by Steve Hamilton<\/p>\n
In 1829, two men robbed a United States mail carrier in Pennsylvania.\u00a0 The men were tried on six indictments that included robbery and murder.\u00a0 George Wilson and James Porter were found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging.\u00a0 However, a petition for pardon was made on George Wilson’s behalf by some of his influential friends.\u00a0 President Andrew Jackson was agreeable and granted a formal pardon to Wilson. Incredibly,\u00a0Wilson<\/strong>\u00a0refused the pardon!<\/strong><\/p>\n This had never happened before.\u00a0 No one had ever declined a presidential pardon much less for an offense that didn’t carry the death penalty.\u00a0 What were they to do with a man who preferred to die on the gallows?<\/p>\n The case reached the Supreme Court.\u00a0 Chief Justice John Marshall ruled, “A pardon is an act of grace, proceeding from the power entrusted with the execution of the laws, which exempts the individual, on whom it is bestowed, from punishment the law inflicts for a crime he has committed…\u00a0 A pardon is a deed, to the validity of which delivery is essential; and delivery is not completed without acceptance.\u00a0 It may then be rejected by the person to whom it is tendered; and if it be rejected, we have discovered no power in a court to force it on him…\u00a0 It may be supposed that no being condemned to death would reject a pardon, but the rule must be the same in capital cases and in misdemeanors.”<\/p>\n A pardon must be accepted.\u00a0 George Wilson refused his pardon and was; therefore, hung until dead on the gallows!<\/p>\n Likewise, God has provided every human being a chance for pardon from their sins (John 1:12; 6:37).\u00a0 However, that pardon must be accepted in the way God has ordained (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38).\u00a0 Those who do not accept the pardon will perish (II Peter 3:9).<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Steve Hamilton In 1829, two men robbed a United States mail carrier in Pennsylvania.\u00a0 The men were tried on six indictments that included robbery and murder.\u00a0 George Wilson and James Porter were found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging.\u00a0 However, a petition for pardon was made on George Wilson’s behalf by some of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[47],"class_list":["post-44883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-salvation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":66963,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-cross-was-an-ugly-torture-device\/","url_meta":{"origin":44883,"position":0},"title":"The Cross Was an Ugly Torture Device","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 8, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton That is true, but men meant evil, while God used it for our good. How can a torture device be made for our good and bless us with forgiveness of sins? It is not the device itself, as if the physical item holds some mystical magic.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":47567,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-one-verse-was-all-we-needed\/","url_meta":{"origin":44883,"position":1},"title":"If One Verse Was All We Needed","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 24, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton If one verse said it all, and we needed no more than one verse to be saved, I would choose\u00a0Ephesians 2:5. \"By grace you have been saved.\" That way, I wouldn't have to believe, repent, confess, or be baptized. I would rest my case here and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19706,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-we-know-if-namaan-continued-to-live-righteously\/","url_meta":{"origin":44883,"position":2},"title":"Do we know if Namaan continued to live righteously?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 31, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In II Kings 5, we learn about Naaman being saved from leprosy, and also that he does finally acknowledge the one true God (vs.15). But do we ever really know his relationship with God, as far as his soul and the way he worshipped God from then on? Answer:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":40759,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-people-find-no-place-for-repentance\/","url_meta":{"origin":44883,"position":3},"title":"When People Find No Place for Repentance","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 26, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry W. Benton If grace so freely covers all sin without repentance, why was Paul so concerned that he warned night and day with tears about people in the church teaching false doctrine? I have a hard time reading Paul's warnings to Timothy and come away with the modern\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29707,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-meant-by-gods-ways-being-higher-than-mans\/","url_meta":{"origin":44883,"position":4},"title":"What is meant by God’s ways being higher than man’s?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 24, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: It says in\u00a0Isaiah 55:9, \"For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.\" I don't completely understand. Answer: You will run across people with all sorts of excuses as to why they are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":88044,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/naaman-was-healed-by-grace-through-faith\/","url_meta":{"origin":44883,"position":5},"title":"Naaman Was Healed by Grace Through Faith","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 23, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton At first, Naaman did not appreciate the simple instructions to dip in the Jordan seven times (II Kings 5:1-14). He wanted to be healed of leprosy, but he wanted it to be on his terms. He imagined that God would heal him some other way. He\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44883\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}