Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Verse of the Day : Jeremiah 33:8 KJB 1611
"And I will clense them from all their iniquitie, whereby they haue sinned against mee: and I will PARDON all their iniquities whereby they haue sinned, and whereby they haue transgressed against me."



I got this in a recent email and wanted to share it with y'all.


The Ultimate Pardon




Scripture: Romans 4:9 "Blessed are they whose sins are forgiven,

whose wrongs are pardoned."



Many pardons have been controversial. President Andrew Johnson

pardoned thousands of former Confederate officials and military

personnel after the American Civil War. President Gerald Ford pardoned

President Nixon for the Watergate Scandal. President Jimmy Carter

granted a full pardon of amnesty to Vietnam-era draft dodgers.



The story is told of a young man caught and found guilty of murder

many decades ago, and sentenced to death. His mother and father

loved him with all their hearts, and they appealed to everyone they

met for leniency for their son. Finally in desperation they appealed

to the Governor of their state for a lesser sentence, but to everyone's

surprise the Governor granted this young man a full pardon.



A pardon is a document that essentially erases a crime, making it as

if it never happened. The pardon was sent to the prison, with instructions

to release him. When the Warden told the young man about the pardon,

he became angry and said, "I'm guilty, I murdered another human

being and I want to die."



"But," the Warden replied, "I have your pardon in my hand!"



No matter how the Warden pleaded, the prisoner kept demanding to

die. Not knowing what to do, the Warden appealed to a prominent

Judge, to help him figure this out.



The Judge said, "A pardon is not a pardon unless it is accepted!"



So, the young man was ultimately executed. He had been completely

forgiven for his sins against humanity. So why did he die?



"Because a pardon is not a pardon unless it is accepted!"



Jesus died in the place of every human being, who by their sins against

God were deserving of the death penalty. Every human being who would

ever live has been granted an unconditional pardon from God. But the

catch is that you must WANT the pardon; you and I must see the need

for the pardon and desire to have it! The pardon from God came when

Jesus Christ — God's Son — died on the cross for our sins.



To accept the pardon means that I must believe that Jesus did this for

me and to accept Him therefore as my Savior and ask Him to be Lord

of my life.



"Almost persuaded to be a Christian is like the man who was almost

pardoned, but he was hanged. A man that is almost saved is damned."

[Charles H. Spurgeon]
 
 
The Question: Have you accepted yours? And to those who have: Are you rejoicing every day?

1 comment:

Matthew Garfat said...

That's a really thought-provoking story. Thanks for sharing it.