Adolf Hitler is a man responsible, ultimately, for the deaths of millions. Joseph Stalin is another figure in history responsible for the tragic ending of many lives. Unfortunately, there are many people throughout history that we would recognize as mass murderers. In an instant, Osama Bin Laden became known by virtually all Americans for being the face of terror. He is a man known for being the head of Al Qaeda, a terrorist group who masterminded and carried out the September 11th attacks on the United States. Osama Bin Laden, Adolf Hitler, and Joseph Stalin are by all accounts evil people. And yet, a question lingers: can mass murderers such as them be saved?
The prompting of this post comes at a time locally when two police officers 
lost their lives in a routine traffic stop when a man pulled a gun on them and shot them to death. It was the comments made by someone I know that prompted me to think deeper on the issue of saving those who are most obviously evil among us. The man that killed these two police officers is deserving of whatever the law has in store for him. He will likely get the death penalty and sometime in the not too distant future, this man who murdered two police officers will stand before his creator and be judged. He will be judged, not only for these two murders, but for every sin he committed on this earth. I ask you, when he stands before God, will he be sentenced to hell? Of course, based purely on the way he lived his life, yes he will go to hell. And yet, we could easily say the same thing about our own lives. Based purely on the way I have lived my life, I too would stand before God and the verdict will be read, “Guilty!”
The most amazing, astounding, and sometimes baffling thing about the gospel is that it applies universally to all people, no 
matter how evil we believe they are (and no matter how good we think we are). The Bible states resoundingly that we are all condemned by the law of God. We have all broken God’s laws. In God’s courtroom, we stand as guilty as Osama Bin Laden. Yes, every one of us has the same guilty verdict awaiting us when we stand trembling before Almighty God. However, just as we are all condemned, God has also offered a pardon found in the substitutionary death of His Son. When Jesus died on the cross, he stepped into that courtroom and said, “I will pay the fine.” It does not matter how evil someone is, or how allegedly good they may seem, we are all condemned for our transgressions and we can all be saved by the shed blood and atoning work of Christ – yes, even mass murderers can be saved!
We, as Christians, must be careful of the things we say about those we see as evil. Rest assured that there is plenty of evil to be found. However, when we talk about someone else’s evil in a manner that portrays it as unique to them alone, we do not accurately reflect the evil that is within. Further, were it not for God’s restraining grace, we could not say for sure the level of evil we ourselves are capable of. Instead of the bitter anger for the mass murderer, I suggest we in humble love seek to offer the gospel even to them. I do not pretend to understand some of the seemingly senseless acts of violence that occur each day. More and more, my heart breaks over these acts. And yet, if I understand the gospel correctly, I understand then that I must forgive even the mass murderers among us and pray for their salvation. I hope and pray that those two police officers knew Christ as their Lord and Savior. I pray now that the man that killed them will also come to know the Savior.
Tags: Salvation, Sin, The Gospel, Theology
