Will Mahatir ever repent and be saved?

In one of his recent articles Raja Petra has this to say

All the great religions, in particular the religions of the book, speak about repentance, forgiveness and redemption. Even God possesses forgiving qualities. But forgiveness can only be forthcoming with repentance and redemption. Yes, there is much Mahathir must redeem before forgiveness can be given. And has Mahathir truly repented? For if he has not then forgiving would be impossible.

Well, I'm not sure how other religions of the books view repentance and salvation. My opinion will be based on my Christian belief. But even within Christianity, there are different views on how one actually is saved. As the header in my blog suggests, I'm offering my opinion from a Reformed perspective, one that is unfortunately not very popular nowadays especially in Malaysia.

Mahatir will never be able to repent. But that doesn't mean he can never be saved. Does that sound contradictory? Is salvation possible without repentance? No. But repentance is not possible without regeneration. Left to our own, we will never be able to repent. This is because we are dead in our sins (Ephesians 2:1). How can a spiritually dead person repents?

For a person to repent, he/she must be regenerated first and this regeneration is entirely the work of God. ....he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit ...(Titus 3:5).

Even before that, God has to issue the call or summons just like Jesus calling Lazarus from the dead. (And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified - Romans 8:30). Those who are called are called according to God's purpose (Romans 8:28). In other words, the call is effectual.

John Murray wrote this on regeneration. God's grace reaches down to the depths of our need and meets all the exigencies of the moral and spiritual impossibility which inheres in our depravity and inability. And that grace is the grace of regeneration. ...........God effects a change which is radical and all-pervasive, a change which cannot explain in terms of any combination, permutation, or accumulation of human resources, a change which is nothing less than a new creation by him who calls the things that be not as though they were, who spake and it was done, who commanded and it stood fast. This in a word, is regeneration. ( Redemption - Accomplished and Applied)

An unregenerated person cannot repent whereas a regenerated person cannot but repent and believe.

The Reformed position is salvation is solely the work of God. We do not and cannot contribute anything to our salvation. Even our faith by which we are justified is only possible through the Holy Spirit's prior work of regenerating us. Another term for this is monergism.

Back to the question, Will Mahatir ever repent and be saved? Based on Reformed theology, no one is beyond redemption if God in His sovereign will and purpose chooses to call and regenerate a person. But on the other hand if one's theology is based on the requirement that a person have to repent first and be saved, then Mahatir will surely be damned. He will never repent.

If Mahatir by the grace of God ever repents, I hope I wouldn't be like Jonah who got angry with God for not punishing the people of Nineveh for their wickedness because they repented.