A peculiar story is related regarding the refusal of a pardon that was offered by Andrew Jackson in 1829. There was a man named George Wilson who had been convicted of murder in connection with a robbery he committed. Wilson was good friends with someone who knew President Jackson, and that friend asked him to pardon Wilson.

Oddly enough, Wilson refused Jackson’s pardon from the death penalty. In his judgement on the case Justice Marshall said, “A pardon is a paper, the value of which depends on its acceptance by the person implicated. It is hardly to be supposed that one under sentence of death would refuse to accept a pardon, but if it is refused it is no pardon.”1The reasons behind Wilson’s refusal of the pardon are uncertain, but this brings to mind some biblical principles.

Most people convicted of a crime that carried the death penalty with it would have availed themselves to the presidential pardon that was offered by Jackson, but Wilson was not of that persuasion. In the end, George Wilson was hanged for his crime.

God’s grace, unlike presidential pardon, is available to every person. Titus 2:11-13 says, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” That being the case, all people have the potential of being saved. This passage (Titus 2:11) cannot be taken to mean that all people are saved without any expectations of obedience since that would contradict a plethora of other passages.

Consequently, God’s grace is conditional. Calvinism teaches that God’s grace is bestowed unconditionally by the sovereignty of God. Scripture does not teach this. The patriarch Noah found grace in the eyes of God (Genesis 6:8), but he was only saved by responding in a positive fashion to the commandments of God. Hebrews 11:7 says, “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.”

Unlike what is taught by certain individuals, one can deny the grace of God. II Corinthians 5:21-6:1 says, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.” To receive something “in vain” is to make it useless of or no effect. When one refuses God’s grace, he rejects the free pardon that available through Christ and obedience to the gospel.

Scripture makes it apparent that one can depart from the grace of God. Acts 13:43 says, “Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.”

Evidently the church at Galatia had fallen from grace by attempting to syncretize the law of Christ with the Old Testament law. Galatians 5:4 says, “You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.”

How does one gain access to the grace of God? The concept of obedience and grace are inseparably connected. We have access to grace by our obedience faith. Romans 5:1-2 says, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

Most Bible students are aware of Ephesians 2:8 which says in part, “…For by grace you have been saved through faith…” The same epistle written by the Apostle Paul later says in Ephesians, “That He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word.” This means that the church, as Paul is discussing per context, is cleansed from sin at the point of being washed. The idea of being washed means they were baptized and cleansed from their transgressions (cf. Acts 22:16). Thus, they were saved by God by grace through faith at the point of their obedience to the commandments of the gospel.

Sometimes members of the church are accused of not saying enough about grace. Really, when we talk about baptism we are teaching the means by which one accesses the grace of God. If one looks at the end of Romans chapter five, Paul engages the reader in a long discussion of God’s grace. Notice Romans 5:18-21 says, “Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous. Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

In chapter six of Romans, Paul continues with his discussion of grace and he ties it with baptism. Romans 6:1-4 says, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” Thus the grace, we obtained at the point of baptism constrains people arisen to “walk in newness of life” to act in a manner consistent with the grace that they had received. Amazing how that discussion makes the grace of God more understandable!

We should never refuse the pardon that is offered by the grace of God. We cannot expect to inherit eternal life without responding to the gracious invitation of God in a positive manner. It is the only means by which we expect to have a pardon from our sins. To reject this pardon, is tantamount to an eternal death sentence.

1 UNITED STATES v. GEORGE WILSON. | Supreme Court | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute