Thus if a person rejects this blood shed on their behalf, there is no way they can be saved. It becomes 'impossible'. The only way to eternal life is by the blood of Christ.

God isn't arbitrarily closing the door on people. It is in actually impossible. If it were possible, you can be sure that God would not close that door. God does not arbitrarily close the door on anyone. In fact the scriptures say He is actually in a sense delaying and waiting, and is endlessly patient so that as many as possible will come to Him to be saved.

"The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."

-2 Peter 3:9

The reason this world has gone on so long - for thousands of years - and God has not cut things short even though there's been much pain and suffering, and people mistreating one another, is because God is giving everyone the time they need to choose Him.

In the book of Matthew Jesus tells us the only sin that will not be forgiven.

"Truly I tell you, the sons of men will be forgiven all sins and blasphemies, as many as they utter. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of eternal sin.” - Matthew 12:32

Notice that he explains 'eternal sin' is not forgiven. There is a type of sin that solidifies it and makes that person's choice eternal. Eternal sin is different from regular sin.

What makes something an 'eternal sin'? It is not the kind of sin. Notice Jesus says any and all kinds of sins will be forgiven. Any kind of sin can be forgiven, from lying to adultery, to murder, to blasphemy. Even some of the people who shouted "Crucify Him" at His death later repented and were forgiven.

So if any kind of sin can be forgiven, what's different about the eternal sin?

"If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume all adversaries." - Hebrews 10:26

The book of Hebrews gives the answer. It says if we "go on sinning" after receiving knowledge of the truth...if we live a whole life of unrepentant sin, and never turn to Jesus, this is the eternal sin. Jesus' blood cannot cover a person who has not repented and turned from their sin. He can forgive them at any point leading up to full hardness of heart, but if they persist in hardening their heart again and again until it solidifies in rebellion, and form up a character against God, then their choice becomes eternal.

And this is what everyone does in this life; this is what this life is for and what it accomplishes. Everyone has time to form and develop a character for or against God. To hear God's Holy Spirit many, many - millions - of times speaking to their heart and convicting them of their sin and their need of a Savior, and they either follow Jesus more and more and soften their heart over and over, or they reject Him over and over and harden their heart again and again.

The end result of a lifetime of the Holy Spirit speaking to a person again and again, is a solidified, eternal choice is made.

People do not endlessly go back and forth from rejecting God to accepting Him, and back again. Their hearts do not stay malleable. The only way people would stay malleable is if they remained in ignorance forever, but because the convicting voice of God's Holy Spirit is powerful and effective, it works change in the person - big changes over time - ultimately either for life or for death, depending on how they respond.

This process is explained in the book of Hebrews.

"Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God.

But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned."

Hebrews 6:8-9

The rain is a reference to the Holy Spirit and also to the doctrine of God.

Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants.

Deuteronomy 32:2

We all start off in this life with only a little knowledge about God. We hear His Holy Spirit's voice convicting us, but we have only a small general knowledge of God and of right and wrong.

But as time goes on in our lives, we learn more about God. We may meet people who are Christians or we decide to read the Bible to see what it is all about. We might attend church with family or friends and learn about God this way.

This is the gentle drops of dew, given to the young plant. It would damage and kill the young plant to have powerful showers fall on it, so God gives just dew drops at first.

We have more experiences where we see more of the justice and mercy of God - the goodness of Him. We learn that Jesus died for us personally and loves us personally. We learn more of what that sacrifice entailed and means. The rain goes from dew, to light rain, to showers.

We choose whether to respond to that convicting voice - all the weight of evidence that God has provided in His Word and in the natural world around us that testifies to a loving Creator - with repentance and faith that produces fruit, or with hardness of heart and a refusal to repent and yield fruit.

By the end of our lives - and for certain individual's in the Bible, while they were still living (like king Saul) - everyone reaches a point where more rain won't yield a different result. God only has rain to give. There is no powerful force in the world to reach people than the still small convicting voice of God. If that doesn't work, nothing will.

Think of the often referenced verse about God hardening Pharoah's heart in Exodus 7:3. It says God hardened his heart by sending him signs and wonders - evidence that the God of Moses was the true God. It was this unmistakable evidence and conviction from God that resulted in Pharoah's heart hardening.

This evidence was effective! For others, like Rahab the prostitute in Jericho who heard of these wonderous acts of God, this same evidence worked repentance of heart and a true conversion. It was powerful and effective evidence, thus it had a powerful effect on everyone, for good or for ill, depending on how they chose to respond.

In the book of Luke Jesus tells an allegorical parable of the rich man and Lazarus. The rich who shunned the poor during his life, and used all his money for his selfish pursuits and pleasure, finds himself after death lost and in agony in hell...There is no way back for him, but he begs Abraham to allow him to go back to the land of the living to warn his brothers of the realities of hell and of being lost. He thinks that if they see someone come back from the dead they will choose to believe in God and follow Him. But what is he told?

“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Luke 16:32

This parable answers the question many of us have had about whether a miracle would convince our family members to believe in Christ. Who are Moses and the prophets? This is a reference to the Bible - to the Old Testament. Jesus is saying here that if a person will not listen to the very Word of God Himself, then there is nothing else in all of the universe that they will respond to.

In fact not only does this parable show this truth, but in living color we see this acted out in the life of Christ. Jesus daily did miracles in front of the Pharisees and yet they chose not to believe. The miracles could only convince those who wanted the truth and hungered after it, and who were responding to the Holy Spirit's conviction to become converted; it couldn't convert people who did not want to listen to the still small voice.

God taught this same truth to the prophet Elijah when after Elijah had called down fire from heaven - a miracle that showed the Israelites who the true God was - he became discouraged and disheartened by the unbelief of his fellow Israelites, expecting more of a response of dedication to God from them on their part after this wonderful display of power, and Elijah ran from the wicked idolatrous queen Jezebel and hid in a mountain.

God appeared to him and told him to stand beside the mountain where God would pass by him.

"And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:

And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?"

1 Kings 19:11-13

Here God teaches and shows Elijah that displays of power and miracles are not the most powerful thing He can use to convict people. Those are just tools, object lessons. But the voice of God Himself is the most powerful thing He can use, and there is nothing in all of the universe that is as effective as this.

Knowing this gives us confidence that God is every single day using the most powerful and most effective way to draw people to Himself. Every single day His own voice speaks to them and convicts them. Every single day the "rain" falls on them.

If they will not listen to the convicting voice of God Himself, there is no other power or tool left for God to use to work their conversion.

The land that often drinks in the rain, either yields a crop, or it is spoiled in the end. It does not remain good land with nutritious soil that can be endlessly worked. At the end of this life, everyone's choice is an eternal one. This is why God does not give us more time. More time would not change anything.

In fact, we see from the experience of the angels in heaven, who rebelled against God and became demons, that they have never repented, or thought even one good thought after they committed the 'eternal sin'. They have had six thousand years passed the time when Satan tempted Adam to sin in Eden, and no angel has ever repented.

More time has not helped them, and in the same way that more time didn't work a change in evil angels, it would not work a change in people who choose in this life to reject the still small voice.

God makes a powerful claim in Isaiah, the claim we all need and desire Him to make. Referring to His people - and all the people of the earth - in an allegorical way, He says there is nothing more He could have done to save them. He calls on us to judge between Him and His vineyard to see that He did everything possible to save fallen human beings.

“Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard.

What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad?"

Isaiah 5:3-4

He's telling us here that there is nothing more He can do than what He has done and what He is doing in their lives. He is faithful to the core and infinitely loving.

It's only after calling on us to see and judge that He has done all He can that He pronounces the judgment of destruction upon the unrepentant.

"Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled." (verse 5).

He doesn't want us to think He will destroy people in the judgment fire of hell who had a chance to be saved, and who would have responded to Him if given more time. He would never do such a thing. These are people who have hardened their hearts to the point of it being an eternal sin, with no desire to come back.

This is what Jesus means by saying "whoever speaks a Word against the Holy Ghost [the still small voice, my emphasis added] will not be forgiven either in this age or the one to come."

Matthew 12:32

He means that they will never repent at that point, and thus God cannot forgive someone who will never repent and like the evil angels has sinned in a fixed, eternal, unrepentant way.

Let's go back to Hebrews 4:6 and look at it again after having studied this topic out...Let's read it in the NIV version this time...

"It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit...

and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance..."

Hebrews 6:4-6

See what is impossible? For them to be brought to repentance. The text is saying if they reject Jesus in a final way in this life, they will not repent. They can't be brought to a place where they will repent. It isn't saying God is closing the door on them. it's saying they will not ever again choose to repent. And thus Jesus cannot forgive someone who will not repent. They have eternally shut their heart on God.