Jesus knows that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, good works, and procrastination.
It is Satan, who would tell us that we can wait and put the decision of salvation off, for another time. He would love nothing more than for us to keep him company in hell.
Romans 6:23 - In the spiritual world, Jesus said, "For the payment for sin, is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." This means salvation can never be earned but is a promise from God as a gift to us, so that we may have eternal life in heaven.
Jesus said that salvation is never based on our good performance, intentions, or good works. Salvation is based on God's promise to save us and forgive us of our sins. It is by His grace alone, through faith, trusting in God's promises, that we are saved. That is what God said would be the only thing that will get us to heaven....His Plan of Salvation. Try to change that in any way, and He said it will not work.
If anyone would know how to have salvation, it would be Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Jesus said, "TODAY is the day of salvation.", for good reason. It works.
Jesus' request to be saved today, wasn't a suggestion. Jesus knows the seriousness of our souls eternal destination. He asks us not to delay our decision to follow Him, and be saved. Definitely not because He was trying to scare us, but because He understood that the reality of life, is that we don't know what tomorrow is going to bring us. He wanted to ensure that we were prepared today, for our future eternal home. He wants no one to miss heaven.
Some people want to wait until their deathbed, in order to repent, but God knows our hearts and that certainly is not a sincere heart decision, asking only to ensure one's eternal home will be in heaven. Jesus said that won't work. I'm not saying that none will be saved on their deathbed. God knows our heart and the motives behind our decisions, however, He doesn't want us to put that important decision off, for another day. He said not to boast about tomorrow, as you don't know what tomorrow may bring. We don't have a guarantee that we'll make it to our death beds. This is what He wants us to realize. That's just a fact of life. He wants no one to miss heaven. What a tragedy that would be, to miss Heaven, all because we ignored the destination of our own soul.
Jesus made the perfect Plan of Salvation and He doesn't need man to try to change His plan. It's perfect, because it works. He did not authorize, nor give man the authority to change it. We are all in the same spiritual boat. In need of a Savior to forgive our sins, before we face eternity.
We know that Heaven is a place of perfection and permanency. We will never reach perfection and God knows that. He doesn't expect us to, but if we could drag our sins into heaven, then it wouldn't be called heaven, so that's why He provided a plan of salvation for us, so we could get to heaven through the forgiveness of our sins, by Jesus. He said if we do nothing, and leave our souls to chance, then we'll miss it. Don't forget, that it is God who set the standard for salvation, and it's not up to us to change it.
