MERCY: “FROM EVERLASTING TO EVERLASTING”

Hugo McCord

In regard to the words “If we continue to confess our sins, he is dependable and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from every wrongdoing” (1 John 1:9), a correspondent asks:

What if one had an evil thought or had become angry at some driver and had spoken harshly, etc., and was killed in an accident before having time to confess the sin and ask for forgiveness, would that person be saved?

A direct answer to the question is not in the Bible, and “secret things belong to the LORD our God” (Deuteronomy 29:29).

But it is no secret what the Lord thinks of the unmerciful: “judgment is without mercy to him who has not shown mercy” (James 2:13). Since the Lord requires mercy in humans, i know that he requires it of himself, which fact is revealed: “The Lord is full of pity, and mercy,” or, “The Lord is deeply sympathetic and merciful” (James 5:11).