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WHAT IS THE UNPARDONABLE SIN?
MOST MINISTERS AND CHURCH PEOPLE, by their attitude and teachings, seem to want most of the people to go to hell! This sounds strange, and even harsh, but it is true, just the same. This can be easily proved by just talking to the average denominational minister who will tell you that there are many unpardonable sins; many things which, if you do or don't do, you will be bound for eternal torment. We do not take this attitude, for we believe that Jesus came to save, not to destroy, and to restore, not to condemn. We believe that His atoning blood is powerful enough to save multitudes, not just a few! Again, let us say the average minister and the average church leader use one mighty weapon, and one only, to drive people into their denomination. We are bitterly opposed to such a weapon. Being Christians, we should follow Christ in every respect. In so doing, we will not use this weapon often, for Christ did not use it often. Where He used it once, He used other means many times. The weapon to which we refer is FEAR. The old Roman church uses this weapon of fear, and if it were taken away from the adherents of the Roman religion, there wouldn't be any more devotion or loyalty to that religion than there is to any other religion, and it wouldn't be long until the people would be forsaking that denomination, or religious system, in favor of other religious systems. We don't believe in being negative and using weapons of fear, for we are told that it is the GOOD. MOST MINISTERS AND CHURCH PEOPLE by their attitude and teachings, seem to want most of the people to go to hell! This sounds strange, and even harsh, but it is true, just the same. This can be easily proved by just talking to the average denominational minister who will tell you that there are many unpardonable sins; many things which, if you do or don't do, you will be bound for eternal torment. We do not take this attitude, for we believe that Jesus came to save, not to destroy, and to restore, not to condemn. We believe that His atoning blood is powerful enough to save multitudes, not just a few! Again, let us say the average min, ister and the average church leader use one mighty weapon, and one only, to drive people into their denomination. We are bitterly opposed to such a weapon. Being Christians, we should follow Christ in every respect. In so doing, we will not use this weapon often, for Christ did not use it often. Where He used it once, He used other means many times. The weapon to which we refer is FEAR. The old Roman church uses this weapon of fear, and if it were taken away from the adherents of the Roman religion, there wouldn't be any more devotion or loyalty to that religion than there is to any other religion, and it wouldn't be long until the people would be forsaking that denomination, or religious system, in favor of other religious systems. We don't believe in being negative and using weapons of fear, for we are told that it is the GOOD. He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. 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 against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come, Looking at the above verses, let us, first of all, decide what the so called unpardonable sin is NOT. Murder. As bad as the sin of murder is, and it is a horrible sin and crime, yet it is not unpardonable, and is therefore not the unpardonable sin. True, anyone guilty of murder will suffer greatly. Cain, the world's first murderer, found that his penalty was so heavy he had to exclaim to the Lord, "My punishment is greater than I can bear!" David was a murderer, but he begged God's forgiveness and received it to the extent that God, speaking of David, declared that he was a man after His own heart. Conducting a revival meeting in El Paso, Texas, years ago, on the last night of the great revival in which more than one hundred people were saved, an elderly man came forward in response to our invitation to sinners, declaring he would like to be saved, but that he was a murderer and had killed several people across the border in Old Mexico. He had been told that there was no forgiveness for such sin. We told him that that was false, and that Christ would forgive him if he would genuinely repent. He fell at the altar, weeping, confessing his awful sin of murder, and then the Lord forgave him. He began to shout for joy and accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour. Yes, God will forgive people for murder, for He forgave Paul, who had murdered several people. He also forgave David, and these men are two of the greatest of Bible times. Adultery: So many people think that adultery is the unpardonable sin. We grant you it is a terrible sin; one not to be condoned or minimized. Instead, we are to teach people to be clean, holy, righteous, and pure in this respect. However, if this were the unpardonable sin, there would be very few people saved, for virtually all mankind has been guilty of adultery in one way or another. There are four kinds: that which one commits toward himself, that which one commits in the mind by lusting after the opposite sex, that which one commits out of wedlock, and that which one commits, though he may have a license and is married to someone. We repeat, virtually everyone has been guilty of one of these four types of adultery. As bad as this sin is, remember Jesus looked at the woman who was caught in the overt act of adultery, and when that group of hypocrites who would accuse her, being full of sin and unable to cast the first stone, Jesus told her that He did not condemn her, but for her to go her way and to sin no more; thus proving that adultery is forgivable by the merciful, gracious Jesus Christ. Swearing. A number of people feel that taking God's Name in vain is the unpardonable sin. We grant you that taking God's Name in vain is one of the most pitiful, terrible, useless sins that we can think of. A person who would do such a thing is an ingrate and is thoughtless, showing he has no discipline and no gratitude toward God, who cre, ated him and has protected and blessed him by giving him so many wonderful things, including the very breath of life that he breathes. True, the Bible declares that our communication should be simple and direct, leaving out all profanity, for Christ declared, "Let your communications be yea, yea, and nay, nay." However, we assure you that, if one does stoop to take the Name of God in vain, profaning it and handling it sacrilegiously and recklessly, when he repents of this, God will forgive him; for Paul himself declared that he had been guilty of this same thing, yet his sins were forgiven, and he became one of the greatest, most zealous missionaries, soul-winners and adherents to Christianity the world has ever known. Remember, when we talk about God, calling His name in vain, we are talking about our best Friend! Sacrilege: There are many people who feet that making fight of another religion is the unpardonable sin. We don't make light of anyone's religion. They might be right, and we might be wrong. Whether they are right or not, because of our influence and our respect for other people's beliefs, we do not make light of other people's religion. However, we assure you that doing such a thing by anyone who desires to do so is not an unpardonable sin. You recall that Elijah certainly made all manner of fun of the false prophets of Baal, as they yelled to their gods to send fire to lick up the water and perform a miracle. Elijah joked with them and teased them, declaring that they should yell louder, as their gods might be taking a nap! In so doing, we assure you that Elijah did not displease God, nor was he guilty of committing a sin for which there was no forgiveness, for Elijah was one of the greatest, most holy, and most consecrated men that ever lived! Unbelief. Many sincere people believe that the unpardonable sin is simply failing to accept Christ, thus continuing in their state of unbelief. Oh, how we do err, and how recklessly we handle the Scriptures. It is true that it is a pitiful thing to see people who have reached the age of accountability continue in sin and fail to accept Jesus Christ; however this is not the unpardonable sin, obviously, or else almost all the people in the world would not be saved, for nearly everyone was an unbeliever at one time, not having accepted Christ the first time he felt the urge or the call of the Holy Spirit. The Lord declared, He that believeth not is condemned. How, ever, to be condemned does not mean that we are guilty of the sin for which there is no forgiveness, for when an un, believer accepts Jesus Christ and repents of his sin, Jesus forgives him and gives him the gift of God, which is eternal life. This has happened to millions of us! Having decided what the unpardonable sin is NOT, let us now, looking at our text again, decide what the Bible teaches the unpardonable sin IS. First of all, please note who it was that was falsely accusing Christ. It was the Pharisees; it was also those whom Jesus said are "against me"; again He declared that it was the people who were the children of the Devil (verse 27). Now, in the next chapter of Matthew, these same people are referred to as being the children of the wicked one, or of the Devil, in contrast to the children of the Kingdom. And again in the Revelation 3:9, we are told that there are people who call themselves Jew, but are not of Judah; therefore they are not Jews racially, but in name only, and are liars and of the synagogue of Satan. So this is the group that spoke to Jesus laughingly, jestingly, and mockingly. What was their sin? It was the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Back of that sin was malice, the matter of impugning Christ's motive, questioning the source of the power of Jesus. It was a sin of prejudice, bitterness, and depravity, accusing Jesus of performing miracles by the power of Beelzebub, who was the chief, or prince, of all devils. They could not have made a more false or malicious accusation! Notice the Lord did not say that this sin was unpardonable. He simply said there would be no forgiveness for this sin on the part of this group of wicked Jews, in that age that was ending at that time, nor the next age, which is the age in which we now live. This explains, then, why the false, wicked, Canaanitish Jews, have not accepted Christ through the ages, and have been wicked, malicious, prejudiced, critical, bitter, impugning the motives of Christ, denying Christ, and doing their very best to destroy Christ and Christianity. That same crowd is doing the same things today. They haven't changed one bit! What a glorious day we are living in, What a glorious tomorrow we have to took forward to, when millions and millions of people, with the scales of prejudice and malice falling from their eyes, will find Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour as we enter into the age of all ages-the age of the Kingdom now dawning! |
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New Christian Crusade Church You may call us Monday, Wednesday or Friday at 601-749-8565 Last modified: Wednesday, 17 October 2007 |
