- What is the unpardonable sin?
Find out next on Let the Bible Speak.
♪ Music ♪
Announcer: From the churches of Christ
Let the Bible Speak
with Evangelist Kevin Presley.
I'm so glad you've joined me today
for a study of the Word of God.
One of the most common questions that preachers are asked,
I suppose, is the question
what is the sin that God will not forgive?
You know, the Bible speaks about that.
And can men commit that sin today,
or, more personally, have I committed the unpardonable sin?
Most students of the Bible surely have wondered
about the words of our Lord recorded
in Matthew Chapter 12, beginning in verse 31.
There, Jesus said, "Wherefore I say unto you,
"all manner of sin and blasphemy
"shall be forgiven unto men,
"but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost
"shall not be forgiven unto men.
"And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man,
"it shall be forgiven him,
"but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost,
"it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world,
"neither in the world to come."
Serious words indeed,
and whatever this seemingly mysterious sin
against the Holy Spirit is,
we dare not be found guilty of it.
In our study today,
we'll look at this weighty passage of Scripture
and learn about the unpardonable sin.
- If you've ever visited an Assembly of the Church of Christ
you've seen that it's different.
No rock bands, no choirs and praise teams,
no theatrical productions.
That's because we believe worship is simple
but profound, and is according to what's revealed
in God's Word.
When you visit with the Church of Christ,
you'll find that everybody simply sings
the praise of the Lord together, congregationally.
We meet around the Lord's table every Sunday
to remember the body and blood of the Lord
in His new covenant.
We pray together, and none of that pop psychology.
But sound teaching from the Word of God.
Oh and one more thing.
We won't ask for your money.
Members provide for the needs of the local church
through a weekly collection.
So forget all the hype.
Come see the difference,
and be our honored guest today.
Any sin is serious in the sight of God.
By definition, sin is the transgression
or breaking of God's law,
according to 1 John 3 in verse 4.
And all sin is devastating to our relationship to God
who is holy and just.
The prophet Ezekiel said in Ezekiel 18 in verse 20,
"The soul that sinneth, it shall die."
And Paul declared that, "The wages of sin is death,"
Romans 6 in verse 23.
But the Bible also tells us that God is rich in mercy
and eager to forgive our sins when we approach Him
through Christ in obedient faith,
and any sin that a man can repent of can be forgiven,
and any person who can believe and obey
the conditions of the gospel can be saved.
Jesus made that clear in Matthew 11 in verse 28.
He said, "Come unto Me all ye that labor
"and are heavy laden and I will give you rest."
When the Lord commissioned His apostles
to preach the gospel in Mark 16, beginning in verse 15,
He said, "Go into all the world,
"and preach the gospel to every,
"every creature.
"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved."
And just before the pen of Revelation
was laid down forevermore,
as if to leave us with one last assurance
of God's grace and limitless mercy,
John wrote in Revelation 22 in verse 17,
"The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come.'
"And let him that heareth say, 'Come.'
"And let him that is athirst come.
"And whosoever will,
"let him take the water of life freely."
Those who are Christians are told in 1 John 1 in verse 9,
"If we confess our sins,
"He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all,"
A-L-L, "all unrighteousness."
But yet we have the text of our study today
in Matthew chapter 12.
And there, the Scripture seems to strike a different tone
when Jesus said that all manner of sin would be forgiven,
even one who speaks against God's own Son, Jesus Christ.
But one sin, He says,
is beyond the reach of God's forgiveness,
and that is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said that one who blasphemes or speaks against,
is what the word blaspheme means,
one who speaks against the Spirit of God
would not be forgiven then
nor in the world that was to come.
Well, those words ring with cold
and hopeless finality, don't they?
No forgiveness ever.
Once you've committed that sin,
according to Jesus, it's over.
We also read in Hebrews chapter 6
that there are those who,
having tasted of the Good Word of God
and the powers of the world to come and then fall away,
that it is impossible to renew them under a penance,
"seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh,
"and put him to an open shame,"
Hebrews chapter 6 and verse 6.
Well, these passages seem to suggest
that some sins are of such a nature
that they are beyond the reach of God's mercy.
For some reason and in some respect,
those sins are considered, well, unforgivable.
So which is it?
Can one be cleansed of all unrighteousness, as John says?
Or are there sins that are well beyond the pale
and cannot be forgiven?
Well, Paul told Timothy that,
"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,"
2 Timothy 3 in verse 16,
and God cannot lie, and so therefore,
Scripture does not contradict Scripture.
And the true interpretation of each passage
will harmonize with the others, or else,
one or more of those interpretations is false.
So, what is Jesus saying when He speaks of the sin
that God will not forgive?
Can I commit it today?
Is it possible that you or I are guilty of it?
Well, first, let's consider the usual explanations
given to this passage in Matthew chapter 12.
Some, first of all, think that the sin consists
of attributing Christ's power
to perform miracles to Beelzebub.
Now, it is true, if you look here
at the surrounding context,
that what the Pharisees witnessed
were the miracles of Jesus,
and when they saw His miracles,
they couldn't deny that they had seen a miracle.
They would have been foolish to deny
that a miracle had taken place.
You see, miracles then were real miracles.
They weren't what men today claim are miracles.
There's no disputing that a miracle took place
when one did take place.
And so even the Pharisees couldn't deny
that Jesus had manifested miraculous power.
The problem is it put them on the horns of a dilemma.
They either had to acknowledge
that Christ's power came from God
and thus, they would have to acknowledge
and confess Him to be who He claimed to be, the Son of God.
Or they had to deny the miracle, and they couldn't do that
because it was obvious a miracle took place,
and they refused to believe that Jesus was the Son of God,
so what they did was they said
that His power came from Beelzebub.
It came from an evil source.
Well, that certainly was a sin against the Holy Spirit,
and it certainly involved in what Jesus
was referring to here on this occasion.
But I think we'll see today
that this sin against the Holy Spirit
really has a much wider application.
And then some believe that this sin
could only be committed while Jesus
was on earth performing miracles.
And since the miraculous age has passed,
well, it therefore has no relevance to modern people.
Since the Holy Spirit is no longer empowering men
to perform miracles, then it would be impossible
to sin against Him, as Jesus speaks of.
Well, that can't be true because neither God nor Christ
are empowering men to perform miracles today,
and so that reasoning would lead us to conclude
that one could not sin against Christ or God today either,
so that can't be correct.
And then some would warn us that refusing to accept
the modern and speculative theories that people advance
about the Holy Spirit and His supposed manner
of working in the world today,
well, that might just be the sin that Jesus was speaking of.
But that's not the case either because, listen,
for one thing, rejecting the false doctrines
of men about the Holy Spirit,
that's not speaking against the Holy Spirit.
It's defending the truth of the Holy Spirit.
It's not speaking against the Spirit Himself.
It's speaking against the false doctrines
that these men come up with and spread
about the Holy Spirit that the Bible does not teach.
And then there are those who are under the impression
that the sin against the Holy Spirit
is decreed unpardonable because of the special nature
of the Holy Spirit and His work.
In other words, Christ was really exalting
the third person of the God head
as being, in effect, so holy and special
that it is beyond the pale and unforgivable
to speak a word against Him.
But that has nothing to do with it per se.
Yes, the Holy Spirit is divine,
He is the third person of the God head,
He is certainly holy and to be reverenced,
but no more than Christ or God the Father.
In fact, Jesus said in John 16 in verse 14
that the Spirit's purpose was to bring glory to Jesus,
not the other way around.
You know, listening to some preachers today,
you would almost think that Jesus was sent
to be the forerunner of the Holy Spirit,
but that's not the way it was.
The Holy Spirit came after Jesus
in order to point back to Jesus
and to shed light upon Him
and to lift Him up and glorify Him
by the revelation of the gospel plan
of salvation in Christ.
And then some have concluded that the unpardonable sin
might be the act of suicide, since one who commits it
has no opportunity to repent and seek forgiveness.
But as terrible and heartbreaking of a circumstance
for all involved as suicide may be,
it's not a sin against the Holy Spirit
in the context that Jesus is speaking of here.
Nowhere is such idea or such an action
under consideration in this particular passage.
And finally, some believe that the sin
against the Holy Spirit is the so-called unforgivable sin
that John speaks of over in 1 John 5 and verse 16.
Now that passage reads that,
"If any man see his brother sin a sin
"which is not unto death,
"he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them
"that sin not unto death.
"There is a sin unto death.
"I do not say that he shall pray for it."
Well, now let's think about that for a moment.
John says, now follow it closely, John says
there is sin that is not unto death.
Now that doesn't mean that any sin is not serious
or he is not saying that there are sins
that are not worthy of death.
That's not what he is saying.
He is saying that there is not a sin
that brings irrevocable judgment
for which there is no repentance and no forgiveness.
He says there is sin that is not unto death.
And when a brother commits such a sin,
he says we may pray to God on his behalf,
and the Lord will hear and answer.
But on the other hand,
he says there is a sin that is unto death.
That is, this is a sin of finality.
And he says when a brother is guilty of it,
it does no good to pray for him
because God will not forgive it.
Well, that sounds rather frightening.
What is this sin unto death that John is warning of?
Well, the answer is actually back in chapter 1 of 1 John.
Look again in 1 John 1 beginning in verse 7.
He says, "But if we walk in the light,
"as he is in the light, we have fellowship
"one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son
"cleanseth us from all,"
A-L-L, "all sin."
And if we say that we have no sin,
we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
Look at it now.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just
to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness.
Now, consider what he says.
This passage here says that the Lord will forgive
all sins a brother confesses.
Well, if he says all sins can be forgiven,
then there is no exception to that.
The Lord will forgive all sins a brother confesses.
But in 1 John 5 in verse 16, he there says
that there is a sin the Lord won't forgive.
Now if the Lord will forgive all sins
that a brother confesses, but on the other hand,
there is a sin the Lord won't forgive,
what we conclude from that is
the sin that the Lord will not forgive is the sin
that a brother refuses to confess or acknowledge.
That is, if a man will not acknowledge his sin
before God and thus repent of it and turn away from it,
it does no good to pray to God for His forgiveness.
He has to repent of his sin.
He has to acknowledge that to God,
humble himself before God and turn from his sin,
or else, there is no forgiveness for it.
Not only that, the sin under consideration
in Matthew 12 and 31 was a sin committed
by an unbeliever who rejected the deity of Jesus.
However, the sin of 1 John 5 and verse 16
is a sin that is committed by a brother in the Lord
who has, at one time, accepted the truth about Jesus.
So they're not talking about the same thing.
The sin that John is contemplating is simply a sin,
is simply a sin that a Christian refuses to acknowledge
and therefore turn from, and it does no good
to pray for such and want forgiveness.
And consequently, that passage refutes
the Calvinistic doctrine of "Once saved, always saved,"
as John is writing a letter to saints or Christians,
and he warns them about a brother
committing a sin unto death.
Well, how can a man be saved if he's guilty of a sin
that God will not forgive, you see.
But back to Matthew 12 now.
Since we've seen what Jesus is not talking about,
let's see what He is talking about.
Let's read the passage again.
He says, "Wherefore I say unto you,
"all manner of sin and blasphemy
"shall be forgiven unto men
"but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost
"shall not be forgiven unto men.
"And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man,"
that is, against Jesus,
"it shall be forgiven him
"but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost,
"it shall not be forgiven him,
"neither in this world,
"neither in the world to come."
Now notice carefully,
a person may sin against God and be forgiven.
He may sin against Christ and be forgiven.
But He says if he sins against the Holy Spirit,
he cannot be forgiven.
And then Jesus adds, "Neither in this world
"nor in the world to come."
Now, the translation "world" there
is perhaps a little misleading to some.
He's not saying in this life nor in the life beyond.
That can't be the case because the fact is
no sin will be forgiven in the life that is to come.
Now is the time of salvation,
the Bible is abundantly clear about that.
There will be no forgiveness extended
after the probation period
of this earthly life is over.
Right now, God's mercy is being shown to mankind
and offering him the gospel plan of salvation.
You see, the judgment bar is not going to be
where God's mercy is shown.
God's mercy is shown now,
and you and I best avail ourselves of it
while we yet have the breath of life
and the power to choose it.
God's mercy is shown now, and if you refuse it,
then only judgment awaits in the life to come.
So what does He mean when He says
"in the world now or in the world to come?"
Well, actually, the word translated "world" in this passage
is often used in the Bible for age or dispensation.
So then what Jesus is saying is
that those who committed this sin against the Holy Spirit
could not be forgiven in the age in which Jesus spoke this,
which was consequently the Mosaic age
living yet under the law,
and neither, He says,
will it be forgiven in the age or dispensation to come,
which is the present age or the Christian dispensation,
when the gospel, here's the key, when the gospel
would be fully preached and offered to all mankind.
So, what is the sin?
Why is it so serious to sin against the Holy Spirit?
Well, Guy N. Woods used to illustrate it this way,
and I think it's an excellent and fitting explanation
and a very logical explanation of the words of Jesus.
He said imagine a man is in a boat floating down the river.
And below him are some dangerous rapids
over which, if he passes, he goes to his death.
And let's say a little way down the river,
a man stands on the bank and shouts a warning to him.
The man in the boat ignores it and floats on.
A little way down, a second man shouts a second warning
and offers to pull the man out of the water.
But let's say he refuses that man too and he floats on.
And just before he reaches the brink,
a third man shouts a final, emphatic, plain warning to him,
makes a last offer to save the man,
but that too is refused.
And so the man is swept over the rushing falls to his doom.
Now let's think about that.
He might have accepted the first man's offer
and have been saved.
Perhaps he waits and accepts the second man's offer.
He could still be saved.
In fact, he could have even rejected
the first and second men's offers
and still accepted offer number three
and still have been saved.
But when he passed up the third offer,
he passed his last chance of salvation.
Well, you know, that's what many have done.
You know, when man sinned in the Garden of Eden,
God's justice would have allowed
the annihilation of the human race.
But mercy stepped in.
Thank God, mercy stepped in and stayed the judgment of God.
And for at least 4,000 years,
through the tearful pleadings of the Old Testament prophets,
God sought to turn wayward men from his sinful course
but with little success.
In fact, the prophet Isaiah represents himself
as "standing with outstretched arms
"before a disobedient and gainsaying people,"
Paul records in Romans 10 and 21.
So through the prophets, God extended the first offer,
which was largely refused.
And then in the fullness of time,
He sent His Son to the lost world.
That was offer number two,
and that too was rejected,
since John 1:11 reminds us that, "He came unto His own
"and even His own received Him not."
Not only did the masses reject Him as the Son of God
but crucified him.
But still, amazingly still,
the mercy of God had not run out.
And just 50 days after the Resurrection on Pentecost,
offer number three was extended
to them and to you and to me.
It was extended through the work
and the influence of the Holy Spirit
that was poured out upon the apostles.
He worked through the apostles
and there revealing the gospel to the world.
But my friend, listen carefully.
That's it.
That's offer number three.
That was the last.
There will never be another plan offered to the world.
The gospel which the Holy Spirit brought to earth
through the apostles and confirmed in them
by the miracles they performed
is the final offer of mercy to mankind.
And if you reject the gospel plan of salvation,
doom awaits, no if, and, or but about it.
Paul declared in 2 Corinthians chapter 1:7-9,
"To you who are troubled rest with us,
"when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven
"with His mighty angels, in flaming fire
"taking vengeance on them that know not God,
"and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ
"who shall be punished with everlasting destruction
"from the presence of the Lord,
"and from the glory of His power."
Remember the Hebrew writer warned those Christians
who would leave Christ
and return to the sacrifices of the Jewish temple
in Hebrews 10:27-29, saying,
"But a certain fearful looking for
"of judgment and fiery indignation,
"which shall devour the adversaries.
"He that despised Moses' law died without mercy
"under two or three witnesses.
"Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye,
"shall he be thought worthy,
"who hath trodden under foot the Son of God,
"and hath counted the blood of the covenant,
"wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing,
"and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?"
Now don't think that this is a sin that's committed
in one single act of disbelief.
It's a gradual sin,
begins when one grieves the Spirit
like a disobedient child grieves a parent.
It leads to one resisting the teaching of the Spirit,
as the Jews did that resisted the prophets.
And finally, quenching the Spirit, that is,
destroying the influence of the Spirit in your life
by totally and finally repudiating
and shutting the door of your heart to the gospel.
And in so doing, the sinner becomes numb
to the appeal of the gospel,
and he becomes so hard of heart
that the gospel cannot reach him.
You see, the unforgivable sin is not a sin
that God cannot forgive
as much as it is a sin that man cannot repent of
because he destroyed his heart through his rejection,
and he passed up the last and final and proven appeal
of salvation in Jesus Christ revealed with the Spirit,
and friend, that's very serious.
And if you have not obeyed the gospel,
I want you to open the door of your heart to Christ today
by obeying Him in baptism,
and I hope you'll do it today.
- The Psalmist said, "Through Thy precepts,
"I get understanding."
The Bible is the revelation of God to man
and you simply can't live for God until you know something
about the Word of God
and you may say, "Well, I want to read
"and study the Bible, but I don't know where to begin.
"I feel overwhelmed" or "I don't understand the Bible."
I want to offer you a wonderful way
to get acquainted with the scriptures.
You'll learn about some of the most basic
and foundational teachings of God's Word
and you'll get a better handle on how to read
and approach and study the Bible as a whole.
Won't you get in touch with us today
and ask to be enrolled in the Bible Correspondence Course.
It won't cost you a penny and we'll mail the lessons
to your home and you take your time to read and study
through the lessons,
I think you'll be surprised how much you'll learn.
- [Voiceover] Want to see today's study again?
Watch Let the Bible Speak any time.
Even on the go.
On your computer, tablet, or smartphone.
Go to letthebiblespeak.tv
and also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
If you'd like to go back and study
about the unpardonable sin,
perhaps you'd like a transcript
of the lesson we presented today,
we'll be happy to send you one free of charge.
Get in touch with us with the contact information
we'll provide you in just a moment,
and we'll be glad to mail you a copy.
You can also look up the information on our website,
letthebiblespeak.tv.
You'll find our email address there,
and you'll also find past broadcasts
of Let the Bible Speak.
We're on social media.
Be sure to like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter.
We're also on Instagram and Snapchat.
And now, you can download the free podcast
of Let the Bible Speak each week.
Just go to iTunes and look for
Let the Bible Speak and subscribe.
We sure hope you'll join us back here next time
for another study of the Word of God,
and we'll look forward
to meeting you here then, if the Lord wills.
Until then, have a great week,
and may the Lord bless you.
For more infomation >> This field is auto filled - Duration: 2:57. 
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét