A South Carolina pastor has pardoned a teenager accused of setting fire to a church van, emulating a core teaching of Christianity.
Earlier this month, South Carolina State Police arrested Brandon Thomas Green, 18, was arrested after allegedly setting fire to two Ford Transit church vans in the parking lot of the Philadelphia Baptist Church in Pauline, South Carolina.
“I told him the church loves him because Christ loved us, and long story short, I was able to share the gospel with him.”
He was taken into custody on July 5th. And was indicted He was charged with two counts of arson.
Certainly, the loss of the church van was an inconvenience for Philadelphia Baptist Church. I was going to use a van. The van was to transport a youth team to a mission event in Kentucky, the day after it was set on fire.
But instead of responding with anger, Philadelphia Baptist Pastor Keir Graves visited Green in prison and offered his forgiveness.
“‘Brandon, we forgive you because we have been forgiven, but we want to know if you understand that,'” Graves told WYFF-TV the message he conveyed to Greene from prison.
But that’s not all.
Graves not only offered forgiveness, he also shared the gospel with Green.
“It was a beautiful moment. We hugged each other. I told him the church loved him because Christ loved us. And long story short, I was able to share the gospel with him,” Graves told WYFF.
“He wanted to go there and give his life to Christ, repent of his sins and be baptized,” he explained, “but I don’t think it would have happened if everyone hadn’t been on the same page of, ‘Yes, let’s get him, let’s make sure this gets resolved, but don’t leave him alone.'”
Forgiveness is central to the teachings of Jesus. Not only did He emphasize its importance in the Sermon on the Mount, but He also repeatedly taught parables about the need for forgiveness.
Famously, Jesus even told his disciple Peter that forgiveness should last forever.
As this situation shows, those who are forgiven forgive, and receiving the grace of forgiveness has transformative power.
“Forgiveness and hope for redemption and giving second chances to others is how Spartanburg will become known as one of the best places to live on Earth,” Graves told WYFF.
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