Last week, I was sitting in the foyer of a local church as my oldest daughter attended ballet practice. Two members of the cleaning crew were hard at work. They were having a conversation that I didn’t entirely hear, but I picked up a few comments around the brevity of life and the unexpectancy of death.
After a moment, I spoke up and shared with the two women that neither how long one lives, how one dies, nor how quickly one dies really matters. Instead, what matters most is what happens to them after they die.
The woman who was previously talking most agreed to an extent. She proceeded to share with me that her brother committed suicide and was, therefore, not in heaven. I asked her where the Bible said that. She responded that she didn’t know, but that was what she had always heard, and it was what her pastor back home had told her.
I asked her where she felt God’s grace ended. Or, in other words, what she believed to be the extent of God’s grace. She replied that she didn’t know but that her brother had destroyed his body. I held up the large sweet tea I was currently drinking and said, “So am I with all of this sugar.” She responded, “Yes, but my brother never had the chance to ask for forgiveness.”
I shared with her that when one accepts Christ as their Savior, he doesn’t just forgive them of their past sins. Instead, Christ forgives them of every future sin they will ever commit. Furthermore, God’s grace doesn’t end when one is six feet under. God’s grace carries us beyond death into his eternal presence. There is no limit to God’s grace–no matter the situation.
At this point, the second woman, who had been listening the entire time, reengages and adds, “The only unforgivable sin is denying the Holy Spirit.” I agreed but asked her why that was the case. She didn’t know. So, I reminded both listeners of the role of the Holy Spirit, namely as our Counselor who convicts us of sin and reveals God to us. Rejection of the Holy Spirit means that we’ve rejected God’s revelation to us and we’ve, therefore, denied Him. The reason denying the Holy Spirit is unforgivable is that the individual is essentially rejecting salvation. Therefore, they will face God’s judgment.
We talked a little more about salvation and a believer’s sanctification. Both women, throughout our conversation, repeated that they “had never thought of it that way.” In the end, they thanked me for the discussion and for giving them many things to think about.
