God’s grace is so simple, yet completely unfathomable. Yes, you can make the worst choices in life and Jesus will still welcome you with open arms if you choose Him. You can live an entire life in sin and realize your mistake on your deathbed and still have time to choose Jesus. Is it fair? No! Is it fair that Jesus who was sinless had to die on the cross to reconcile us all to God? No! Jesus died for each and everyone of us knowing that we aren’t perfect and that many of us would not choose Him in the end. He loves us whether we choose Him or not.
I have been asked many times, “do you think Hitler could be in heaven.” I used to say, “There’s no way!” But I’ve changed my mind. He might be…
Matthew 12:31 says, “And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.”
Matthew 20 contains the parable of the workers in the vineyard. Some workers were hired for a fee early in the day, others hired later were offered the same fee. When they all received their payment, the workers hired first grumbled because they felt they should be paid more for working more. Here’s was the owner’s response in Jesus’ parable:
“But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’” Matthew 20:13-15
And so it is the same with God. God’s grace is generous beyond anything we can imagine.
As Romans 8:38 says:
“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.”
So, yes, there is a chance Hitler is in heaven despite all the evil he unleashed in this world because if he did repent and choose Jesus in the end, God’s grace would apply to him too. That is perhaps the toughest pill to swallow as a Christian. But that’s how God’s grace works. Nothing about being a Christian is fair except this: God loves us all the same whether we love Him back or not and He offers us all the gift of grace through Jesus Christ no matter our sin.
Romans 10:9-10 says, “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”
Could it be any simpler?
Romans 11:6 says, “And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.”
So then why do we bother trying to be “good.” Because once we choose Jesus, we are convicted to be better. We are still far from perfect, but we want to emulate Jesus through our actions. We recognize what an amazing, undeserved gift grace is and we want to honor God by being better. BUT, this does not mean we are “better people” than anyone. We are still sinners who recognize how badly we need God’s undeserved grace. #GloryToGod
I do want to add something in anticipation of comments. I do not believe you will find a true believer who blatantly sins for fun and says, “I can do whatever I want because Jesus is my savior. It’s my get out of jail free card.” Perhaps a few exist, but that’s between them and God.
Oodles and Gobs 