Expert: Mel and Guyna Horne - 8/4/2007

Question
Hello Mel and Guyna.

My name is Ruan, and I am a proud witness.
I wanted to ask you something related to sin.

I know Jehovah is our loving father, and he willingly forgives our sins if we ask him to, but just how far can one go before our Heavenly father gets sore at you.

Say you swear at someone, that’s forgivable if you ask for forgiveness.. But say you kill someone,  I don’t think that’s forgivable, but say that person asks for forgiveness and lives the rest of his life serving Jehovah in every single way, say full time ministry. How can that person know if he is really forgiven, or just wasting his time, and has no chance of ever being resurrected in the future?

But that just crossed my mind. So if you can answer that question I would be Really happy!

Thank you so much,
Ruan.  

Answer
Hi Ruan,

  You asked about the limits of God's patience and his forgiveness within the concept of minor versus major sins.

  While some sins are more repulsive to us than others (murder versus lying), God says the punishment is the same.

  ". . . the soul that sins, it shall die." (Eze. 18:4, 20).
  "Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law."
  "He that overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
   But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." (Rev. 21:7-8).

  Since surveys consistently show that "everyone lies", perhaps more of us should be worried about this category than about murder or sorcery.
 (See "The Lying Test, Am I a Liar?: 140 ways we lie every day"  http://www.geocities.com/changes1611/sins22lies22.html


 There is only one sin that God cannot forgive and that is the rejection of God's forgiveness.

 "Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
  And whosoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaks against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come." (Mat. 12:31-32).

  God offers his Holy Spirit to those who repent and accept Christ's sacrifice.

 "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."  (Acts 2:38).

  If we refuse to repent, then God cannot forgive us.  If we repent, he can forgive any sin.  Rejection of His Holy Spirit is a rejection of Christ, of God, and  a rejection of his plan of forgiveness and salvation.  He is not going to force us to live forever in his kingdom.  We have a choice.  He wants people who have chosen to be there. The only way we won't be there is to choose death.

  In the context of choices, there are certain specific things God encourages us to ask from him.

  "My son, if you will receive my words, and hide my commandments with you;
   So that you incline your ear unto wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding;
   Yes, if you cry after knowledge, and lift up your voice for understanding;
   If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hid treasures;
   Then shall you understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.
   For the Lord gives wisdom: out of his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.
   . . .
   Then shall you understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yes, every good path
    When wisdom enters into your heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto your soul;
    Discretion shall preserve you, understanding shall keep you:
   . . .
    But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it."  Pro. 2:1-6, 9-11, 22).

   He encourages us to seek knowledge (facts, information), understanding (knowing the difference between right and wrong) and wisdom (choosing to do what is right).  We must seek for it fervently, persistently, and patiently.

   We must have knowledge and understanding before we can make the right choices.  The right choices are to avoid sin, or when we fail to avoid it, to repent of it and stop doing it, and to "go and sin no more".

    As Christ told the woman who was caught committing adultery (but whose accusers had not repented of their own sins) " . . . Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn you: go, and sin no more." (Jn. 8:11).
    If we have sincerely repented, which means we have expressed our regret for our sins and have asked for God's help in overcoming sin, then we should have confidence in God's promise of forgiveness.  Additional confidence comes as he helps us to continue to recognize and put sin out of our lives by making right choices every day.  As long as we are alive and human, we are subject to making wrong choices which is why it is necessary to ask daily for forgiveness and for help in making right choices in what we think, say and do.  Studying God's word (2Tim. 2:15), meditating on how it applies to our lives (Psa. 119:97,99), and daily private prayer also help (Mat. 6:5-15).

    What is the limit on forgiveness?  

   "Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
    Jesus said unto him, I say not unto you, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven." (Mat. 18:21-22).
     If we think the limit is 490 times then we have missed the point.

    Christ then gave a parable showing that if we expect God to forgive us, we need to forgive others.  Another way of expressing this is that God will forgive us as long as we forgive others.(Mat. 18:23-35).

    "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
     But if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Mat. 6:14-15).


    Does God have limits?

    Prior to the Flood, men were allowed to live hundreds of years, Methuselah was 969 years old when he died in the Flood (Gen. 5:27). Noah was 500 years old before he had children (Gen. 5:32).  Even though people had hundreds of years to overcome sin, only Noah was righteous out of the millions of people alive at that time (based on the birth rates) .  The lesson is that although God is patient and forgiving, at some point it becomes a matter of "Your time is up!".

   That time is coming for all mankind.
   "And swore by him that lives for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:" (Rev. 10:6).

   Since our lives are only about 70-75 years average, our time may be up before then.
   "Blessed is he that reads, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand." (Rev. 1:3).


   What does God want?

   He wants to know that he can trust us to make the right choices.  Abraham proved himself when he raised the knife to sacrifice his son, Isaac.
  "And he said, Lay not your hand upon the lad, neither do you any thing unto him: for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son from me."  (Gen. 22:12).
  [Note: "fearing" God means choosing to obey out of love and respect, not out of terror.]

  For most of us, there is no single, dramatic moment of which we are aware, but a daily series of choices, every day of every year until we die.  God could decide at any point in our life that we have reached that point, but as long as we are human and subject to sin, we could still begin to make wrong choices and lose everything.  The history of the Judges and Kings of Israel and Judah (see Judges, 1Kings, 2Kings, 1Chron., 2Chron) shows men who started out evil but repented and ended up righteous, and men who started out righteous and ended up evil.  We have free will to choose and that is what puts us at risk as long as we live.  Paul said, in effect, "It ain't over until its over." (Phil. 3:13).


   A common question is whether death-bed confessions are valid.  Christ's acceptance of the repentance of the thief on the cross is usually mentioned (Luke 23:39-43).
  God knows the thoughts in our minds which is why he was justified in killing all the earth's population (except Noah and his family):
  "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." (Gen. 6:5).

    The thief on the cross beside Christ knew his time was limited and he made good use of his last words.
    Many die every day, not knowing they won't be alive tomorrow.  For those who have sincerely repented, if God judges their hearts as sincere, they do have a chance at salvation.  Those who know they should repent but put it off, thinking they will do it next year, are betting their eternal life that they still have time.
A death-bed repentance can be valid, but would you bet your eternal life on it, or on the chance that you will not die suddenly, without warning and without time for a death-bed plea?

    
   We cannot "pay" for our own sins, except with our death.  If we commit any sin, and think that living righteously for the rest of our life will "atone" for that sin, then we don't understand the program.  If we die for our own sins, we can't have eternal life.  Only through the acceptance of Christ's death for our sins, can we receive eternal life (Jn. 6:40, 53; Jn. 20:30-31).


   While God can forgive any sin (except one) he does not always remove the effects of the sin.  The physical effects of abusing our bodies with drugs, alcohol, smoking or improper diet may affect our health for the rest of our lives.  Crimes may result in prison or in acts of revenge by others.  Lying, stealing, adultery, and dishonoring parents can have social and psychological effects on ourselves and our families that may never be forgotten or forgiven by them.  Sexual sins can result in STD's, some of which are incurable.  If these effects do remain, it does not mean that a person has not been forgiven by God and we should not interpret them as a lack of forgiveness for ourselves or for others.

 Christ said that when he returns to earth (Acts 1:11), there will be a "few" whom he will accept (Mat. 7:13-14), and "many" (calling themselves Christians, Mat. 7:21-23) whom he will reject.  Only those who are "dead in Christ" will be resurrected at that time (1Cor. 4:16) and those who are alive and "in Christ" will be "changed" into spirit beings who rise up to "meet the Lord in the air" (1Ths. 4:17). ( "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection." Rev. 20:5). [There are two resurrections.]
 "Behold, the day of the Lord comes, . . ."
  "And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, . . ." (Zech. 14:1, 4).
  "Blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection: on such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." (Rev. 20:6). [in Jerusalem, on the earth, Rev. 20:9].

   There is more to this, which is off topic, but you mentioned "a chance of ever being resurrected" and there are two resurrections. A future resurrection to physical life is explained in Eze. 37:1-28.  It is also described in Zech. 8:1-23.  God's plan is that everyone will have the opportunity to choose life or death (Isa. 65:17-25, Deu. 30:15, 19, Mat. 7:13-14).

  As long as we are truly repentant and bearing "fruits of the Spirit" (Gal. 5:22-23, Col. 3:12-23, Eph. 5:9) rather than "works of the flesh" (Gal. 5:19-21, 26, Col. 3:5-9, 2Cor. 12:20-21, Eph. 5:3-7, 11, 1Tim. 1:9-10, Rev. 21:8), then we are not wasting our time nor God's.

 Your question included the hypothetical killing of someone and the scriptures above include murder but not all deaths are deliberately caused.  There are a range of deaths from accidental homicide to negligent homicide to murder in the first degree. An accidental death may not have involved any malice or negligence and could occur without any sin being committed.  A negligent homicide could have involved only carelessness and in some cases not even that.  Sometimes negligent homicide is ruled when the victim caused his own death through stupidity or a criminal act.
 Repentance should be for the sin actually committed, if there was one, and not for what others think you did.  God knows our thoughts and as long as we are honest with him we are not wasting our time or his.

 We hope this will be of help. If you have further questions, feel free to write.
 Sincerely,
 Mel and Guyna