There is always a lot of controversy about Presidential Pardons this time of year. Let me give you a some information to help you understand how it works.
Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution grants the President of the United States the power to pardon any person convicted for or accused of federal crimes, except in cases of impeachment.
The president may not pardon persons convicted for or accused of violating state or local laws.
Through the power of “commutation of sentence,” the president may reduce or completely eliminate the prison sentences being served by persons convicted of federal crimes.
While he or she is not required to follow them, recommendations on all applications for presidential pardons must be prepared and submitted to the president by the U.S. Pardon Attorney of the Department of Justice.
Clearly, this power can result in some controversial applications. For example, in 1972 Congress accused President Richard Nixon of obstruction of justice—a federal felony—as part of his role in the infamous Watergate scandal. On September 8, 1974, President Gerald Ford, who had assumed office following Nixon’s resignation, pardoned Nixon for any crimes he may have committed related to Watergate.
On January 21, 1977, President Jimmy Carter, on his first full day in office, made good on a campaign promise by issuing an executive order granting unconditional pardons to the nearly 500,000 young American men who had evaded the military draft during the Vietnam War by fleeing the United States or refusing to register for the draft with their Selective Service boards.
Let’s just say the President of the United States, while in office, how quite a lot of power.
Now let’s look at another type of pardon. The definition of the word pardon is “the action of forgiving or being forgiven for an error or offense” : “he obtained pardon for his sins.” In this pardon we all are convicted of our sin by the Holy Spirit. God pardons our sin when we confess our sins to Him and ask for His forgiveness. We are not saved by simply asking God for forgiveness. Commuting a sentence of eternity in hell is unfathomable in thought. But…..When we come to Christ and ask Him to live through us by accepting Him as our personal Savior, by surrendering our lives to Him, He immediately accepts us as His own and grants eternal life with Him in Heaven. That is when we are saved. Do we deserve it? Absolutely not! No one does.
We don’t have to fill out an application or go through an attorney to accept this free gift from God. We go directly to God now because of Jesus. God made salvation so easy to understand even a child can obtain salvation. Sadly, so many people will reject God’s free gift of eternal life, His Pardon, because the attraction of sin and evil is more than they want to give up. The cost is too high for them.
I also personally know many people who are way nicer than me, more generous than me, kinder than me, financially blessed way more than me and in many more ways a better person than me, but they still have an emptiness in their hearts that they can’t seem to find anything that will fill it. Jesus is the only one that can fill that empty spot. Without Him those people are destined for an eternity without any access to God. God loves to save and pardon people. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. NIV
Thank Jesus today for your salvation if you have accepted Jesus into your heart.
Jim Everett
