James R. Davis
Is it possible to outstretch the limit of God's
forgiveness? What would life be worth if we could? The fear of outstretching
the limit would fill us with misery.
In God's sight no offense is so great or so frequent
as to be beyond forgiveness. One could have a mountain of sins and still
bury them in the ocean of God's love. God is not willing that the vilest
sinner should be lost. (2 Peter 3:9.) God's forgiveness through Jesus Christ
is as boundless as the heavens. "He hath not dealt with us after our sins;
nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high
above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far
as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions
from us." (Psalm 103:10-12.)
Divine mercy has provided for the expiation and
forgiveness of every man. Pardon is available to every nation, ethnic group,
and class. Forgiveness is for the rich and for the poor; for the educated
and the uneducated; for the intelligent and for the not so intelligent.
It makes little difference about one's present, or about one's past. Divine
forgiveness is a possibility for every man, woman, and child. (John 3:16-17.)
God's forgiveness is unlimited, but many by their
attitude limit God's forgiveness on their behalf. Some hate themselves
for the things they have done . . . they seem to think that God hates them
too. In conversations with Christians maybe you have heard a friend say:
"OH! If God could only forgive me for what I've done." We must not let
our past stand in the way of our forgiveness. Only one man has ever lived
above sin, "Jesus Christ the righteous". He is the substitute for our sins
(1 John2:1), and he stands at the right hand of God desperately wanting
to intercede on every person's behalf. Christ is not interested in our
past . . . he is interested in our future! Don't let your attitude toward
your past rob you of God's saving grace!
Unbelief is also another hindrance to forgiveness.
A lack of confidence in what God has done for each of us through Jesus
Christ seriously limits God's grace on our behalf. An unfaithful Christian
who never had the opportunity to learn hows to read or write once ask me:
"Do you believe that a man who can't read or write can go to heaven?" Another
man, a Vietnam War veteran who had killed in combat, told his Christian
wife his reason for not seeking salvation: "I do not believe that anyone
who has taken another human life can go to heaven." A woman who had been
baptized and had attended church faithfully for several years once exclaimed:
"I know that I have no chance of going to heaven because of my past, but
I'm teaching my children to attend church and to do what is right so that
they can go to heaven." A lack of confidence can only pull a soul away
from God. Don't let your unbelief rob you of God's saving grace!
A failure to understand the Bible frustrates God's
grace. Some take difficult scriptures and wrest them to their own destruction.
Peter said, " . . . they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they
do also the other Scriptures, unto their own destruction." (2 Peter 3:16.)
An unfaithful Christian man read Hebrews 6:4-6: "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; seeing they crucify to themselves the
Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame." Then the man concluded
that since he had already been baptized and had now fallen away it was
impossible for him to receive forgiveness anew.
A promiscuous young lady read about the unforgivable
sin (Mark 3:29), and concluded that she had done something that prevented
her forgiveness forever. God's word is designed to free men from the enslavement
of sin (John 8:32), but a failure to properly understand and apply the
teaching of God's word will further enslave on in sin. Don't let your ignorance
rob you of God's saving grace!
The tragedy is that all of these precious souls
can receive forgiveness. In every case each person has limited his/her
own forgiveness. The only key to remove the shackles of sin is God's forgiveness,
and if one continues to limit his own forgiveness by these erroneous attitudes
he/she throws away the only key which will set one free.
God's word is designed to communicate God's grace
to every lost soul. When properly studied and obeyed the Bible will take
every person from wherever he/she may be to where God wants him/her to
go . . . and ultimately that place is to heaven to live with HIM. The Bible
is designed to remove our doubts, fears and unbelief. The Bible is not
designed to further enslave and condemn (John 3:17.) Only your attitude
can hinder the communication of God's grace.
Obedience to God's commands brought forgiveness
to Noah the drunk, Abraham the liar, David the adulterer and murder, Peter
the betrayer, to the Corinthians for their debauchery and dissipation and
to the thief in his dying moment on the cross.
God's promises are immutable! (Hebrews 6:17.)
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever
believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16.)
A belief that accepts what God says and does what He asks will save anyone.
Remember that you are a part of that world! Remember
God's forgiveness is unlimited!
