God saves, from the uttermost to the guttermost

There is no sin that is too evil for God to forgive, and no sinner who is too far gone to be forgiven.

When I was in high school at Grace Baptist Academy, my principal used to say that God redeems people "from the uttermost to the guttermost." There are few people who represent "the guttermost" more than wicked King Manasseh of Judah. Manasseh was so wicked that he burned his own children to death as a sacrifice to demons. (See II Kings 21.) This was a sin that was so horrifyingly wicked that God tells in Jeremiah 7:31 and Jeremiah 19:4-5 that it never even entered into His mind that people would do such a thing. Manasseh led the whole nation into this demon worship and child sacrifice.

But Scripture tells us something unbelievable in II Chronicles 33. Manasseh, who was taken captive by the wicked Assyrian Empire, prayed to God for forgiveness when he was in bondage. God forgave Manasseh and restored him as king. Then Manasseh took the idols out of the Temple and ordered the people to worship only the one true God. Manasseh even has the honor of being in the line of Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah to the nation of Israel.

Speaking of the Assyrian Empire, they were truly wicked. They rampaged across the Middle east, mercilessly slaughtering noncombatants and brutally torturing captives. God told a prophet of His chosen people to travel several hundred miles to witness to Nineveh, deep in the pagan and brutally violent Assyrian Empire. Jonah eventually did as he was told (but not after fleeing) and the city repented. Jonah was furious with God for sparing that wicked, pagan city. But God is merciful to those who repent and call on His name.

These are examples of God's love, tenderness, grace and mercy in the Old Testament. That continues in the New Testament. A Pharisee was scandalized when a prostitute anointed Jesus' feet with expensive perfume, wept bitterly an washed His feet with her tears. Jesus rebuked the Pharisee, saying he did not give Jesus water for His feet, did not give Him a kiss, and did not anoint Him with oil. But the prostitute loved Him very much because she had been forgiven very much.

There are many more examples throughout Scripture. God is merciful and loving, and there is no one who is beyond salvation. It should not scandalize us when notorious sinners come to Jesus, because in God's eyes we are all notorious sinners. Some people sin in a more public and ostentatious way than others, but we all deserve eternal damnation in Hell Fire. We are not more righteous than God, and we are not more holy than God. We should rejoice when a sinner repents, and not grumble about the grace they have been given. Do not be like the prodigal son's resentful brother. God's mercy is not a fixed pie, and we do not have less when He shows mercy to others.

Previously:

Be careful of the opposite ditch

God forgives OnlyFans prostitutes, so we must also

Such were some of you, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord