Over the past few years, the Church has worked very hard at improving its ability to hear the victims in our society, show them compassion, and work towards healing. Regardless of your opinions on the effectiveness of things like the #BlackLivesMatter or #MeToo movements, we should at least all be able to agree that Christians should lead the way in showing compassion and care towards those who have been treated unjustly.
As Christians continue to talk about how we can better serve and protect the broken and the down-trodden of society, I wanted to pause and reflect on the other side of this problem. I wanted to take a moment to address the bad guys. In a culture full of anger and hate, I want to remind all Christians of the resounding message of the gospel of Jesus Christ: forgiveness.
Here is a letter to the perpetrators.
Perhaps as the stories of sinful acts taking place throughout the world continue to make national news, you do not weep as you resonate with the victim. Instead, you weep the tears of a guilty man as you resonate with the bad guy. Maybe you are the perpetrator that everyone hates.
You are the terrible father who neglected his children. You are the abusive husband who beat his wife. You are the racist who cried out in hate because of another man’s skin color. You are the person who sexually assaulted a son or daughter of Christ. You are the terrorist who murdered Christians simply for their faith. You are the rich man who continually oppressed the poor. And I don’t mean these things figuratively. Maybe you have actually done these things. Maybe you are the very reason someone is out there suffering from lifelong trauma. Maybe you, in the midst of our culture’s movement to stand up for the victims, have found yourself on the side of the guilty. The message of the good news found through Jesus Christ is for you.
“There is no sin which you commit that is beyond the power of the cross.” – Matt Chandler
If you are a man who, in the midst of all these things, has been reminded of some sin in your past, there is forgiveness offered to you today. Regret, guilt, and shame may feel crushing as you remember the things you have done and the people you have hurt. You seek their forgiveness and reconciliation, as you rightfully should. But that may not be possible. Sometimes, you’ve wounded someone so badly that they are beyond speaking to you. You may not have the opportunity to receive forgiveness from the person that you have hurt. And that stings. It leaves you feelings empty.
Let me offer a bit of encouragement even to you: Though you may never receive forgiveness from the brother or sister against whom you have sinned, there still remains an opportunity for peace. There is rest for your guilty soul. Though reconciliation with others is important, it is not ultimate. It is against Christ and Christ alone that you have sinned. And it is Christ alone who forgives, reconciles, redeems, and makes holy. Under the arms of His protective love, no one can condemn you for even the worst of your sins. In Him, you can be declared righteous, holy, and beloved. Though the world may never forgive you, Christ stands ready to take you in. Paul Miller explains that “A conversation with the person you hurt helps, but that isn’t always possible. Jesus’ forgiveness releases [you]”. Let the forgiveness of Christ release you from the guilt and shame of what you’ve done.
“If God pronounces you forgiven and clean, you are forgiven and clean. While it may seem humble and honest to question God’s forgiveness, it is actually prideful and arrogant to refuse to believe what God declares to be true about you.” – Heath Lambert
What I say here isn’t an excuse for what you’ve done. This doesn’t mean “it’s all okay”. To say that is to misunderstand the severity of Christ’s sacrifice. Apart from Christ, judgment and the wrath of God Himself are coming for what you have done. We serve a God of justice who will not stand for such things.
The point isn’t that we can simply brush these things under the rug and move on. Forgiveness doesn’t come because it’s not that big of a deal. Nor because the victims of your heinous crimes have recovered from what you have done. It is because Jesus Christ has suffered the very wrath of God on your behalf. The perfect Son of God was beaten, mocked, and crucified. And then He took on hell. That is the punishment for your sin. It is very serious indeed. The message of the gospel is not a minimization of sin, but a maximization of grace. This is why the punishment for your sin must be paid. The question is whether it will be paid by you through an eternity in hell, or by Christ’s blood shed on the cross.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is powerful enough to save you. If God can forgive the adulterer David or the murderer Paul, then He can surely forgive you. No matter what you have done. The blood of Jesus can cover a multitude of sins.
As the culture cries out against you with all kinds of anger and hate, Christ offers you only forgiveness and grace. While the world calls for your head, Christ cries only for your heart. You need only repent and believe. That is the beauty of the gospel.
“A great deal of our anxiety comes from not really believing in [the forgiveness of sins], from thinking that God will not take us to Himself again unless He is satisfied that some sort of case can be made out in our favour. But that would not be forgiveness at all. Real forgiveness means looking steadily at the sin, the sin that is left over without any excuse, after all allowances have been made, and seeing it in all its horror, dirt, meanness, and malice, and nevertheless being wholly reconciled to the man who has done it. That, and only that, is forgiveness, and that we can always have from God if we ask for it.”
– C.S. Lewis
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Mitchell Hollander