God's forgiveness

Ah, once more Billy Graham picks a letter from someone wanting to know if there is hope for them after all their 'sins'...

Q: I know God can do anything He wants to, which means that if He wanted to, He could even forgive me for all the bad things I've done. But I could never forgive myself. I know I've hurt a lot of people, and I feel so ashamed and guilty. Is there any hope for me?

It's amazing just how many Christians don't seem to know very much about Christianity...

A: The most important thing you need to know is that God not only could forgive you - but He wants to! He loves you and doesn't want you to go through life carrying a burden of guilt and shame.

Oh, so he wants to forgive? Okay I think we're done here. Let's pack it up and go...

That's why God has done everything possible to make your forgiveness a reality.

Wait... He wants to forgive, and has done everything possible to make that happen, so he just forgives right? I mean, that really is all it takes.

Yes, you have sinned; you've sinned against others, and most of all you've sinned against God. We often downplay the seriousness of sin, but sin is serious, because it cuts us off from others and from God. And we all are guilty, whether we feel it or not. The Bible warns, "There is no one righteous, not even one" (Romans 3:10).

Wait, wait, wait... How can sin or anything cut someone off from God. He's supposed to be all-powerful for crying out loud!

But God has provided the way for us to be forgiven...

By, I don't know... Maybe just forgiving people who are genuinely sorry, good, or have learned their lesson?

...and that way is Jesus Christ. He was without sin, for He was God, but on the cross all our sins were placed on Him, and He took upon Himself the judgment you and I deserve. Now we can be forgiven - freely and fully - by putting our faith and trust in Him. Why not ask Him to forgive you today?

After-all, he was a Christian.

Son of a... What happened to wanting to forgive? If he's requiring the acceptance of a barbaric, unnecessary and immoral human sacrifice (or anything really) in order to gain forgiveness he isn't forgiving because he wants to, but because you payed him to. That's more black-mail than forgiveness. If someone truly wants to forgive someone, there is no need of any such requirement.

Then ask God to help you forgive yourself. You can't forget what you've done, but if God has taken away your sins, why act as if they were still there? And if you need to ask others to forgive you, let them know you now belong to Christ, and you're sorry for what you've done and you hope they'll forgive you.

Yeah... That's real great advice. Why act like your sin is still there if God has forgiven you? Is Billy blind to the obvious implications? Oh, you just robbed and shot a pregnant woman? No worries, God forgave you so there's no need to stress about it. In fact, do it again tomorrow if you want... you're in good with the big guy.


-Brain Hulk

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