Stories of especially vile and evil criminals who repent and turn to Christ for forgiveness and salvation always grab my attention. The depravity of their wickedness so sharply contrasts the perfect love of the Savior. The sovereign will of God to pluck that wretched person from humanity and chose him or her to be His beloved for eternity is perhaps one of the most confusing, astonishing and praise-worthy acts of the Creator.
Notorious serial killer and rapist, Ted Bundy, admitted to raping and brutally killing 36 women and girls, some as young as 12 years old, across the United States between 1974-1978. In an interview with James Dobson, the day before he was executed for these crimes, he answered questions about his past and tried to use those last words to warn people about the serious dangers of pornography. But the most significant words of the interview were when he shared that he had repented of his sin and received Christ as his Savior.
In Roy Ratcliff’s book called Dark Journey Deep Grace, Ratcliff shares his encounter with Jeffery Dahmer, a serial killer who lured 17 men and boys to his home, where he tortured, sexually assaulted, murdered and cannibalized them. Ratcliff is a pastor who, although reluctant at first, spent time sharing the gospel with Dahmer during his incarceration. He was witness to his conversion and baptized him in prison. He recounts the response of those from his church who were upset by his ministry to Dahmer. One person’s response was “if Jeffrey Dahmer is in heaven, I don’t want to be!”
Sounds a bit like Jonah in the Bible. He was sent by God to call the Ninevites to repentance. Nineveh was the capitol of Assyria, and the ancient Assyrians were well known for their extreme cruelty-including burning small children alive and removing the skin from captives and leaving them hanging in the sun to die horrible deaths. Savage and cruel torture and murder were celebrated by creating art that depicted it.
Understandably, Jonah did not want to go to this evil city and call out their wicked behavior, warn them of the destruction coming and urge them to repent. But he eventually did, and not only did the Ninevites not torture or kill him, they listened to him and repented. God showed them mercy and withdrew the much-deserved judgment. Here is both God and Jonah’s response in Jonah 3:10-4:1
When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened. But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry.
Wow! God showed mercy to the most undeserving. Psalms 30:5a says:
For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime.
I can’t personally verify that Bundy or Dahmer made true confessions and are now citizens of Heaven, but I can tell you they were not beyond the grace of God. I am certain that the Ninevite people repented-because the Bible says they did. I can also tell you that a man name Saul, who gained a reputation for persecuting the early church and participating in the cruel deaths of Christians, is also loved and chosen by God. He bears a new name, Paul, and is perhaps the most famous apostle, who wrote many pages of Scripture through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
I have not met any men or women who have committed anywhere close to the hideous sins of these people. In the continuum of evil, these individuals hold places at the extreme end, in the place that even fellow sinners on the continuum deem unforgivable. But God, who’s ways are not our ways, and who’s thoughts are not our thoughts, chooses His sons and daughters from the most unlikely places. (Isaiah 55:8-9)
This is the heart of the gospel-wretched sinners welcomed into Heaven for eternal reward! Deep mercy, great grace and unfathomable love- That is why the baby came. That is why the sinless man was crucified. That is why a corpse drew air into lifeless lungs and it is why Jesus rose and conquered death. The hope of the gospel is for all mankind because the deep heart of God is a bottomless well that will never run dry.
The magnitude of love expressed over and over in the Bible is the greatest news ever to be uttered. No one in history past, present or future will ever call upon the name of Jesus for forgiveness and new life and be rejected. (Romans 10:13) The good and bad deeds of a redeemed person will never be weighed in a balance to see if they are found worthy. (Romans 3:10) All those rescued from the curse of sin stand before Christ on equal footing. We leave our sin and shame behind and gather as one bride to rejoice in the salvation we have received.
I feel a thrill of joy when I read stories of a murdering gang leader coming to Christ or men and women struggling in sexual sins, or members of the occult or confirmed atheist turning from their unbelief. Christ is gathering His beloved from the darkest of places and breathing new life into them. The testimonies of these new believers and their deep love for God are contagious and inspiring. They are proof that prayers for the lost are never in vain and encouragement to keep on praying.
They are also a precious reminder that my sin, as great as it is, will never condemn me to eternity in hell because Jesus has already paid the price for it. I am stricken with grief, humiliation and remorse over my sin. I cannot wait till the day that I no longer grieve my Rescuer with my wayward heart.
Psalms 103:9-12
He will not always accuse, nor will He harbor his anger forever; He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
As an advocate for abused and deceived in the church, I wanted to write this as a declaration of my greatest desire for the abusers, the predators, and the deceivers…for all the lost. All of these individuals are well within the scope of God’s love and mercy. They are not hopeless. It requires no more sacrifice on the part of Jesus to save them then it did for Him to save anyone else. My prayer is not for their destruction or humiliation, it is for God to open their blinded eyes and grant them spiritual sight, mercy, restitution and reconciliation.
Spiritual sight allows sinners to see sin through the eyes of God. It allows the abuser to see how deeply they have grieved God and how much damage their sinful pursuit caused others. The enemy blinds men and women so they are unable to see the true depth of hurt abuse causes. Perhaps because the abuser receive pleasure from the abuse, they cannot recognize how much they have taken from someone else. It has diminished the experience of the victim in their eyes. The enemy is a liar. He does not speak truth to the abuser or the abused. His desire is to “steal, kill and destroy”, but Jesus came that we “may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10)
Jesus holds the mirror of His Word so we can recognize our sin for the life destroying force that it is and repent. Those who receive spiritual sight will repent to God and the ones they have hurt from a place of humble, honest, genuine remorse and deep sorrow. God desire is that none should perish (John 3:16) and He has proved that there are no men or women that He cannot redeem and restore. Proverbs 28:13 says:
Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
One thing I love about my church, Saylorville Church, is how often we hear about a man or woman in our church who was living in rebellion against God and was brought to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ and is now a new person. They have seen their sin for the ugly, destructive curse that it is, and they have fully embraced the love of Jesus. They are changed and they want others to experience that change as well. I can’t get enough of those stories, and I want those Christians, who love their salvation, to surround me. God is using these believers to grow His Kingdom and to influence others for Christ.
Matt Boswell and Matt Papa wrote the song His Mercy Is More. If you haven’t heard it, I encourage you to look up the lyrics. Here is a piece:
What love could remember, no wrongs we have done
Omniscient all-knowing, He counts not their sum
Thrown into a sea, without bottom or shore
Our sins they are many, His mercy is more (praise the Lord)Praise the Lord, His mercy is more
Stronger than darkness, new every morn
Our sins they are many, His mercy is more
