A Word to the Pardoned (Part 16)

Dear reader, you have made it through to the final chapter. If you were a curious reader, I hope that by God’s grace you may have picked up on some ways you might be able to encourage those who struggle with the security of their salvation. And if you are a terrified reader, I pray that God’s Holy Spirit will speak to your heart and cause the truth of His Word to come alive within you. As I’ve prayed over myself countless times, I now pray over you: in Jesus’ name, may God give you as much confidence in your eternal salvation as is possible for a sinner saved by grace to have on this side of Heaven. 

Heaven - that’s kind of the antithesis of the whole “have I blasphemed the Holy Spirit” terror. Free from those shackles of anxiety, I’m allowed to muse over Heaven without worrying about getting my hopes up for nothing. Ours is a living hope. 

I challenge you to identify yourself as pardoned by Christ. There’s a lot of talk these days about “self identifying”. I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about identifying yourself rightly as God has already identified you in Christ. I think the best declaration I can ever make is that I am a citizen of Heaven! I write this as tears brim in my eyes. That reality never gets old, and the older I get, the more real it becomes. (I can’t wait to speak that sentence out when I’m, like, say eighty-five!)

Here’s how one of my favorite song writers, Phil Whickham, explained this joy:

“My heart belongs to a country and a King

Of a land I've always known, but I've never seen

Some call it paradise or the land of the livin'

Well, I call it home, and I'm homesick for Heaven

I wanna walk with Moses on streets of gold

And dance with David before Your throne

To thank You face to face for the grace You've given

I wanna see my children run to Your arms

And worship the Savior who wears my scars

There's an ache in my heart, I'm homesick for Heaven

In my Father's house, there are many rooms

Enough for everyone, enough for you

I know it takes some faith

But today you can know without question

Believe in the power of Jesus' name

And you're goin' to Heaven, oh-oh

Hallelujah, in Jesus' name, we're goin' to Heaven

No more fear, no more pain, every tear wiped away

Cryin' Holy, Holy

Every knee on the floor, every voice evermore

Cryin' Holy, Holy, yeah

Oh, I wanna go home

Oh, I wanna go home

To see the ones I love who've gone before

Where death is a memory and tears are no more

To hear the angels praise

Can you even imagine?

I'll run as fast as I can into Your arms

'Cause I was created to be where You are

There's an ache in my heart, I'm homesick for Heaven”

The first time I listened to that song, there was an ache in my heart, but it was twinged with fear. By the time the first chorus was through, I was near tears, asking God to help me believe that this could be true for me. And then, the second verse started as a total invitation - a total free invitation to Heaven!

I don’t mean free in the whole “free ticket to Heaven, live however you want to” shambles. Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it really well when he wrote about the difference between “cheap grace” and “costly grace”. But “costly grace”, a life of obedience to Jesus, doesn’t feel costly when in the context of being freed from such horrific terror such as those of us who have suffered from feeling that we have committed an unpardonable sin have endured.

There’s a beautiful story in the gospels about redemption. It goes like this:

  “ One of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him, and He went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that He was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed His feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, He would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”

 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And He said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave Me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss My feet. 

You did not anoint My head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace” (Luke 7:36-50).

The whole story is so lovely and powerful, but my favorite moment is when Jesus astutely observes that those who have been forgiven of much love much. When you are released from damnation and you truly know it, when you have felt ugly condemnation in the depths of your soul and you know you deserved it, when you have tasted eternal despair and then suddenly you are free from that accusation and corresponding eternal punishment, you love much.

This is my challenge to you, from one pardoned saint to another: love much! I’ve often wondered why the whole passage about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is in the Bible. Surely Jesus knew how much confusion it would cause. I certainly don’t claim to have an answer to that question, but I know that as a young woman who has been breathing gospel from my mother’s womb, dealing with this struggle has caused me to feel just as desperate as any dear saint who is being freed from vice and reckless living.

It has caused me to understand how utterly dependent I am on the work of Christ, not just as a legal transaction, but as my only hope - an astounding miracle! It causes me to weep through what might otherwise be dusty hymns or throwback worship songs. It causes me to break down at least once a week and sob in near disbelief at the reality that I am saved and belong to Jesus. It causes me to shutter at death for a moment or two most days and then hurl my faith onto Jesus and trust Him like my life depends on Him - because it does.

If nothing else, misunderstanding “the unpardonable sin” has deepened my understanding of all my pardoned ones and taught me what a debt my Savior paid to ransom my soul. So, a word to the pardoned: You are free to walk in the salvation of Jesus our Messiah and to love much. Love much! For you are loved. You are chosen. You are pardoned.