GOD OF SECOND CHANCESFor a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief. Prov. 24:16

GOD OF SECOND CHANCES

• God is not only the God of second chances; He is the God of another chance. • This is good news because most of us mess up the

second chance fairly quickly. One of the amazing facets of God's character is His incredible patience with us. Psalm 86:15 says it well: "But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness." • Micah 7:18 says, "Who is a God like you, pardoning

iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love."

GOD OF SECOND CHANCES

•Will there be a second chance for salvation after death?

GOD OF SECOND CHANCES• In Luke 13:22-24 we read: ' Jesus went through

the towns and villages, teaching as he went, always pressing on toward Jerusalem. Someone asked him, "Lord, will only a few be saved?" He replied, "The door to heaven is narrow. Work hard to get in, because many will try to enter; but when the head of the house has locked the door, it will be too late. Then you will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Lord, open the door for us!' But he will reply, 'I do not know you."

GOD OF SECOND CHANCES• Matthew 7:13-14, again Jesus said, "You can enter

God's Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose the easy way. But the gateway to life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it."

• John 14:6, Jesus Christ himself said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.“

• Rom. 6:23, For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

GOD OF SECOND CHANCES

• Accept Jesus Christ as your savior.

• Ask Him to forgive you of your sins.

• Build a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, who loves us beyond our imagination.

• Start to grow the love of Jesus Christ in our hearts.

• I'm afraid that, without belief in these things, we cannot come into the presence of the Living God. We cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Your belief in Jesus Christ is of utmost importance.

GOD OF SECOND CHANCES

• Just as God is patient and forgiving, He wants His children to be patient with and forgiving of others. "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience" (Colossians 3:12).

• He gives us second chances, and we must give the same to others. Jesus gives a stern warning to those who refuse to forgive, saying that if we will not forgive others. God will not forgive us. Matt. 6:15

GOD OF SECOND CHANCES

• If someone is truly repentant, then we are obligated to forgive

• Children- Ephesians 4:32

• Group #1- Colossians 3:13

• Group #2- Proverbs 19:11

• Group #3-Matthew 18:21-22

GOD OF SECOND CHANCES

ChildrenEph. 4:32-Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, iforgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

GOD OF SECOND CHANCES

Group # 1• Col. 3:13- bearing with one another and, i

if one has a complaint against another, gforgiving each other; gas the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

GOD OF SECOND CHANCES

Group # 2• Prov. 19:11 Good sense makes one slow

to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.

GOD OF SECOND CHANCES

Group # 3• Matt. 18:21-22-Then Peter came up and

said to him, “Lord, how often ywill my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? zAs many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

GOD OF SECOND CHANCES

• Forgiveness, however, is not the same thing as reconciliation. • Many people struggle to find the balance

between showing mercy and enabling a harmful person to continue harming. • We should forgive everyone who wrongs

us, just as Jesus forgives us. Forgiveness is between our heart and God's, removing any barriers that unforgiveness brings.

GOD OF SECOND CHANCES

• When someone continues to unrepentantly violate another person’s boundaries, a wise person learns to set firmer boundaries.• If a man has repeatedly punched you in

the face, you can forgive him; but you don't stand within arm's distance until he has proved over time that he has changed.

GOD OF SECOND CHANCES• Giving someone a second chance means we give

him another chance to earn our trust. But that does not mean we instantly forget what experience has taught us. • Trust must be earned over time, and we are foolish

if we give trust prematurely. We can have a loving and forgiving heart that also practices wise guardianship over our lives.

• When we have wronged someone, we have no right to demand another chance. But we should work to earn another chance by continued demonstration of repentance and change.

GOD OF SECOND CHANCES

• Even God has a limit on forgiveness. • In Romans 1:18-32, the apostle Paul

warns us what happens when we continue to spurn God's patience and reject His call to repentance. Three different times, the phrase "God turned them over" appears.

GOD OF SECOND CHANCES

• 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

GOD OF SECOND CHANCES

• 24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

GOD OF SECOND CHANCES

• When we insist on running our lives the way we want rather than the way God wants, He lets us. • Eventually, when our hearts are hardened

against Him, He lets us go. • He turns us over to a reprobate mind, one

that can no longer seek God. At that point, sin has become our god.

GOD OF SECOND CHANCESRom. 1:26-32

26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

GOD OF SECOND CHANCES

• 28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,

GOD OF SECOND CHANCES

• 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. • 32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

GOD OF SECOND CHANCES• There may come a time in a human

relationship when the same thing has occurred – when forgiveness has been offered and restoration made possible, but one party refuses to repent and rejects all efforts to reconcile. • It may be time to end that relationship.

Second chances are no longer working. • Ending a relationship is a last resort, but

may be better for your spiritual well-being. (Matthew 18:17).• Sometimes it must be done. How can two

walk together unless they agree. Amos 3:3

GOD OF SECOND CHANCES• God’s grace is our model. We can offer second

chances to others until a healthy relationship is no longer possible.• God does everything possible to draw us to

repentance, offering forgiveness and second chances (2 Peter 3:9) Not wanting any to perish. • But if we continue to reject Him, the offer is

withdrawn and, at death, there are no more chances (Hebrews 9:27)It’s appointed once for men to die. • Don’t use salvation as a cloak to continue in old

ways and/or sin. I Pet. 2:16 As free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.

GOD OF SECOND CHANCESGod of Second Chances• Is. 51:11-..they shall obtain gladness and

joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.• Jer. 31:13-for I will turn their mourning

into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow. • Ps. 30:11-Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;

GOD OF SECOND CHANCES

Resources:What Does the Bible Say About Second Chances-Got Questions.org