Ask The Pastor by Scott Denham

Herald Journal Publication Date: 02/07/2007

The God of Third Chances?

“Do I get a third chance?”

God is the God of the second chance, extending mercy to Christians who have failed but how long will He continue to put up with a continuing pattern of sin? Is there a point at which He will no longer forgive?

Your question suggests that you have served the Lord and fallen away a number of times. That you have this question indicates that your conscience is not so hardened as to reject the promptings of the Spirit’s call to come back to God.

The God who told Peter that he must keep on forgiving (Matt18:21-22) is a God who keeps on extending forgiveness to us. He always stands ready to forgive the worst of our transgressions, provided we humble ourselves and repent (Psalm 51:17).

King David, the man after God's own heart (1 Sam 13:14), grew spiritually cold, committed adultery, and orchestrated a treachery that resulted in the deceived husband’s death (2 Sam 11-12). David justified his sin, ignored his conscience, and tried to act as if everything was OK. However, he was not so hardened that God's grace failed to reach him. Psalm 51 records his experience of God’s restorative mercy.

How does God awaken the unrepentant to faith and draw them to Himself? By promising rewards to those who respond favorably, and threating punishment to those who resist. The Scriptures present both rewards and punishments as motivating factors to encourage faith and repentance. So, on one hand, God stands ready to forgive; but, on the other hand, He will not hesitate to judge, in the end.

If we continue in sin, avoiding the God who pursues us, we may reach a point at which our hearts become so hardened that we no longer care whether we are “right with God” or not (1 Tim 4:2). Such a state, if we persist in it, will leave us outside of His grace and facing His judgment.

So you see, you have every reason to hope in the God of innumerable chances, provided you respond to the impulses of His love, turning (as often as necessary) to Him in faith and repentance.

--Pastor Scott (www.askpastorscott.com)