Luke 12:8-12
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UnAshamed
UnAshamed
welcome
recap fear of the lord and our journey in Luke
read passage
“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.”
talk about this passage and the unforgivable sin…
we will get in to this here this morning but first lets look at some of the other verses here as they give us some good food to chew on
“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.
talk about what this means…one giving their life to christ will be one who “acknowledges” christ, one who denies the lord will be one who denies giving their life to christ…
God sent his Son to die for people worldwide, and salvation is offered to all people.
But individuals still must choose whether or not to accept God’s offer. Jesus clearly explained, “Everyone who acknowledges me before others (that is, those who publicly confess their faith in and allegiance to him), the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God.”
The person who acknowledges faith in Jesus can trust that Jesus will acknowledge him or her as his own in heaven.
On the other hand, the person who denies his or her relationship to Jesus will, in turn, face denial by Jesus in heaven.
These words refer to those whose lack of allegiance will be revealed under pressure. This will amount to apostasy (1 John 2:19 “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.” )
Most likely, this does not refer to an incident where lack of courage might cause a believer not to speak up, but rather to a person who totally rejects Christ and lives a life of denial.
The astounding statement is that each person’s standing before God is based on his or her relationship to Jesus Christ.
He is the advocate whose intercession before God will depend on a person’s faithfulness in acknowledging him.
verse 8-9 deal with apostacy verse 10 deals with non-believers or those who have yet come to believe.
This morning we will discuss a much debated topic in Christianity: The Unforgivable Sin.
There are many different interpretations of what this sin is and many people have become anxious about whether or not they have committed it.
This morning we shall discuss this topic and learn that a true follower of Christ cannot commit it because the Spirit of God keeps them from it.
We shall also learn that a false follower of Christ is in danger of committing it.
lets look at verse 10 here this morning
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.
To blaspheme is to revile, malign, to speak an insulting word against someone or something.
Blaspheming against the Holy Spirit is unforgivable. Why is it unforgivable? Jesus Christ is able (Heb 7:25 ) and “everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name” (Acts 10:43).
Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
With this being true, how can blasphemy against the Holy Spirit be unforgivable? There is no forgiveness for this sin because it is committed by a person who has reached such a state of rebellion and stubbornness that they have been handed over to judgment and are simply awaiting its sentence.
This person has no hope for forgiveness because they have no desire for forgiveness.
This person shall receive no forgiveness because they have so grieved and blasphemed the Holy Spirit that He has withdrawn from them.
And when the Holy Spirit has withdrawn from a person, there is no hope since it is the Holy Spirit who “convicts the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8).
What is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit?
How do we know if we have committed it or not? I can tell you with certainty that it is not a one-time act of sin. It is not murder, adultery, or taking God’s name in vain because many have committed these sins and found forgiveness.
It is not simply attributing the work of the Spirit to demons because people can do that and find forgiveness.
To commit the unforgivable sin is not a one-time act of blasphemy, but is better understood as a process of blasphemy.
The process begins with a person foolishly thinking they can love God and love the world.
They make a decision to accept Jesus into their heart as Lord and Savior, but what they actually decide is to make Jesus into a garnish that will decorate their life and pacify their conviction.
They want the appearance of godliness but they do not want to actually be godly (2 Timothy 3:5 “having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.” ).
They call themselves a Christ-follower while not actually following Christ.
They signify to the church in baptism that their old self has died with Christ and the new self has been raised with Christ, while proclaiming to the world that the old self is still alive and well.
The process continues with a loss of whatever spiritual energy they once possessed.
They thought they would soothe their conscience by adding Jesus as an enhancement to their life, but they soon discover that Jesus is not an enhancement but Lord.
Their conscience, rather than is not soothed, is seared (1 Timothy 4:2 “through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared,” ).
The Holy Spirit brings conviction of sin upon them and calls them to true faith, but they stubbornly refuse to stop loving the world and their sin.
Soon, the Holy Spirit’s call becomes fainter and softer and more distant as the person’s conscience becomes more and more calloused and hardened.
They are easily offended and are slow to forgive others. They often leave the church out of anger or apathy.
The local church calls and beckons for them to return but they have no intention of returning because they have no love for Christ.
they have a memory of a decision, they have a baptismal certificate, but they blaspheme against the Holy Spirit through their stubborn refusal to submit to the teachings of Christ and a stubborn refusal to submit to the working of the Spirit in their life.
Eventfully, sometime during this process, a line is crossed in which a person so grieves and blasphemes the Holy Spirit through their continual and unrepentant sinning that God pronounces judgment on them while they are still alive and they are handed over to the sin they love.
They will not be forgiven because they do not seek to be forgiven because they have no desire to be forgiven.
For them “the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever” (Jude 8 “Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones.” ).
The process comes to an end when they close their eyes in death and realize that their hypocrisy was blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
They had the appearance of godliness but denied its power (2 Tim 3:5).
They perverted the grace of our God into sensuality (Jude 1:4). They were never asked to give a defense for the hope that was within them (1 Peter 3:15) because no one know about any hope within them.
Even if they had been asked, they could not give a defense because there was no hope within them.
what does this all mean church…
well it goes back to having the fear of the lord in our lives…
preach on this, completely love for him
For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.
lets read on
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.”
preach on this lord help me…
HOLY SPIRIT TAKE OVER AND LEAD ME…