At the age of 66 Jack Wendell Pursel confessed to the double murder and robbery of 85-year-old Robert Huntbach and his 77-year-old wife, Goldie from Waterloo, Iowa. The crime occurred in 1981, 31 years earlier, and soon became an unsolved cold case. Though Jack Pursel (a convicted sex offender) successfully avoided arrest for the murders, he apparently was bothered with the guilt of his wickedness, since he found Christ:
“It’s my understanding he found Christ and felt this was the right thing to do,” Trelka said. (http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/update-confessed-killer-appears-in-court/article_ e4fa7d71-3a19-52db-b42d-79351467761a.html)
Too bad more details about Jack Pursel finding Christ aren’t available, but his new found desire to do right (Acts 26:20) parallels the Biblical salvation conversion of Zacchaeus, who wanted to right his wrongs and stated he would give 50% of his possessions to the poor and pay back those he cheated four times:
But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” (Luke 19:8)
There are no secret sins! No one gets away with any sin or crime, as far as God is concerned! He is the holy, righteous and impartial Judge, who knows everything, can’t be bribed and alone has the power to destroy both body and soul in hell:
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. (Mat 10:28)
Jesus taught that God is to be feared because he has that power. Also, it is a manifestation of God’s kindness which leads to repentance (Rom. 2:4) for a sinful person’s conscience to bother him with guilt after sin. David wrote:
My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear. (Psa 38:4)
Some might even doubt that a murderer, thief and sex offender like Jack Pursel could ever be forgiven at all. In fact, years ago, when I was street preaching and distributing gospel literature in downtown Pittsburgh, PA, a man walked up to me and told me with tears in his eyes that he can’t be forgiven because he was guilty of murder! I tried hard to convince him, but he wouldn’t receive the truth. He walked away with tears in his eyes feeling hopelessly doomed to hell.
So the question for many is: Can a murderer get forgiven? Yes, is the answer! We know there is hope for a murderer to get forgiven because King David got forgiven of his murder and adultery (2 Sam. 12:13). Jesus taught about the one unforgivable sin and never connected it to the typical types of sins, including murder, which most would think of (Mark 3:22-30). Furthermore, Manasseh got forgiven of a shocking string of sins, including multiple murders and much more (2 Chron. 33:1-16)! Jack Pursel and others like him can find forgiveness in the Lord Jesus Christ through repentance of sins and a saving faith, which includes a commitment to love and obey the Lord Jesus unashamedly in this sinful world. Do you know the Lord Jesus NOW?
