Rapists and Salvation
Q: I need your point of view, and I'd really appreciate it if you could follow it up with verses from the Bible
My partner and I have been discussing a topic tonight around forgiveness, and we mentioned r@pe, I told him that if somebody r@ped somebody else or many people but after a while they felt remorse and really bad about what they've done and asked for God's forgiveness they're gonna be forgiven (I'm a victim but it's not up for me to decide what God wants because he sees what I don't and he's a forgiving God), but if they didn't feel remorse they're not gonna be forgiven even if they ask God for forgiveness because God knows what's in our hearts.
But my partner says that if somebody has r@ped somebody else then they're not gonna be forgiven, or they should not be forgiven by God even if they felt remorse and genuinely asked for forgiveness , and he also says that he should not go to heaven and happen to meet that person there with God, otherwise God is not fair then.
He also gave an example saying "it's like somebody working hard to get into a specific university and then there's another person entering the university just because their dad paid money for it not because they worked hard to get there by avoiding some stuff and doing some other stuff".
Btw he's born and raised Christian, but he doesn't seem to know really the basics about Christianity, I was raised as a Muslim and I accepted Jesus into my heart not very long ago and I noticed that I know some things about the Bible that he doesn't so I'm trying to get us to learn more together ,yet I'm not a 100% sure about my statement here regarding this topic since I don't memorize much verses yet, so i want to read your thoughts about this, thank you in advance!! God bless you 🙏🏼
A: This is a sensitive topic, but is something that happens to some people, as we live in a Fallen world; sinners do evil things. Fortunately believers in eternity will never have to deal with sin entering into existence again, God has promised it will be sin free.
I know people who have been raped or molested. I experienced attempted rape as a young child by a sibling, sexual cohersion as a young adult, and rape as a young adult ...and my mother experienced it too; it's why I exist. It doesn't matter if it was by a trusted person, a significant other, someone you know or some stranger intent on doing evil.
To answer you I need to prep you so it makes sense, ok? This is what you need to understand...
1. God created the world perfect, but by Adam's disobedience, sin entered into existence; so constant troubles, suffering, illnesses, disease, pain, evil perpetrations, and death happen. Adam's one sin brought all of that into this world.
2. All humans are sinners, and all deserve only eternal damnation in Hell recieving God's full wrath on them forever.
3. In Eternity past, [knowing Adam would sin, before the world was created, God made a plan]. God had chose to make the way possible for humans to be redeemed from the curse of sin and death, to make us right with God, to restore us, to give us spiritual life, a righteous nature, making us a new creation, setting us apart, adopting us as His children, and having a personal relationship with us. He did this while we were his enemies. He went to extreme lengths and great cost (through Jesus) to accomplish this.
4. God saved some people, by His grace and mercy and it pleased him to do so.
5. Those whom He saved (and will save) live gratefully, in humbleness...and have great love towards Him.
The Law calls for the death of all violators. It should be instant death the moment we sin for the first time (as a young child). But God is patient and long suffering, he holds back his wrath and judgment, displaying wonderfully to the world all his good attributes.
Do you remember Saul from the Bible? He went around murdering mass numbers of humans (felliw image bearers of God, who were Christian). God saved him and renamed him Paul. Yes Paul the Apostle.
So, if you connect all of that above and have a grasp on the gospel... this is what you learn.
Those who die without Jesus as their Savior, will be judged on the Day God deternined to set aside to judge the world. Those will eternally go to Hell and face his Neverending wrath upon them. Justice is served. They earn their wages, and it's paid in full.
The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. Romans 3:23
For Believers, however, their sin debt; sin crimes against God, were paid for by Jesus. His life, death, resurrection (and ascension to the position now in Heaven of our Hogh Priest & mediator of the Redeemed); the work He did on our behalf was a legal transaction. He paid our sin debt in full to God. Justice was served for us on the Cross in Jesus.
So Justice will he served, either by the unsaved who die in their sins, or by Jesus on the Cross for Believers.
This way God is both Just and the Justifier of all who believe. God the Father has, as we see in Revelation, appointed Jesus as the Judge on Judgment Day. Those whom He did not save, will go to Hell immediately and eternally. They will only recieve wrath, not have rest and forever be in torment.
This is why it is important that believers whom have been rescued by God, go obey the Great Commission to proclaim the Gospel to all men everywhere, fir he has appointed a day in which He will judge the world. Judgment is coming. We need to try to get as many in the lifeboat as possible. We can't make them, we can only bring the message of God that has the power to save.
Our laws mirror God's laws in countries influenced by JudeoChristian values, rapists will recieve Justice and the prison sentence they earned.
======================
Now to address the other what ifs:
To the question of the rapists salvation....
There are many false churches, churches masqurading as Christian, people who claim to be believers (or after a crime will claim to be one), many claim to be a "Christian" who are not believers, who are idolators, or false converts (who think saying hail mary's or a salvation prayer or going to church "saves" them, it doesn't). If they are like Judas and only had a worldly sorrow towards their sin (just feeling bad), they're not saved. Can they think they're saved and then go off and rape again? Yes, because they aren't saved. Can they find out they're not saved and later get saved? Yes.
If they or anyone comes to God, [like Peter], with contrite sorrow over their sins, who genuinely with a contrite heart, is truly repentant, and obeys the Gospel, then they get converted by God [born again] and are are saved. Their live radically changes. They would never again do wicked evil like rape again. They love God and others and have been radically transformed by God. They grow in faith and live a godly life.
So based on that, (and as you said, "only God knows if their salvation is real."), hopefully they'll get saved before they die, prayerfully they'll get saved even today. God knows whose names are in the Lambs book of Life, they've been written in there from before the world began. So he knows if they're saved and who will be.
Another question comes to mind.
Proximity and Reintigration concerns:
If I knew the rapist, or they were related, or in the family... would I ever trust them or be around them again? It wouldnt be as hard if they moved away and you didnt need to worry about the perpetrator(s) ever coming around again. You could freely move forward and be among your family, friends, neighbors, church, and even feel safe at your job, or home. It would be hard if they or you didn't move away and were in the area you lived. But... at the same time we know are called to forgive, esp those who genuinely come to us and ask forgiveness. We don't deserve God's grace and we too are to model it and be Christlike.
Still though, thinking further... because your situation might be one of these. And I want to give some godly ideas for you to be prayerful about and even seek further counsel on.
What if:
*if they went to prison, they'd be away for a while.
*If they lived elsewhere per court order, or they moved away. And could never come back
*Or If they were kicked out of the family at a young age, and as adults later on somehow got back in touch through a family member
* or If they were kicked out of the family at a young age & moved to their other parents' house (if from a blended family situation), and as adults later on somehow got back in touch,
*or if they live around you and come back after a few years in jail, without court order to stay away from your area(s), after time served
*or there was no justice in the courts for lack of evidence or whatever, and at some point...
They're out and free, or come around.
If they move & you never see them again, its a bit easier to forgive and move forward.
However, if they return, are around, or you might run into them - well there's considerations & preparations needed.
Has that person had a genuine conversion and those closest to them can attest? It took the Church a while to see Paul has been saved/genuinely converted, before they let him in the Church or around believers. Similarly this should be your stance.
Further, the Pastor [or pastors at local churches should be advised that person is out & around]. Ensure your Pastor and church protect you, and possibly even ask they don't let him attend/join your church. Over time you can have people watching his life and vetting him to see if he really has been converted. It can take years to know. Until then if he claims to be a believer, he will respect your requests that he's not allowed to be around you. You, your family, nor go to any places you go to, & he's not allowed at your church.
Additionally, you should always go anywhere with someone [who can protect you] (for a few years), and not let your young teen or young adult children be alone either during that time. Your situational awareness will need to be high, alert, and not drop your guard, but also you have to trust God.
You dont need to let him back in your life, [he can just go with God, generally wishing him well at a distance].
If they're unrepentant and just an average criminal let out and going about town not caring if they run into you, or even seek you out... you have a right to protect yourself. You can get a gun, and learn how to use it, & get proper weapons training so you can do what you can to not be s victim of them or other evil people again. Prepare & learn how to handle the situation if it happens, and train to do the least bodily damage possible.
In a family scenario, if in some bizarre situation where your sibling/step sibling reconnects with the offender as an adult (and hides that from you, and maybe your blended-parents at home do too) and the offender is somehow reconnected (even if they moved far and are connecting from a distance), you might be horrified when you find out, and even feel betrayed. The family might not tell you till several years later, when turns out they're all flying off to reconnect with the perpetrator sibling(s)/step sibling(s), or tell you they've invited them over for a visit.
There might be times later where the family wants to reintegration them into the family's life (with you at a stupified loss over this, AND unsure of their salvation or knowing they're not saved). You might have a million different thoughts related to this, but you do have 3 options.
1. Disown the Family.
Let your family know you are cutting off all contact with them if they choose the perpetrating person(s) over you. And never be around extended family gatherings (incl holidays) if the person is invited/included.
2. Keep a Distance.
Tell the family you never want the perpetrator to be around when you are there. That you don't allow family to talk to the perpetrator [& their family] about you. Make your parents and siblings aware that don't even want the perpetrator(s) [& their family] to see photos of you in your family home or online, to further protect you, ... and to never share anything about you online so they can see it. They'll have to go to additional lengths to have an exclusionary post setting so the perpetrator isn't seeing the post. If they can't be trusted to do that, then the family is forbidden from posting about you online. [You ofc will long have blocked the perpetrator(s) on social media platforms and blocked any known phone numbers].
Also: Remove identifying stickers from your vehicle. Consider to securely cover your license plates with automated hider as you are nearest the place the person will be at, and always check your vehicle before leaving for air tag type trackers. Never leave your phone, devices or purse unattended. They also should never know where you live.
3. Be gracious and try to lead them to Christ
Address the issue head on with your family at home, lay out ground rules.
Do your best [as the Duggars tried with their son] to forgive & include, but never be alone with them... and you don't need to be too friendly. You/your parents/your spouse can address the issue with the person at the beginning, so they know the rules, and that there's firmness and that eyes are on them.
You do need to act as a Christian should. It very well might be that God has brought this person/people back into the family's life so you could lead them to salvation, or for the parents to. God is in the restoration business. If they refuse the Gospel and want to live however they want [even going about acting as if the crime didn't happen], handle it in a Christian manner. Never be alone with the person. If it's more than one perpetrator, never be alone with them. The family needs to protect you. You will need to make best choices on a day to day basis for what you are okay with, being around them. (*see also safety tips of #2 above). [Just cuz they're sort of back in your life doesn't mean they can have unrestricted access to you].
You can pray to God, trust God, be cautious & alert, and look for ways to live godly before them when around so your life might lead them to Christ. It might be hard, but it will get better over time.
You can still choose when to be around family when that unsaved person(s) is there, and what family activities or holidays you will participate in. If your in the same town as your family and you all go to the same church, but the perpetrator(s) are going to join you... they're not allowed at your church, so the family needs to go elsewhere that visit. And you can safely go to your church. Holidays included. You can decline fill vacations with them if the perpetrator(s) are invited.
There's ways to work around this, depending on the severity of the crime committed.
Submit to God and make the right choices, and that's all you can do.
Hopefully they'll genuinley get saved, and their household too.
Your situation is unique to you. If you need to go to Professional Counseling for any part of this process, or any situations, to get godly advice and have a game plan, do impliment.
For believers, all these things will fade in eternity and be erased from our minds and memories, and we will live new lives in a sin free place in glory. And that's another reason to look forward to God calling us there one day. Until then, go serve your King. 😊✝️
God bless
Related
Comments
Post a Comment