Not Blowing Smoke

 

When I write or speak about the sin of abortion, I always make it a point to remind people that there is no sin that Jesus did not pay for on the cross. There is no sin that God won’t forgive. I include that message because given the statistical evidence, there’s a strong possibility that someone who reads or hears my messages has had an abortion, and consequently struggling with receiving God’s forgiveness. Truth is, we are all sinners in need of the blood of Jesus!

 

But am I just blowing smoke? Am I just trying to make someone feel better or does God really forgive this sin? Let me assure you, I am not blowing smoke. Let me tell you about Manasseh to prove the point that God is more than willing and able to forgive!

 

Manasseh was the son of the good king Hezekiah, but when he took over the reins of the kingdom, he had gone bad…..very, very, bad.  This in itself serves as a reminder that even though our children are born and raised in God-fearing homes, there is no guarantee that they will stay on the straight and narrow.

 

How bad was Manasseh? Let’s read all about it from 2 Chron 33.

 

2Ch 33:1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem.

 2 But he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.

 3 For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down; he raised up altars for the Baals, and made wooden images; and he worshiped all the host of heaven and served them.

 4 He also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, "In Jerusalem shall My name be forever."

 5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.

 6 Also he caused his sons to pass through the fire in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom; he practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft and sorcery, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger.

 7 He even set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, "In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever;

 8 "and I will not again remove the foot of Israel from the land which I have appointed for your fathers-only if they are careful to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses."

 9 So Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel.

 10 And the LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they would not listen.

 

Idolatry, occultism, desecrating the temple, sacrificing his children and encouraging others to do the same. 2Ki 21:16 tells us: Moreover Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides his sin by which he made Judah sin, in doing evil in the sight of the LORD.

It’s not just his personal sins, but he sought to seduce others to sin as well. Note too, that the Lord spoke to Manasseh through the prophets, but he would not listen. (Another lesson here. Speak the truth even if people won’t listen, who knows if the words of these prophets weren’t used as seeds for repentance later on in Manasseh’s life)

 

At any rate, this was one hard-hearted sinner. Could God forgive such a person? YES!

 

Sin has consequences for sure, and Manasseh’s consequence was God allowed him to be carried off into captivity by the Assyrians. It was a painful experience to say the least.

 

2Ch 33:11 Therefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze fetters, and carried him off to Babylon.  12 Now when he was in affliction, he implored the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,

 13 and prayed to Him; and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.

God often uses the consequences of our sin, to get our attention. He sure had Manasseh’s. And in Manasseh’s affliction, he humbly cried out to the Lord for forgiveness, and God, “received his entreaty!”

When Manasseh returned to Jerusalem, this forgiven saint set about correcting all his wrongs. It was not lip service repentance; it was the real deal.

 

Manasseh’s name is often used as a reference point for evil in the Bible. Few people could match the wretched state of this king, yet when he humbly confessed his sin, God forgave.

 

When I say that God forgives sins, even those sins that the devil would try to convince you that God won’t forgive, I am not blowing smoke. Just ask Manasseh, and if you have any sin, hanging over you and afflicting you, humbly call out to God for His forgiveness. 1Jo 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.