The apostle Paul was always quick to acknowledge from where he came. He was a Pharisee, and one who sought to do violence to those who followed Jesus. He serves as a significant witness of the Christ, as one who formerly fought against Jesus, who became His Savior.
Paul knew that his position as one of the redeemed came despite the evil he did as a young man. One of the places where he made this clear is in his first letter to Timothy. In the first chapter, he wrote the following:
“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief” (1 Timothy 1:12-15).
Do we say thanks to Jesus Christ our Lord? Paul was certainly an obvious sinner, but all of us are in need of the same grace that saved Him. As such, we too should thank Jesus for what He did for us.
The truth is, no sin is too big for Christ to forgive. It doesn’t matter where you are in life, what you have done, how dark or big the sin is, no life has been lived that it too sinful for Jesus to make right. There are plenty of biblical examples that show the fundamental nature of this truth.
Consider the words of forgiveness given by Jesus to those who mocked Him and His work. Matthew 27:44 notes that both of the men who were crucified at the same time as Jesus “reviled Him.” And yet one of them, upon his repentance, was told by Jesus, “Assuredly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43).
Earlier as He was hung upon that tree, those who brought about His crucifixion were mentioned by Jesus in His prayer to His Father. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34). Now, there is no mention that these men were penitent at all. They divided His garments among themselves. The rulers sneered at Jesus. The soldiers mocked Him. But, it does show the forgiving spirit of Jesus, even to those who were taking His life.
After His death on the cross, a death that affords the forgiveness of any sin through His shed blood, we see the purpose of His coming. Peter preached this truth on Pentecost, quoting Joel for example: “And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Acts 2:21). Harking back to our original text in 1 Timothy 1, “And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant” (14). As Paul continued, “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life” (15-16).
Having acknowledged the abundant nature of grace, and that God can forgive any sin, it is important to note that there are sins Jesus will not forgive. This too is clearly noted in scripture. Paul even wrote about it to set the record straight, lest when he wrote about grace he would be misunderstood. “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” (Romans 6:1-2). So, we conclude that continuing unabated sin does not allow for forgiveness of sins.
The Lord Himself dealt the sin of unbelief in Mark 16:15-6, “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:15-16).
Finally, the Hebrew writer weighs in. “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries” (Hebrews 10:26-27). There is one thing that is common about continuing sin, unbelief and willful sin, in all three we have no repentance! Jesus said, “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3). The unwillingness of man to repent will lead to punishment, not forgiveness. This is because God is righteous. Paul himself knew this, “since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe” (2 Thessalonians 1:6-10).
Jesus died on the cross and paid for our sin. This sacrifice was planned by God from before the world began, and was effective in accomplishing its purpose (Ephesians 1:3-6). However, God’s plan for redeeming man has certain obligations for man himself. Repentance is one of these requirements. God’s righteousness requires it.
