GLMX #161: A Simple Matter

In the last Pirates of the Caribbean movie, "On Stranger Tides", a young missionary by the name of Philip Swift is taken captive aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge. The Queen Anne's Revenge was the ship of the legendary and fearsome pirate Edward Teach, more commonly known as Blackbeard. Even though he was tortured and harassed by Blackbeard, Philip maintained his belief that every soul could be saved -- even Blackbeard's.

Once, when Blackbeard is about to kill a sailor on his ship, Philip intervenes and tells him that his problem is that he "dare not walk the path of righteousness, the way of the light." However, Blackbeard turns and says, "No, sir, the truth of it be much simpler than all that. I am a bad man."

Blackbeard's simple admission is not only true for him, but for all of us. We are all bad men and bad women because we do bad things. The bad things that we do are what the Bible calls sin. And the Bible says that "all have sinned." Yet, just as Philip believed, it is also true that every soul can be saved from eternal punishment. No matter how many bad things you have done, you can be saved. The Bible tells us in 1 Timothy 2:4 that God would "have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth." No sin is too great for God to forgive, and no soul is too wicked for God to save.

+ Plus, listen to Casting Crowns singing "Glorious Day"