THREE ANGELS BROADCASTING NETWORK
That’s Grace
By Dr. Leonard Westphal December 11th, 2025
“For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.” Psalm 86:5
Some time ago, I watched a 60 Minutes program that featured a story of a man in the Philippines who felt he’d committed grievous sins against God and against his fellow man. To alleviate his painful conscience, he felt he had to help God forgive his sins through penance, so he decided to be crucified, as Jesus was!
As we watched him being crucified for what we were told was the fifteenth time, I thought to myself, What a tragedy! What a lack of understanding of the love of God. How I wish I could tell him what the love of God really is! I’d begin by reading Ephesians 2:7–8 to him, which says, “That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” Then I’d give him Jesus’ invitation in Matthew 11:28–29: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
While I was a pastor in New England, I received a call from one of my church members who was a medical doctor. “Pastor Westphal,” he said, “we have a patient in our hospital that is very ill and has come to the conclusion that he will die. But he can’t. Will you please come and help him die?” This was a very unusual request, since I normally receive requests to help people live. But now, here was this request to help a patient die.
When I walked into his room, I found a man who was very restless, pale, and angry. He kept cursing the nurses—and at God. Sadly, it brought to mind the verses in the Bible that say, “But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. ‘There is no peace,’ says my God, ‘for the wicked’” (Isaiah 57:20–21).
After saying hello, I asked him to tell me his story, and he began by saying that he’d married into quite an honorable and beautiful family, and had four gorgeous children. But then he’d lost his job, and was unemployed for quite a while. He became depressed and ashamed of his seeming inability to find work, then abandoned his family and disappeared into the world.
“That was 40 years ago,” he said, “and during that time, I’ve never contacted or provided for them. I’ve lived a wicked life, pastor. I’ve committed every sin under the sun. And now, my body is worn out. I know my life is over, and I know I’m going to die. In fact, I want to die, but I can’t because I learned a Bible verse when I was very young. I’ve never forgotten it. It’s Hebrews 9:27, and it says, ‘And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.’
“I also remember another text in Malachi 4:1 that says, ‘“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” says the Lord of hosts, “that will leave them neither root nor branch.”’
“I don’t want to die forever, pastor. I want to live!” he exclaimed. “But the guilt I carry on my conscience is so great that I can’t forgive myself—and I’m sure God won’t forgive me, either.”
As I listened, I suddenly remembered 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I prayed for him, and then I asked him to pray.
“I don’t know how,” he said. “In fact, I haven’t prayed in 40 years!”
“Then just talk with God and tell Him how you feel,” I replied.
Suddenly, he began to pray, confessing his sins as the tears flowed down his cheeks. When he was finished, I watched him closely as he became very quiet and still. At one point, I thought maybe he’d died, but suddenly, his eyes opened again.
“Pastor Westphal!” he exclaimed, “A miracle has happened—I am free from my sins! God has forgiven me! Now I can die in peace. Would you please give me Communion? I haven’t taken Communion for 40 years, but before I die, I want to partake of the Lord’s Supper.”
I went out directly and asked another pastor to help me administer Communion, and as soon as we finished, he passed away. John had finally understood that God forgives, forgets—and saves!
When studying world religions, we quickly find that they all stress good works in order to receive salvation. When I lived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, I visited the Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Penha (The Church of Our Lady of the Cliff), where each year, thousands of pilgrims come to climb the 365 stairs to the church in their effort to obtain forgiveness for their sins. Many of them climb each painful stone step on their knees, and tragically, many of them are crippled and even paralyzed by this self-inflicted punishment—in a vain effort to please God.
This is not what God wants! The Bible says, “For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart—these, O God, You will not despise” (Psalm 51:16–17).
My dear friends, always remember that there is nothing you can do to make Him love you more—and nothing you can do to make Him love you less.
That’s grace!
That’s Grace
By Dr. Leonard Westphal December 11th, 2025
“For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.” Psalm 86:5
Some time ago, I watched a 60 Minutes program that featured a story of a man in the Philippines who felt he’d committed grievous sins against God and against his fellow man. To alleviate his painful conscience, he felt he had to help God forgive his sins through penance, so he decided to be crucified, as Jesus was!
As we watched him being crucified for what we were told was the fifteenth time, I thought to myself, What a tragedy! What a lack of understanding of the love of God. How I wish I could tell him what the love of God really is! I’d begin by reading Ephesians 2:7–8 to him, which says, “That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” Then I’d give him Jesus’ invitation in Matthew 11:28–29: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
While I was a pastor in New England, I received a call from one of my church members who was a medical doctor. “Pastor Westphal,” he said, “we have a patient in our hospital that is very ill and has come to the conclusion that he will die. But he can’t. Will you please come and help him die?” This was a very unusual request, since I normally receive requests to help people live. But now, here was this request to help a patient die.
When I walked into his room, I found a man who was very restless, pale, and angry. He kept cursing the nurses—and at God. Sadly, it brought to mind the verses in the Bible that say, “But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. ‘There is no peace,’ says my God, ‘for the wicked’” (Isaiah 57:20–21).
After saying hello, I asked him to tell me his story, and he began by saying that he’d married into quite an honorable and beautiful family, and had four gorgeous children. But then he’d lost his job, and was unemployed for quite a while. He became depressed and ashamed of his seeming inability to find work, then abandoned his family and disappeared into the world.
“That was 40 years ago,” he said, “and during that time, I’ve never contacted or provided for them. I’ve lived a wicked life, pastor. I’ve committed every sin under the sun. And now, my body is worn out. I know my life is over, and I know I’m going to die. In fact, I want to die, but I can’t because I learned a Bible verse when I was very young. I’ve never forgotten it. It’s Hebrews 9:27, and it says, ‘And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.’
“I also remember another text in Malachi 4:1 that says, ‘“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” says the Lord of hosts, “that will leave them neither root nor branch.”’
“I don’t want to die forever, pastor. I want to live!” he exclaimed. “But the guilt I carry on my conscience is so great that I can’t forgive myself—and I’m sure God won’t forgive me, either.”
As I listened, I suddenly remembered 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I prayed for him, and then I asked him to pray.
“I don’t know how,” he said. “In fact, I haven’t prayed in 40 years!”
“Then just talk with God and tell Him how you feel,” I replied.
Suddenly, he began to pray, confessing his sins as the tears flowed down his cheeks. When he was finished, I watched him closely as he became very quiet and still. At one point, I thought maybe he’d died, but suddenly, his eyes opened again.
“Pastor Westphal!” he exclaimed, “A miracle has happened—I am free from my sins! God has forgiven me! Now I can die in peace. Would you please give me Communion? I haven’t taken Communion for 40 years, but before I die, I want to partake of the Lord’s Supper.”
I went out directly and asked another pastor to help me administer Communion, and as soon as we finished, he passed away. John had finally understood that God forgives, forgets—and saves!
When studying world religions, we quickly find that they all stress good works in order to receive salvation. When I lived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, I visited the Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Penha (The Church of Our Lady of the Cliff), where each year, thousands of pilgrims come to climb the 365 stairs to the church in their effort to obtain forgiveness for their sins. Many of them climb each painful stone step on their knees, and tragically, many of them are crippled and even paralyzed by this self-inflicted punishment—in a vain effort to please God.
This is not what God wants! The Bible says, “For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart—these, O God, You will not despise” (Psalm 51:16–17).
My dear friends, always remember that there is nothing you can do to make Him love you more—and nothing you can do to make Him love you less.
That’s grace!
THREE ANGELS BROADCASTING NETWORK
That’s Grace
By Dr. Leonard Westphal December 11th, 2025
“For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.” Psalm 86:5
Some time ago, I watched a 60 Minutes program that featured a story of a man in the Philippines who felt he’d committed grievous sins against God and against his fellow man. To alleviate his painful conscience, he felt he had to help God forgive his sins through penance, so he decided to be crucified, as Jesus was!
As we watched him being crucified for what we were told was the fifteenth time, I thought to myself, What a tragedy! What a lack of understanding of the love of God. How I wish I could tell him what the love of God really is! I’d begin by reading Ephesians 2:7–8 to him, which says, “That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” Then I’d give him Jesus’ invitation in Matthew 11:28–29: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
While I was a pastor in New England, I received a call from one of my church members who was a medical doctor. “Pastor Westphal,” he said, “we have a patient in our hospital that is very ill and has come to the conclusion that he will die. But he can’t. Will you please come and help him die?” This was a very unusual request, since I normally receive requests to help people live. But now, here was this request to help a patient die.
When I walked into his room, I found a man who was very restless, pale, and angry. He kept cursing the nurses—and at God. Sadly, it brought to mind the verses in the Bible that say, “But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. ‘There is no peace,’ says my God, ‘for the wicked’” (Isaiah 57:20–21).
After saying hello, I asked him to tell me his story, and he began by saying that he’d married into quite an honorable and beautiful family, and had four gorgeous children. But then he’d lost his job, and was unemployed for quite a while. He became depressed and ashamed of his seeming inability to find work, then abandoned his family and disappeared into the world.
“That was 40 years ago,” he said, “and during that time, I’ve never contacted or provided for them. I’ve lived a wicked life, pastor. I’ve committed every sin under the sun. And now, my body is worn out. I know my life is over, and I know I’m going to die. In fact, I want to die, but I can’t because I learned a Bible verse when I was very young. I’ve never forgotten it. It’s Hebrews 9:27, and it says, ‘And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.’
“I also remember another text in Malachi 4:1 that says, ‘“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” says the Lord of hosts, “that will leave them neither root nor branch.”’
“I don’t want to die forever, pastor. I want to live!” he exclaimed. “But the guilt I carry on my conscience is so great that I can’t forgive myself—and I’m sure God won’t forgive me, either.”
As I listened, I suddenly remembered 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I prayed for him, and then I asked him to pray.
“I don’t know how,” he said. “In fact, I haven’t prayed in 40 years!”
“Then just talk with God and tell Him how you feel,” I replied.
Suddenly, he began to pray, confessing his sins as the tears flowed down his cheeks. When he was finished, I watched him closely as he became very quiet and still. At one point, I thought maybe he’d died, but suddenly, his eyes opened again.
“Pastor Westphal!” he exclaimed, “A miracle has happened—I am free from my sins! God has forgiven me! Now I can die in peace. Would you please give me Communion? I haven’t taken Communion for 40 years, but before I die, I want to partake of the Lord’s Supper.”
I went out directly and asked another pastor to help me administer Communion, and as soon as we finished, he passed away. John had finally understood that God forgives, forgets—and saves!
When studying world religions, we quickly find that they all stress good works in order to receive salvation. When I lived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, I visited the Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Penha (The Church of Our Lady of the Cliff), where each year, thousands of pilgrims come to climb the 365 stairs to the church in their effort to obtain forgiveness for their sins. Many of them climb each painful stone step on their knees, and tragically, many of them are crippled and even paralyzed by this self-inflicted punishment—in a vain effort to please God.
This is not what God wants! The Bible says, “For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart—these, O God, You will not despise” (Psalm 51:16–17).
My dear friends, always remember that there is nothing you can do to make Him love you more—and nothing you can do to make Him love you less.
That’s grace!
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