Human beings tend to see God’s grace, patients and forgiveness as either being limitless, or having some arbitrary pre-set limit that we tend to assign or define personally.Today, I am going to show you that when it comes to God’s desire for all to come to repent of their sin and authentically follow Jesus as Lord and Savior-that even the worst of the worst sinners find NO limit to God’s forgiveness and acceptance. Let’s jump right in.
I was recently asked by an old friend, "Do you still keep in touch with that serial killer David Berkowitz (Son of Sam)?" I replied, yes, of course I do. He is authentically saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. My friend’s response was to push back in that it’s a psychosocial issue and that David is mentally crazy and dangerous. I explained to him that David personally wrote to me in the past that it’s frustrating that the prison system wants to categorize his past sinful behavior as a past-Satanic follower as psychological and not spiritual. My old friend has not surrendered his life and eternal salvation to Christ so his response was not surprising to me.
My friend went onto say that David is crazy and dangerous-so why would you keep in touch with him? I explained that David was saved by the blood of Jesus Christ decades ago and has been a baffling example of one of the best behaved prisoners in the country for many decades now. Furthermore, David has a wonderful ministry behind bars in prison. This gentleman could not accept that answer. Again, my friend has not accepted God's grace as sufficient means for his own salvation in his own life so it makes sense that he cannot accept God’s grace and forgivenesses for a man who was once a serial killer, turned “Son of Sam” to “Son of God” decades ago.
In order to make sense of this, I turned to the Bible for wisdom and an answer, and quickly thought of the Parable of the Lost Sheep in Luke 15 which addresses this exact thing. Let’s read the parable found in Luke 15, verses one through seven.
THE PARABLE OF THE LOST SHEEP: (Luke 15:1-7)
“15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3 So he told them this parable: 4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
The parable speaks to God’s answer to our question as it was given by Jesus himself. That being said, I want to point out FIVE simple observational truths found within these seven verses that will answer the question as to the limitless forgiveness of God’s grace. Let’s start by looking at verse one:
FIRST: Notice that Jesus came to hang out with sinners who "were all drawing near to him" (v.1). Jesus has a way about Him that draws sinners (which includes all of us by the way). The greater the sinner the greater the draw. Jesus came to save the lost not entertain the self-righteous.
SECOND: The MORE one is forgiven, the more appreciation they have for the forgiveness and grace God has given them through Jesus Christ. Rewinding to Luke chapter 7, Jesus said this:
“Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred Denali, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more? Simon replied, “”I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven””. (Jesus replied) “You have judged correctly, “ Jesus said” (Luke 7:41-43 NIV). The bottom line is that the more one is forgiven, the more appreciation that person has for the new person they become in Christ through God’s forgivenesses.
THIRD: Many people today, including many Christians cannot believe that God could or would save a serial killer. But He does and always has. Remember verse four whereby Jesus literally states that God goes after the "THE ONE THAT IS LOST, UNTIL HE FINDS IT" (v.4). God doesn’t arbitrarily choose to cast anyone into hell-but allows those who reject Him to choose their own eternal road to hell should they choose. We often think of God casting sinners into hell. This is not true in that God simply gives people what they want and what they asked for. If they reject God, they choose hell on their own and not against their will.
FOURTH: When God finally connects with the lost, just as He did with you and I, He picks us up and puts us on His shoulders, burdening Himself with our sin as we are forgiven and covered by God’s forgiveness through the blood of Christ. After walking with the Lord for many decades, I can tell you that God’s forgiveness is literal in that the days that I don’t go before God and ask His forgiveness are heavy while the days that I spend time with him and ask His daily forgiveness-while challenging, are filled with God’s grace and favor. God put’s the sinner on His shoulders and literally “shoulders his or her sin”. VERSE GIVE says, “5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.”
FIFTH AND LASTLY: In heaven, I think that we will be surprised by some of the people that made it into the kingdom of God and those who didn’t. IN HEAVEN, "There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no reptence" (v.7). In truth the 99 who need no repentance are those of us who THINK we need no repentance. We ALL need repentence and to repent daily.
IN CONCLUSION: In Heaven, there is a massive celebration with each and every person who authentically comes to trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. VERSE SIX SAYS: “AND WHEN HE COMES HOME, HE CALLS TOGETHER HIS FRIENDS AND HIS NEIGHBORS, SAYING TO THEM, ‘REJOICE WITH ME, FOR I HAVE FOUND MY SHEEP THAT WAS LOST” (v.6). And this includes my friend David Berkowitz, AKA “Son of Sam Serial Killer before being saved by God’s grace through the blood of Jesus Christ.
David Berkowitz, AKA Son of Sam or now "Son of God" authentically reptended and is a new creation in Christ-just as you and I are in Christ. The truth about God's grace is that it shatters our idea of how much grace and forgiveness that God would and does extend to human beings. If we are honest with ourselves, we will admit that we demand justice upon others but God’s limitless grace and forgiveness upon our own lives from God. Before I close, I want to note that actions have consequences and David Berkowitz is in prison for the rest of his life without any chance of parole. In many cases, the death penalty is given to serial killers. In both cases, God’s grace and forgiveness are no less prevalent-but so are the real CONSEQUENCES of our sin. In the end, God’s grace and forgiveness are real. And the great news is that God’s grace, and forgiveness are dispensed at God's pleasure to those who would receive it; even to a serial killer.
