From Failure to Forgiveness

“Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sin is covered.”  Romans 4:6-7

Some folks think that they have to get their lives all straightened out before they can be accepted by God in the free pardon of sin.  Nope.  God doesn’t accept us on our own merit no matter how much we try to improve ourselves, and no one can be perfect which is what God requires (Matthew 5:48).  So where does that leave us?  Are we without hope?  I am glad that question was asked.

There are folks in scripture who were a long way from perfect, yet they were eventually forgiven by God.  Jacob (Genesis 27) was a conniver aided by his mother.  He was a twin whose brother Esau was born first making him the one to receive all the rights and privileges of the firstborn son.  Their mother, Rebekah, favored Jacob because he was more refined.  The two of them cooked up a scheme to trick his father, Isaac, into giving Jacob the blessing of the firstborn rather than Esau.  King David committed adultery with Bathsheba whose husband, Uriah, was a soldier in David’s army.  Bathsheba became pregnant with David’s child, and to hide his sin, David sent Uriah to the front line in battle in order for him to lose his life.  Thus, David was an adulterer and a murderer (II Samuel 11).

Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon, a Gentile, who made an image and commanded all people to worship it.  This was after he had attacked Jerusalem and taken many of the Jews captive to Babylon.  Because God’s dedicated men would not cooperate with the king’s order, Nebuchadnezzar had Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego thrown into a fiery furnace (Daniel 3).  Manasseh was the son of King Hezekiah, a righteous king of Judah, but when Manasseh became king, he was a ruthless, evil ruler who returned Judah to idol worship, sacrificed his own children, and shed much innocent blood.  He was credited with seducing the people to do more evil that did the idolatrous nations surrounding Judah (II Kings 21).  Paul, known as Saul before he met Christ, pursued Christians, locking them up and being a witness to their executions (Acts 8).  He thought that he was doing God a favor.

What was the common denominator among these five men that brought them to realize their sin before God?  They were all humbled by circumstances which brought them to acknowledge that there was a God in heaven to which they were held accountable.  Jacob was about to meet his brother Esau after many years, and he was fearful not knowing whether Esau would be a friend or a foe because of his poor treatment of Esau.  Jacob put his family in a safe place, and while he was alone, an angel came and wrestled with him all night.  It is believed that the angel was Jesus Christ.  Jacob would not let go until the angel blessed him.  Jacob now realized that he needed God, and God did bless him (Genesis 32).  The meeting with Esau the next day was very cordial.  King David was confronted by the prophet Nathan who foretold that David’s sin would cause great turmoil in his household.  David then realized that he had not only sinned against Uriah, but against God and repented (II Samuel 12).

Daniel interpreted a dream of Nebuchadnezzar in which the king would lose his kingdom, live with animals, and eat grass until he recognized God and His power to rule over kingdoms.  This is exactly what happen to Nebuchadnezzar.  He came to know the God of heaven, praising and honoring Him as the righteous and just God (Daniel 4).  Manasseh was taken captive by the Assyrians and in great affliction he sought the LORD and humbled himself before God who allowed him to return to Jerusalem.  Manasseh removed the idols from the temple and removed the idolatrous altars from Jerusalem.  Paul, on the road to Damascus to arrest Christians, was confronted in person by Jesus Christ.  For Paul, it was an instant realization that everything he thought he knew about Jesus was wrong, and the only thing for him to do was to humble himself, repent, and believe in Christ.

Philippians 2:10-11 tells us “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”.  I think about that old television commercial in which the car repairman says, “You can pay me now, or you can pay me later!”  In other words, do the repair now and it won’t cost nearly as much as it will if you ignore it.  How much better is it to repent and acknowledge Christ as Lord and Savior when He knocks at your heart’s door than to wait until you are required to acknowledge Him as Lord, but not privileged to call Him Savior?