Full Pardon Refused

In the early 1800’s, President Andrew Jackson issued a full pardon to George Wilson, a man sentenced to be hanged. Wilson refused it. But could he legally refuse the President’s pardon? Supreme Court Justice John Marshall declared, “The value of the pardon depends upon its acceptance. If it is refused, it is no pardon. George Wilson must hang.”

And Wilson was hanged.

To pardon everyone’s sin, Christ shed His blood on the cross. The price was paid. But each individual must first receive this forgiveness.

Evangelism, A Biblical Approach, M. Cocoris, Moody, 1984, pp. 83ff