Evidence that the thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy has been shown in the fall into sin by well-known personalities within the Christian brotherhood in recent years. The damage perpetrated through the spectacular aspects of those failures is seen in the sense of disillusionment among young Christian believers who had placed their confidence in these "stars". Nonbelievers pointed to the public disgrace as evidence that the salvation message has little relevance in today's society. They rationalize that if there is no difference between the behaviors of the "saved" versus the "lost", then from what are we to be saved?

We remember Christian leaders who have been imprisoned for failure to supervise subordinates who broke Federal laws concerning the provision of prospectives before bond sales or for the overselling of timeshares. At other times those who have claimed to be Christians have engaged in behavior that is recognized as sinful throughout most cultures. Careers have been irretrievably destroyed because of a lack of confidence in those who have fallen. The message remains true but is not believed because of the reputation of the one who delivers the message.

The destruction of lives and careers in those who have experienced a publicized fall into sin is reminiscent of episodes from the "Beetle Bailey" comic strip in which Sarge has pounded the private Beetle to a heap of fractured bones and bleeding lacerations. Miraculously, Beetle emerges in subsequent frames as whole, not necessarily repentant, but able to progress, only to get slammed again by Sarge in another strip. Unfortunately, after the pounding delivered by Satan, fallen Christian leaders do not emerge unscathed as Beetle does. Although God forgives, people tend not to forgive, and they rarely forget. Shakespeare made the observation, "To err is human, to forgive, Divine."

God has considerable to say regarding forgiveness for the fallen: Jeremiah 3:12-14, gave a call to repentance, "...Return, backsliding Israel, says the LORD; I will not cause My anger to fall on you, for I am merciful, says the LORD; I will not remain angry forever. Only acknowledge your iniquity, that you have transgressed against the LORD your God, and have scattered your charms to alien deities under every green tree, and you have not obeyed My voice, says the LORD, Return, O backsliding children, says the LORD, for I am married to you...."

Psalm 32:1 encourages, "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit." The psalmist cries, Psalm 130:1-8, Out of the depths I have cried to You, O LORD; Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared. I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning-yes, more that those who watch for the morning. O Israel, hope in the LORD; for with the LORD there is mercy, and with Him is abundant redemption. And He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities."

Psalm 103 magnifies the forgiveness of God, "Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits; Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction,...He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust...."

God has always called His people to repentance, "II Chronicles 7:14, "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

These passages do not infer that God overlooks sin. Rather, He stands ready to forgive and to forget our sins as we in true remorse and repentance confess and repudiate our sinful behaviors. This repentance is manifested in a determination not ever again to fall into those traps that Satan has set as he attempts to destroy our careers, our influence and our salvation.

St. Paul encouraged New Testament believers to have a spirit of love, Ephesians 4:30-32, "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you."

Paul further addressed the completeness of the forgiveness of God in Colossians 2:13,14, "And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross."

In Jesus' great example of acceptable prayers, forgiveness holds a prominent place, Matthew 6:9-13, "In this manner, therefore, pray, our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debt (transgressions) as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen."

The outstanding forgiveness offered by God through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross is shown in I John 1:6-9, "If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

In the parable of the return of the prodigal son, St.Luke 15:11-32 Jesus emphasized the father's great joy as he observed his son's return to his house after squandering his inheritance in a profligate lifestyle. The father ordered music and celebration at the son's return and reestablished the son in his proper position in the household. However, the prodigal son's inheritance had been squandered and he would not receive a portion of the second son's inheritance at the death of the father as emphasized by the statement, verses 31 and 32, "Son, all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found."

Speaking specifically about forgiveness for one who had accepted the blood of Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sins, then having fallen again into grievous sins Paul asserted in I Corinthians 5:1-5, "It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles-that a man has his father's wife!...for I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit have already judged...him who has so done this deed. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus."

Paul later addressed this situation after the man had repudiated and repented of this sin, II Corinthians 2:3-11, "For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you, with many tears, not that you should be grieved, but that you might know the love which I have so abundantly for you. ...This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man, so that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow. therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. For to this end I also wrote, that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices."

When Paul was brought before King Agrippa, Acts 26:19,20, he had declared, "...I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentence."

In these passages we are forbidden the continuance of a sinful lifestyle after receiving forgiveness of sins through Christ Jesus' sacrifice. Paul indicated that sin in the Christian life must be dealt with severely so that the individual may be brought back into a status of Christian purity, living ones life in the example given to us by Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, after the fallen believer has repented, Christians have the duty to accept the repentent and forgiven believer back into complete fellowship. Forgiveness implies that the forgiven one will not constantly have his prior failures thrown into his face.

While restoration of the repentant into fellowship is mandated, future labor for the Lord Jesus Christ may be changed. Many have found their credibility among non-believers permanently tarnished. While they have been forgiven by God for their fall into sin, the unredeemed population often will not forget. The unredeemed may not be able to accept the testimony and ministry of the forgiven and reinstated individual as they had in the past. This is an unfortunate truth among mankind. Nevertheless, this does not mean that the individual must forever present himself like Beetle Bailey, a mound of shattered, broken humanity. While one's future ministry may change substantially, work for the Lord should be reinstated, possibly at a less visibly public level.

It may be lamented that one's heavenly rewards may be diminished greatly because of an unfortunate fall into sin. As Christians we are urged to find the will of God and to follow this will. For everyone, the will of God may change from time to time. We may be publicly visible at one stage and not especially noted at another. The key, however is OBEDIENCE to the will of God at whatever level of visibility. We can be held responsible only for that to which the Spirit of The Lord has called us. To attempt otherwise is a grievous transgression of the will of God and will not be rewarded by Him in Heaven irrespective of the apparent successes achieved. Certainly Jeremiah and Ezekiel lived miserable lives, had little acceptance from the public and few visible successes, but who can argue their right to great rewards in Heaven for their diligence to the will of God?

While St. Paul had not fallen into sin, his ministry did change from that of being a preacher to large masses to that of writing letters of instruction and encouragement from his bleak and miserable prison cell. Quite possibly some believed that he had failed God and had fallen into sin else God would have prevented his imprisonment. Nevertheless, results of this latter phase of Paul's ministry produced a large, important and irreplaceable part of the New Testament, the Epistles of St. Paul. For all intents and purposes it appeared that Paul's ministry was over, yet the magnitude of the spiritual benefits of his letters from prison will be measured only in Heaven.

It is important as Christian believers that we constantly search our motives, our actions and our obedience to the will of God so that we may be pleasing in His sight. Psalm 139:23,24 pleads, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." A constant review of our thoughts and intents will lead to repentance and sanctification in our daily walk with the Lord Jesus Christ, and may we ever be cognizant of our need to forgive and forget the past transgressions of others.

If you never have received forgiveness for your sins and would like to know that God accepts you as His own, please repeat this prayer: "Oh God, in the name of Your Son Jesus Christ I confess that I have failed to fulfill Your will for me. I have sinned. I believe that Jesus was the perfect Lamb of God Who gave His life for me on the cross as my sin sacrifice. I believe that He arose from the dead and that He is coming again. Thank you for your forgiveness which allows me to be adopted into the family of God now and forever. Amen"