Answer Request:
Can the evilest person alive be forgiven and saved? What about a traitor can they be forgiven and saved? It says God can save the vilest person, is that true?
The salvation that God offers through Jesus Christ is unconditional. Please note what I say. God's grace is only available through Jesus Christ, BUT when we receive that grace, it is unconditional. This grace is free and given in unlimited amount irrespective of who you are and what you have done. This means that if a person (irrespective of their life; how good or bad they were, what their crimes or sins were, or what they have done) makes a choice to respond to the grace gospel and believe that Jesus Christ is their ONLY hope, they will be saved and come into right standing with God.
It is important to understand God's grace, and what His grace means, in order to comprehend this. God's grace is so far above what we as people can understand based on what we see and experience in the world. No worldly grace we experience from anyone comes close to what God offers us through the actions of His Son, Jesus Christ. I'm happy to share more of this with you, but for now, let me focus on your question specifically.
The Bible tells us that today, in this time where God's grace is available, God does not count our sins against us. It's an incredible statement and almost unbelievable, but its true. This grace is encapsulated in Jesus Christ.
Have a look at these two scriptures:
Colossians 2:13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you ALL trespasses; 14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
2 Corinthians 5:19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing [counting] their trespasses to [against] them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
Notice that we were dead in our sins. From Mother Teressa to Hitler and Genghis Khan, we were ALL dead in our sins. We ALL had NO hope and NO future. BUT, God made quickened us [made us alive] through Jesus Christ, His Son. God forgave us ALL (not some, not partial....no! ALL) our sins and trespasses, blotting them out and nailing them to the cross of Christ. You see, God's wrath and anger were poured out on Jesus Christ. Jesus became the object of God's scorn and wrath and He received the entire punishment for our actions. In simple terms, Jesus died for us, in our place. We were to receive the wrath of God, but God chose to provide a way to save us by punishing His Son for us. Why Jesus? Well, we were guilty from the start. We are born into sin. Our death would simply be justified because of our crimes. God required someone innocent to be punished to justify the crimes of the guilty. That innocent person, the only blameless and pure person to ever walk this earth, was God's only Son. Jesus had to take the blame for us.
The second verse tells us that God is currently busy reconciling the world to Himself through the grace that He can offer BECAUSE of Jesus Christ. Clearly the verse says that God is not taking our sins into account or holding them against us because Jesus has already PAID the debt for our actions. God already punished our sins (past, present, and future sins) by punishing Jesus Christ. We are free and innocent because the punishment is already handed out.
Eph.2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
This is a glimpse into God's grace. The only way we can receive it though is to believe that God did this for us. To believe that Jesus paid our sin debt. To believe that Jesus death and burial paid for our sins and that His resurrection has justified us before God. That is it. This is the message of the gospel! The simple act of believing this, that salvation and righteousness comes to us through Jesus alone is what saves us; no matter what we have done. God's grace is available to ALL people irrespective of what they have done. God's grace is greater than their sins. The blood of Christ and His cross-work is more powerful that any action or deed or curse. BUT it is available through Jesus Christ alone.
God's salvation does not only forgive us, but once we experience salvation, it changes our heart. You see, salvation is not just a matter of forgiveness, its a matter of creating a new person. The flesh is too corrupt to save, so salvation creates a new person who is blameless in God's sight. That new person is regenerated in spirit when God's life enters you at the moment of salvation. Here is what the Bible says about it,
2 Cor.5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Now, the big question is, "What happens after salvation?" What does this new creation in us mean? Where do we go from here?
Does this new creation give us power over the flesh [or actions and feelings] here on earth? No! Our salvation is positional (or in spirit) and does not change our current flesh condition. We will probably go through the consequences of our actions. We are still sinners, who are waiting for our glorified state when Jesus calls us up at the rapture. Will we ever be perfect in this world? No! We are born into sin. But, through salvation, we have become a new creature within (2 Cor.5:17), and it is this new creature that will start to hunger after God, and seek out truth, and desire righteousness.
What does God expect of us while we wait for our complete redemption from this state? That we give in to the desires of the inner man (Eph.3:16) and the leading of the Spirit of Life within us, Rom.12:1-2. God's will for us is that we fill our hearts and minds with His living Word. That we follow our heart and live godly lives, 1 Tim.2:3-4. That we aim to be an example for others to follow, 1 Tim.4:12. That we train our bodies to submit to the Spirit, 1 Tim.4:7. That we remain faithful to Him as we wait in daily expectation for the return of Christ to redeem us in full, (Rom.8:23; 1 Cor.1:7; Gal.5:5; 1 Thess.1:10; 2 Thess.3:5).
For more about the consequences of our sins and how to deal with them, please read this post.
I hope this provides some useful information you can process and hold to.
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