Carefully notice in John 5:40 that Jesus DIDN'T say “ye cannot come”; no, rather He
said... ye WILL NOT come. Anyone who has a desire to come to
Jesus Christ for forgiveness may be saved. Yes, it is true, God will forgive
anybody. I realize that such a statement will harelip many of the
self-righteous, and Calvinists who don't believe that Christ died for the
ungodly; however, Romans 5:6 clearly silences them... “For when we
were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” That means you and me friend.
Christ never died for anyone other than the UNGODLY! I don't understand how anyone, such as Calvinists, can twist the Scriptures to claim that Jesus only died for the righteous. We read in 2nd Peter 2:1, “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.” Did you see that?
Jesus bought those false prophets, even though they were bound for Hell in their sins. Oh! Listen my friend—I don't care what sins you may have committed, or how far from God you may have run—you may still come to Jesus for forgiveness and salvation. This is Biblical. Isaiah 1:18 plainly states... “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” The Hebrew word for “crimson” is interesting. It refers to a worm used to make clothing dye.
Thus, God is saying that although your life may seem permanently stained with sin, He can cleanse you as white as wool. This is the power of Jesus' precious blood that cleanses our sins away, “...and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1st John 1:7).
The reason why we can have our sins forgiven, no matter how horrible they may be, is because salvation is not of man; but of God. Jesus paid a debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay. The price of our sins has been paid! This is why we read in Romans 4:5, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” We don't have to work in our self-righteousness to be saved, because Jesus has already paid our way in full. According to Romans 5:15, eternal life is a FREE GIFT.
The very word “gift” excludes all forms of self-righteousness or religious obligations. So many people today are confused about God's salvation, because ministers aren't proclaiming the precious blood of Jesus... “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” It is because Jesus shed His blood for our sins that we may be saved.
Hebrews 9:22 states, “...without shedding of blood is no remission.” Jesus' blood had to be applied to the Mercy Seat in Heaven. Please read, The Importance of the Blood. Thank God for His precious blood which He shed for us in Christ Jesus (Acts 20:28)!
Nehemiah 9:17, “And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.”
Perhaps you are wondering about the unpardonable sin which the Bible mentions. Matthew 12:31 states, “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.” The Bible teaches there is one sin which cannot be forgiven, and only one—not getting saved. You see, the Holy Spirit reproves the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment... “And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16:8).
If we reject the conviction of God's Spirit, then we are rejecting Jesus Christ, because they are one and the same. In Romans 8:9, the Holy Spirit is referred to as the Spirit of Christ. Many people want to come to God the Father, but reject God's Son. Sadly, Judaism does just that—most Jews today are followers of Judaism, a false religion which adamantly rejects Jesus Christ.
They have committed the unpardonable sin. God will not pardon any of their sins until they humbly come to the feet of Jesus for salvation. The only sin which God refuses to forgive is if you reject His Son as your Savior.
Now, some theologians believe that there is a sin so horrible, that if committed it hardness the heart, and causes that person to become calloused for a lifetime towards the Gospel. However, if this be true, and it may be, one thing is for certain... Isaiah 1:18 invites the vilest sinner to come to God for forgiveness.
Saul was a mass-murderer before he met Jesus and
became a Christian. If God was willing to save a cut-throat murderer
who dragged Christians from their homes, brutally killing them, then God
will forgive anybody. It is not a matter of whether or not God will
forgive you; but are you willing to come to Jesus Christ for forgiveness.
John 3:20 indicts mankind, “For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” The problem is not with God, but with humanity.
2nd Thessalonians 2:10:11 states, “And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.”
Carefully notice the reason why God will send people strong delusion in the Tribulation Period... because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. God never hardens anyone unless He knows in His foreknowledge that they are beyond hope, such as Pharaoh in Moses' time.
Anybody who wants to come to Jesus Christ
for forgiveness may... “For whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). No matter what
sins you may have committed, if you have a sincere desire to repent by
turning to Jesus Christ in faith, you can be saved. You are not beyond
hope.
What About That Scripture Which Says Sinners Won't Enter Into Heaven?
I've often heard unsaved people, or new converts, quote the following Scripture, thinking they are too sinful to be saved, or to serve God as a Christian...
1st Corinthians 6:9-11 and 19-20, “ Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: BUT YE ARE WASHED, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. ... What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.”
Did you read that precious truth... AND SUCH WERE SOME OF YOU (that is, Christians before they were saved)... BUT YE ARE WASHED! When you get saved, then God doesn't see your sins anymore, because He sees Jesus' righteousness. We are washed in the blood of Jesus Christ. Revelation 1:5, “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.” 1st John 1:7, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” Amen! Jesus blood washes all our sins away!!!
The reason why the Apostle Paul wrote 1st Corinthians 6:8-20 is because many of the carnal believers at the church at Corinth (1st Corinthians 3:1) were living in sin, and allowing sin to flourish openly in the church with no preaching against it from the pulpit.
The important thing is that you realize you're a GUILTY sinner, under the condemnation of God's Law (Romans 3:19), and then believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior to forgive those sins (Acts 4:10-12; 16:31; 20:21).
“Christ is there for the vilest offender. The serial killer whose prayer at the hour of his death is genuine is also forgiven.”
SOURCE: http://www.wjmurray.com (Quote by William J. O'Hair, son of Madalyn Murray O'Hair)
God will forgive anybody, because Jesus died for everybody! 1st John 2:2 states, “And he [Jesus] is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” How much clearer could the Bible be on this matter? Whatever depths of sin you may have gone to, God is willing to forgive you if you'll come by way of the blood sacrifice of Jesus.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” —John 3:16
