This is a question that is asked by many. And it is one that is quite easily answered, Yes, He will. Psalm 86:5 states "For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and
plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee." The scriptures also teach us that God would have all men come to repentance, 2 Pet. 3:9 "The Lord is not slack
concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." We
see by these two verses that the Lord is "ready to forgive" and "willing ... that all should come to repentance"
Many think their sins are so great that God will not forgive them. They believe their sins are much to grievous and that forgiveness for them is too much to ask from the
Lord. If you would, follow along with me as we look at several cases of sinners in the Word of God and see if God was willing to forgive them.
Adulterers:
In John 8:1-11, the apostle John records that Jesus had come into the temple and was teaching. As He was teaching the Scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman
caught in adultery, taken in the very act. They tested Him saying "Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned, But what do You say?" Jesus made
a clear point in saying "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." When all of her accusers had left, being convicted of their own sin, He asked the
woman "Where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?" When she answered "No one, Lord", He said to her "Neither do I condemn you,
go and sin no more." The Lord forgave her of the sin of adultery. Matthew 9:6 tells us He had the power to do so. If Jesus was willing to not condemn this woman caught in
the very act of adultery, would He not also be willing to forgive us our sins?
Thieves:
Murderers:
Let's take a look at some of the murderers of the Bible and see if they were allowed forgiveness. One of these cases is that of David, king of Israel. Having already discussed
his sin of adultery, let's look at what happened afterwards. When his trickery to have Uriah lie with his wife did not work. He sent him to be killed, sending word to have Uriah
placed in the hottest part of the battle. David knew he would die. David committed murder. But he was forgiven. Should he have expected forgiveness? He himself said that
he should die for his deeds after hearing Nathan's story. Look at 2 Samuel 12:13-14 again "And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said
unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die." The Lord put away the sin of David, He forgave him. David still had to pay for his sins physically. His
punishment was the death of his son, born of his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba, but the Lord forgave him. Would he not also forgive us?
Another murderer that we find written of in the scriptures, is not often thought of as a such. In fact when Paul's name is mentioned, we automatically think of a man who made
great acclomplishments in teaching the world of Jesus. Before Paul was Paul, he was known as Saul of Tarsus, a name that struck fear in the hearts of Christians
(Acts 9:13,14). He was a man who had committed many Christians to prison, even consenting to their deaths (Acts 8:1; 9:1-2; 22:20). Because of him many Christians
died. How could he expect forgiveness? He hindered the teaching of the Word of God by condemning Christians to death. Could he expect God to forgive him? Luke
records in Acts 22:16 that Saul was indeed allowed forgiveness of his sins "And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, nd wash away thy sins, calling on the name
of the Lord" Saul's sins were washed away. He obtained forgiveness of his sins. If the Lord would forgive someone such as Saul of Tarsus, would He not also forgive us?
We can also look at the Jews on the day of Pentecost. In Acts chapter 2 a group of Jews had gathered together with the Apostles. During Peter's sermon, in verse 36 he
convicts them of murder, "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ". He
gets personal. He says, "Whom YE have crucified"; whom you have murdered, killed. "When they heard this they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of
the apostles, 'Men and brethren what shall we do'" (verse 37). Now if any man on earth were to be undeserving of forgiveness for murder, would it not be the very men who
had murdered the Son of God? Would not they be the last people on earth to receive the blessed grace of God? Yet in verse 38 we find Peter telling them "Repent, and
let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins;". Vines Expository Dictionary defines remission as - "a dismissal, release." We can
see then that those who repented and were baptized would have their sins dismissed, or released. They would be forgiven of this hideous crime they had committed. Now
if the Lord would forgive those who crucified His Son, would He not also forgive us?
There are many other cases of sinners in the Bible, both great and small that we could spend time talking about, but I believe that these will suffice to show that God has
offered forgiveness of sins to all men. But we must understand that this is not just some blanket forgiveness that will cover all sins that are committed by men. There are
some sins that God will not forgive. ALL SINS that are not repented of will not be forgiven. We must understand that it is too late at the point of death.
We must make use of today, and the wondrous grace of God. He will forgive you of your sins, no matter how horrendous they are, but only if you confess them, repent of
them, and have them washed away in baptism.
To understand this a little more it is necessary that we explain these steps, and why they are necessary. So please, be sure to read God's Plan of
Salvation as we open up the scriptures and see what THEY SAY, not me, about obtaining forgiveness of sins.
One of the greatest cases of adultery is found in the story of David and Bathsheba. David was an important man, "a man after God's own heart" (Acts 13:21-22). But
David was not a perfect man, as no man can be. He had problems and one of those problems was lust for Bathsheba. While walking on the roof of the king's palace,
David spotted a beautiful woman bathing. He inquired about her, and even though it was made known that she was the wife of another man, Uriah the Hittite, he lay with her.
After it became known that she was pregnant, he did what he could to have her husband lie with her to cover his sins. He committed adultery, but as we see later in the book
of 2 Samuel he was forgiven of his sins. The Lord sent Nathan to tell David of his evil deed relating to him a story (see 2 Samuel 12:1-5). When Nathan finished the story,
David was furious with the man concerned. Yet when Nathan said "Thou art the man", David finally understood the gravity of his sin. Could he have expected forgiveness?
He had condemned himself to death according to verse 5, but we are told in 2 Samuel 12:13-14, "And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan
said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die." The Lord put away the sin of David. He forgave him. Will he not also forgive us?
In the story of the thief on the cross, we find the Lord willing to forgive him. In Luke 23:39-43 the scriptures tell us Luke's account of the conversation that took place between
Jesus and the criminals that were crucified with Him. One blasphemed the Lord saying "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us" (verse 39), but the other rebuked him,
and asked Jesus to "remember me when You come into Your kingdom" (verse 42). The Lord immediately answered him and said "Assuredly, I say unto you, today
you will be with Me in Paradise" (verse 43). Jesus forgave him of his sins. If He is willing to forgive such a thief, would He not also forgive us?
When I think of murderers, evil men come to mind. Men such as you will find on Death Row, who according to the laws of the land are deserving of the death penalty. Although
these are truly evil men, and guilty of judgment by the laws of the land, they have just the same opportunity of forgiveness as we do.
Finally let's look at the worst lot of people we can find in the Bible next to Sodom and Gomorra. The Corinthians were an evil group. The apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
describes to us the class of sinners that were found in Corinth. "... neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind
(referring to homosexuals TRH), 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you:"
Did you notice what was said in verse 11 "And such were some of you." He is describing the lifetsyle of the members of the church in Corinth. Could people of this standard
receive forgiveness from God? Would they not be considered in the same context as the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorra, or the world before the flood? Let's look at the
rest of verse 11 "but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." Because of the cleansing power of
the blood of Christ, even these sinners could receive forgiveness of sins. If the Lord would forgive men and women such as the Corinthians, would He not also forgive us?