Whoever Denies Me

Introduction

Luke 12:8–12 ESV

“And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

I remember the first time I was ever embarrassed of Jesus. I was at a Golden Corral with my family. We were going to pray before the meal, which was fairly normal in my family.

I looked across the room, and a boy I went to school with was watching me.

Joshua Smith - a grade ahead of me.

I remember him staring at me and my family as we prayed, and feeling so embarrassed of what we were doing.

Come to find out, Joshua Smith and his family went to a vibrant church not far from mine, and he is a strong believer in his church today.

I felt so convicted. But it helped me to realize, wait, Jesus is not ashamed of us ever. What a great God He must be.

Hebrews 11:16 “But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.”

I remember spending time in South India, and I asked a group of pastors if they had ever been beaten for their faith? Of all of the pastors represented, nearly 80% had been beaten for their faith.

They had not denied Jesus, and He will not deny them.

Explanation

Jesus gives us two warnings and one encouragement in this text.

Luke 12:8–9 ESV

“And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

Jesus presents himself as one who demands the entire life of one who follows him.

The heart of a believer will always be revealed by the lips of a believer. Those who believe in Him as Lord will confess Him as Lord.

Romans 10:9–10 “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”

Jesus will never deny those who do not deny Him.

There is grace - Peter is the textbook example of course. But if you are banking on the grace, then you may not actually know Jesus.

I hear people say all the time, “Preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words.” Words are necessary to preaching.

The way you live your life can delegitimize your words.

The way you live your life can affirm your words.

But you must ultimately use your words to share the gospel.

We get this view of the martyrs in mind when we read this text, but I think it has practical implications for everyday. Do you consistently have the words of Jesus on your lips or something else?

Luke 12:10 ESV

And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

Jesus says that those who speak words against Him will be forgiven.

Peter would be a witness of this truth.

The other disciples who scattered from Jesus on his way to the cross would know this to be true.

What Grace! Even our denials of Jesus would be forgiven.

What does it mean to blaspheme the Holy Spirit? I remember the first time I read this passage, I thought, “Have I blasphemed the Holy Spirit?”

The short answer is that blaspheming the Holy Spirit is denying the witness of the Holy Spirit of the work of Christ.

It is a setting of oneself against the Spirit of God.

It is a denial of the Spirit’s whispering about Christ to our hearts.

Luke 12:11–12 “And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.””

Does this mean that you cannot use notes? Some denominations say that you can’t use notes when you preach, because you would be denying the Spirit’s works.

This passage is specifically talking about moments where the disciples will be in an extraordinary event.

Jesus is saying that the Holy Spirit will never leave you, and He will give you the words to speak.

However, this passage isn’t a normative standard practice for preaching.

The Holy Spirit works just as much over the course of the week as I prepare as he does in the preaching event.

Invitation

We can deny Jesus by him from a crucial conversation. We can also deny Jesus by His omission from our everyday conversation.

Denying the Holy Spirit is the spiritual death.

The Holy Spirit is with us wherever we go. Grace can save Jesus even when we are broken.