1 00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:02,960 It's wonderful to be here with all of you this morning. 2 00:00:02,960 --> 00:00:05,120 We welcome you to the assembly here. 3 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:09,720 And seems like we have several of our number that are missing, 4 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:12,440 but we have a great crowd because you're here, as always 5 00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:15,640 is the case. And I do consider it an honor to 6 00:00:15,640 --> 00:00:18,800 speak concerning the Word of God today. 7 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:22,800 I want to talk about a subject that is interpreted a number of 8 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:26,360 different ways. It's often a subject that's 9 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:31,480 misapplied in our life today. It's a very serious matter 10 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:33,880 because Jesus said something so long ago. 11 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:38,320 He said there's actually a sin that is not forgivable. 12 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:43,840 Terry, is this loud? There's actually a sin that is 13 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:47,200 not forgivable and it's blasphemy against the Holy 14 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:51,040 Spirit. 15 years ago I taught a lesson. 15 00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:53,960 In fact, you've all heard it. I preach it all over the country 16 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:57,120 on Christian certainties. And I spent 5 minutes on this 17 00:00:57,120 --> 00:01:01,400 subject in passing, and I've always wanted to deep to dive 18 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:04,879 deeper into this subject and preach a whole sermon on the 19 00:01:04,879 --> 00:01:08,600 unpardonable sin, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. 20 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:10,240 And so I'm going to do that today. 21 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:14,880 Our passage is found in Matthew chapter 12, beginning in verse 22 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:18,120 31. Jesus said this. 23 00:01:19,080 --> 00:01:22,760 Jesus said, therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy 24 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:27,040 will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit 25 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:31,960 will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against 26 00:01:31,960 --> 00:01:35,480 the Son of Man, that's Jesus, it will be forgiven him. 27 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:40,160 But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be 28 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:44,480 forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come. 29 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:50,400 Again, this passage describes a very serious sin with a very 30 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:54,920 serious consequence. The sin is blasphemy against the 31 00:01:54,920 --> 00:02:00,000 Holy Spirit, and the consequence is it can never be forgiven. 32 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:03,760 Wow. Very serious. 33 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:07,360 It's often called today, although the Bible doesn't call 34 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:10,320 it this. It's called the unpardonable 35 00:02:10,479 --> 00:02:13,640 sin. It's important, though, that we 36 00:02:13,640 --> 00:02:16,480 understand this passage, as you've heard me say many times, 37 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:18,240 and you know it's coming. It's coming in just about every 38 00:02:18,640 --> 00:02:21,360 sermon I preach. You got to understand the 39 00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:23,960 passages that we're going to look at in the context that they 40 00:02:23,960 --> 00:02:27,840 were written, number one. And #2 we have to understand the 41 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:31,760 context and interpret the context in such a way that it 42 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:33,880 doesn't violate other scriptures. 43 00:02:33,880 --> 00:02:35,840 And that's what we're going to try to do today. 44 00:02:35,920 --> 00:02:38,240 But let me talk about some of the things and some of the 45 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:42,720 theories of people today that believe the unpardonable sin is 46 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:45,880 #1 some people believe the unpardonable sin. 47 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:51,480 Is this the sin unto death of first John chapter 5 and verse 48 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:53,360 16? And I'm not going to go very 49 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:56,320 deep into this because Wade has done that two weeks ago and he 50 00:02:56,320 --> 00:02:59,680 did an outstanding job on this. I don't have a lot to say, but 51 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:01,680 let's look at the passage. I'll mention a couple things 52 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:04,360 that we'll move on. We want to know is the 53 00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:07,000 unpardonable sin the sin unto death of first John? 54 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:11,520 516 John said this. If anyone sees his brother 55 00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:16,040 sinning his sin which does not lead to death, he will ask and 56 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:18,560 he will give him life. For those who commit sin not 57 00:03:18,560 --> 00:03:21,600 leading to death, there is a sin leading to death. 58 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:23,800 And I do not say that he should pray about that. 59 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:28,160 Remember, as he studied with us, the sin unto death is this. 60 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:33,520 It is any sin that you will not repent of and confess to God. 61 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:37,320 That's it. And death here is not physical 62 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:38,720 death. Death is spiritual death. 63 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:42,600 Death is a separation from God in your relationship. 64 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:44,600 OK, I got to make one really quick point. 65 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:47,880 Doesn't sin separate us from God? 66 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:53,480 Just in itself? Yes, sin separates us from God 67 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:56,880 absolutely. But a sin unto death is a sin 68 00:03:56,880 --> 00:03:59,960 under spiritual death, meaning something that destroys our 69 00:03:59,960 --> 00:04:03,320 relationship with God. Everybody sins every day. 70 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:06,080 It doesn't mean we stop. We lose our relationship with 71 00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:07,160 God. Why? 72 00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:10,000 We repent and we confess those sins to God. 73 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:14,000 We restore the relationship. So a sin that leads to spiritual 74 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:17,440 death is any sin that you will not repent of and confess to 75 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:18,760 God. That's number one. 76 00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:22,680 And John says when you see a brother sitting a sin like that, 77 00:04:22,840 --> 00:04:27,920 we don't pray for them to be forgiven in their unrepentant 78 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:30,400 state. But do we pray for them? 79 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:33,640 Oh yes, daily We pray that they come back. 80 00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:36,640 We pray that God gives them time and opportunity that they might 81 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:40,040 repent and confess that to God in return, as our brother 82 00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:42,040 mentioned in our prayer just a moment ago. 83 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:46,960 Absolutely. OK, so the unpardonable sin, is 84 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:49,440 it the sin unto death? No, it is not, because that sin 85 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:52,040 can be forgiven. When can the sin unto death be 86 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:54,640 forgiven? When you repent and confess that 87 00:04:54,640 --> 00:04:57,840 sin to God. Let's move on #2 Some people 88 00:04:57,840 --> 00:05:02,560 believe that the unpardonable sin of Matthew chapter 12 is the 89 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:07,320 apostate sin of Hebrews chapter 6, all because of one word in 90 00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:11,840 that passage. Let's notice the Hebrew writer 91 00:05:11,840 --> 00:05:15,800 says for it is impossible for those who were once enlightened 92 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:19,840 and have tasted the heavenly gift and have become partakers 93 00:05:19,840 --> 00:05:23,960 of the Holy Spirit and have tasted the good word of God and 94 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:26,440 the powers of of the age to come. 95 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:30,680 If they fall away to renew them again to repentance, since they 96 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:35,520 crucify again for themselves the Son of God and put him to an 97 00:05:35,520 --> 00:05:38,480 open shame. So because of this word 98 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:41,600 impossible, people interpret this passage like this and you 99 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:45,240 can find many commentators that actually support this and that 100 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:48,760 is this. If somebody turns their back on 101 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:53,880 what they know is right and somebody leaves the Lord, and 102 00:05:53,880 --> 00:05:57,640 they become calloused and they become hard hearted and their 103 00:05:57,640 --> 00:06:00,880 conscience no longer bothers them, there comes a point in 104 00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:05,280 time when it becomes impossible for them to be restored. 105 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:07,720 That is one interpretation of this passage. 106 00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:11,040 I like what EM Zur says about this. 107 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:13,680 This is a perfect explanation of what I believe the passage is 108 00:06:13,680 --> 00:06:14,680 saying. Here it is. 109 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:21,800 The impossibility is upon the part of the would be restorer 110 00:06:21,800 --> 00:06:24,000 and not on the one who falls away. 111 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:27,440 I'm going to read that again. I got to read that again. 112 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:31,600 The impossibility is upon the part of the would be restorer 113 00:06:31,760 --> 00:06:33,720 and not on the one who falls away. 114 00:06:33,840 --> 00:06:37,720 It does not say he cannot repent, but it is impossible for 115 00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:42,040 anyone else to induce him to. The reason is that the apostate 116 00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:46,280 or one that falls away leaves, leaves on purpose, turns their 117 00:06:46,280 --> 00:06:50,440 back, already knows as much about the subject as the one who 118 00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:54,760 wants to renew him, and hence the exhorter cannot offer any 119 00:06:54,760 --> 00:06:58,720 new arguments or reasons. If they come back to Christ, it 120 00:06:58,720 --> 00:07:01,720 will be on their own change of heart, which will always be 121 00:07:01,720 --> 00:07:05,040 possible for them. OK, somebody leaves. 122 00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:07,040 Can they be forgiven? Yes. 123 00:07:07,080 --> 00:07:09,960 When? When they repent and confess 124 00:07:09,960 --> 00:07:15,000 that sin to God and return. OK, so the unpardonable sin of 125 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:17,400 Matthew 12 can't be the apostate sin of Hebrews 6. 126 00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:19,640 What else? Some people believe it's the 127 00:07:19,640 --> 00:07:22,280 willful sin of Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 26. 128 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:26,160 Let's notice what that says. For if we sin willfully after 129 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:29,040 we've received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer 130 00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:33,040 remains a sacrifice for sins. And people look at that and say, 131 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:36,880 look, if you sin willfully, therefore you got no shot. 132 00:07:38,840 --> 00:07:42,240 Not what that means. Context. 133 00:07:43,040 --> 00:07:46,080 What's he talking about? These were words that the Hebrew 134 00:07:46,080 --> 00:07:49,080 writer wrote right after he wrote the words in Hebrews 135 00:07:49,080 --> 00:07:52,840 10/25. In Hebrews 10/25 it says not 136 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:55,600 forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner 137 00:07:55,600 --> 00:07:59,240 of some is, but exhorting one another and so much the more as 138 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:04,720 you see the day approaching. Context Here, the writer of 139 00:08:04,720 --> 00:08:09,360 Hebrews is writing to Hebrew Christians that were being 140 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:14,160 greatly persecuted just a few years before the destruction of 141 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:18,280 Jerusalem, which Jesus foretold they would be in Matthew chapter 142 00:08:18,280 --> 00:08:20,840 24. And because of that, many of 143 00:08:20,840 --> 00:08:23,720 those Hebrew Christians said, wait a minute, it's easier to go 144 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:26,280 back to the law of Moses. I'll just do that. 145 00:08:26,640 --> 00:08:29,760 And they stop worshipping God, They stop following Jesus. 146 00:08:30,040 --> 00:08:32,320 What the Hebrew writer says is don't do that. 147 00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:35,120 As you see the day approaching encourage one another. 148 00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:38,600 And I, as you know, I do believe the day approaching in context 149 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:42,200 is the destruction of Jerusalem. That's the context. 150 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:46,880 Then he says, because if you sin willfully, after you receive the 151 00:08:46,880 --> 00:08:49,880 knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for 152 00:08:49,880 --> 00:08:52,960 sins. What's that mean under the old 153 00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:54,880 Law of Moses? And they would have understood 154 00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:57,240 this because they were Jewish Christians. 155 00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:01,760 There was always going to be a future sacrifice, another animal 156 00:09:01,760 --> 00:09:06,600 sacrifice in the future. So if they sinned, OK, another 157 00:09:06,600 --> 00:09:08,720 blood sacrifice is going to happen in the future. 158 00:09:08,880 --> 00:09:12,400 Let me ask you this in Jesus Christ, how many times was Jesus 159 00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:15,360 stricken? Bible says once. 160 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:19,480 How many times did he hang on the cross and die for the sins 161 00:09:19,480 --> 00:09:24,920 of the world? Once that's the only sacrifice, 162 00:09:25,040 --> 00:09:27,320 there's not going to be a future sacrifice. 163 00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:29,840 It's already been made. Can that person come back from a 164 00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:32,920 willful sin? Yes, when they repent and 165 00:09:32,920 --> 00:09:37,360 confess that sin to God, because it goes back to the blood 166 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:39,160 sacrifice that Jesus already made. 167 00:09:39,160 --> 00:09:41,720 That's what that passage means. So is the unpardonable sin that 168 00:09:41,720 --> 00:09:44,960 no, it can't mean that #4 some people believe this. 169 00:09:44,960 --> 00:09:47,680 Well, preacher is just rejecting the gospel. 170 00:09:47,680 --> 00:09:53,520 Romans 10/17 So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word 171 00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:59,360 of God. OK, it's true that if somebody 172 00:09:59,360 --> 00:10:05,520 rejects the gospel in their current state, they cannot be 173 00:10:05,520 --> 00:10:06,880 forgiven. That's true. 174 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:13,480 But can they be forgiven? Sure, when they stop rejecting 175 00:10:13,480 --> 00:10:18,640 the Gospel, believe in Jesus, and obey the gospel, being 176 00:10:18,640 --> 00:10:20,840 baptized to their mission of sins, yeah, they can be 177 00:10:20,840 --> 00:10:24,160 forgiven. Remember, Jesus said if you 178 00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:27,160 commit the sin that he's talking about in Matthew chapter 12, it 179 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:31,080 can never be forgiven. All other sins are forgiven, 180 00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:32,000 though. How do I know that? 181 00:10:32,120 --> 00:10:35,160 First, John 1:00 and 9:00, if we confess our sins, he's faithful 182 00:10:35,160 --> 00:10:38,520 and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all 183 00:10:38,760 --> 00:10:42,160 unrighteousness. OK, so let's just go through it 184 00:10:42,160 --> 00:10:45,440 really quickly. The sin unto death, is it that? 185 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:48,440 No, because all you got to do is, is repent and confess that 186 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:49,480 sin. You come back to God. 187 00:10:49,680 --> 00:10:52,040 Is it the apostate sin? No, you got to confess it. 188 00:10:52,040 --> 00:10:53,600 Repent and confess and come back to God. 189 00:10:53,800 --> 00:10:56,360 Is it the willful sin? Nope, repent and confess to God. 190 00:10:56,520 --> 00:10:59,920 Is it the rejecting the gospel? No, just accept the gospel and 191 00:10:59,920 --> 00:11:01,560 obey the gospel and you can be forgiven. 192 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:06,280 OK, those are some of the theories of what it actually 193 00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:08,120 means. What we want to know is this 194 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:14,640 though, does the sin that Jesus talks about in Matthew chapter 195 00:11:14,640 --> 00:11:23,120 12, what was he talking about? To whom was he talking to and 196 00:11:23,120 --> 00:11:25,560 does it apply today? Big stuff. 197 00:11:25,560 --> 00:11:28,520 You know why I have had people come to me in tears wondering 198 00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:30,560 have I committed that sin? Because Jesus said if I 199 00:11:30,560 --> 00:11:33,480 committed I can't go to heaven. Jesus says I can never be 200 00:11:33,480 --> 00:11:35,520 forgiven. So I'm going to ask you to do 201 00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:37,600 something for me. Put aside any kind of 202 00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:41,160 preconceived ideas of what you might think it means and let's 203 00:11:41,160 --> 00:11:44,240 just go through it methodically and let's stay together and go 204 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:46,040 through it methodically. And I promise I'm going to do my 205 00:11:46,040 --> 00:11:48,760 very best to explain what this passage means. 206 00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:51,200 We have to understand it in the context that it's written. 207 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:54,800 Let's look at the passage first. The passage is found in verse 31 208 00:11:54,800 --> 00:11:56,680 and 32. I'll read it again and then 209 00:11:56,680 --> 00:12:00,120 we're going to back up. Therefore Jesus said, I say to 210 00:12:00,120 --> 00:12:05,160 you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the 211 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:08,320 blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. 212 00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:12,440 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be 213 00:12:12,440 --> 00:12:15,240 forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the 214 00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:18,960 Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age 215 00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:22,800 or in the age to come. In order to understand this 216 00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:25,560 passage in context, we have to go to the prior verses. 217 00:12:25,560 --> 00:12:29,800 And by doing so, we got to back up to verse 22 and notice the 218 00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:31,960 context. And we have a lot to cover. 219 00:12:31,960 --> 00:12:34,440 So I'm not going to spend a lot of time on each individual 220 00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:36,680 verse, but this will get the flow of what we're talking 221 00:12:36,680 --> 00:12:37,640 about. Here we go. 222 00:12:37,640 --> 00:12:42,520 We go back to verse 22. Then one was brought to him who 223 00:12:42,520 --> 00:12:49,320 was demon possessed. He was blind and mute and he 224 00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:54,920 healed him so that the blind and the mute man both spoke and saw. 225 00:12:54,920 --> 00:13:00,760 OK, Jesus had already demonstrated His power over the 226 00:13:00,760 --> 00:13:04,400 demonic world. He cast out demons before. 227 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:10,240 He also healed a mute man before in this passage. 228 00:13:10,240 --> 00:13:11,760 You know what's added? The blind guy. 229 00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:18,960 Now you got a triple miracle. The demon is cast out, the mute 230 00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:23,280 can now speak, and the blind eyes can now see. 231 00:13:24,880 --> 00:13:29,920 Jesus is performing His works over the satanic realm and 232 00:13:29,920 --> 00:13:34,000 performing miracles of restoring sight and voice. 233 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:37,760 When He did that. Notice what happens in the next 234 00:13:37,760 --> 00:13:40,360 verse. And all the multitudes were 235 00:13:40,360 --> 00:13:44,920 amazed and they said, could this be the son of David? 236 00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:47,680 You know, I thought this was interesting. 237 00:13:48,280 --> 00:13:50,840 First of all, the son of David, the phrase son of David has 238 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:54,680 found in Isaiah and also in the book of Psalms is mentioned many 239 00:13:54,680 --> 00:13:58,680 times, a very familiar phrase referring to the Messiah, the 240 00:13:58,680 --> 00:14:02,160 son of David. So in our English translations, 241 00:14:02,200 --> 00:14:04,640 as we read it, it looks like a really positive thing. 242 00:14:04,640 --> 00:14:07,280 Here it actually reads like this, as you can see. 243 00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:13,200 Could this be the son of David, like a ray of hope in a positive 244 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:15,360 way? But I thought it was interesting 245 00:14:15,360 --> 00:14:18,720 that in the Greek it actually is mentioned or referred in a 246 00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:21,760 little bit of a negative context like this. 247 00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:26,480 In the original, it says this could not be the Messiah, 248 00:14:26,480 --> 00:14:30,880 couldn't. In other words, they didn't 249 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:34,760 totally accept it, but there was a ray of hope that it might be 250 00:14:35,920 --> 00:14:37,640 the multitudes, and this is huge. 251 00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:39,280 Please get this because we're going to come back to this 252 00:14:39,280 --> 00:14:43,640 later. The multitudes were on the brink 253 00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:46,800 of making a decision of whether they're going to believe that 254 00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:51,120 this Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of David, and therefore be a 255 00:14:51,120 --> 00:14:54,240 follower of his. They're right on the cusp. 256 00:14:55,040 --> 00:14:56,760 He just did something that was amazing. 257 00:14:56,760 --> 00:14:58,480 He performed this triple miracle, right? 258 00:14:59,600 --> 00:15:03,320 They said this could not be the Messiah, could it? 259 00:15:05,920 --> 00:15:09,480 And yet, by the way, the evidence is powerful that Jesus 260 00:15:09,480 --> 00:15:11,440 did. Isaiah prophesied in Isaiah 261 00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:17,960 353035 and verse five that the blind eyes are going to see and 262 00:15:17,960 --> 00:15:21,160 that the death, the death, their ears are going to be unstopped. 263 00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:25,800 Notice what the Pharisees did. So that was the response of the 264 00:15:25,800 --> 00:15:29,520 multitudes as they were amazed. Watch what the Pharisees do in 265 00:15:29,520 --> 00:15:32,720 the very next verse. When the Pharisees heard that, 266 00:15:33,200 --> 00:15:38,000 they said this fellow does not cast out demons except by 267 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:41,800 Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons. 268 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:45,800 OK, see what they did right there? 269 00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:50,520 They thought, wait a minute, this could be the son of David. 270 00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:54,280 This could be the Messiah. The Pharisee says no. 271 00:15:55,320 --> 00:16:00,720 He does this by the power of Beelzebub, the ruler of the 272 00:16:00,720 --> 00:16:02,800 demons. Interesting. 273 00:16:03,960 --> 00:16:06,680 In other words, they were attributing the miracles that 274 00:16:06,680 --> 00:16:10,520 Jesus performed, which was by the work of the Holy Spirit. 275 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:14,440 They were attributing it to Beelzebub or the devil. 276 00:16:17,560 --> 00:16:21,160 You know what they were doing. They just about called the Holy 277 00:16:21,160 --> 00:16:28,280 Spirit the devil. They called the Holy Spirit the 278 00:16:28,280 --> 00:16:32,840 devil. Why the word Beelzebub? 279 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:35,960 What does that mean? The word Beelzebub, according to 280 00:16:35,960 --> 00:16:38,200 Ellicott, means this Lord of the Flies. 281 00:16:39,040 --> 00:16:42,840 What the word actually means. The Jews scornfully corrupted 282 00:16:42,840 --> 00:16:48,640 the name into a word called Beelzebub, meaning God of the 283 00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:54,040 dunghill, filth, sewer, decay, etcetera. 284 00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:57,360 Barnes says. The name thus altered by the 285 00:16:57,360 --> 00:17:01,200 Jews by changing a single letter, was given to Satan to 286 00:17:01,200 --> 00:17:03,920 express supreme contempt and aversion. 287 00:17:04,200 --> 00:17:08,599 And this ludicrous charge is that Jesus is in the league with 288 00:17:08,599 --> 00:17:10,400 Satan. That's what they did. 289 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:16,520 Can you imagine that telling Jesus what he did was in the 290 00:17:16,520 --> 00:17:20,040 league of Satan? Can you imagine when he did so 291 00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:23,440 by the power of the Holy Spirit, the wonderful power of the Holy 292 00:17:23,440 --> 00:17:28,880 Spirit, which is also God, also God, the Holy Spirit, one of the 293 00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:32,360 three in the Godhead, part of the original that exists all the 294 00:17:32,360 --> 00:17:35,360 way back at the very beginning of creation and call the Holy 295 00:17:35,360 --> 00:17:40,800 Spirit Beelzebub or the devil, that's what they did. 296 00:17:42,760 --> 00:17:43,880 So that's pretty serious, doesn't it? 297 00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:47,640 Notice what the Lord said though, because here's the Lord 298 00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:50,560 being brilliant again. Here's the Lord being brilliant. 299 00:17:50,560 --> 00:17:52,760 Like Don King used to say. Man, no wonder they called him 300 00:17:52,760 --> 00:17:54,240 the Master. Here comes Jesus. 301 00:17:54,520 --> 00:17:58,120 This is what they suggested. This is now the next passage. 302 00:17:58,600 --> 00:18:02,160 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and he said to them, Every 303 00:18:02,160 --> 00:18:06,320 Kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and 304 00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:09,560 every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 305 00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:13,960 If Satan cast out Satan, he's divided against himself, How 306 00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:19,960 then will his Kingdom stand? In other words, it's brilliant, 307 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:24,400 it's logical. And remember this, what is the 308 00:18:24,480 --> 00:18:27,400 ultimate exhibition of Satan's power? 309 00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:31,640 What is it? It is demon possession. 310 00:18:31,640 --> 00:18:36,920 In the Bible, the ultimate exhibition of satanic power is 311 00:18:36,920 --> 00:18:41,840 demon possession. OK, so why then would Satan cast 312 00:18:41,840 --> 00:18:44,880 out his own demons? Brilliant what the Lord says. 313 00:18:46,120 --> 00:18:50,320 Why would he cast out his own demons as one man said it this 314 00:18:50,320 --> 00:18:55,120 way, if there is inconsistency in a Kingdom there will be 315 00:18:55,120 --> 00:18:57,960 weakness. So obviously the Pharisees 316 00:18:57,960 --> 00:19:05,480 charge is absurd. OK then verse 27 Jesus says this 317 00:19:06,080 --> 00:19:10,400 and if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons 318 00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:12,360 cast them out? Interesting phrase here. 319 00:19:12,640 --> 00:19:17,480 Who are your sons that the King James says your children, who 320 00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:20,600 are they? Sons in the new King James, 321 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:25,720 Children in the old King James is referring to the students or 322 00:19:25,720 --> 00:19:31,040 disciples of the Pharisees. And those sons or children who 323 00:19:31,040 --> 00:19:35,280 were followers of the Pharisees also claimed among the 324 00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:38,480 Pharisees, they claimed to be exorcists themselves. 325 00:19:38,640 --> 00:19:41,000 You know, the Bible never says whether they were or not. 326 00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:45,920 Acts 19 infers that they believe that they could and whether God 327 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:48,080 used them. Some commentators say God used 328 00:19:48,080 --> 00:19:51,560 them miraculously or some say God did not use them 329 00:19:51,560 --> 00:19:53,200 miraculously. That's not the point. 330 00:19:53,480 --> 00:19:56,240 What the point is, Jesus is getting down to their 331 00:19:56,240 --> 00:19:58,120 inconsistency, and he's saying this. 332 00:19:58,960 --> 00:20:04,120 If I cast out demons by the power of the devil, then so do 333 00:20:04,120 --> 00:20:08,840 your children or your sons who call themselves exorcist. 334 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:11,960 They're doing the same thing. You can't have it both ways. 335 00:20:12,760 --> 00:20:16,120 Wow, what a great point. And then he says this, Oh, by 336 00:20:16,120 --> 00:20:18,400 the way, therefore they shall be your judges. 337 00:20:19,600 --> 00:20:22,920 Because if I cast it out by the power of the devil, then so did 338 00:20:22,920 --> 00:20:25,000 they. He was showing their 339 00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:28,240 inconsistencies. OK. 340 00:20:29,840 --> 00:20:31,960 Then Jesus says this in the next verse. 341 00:20:33,120 --> 00:20:36,720 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, that's the Holy 342 00:20:36,720 --> 00:20:39,960 Spirit. Surely the Kingdom of God has 343 00:20:39,960 --> 00:20:44,960 come upon you. OK, so he exposes here the false 344 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:49,120 accusation that the Pharisees had made, and he gives a very 345 00:20:49,120 --> 00:20:53,320 logical explanation. And the logical explanation is 346 00:20:53,320 --> 00:20:57,720 this. The miracle that he performed is 347 00:20:57,720 --> 00:21:00,920 by the Spirit of God. That's the only explanation. 348 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:04,280 House divided against itself cannot stand. 349 00:21:04,760 --> 00:21:07,360 Satan wouldn't cast out demons by the power of Satan. 350 00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:11,320 He'd be against himself. So he says, But if I cast out 351 00:21:11,320 --> 00:21:14,720 demons by the Spirit of God, then he says this, surely the 352 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:16,480 Kingdom of God has come upon you. 353 00:21:16,480 --> 00:21:22,040 This is a very important phrase. OK, the Kingdom of God in this 354 00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:28,600 passage infers and Jesus saying has already come upon them. 355 00:21:30,520 --> 00:21:33,200 I know your mind's going hang with me. 356 00:21:34,880 --> 00:21:40,760 If the Kingdom of God has already come upon them, then 357 00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:44,600 this cannot be the church because the church wasn't 358 00:21:44,600 --> 00:21:47,920 established until Jesus died on the cross, was buried, rose 359 00:21:47,920 --> 00:21:50,720 again, spent 40 days with his disciples, ascended to His 360 00:21:50,720 --> 00:21:53,680 Father in Acts chapter 1 and in Acts chapter 2, when the Holy 361 00:21:53,680 --> 00:21:57,000 Spirit came, with the baptism of the Holy Spirit coming on the 362 00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:00,320 day of Pentecost, the Kingdom came, Church established. 363 00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:04,440 So this couldn't mean the church. 364 00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:10,280 What does it mean when it says the Kingdom of God has come upon 365 00:22:10,360 --> 00:22:13,560 you? What Jesus is simply saying here 366 00:22:13,560 --> 00:22:17,600 is this. The overall power of God is 367 00:22:17,600 --> 00:22:22,880 already on them, even in the personal ministry of Jesus. 368 00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:25,440 The power of God, it's already started and he's going to get 369 00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:30,120 specific as we go through. The power of God is already come 370 00:22:30,160 --> 00:22:36,000 upon them even before the Kingdom or the church has been 371 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:37,840 established yet. This is during the personal 372 00:22:37,840 --> 00:22:40,400 ministry of Jesus. This is happening in his 373 00:22:40,400 --> 00:22:42,920 ministry. Fowler said it this way. 374 00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:48,520 God is taking over from Satan, and Christ's miracles are 375 00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:50,920 tangible evidence of this overthrow. 376 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:56,480 In other words, Satan is being bound even now all the way back 377 00:22:56,480 --> 00:22:58,440 in Matthew chapter 12. Isn't that great? 378 00:23:00,120 --> 00:23:04,640 Satan is already being bound. The power of God is already 379 00:23:04,640 --> 00:23:08,360 coming upon them, even in the personal ministry of Jesus 380 00:23:08,360 --> 00:23:13,000 Christ. OK, then he says this in verse 381 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:16,520 29. Or how can one enter a strong 382 00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:20,840 man's house and plunder his goods unless the first binds the 383 00:23:20,840 --> 00:23:23,320 strong man and then he will plunder his house. 384 00:23:23,520 --> 00:23:27,320 Notice 2 phrases really quickly. The strong man's house. 385 00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:30,120 How are you going to enter a strong man's house and plunder 386 00:23:30,120 --> 00:23:33,240 his goods unless you first you got to bind the strong man? 387 00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:35,200 Who's the strong man? Yeah. 388 00:23:35,200 --> 00:23:38,120 You know, it's Satan. It's the devil. 389 00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:41,800 Luke Chapter 11 gives the parable of this. 390 00:23:41,800 --> 00:23:43,800 But in this passage, that's what this is talking about. 391 00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:47,280 In this passage, the strong man is the devil. 392 00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:53,160 In other words, you can't plunder the goods and the House 393 00:23:53,160 --> 00:23:55,360 of a strong man until you abide the strong man. 394 00:23:57,200 --> 00:24:01,920 Yeah, the strong man is Satan. Jesus is stronger. 395 00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:07,880 Jesus is mightier. Jesus had the Holy Spirit 396 00:24:07,880 --> 00:24:11,120 without measure. Jesus had the power of the 397 00:24:11,120 --> 00:24:15,160 miraculous Holy Spirit. And when Jesus was casting out 398 00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:19,240 demons, he was doing what He was entering into the realm of 399 00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:24,600 Satan's world and he was working toward binding the strong man, 400 00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:29,360 which is Satan, even in the ministry of Jesus. 401 00:24:30,120 --> 00:24:36,120 Wow. You know the purpose of Jesus is 402 00:24:36,120 --> 00:24:47,520 coming into the world was twofold #1 to save the world and 403 00:24:47,520 --> 00:24:52,960 #2 according to Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15, it was to bind 404 00:24:53,960 --> 00:24:58,280 Satan. Bind Satan. 405 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:03,400 Obviously, that is ultimately fulfilled in the resurrection, 406 00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:08,480 however, when Jesus rose from the dead and Satan, by the way, 407 00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:12,640 is bound now, Satan has no control over you that you do not 408 00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:15,640 allow. Satan is a vanquished foe. 409 00:25:15,640 --> 00:25:18,280 As one scholar said, he was whipped at the cross. 410 00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:21,160 And if you have the blood of Jesus and you've been baptized 411 00:25:21,160 --> 00:25:24,120 for the remission of your sins, a faithful child of God, do you 412 00:25:24,120 --> 00:25:26,960 know what you have? You share in that victory over 413 00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:31,040 the devil, and he does not have power over you that you do not 414 00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:33,080 allow him to have. James 47. 415 00:25:33,080 --> 00:25:34,640 Submit yourself therefore unto God. 416 00:25:34,840 --> 00:25:39,000 Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 417 00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:41,200 Yes, we triumph over the devil too. 418 00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:47,520 Wow. OK, so the ultimate fulfillment 419 00:25:47,520 --> 00:25:49,360 was at the resurrection of Jesus. 420 00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:53,120 Jesus, though, was binding Satan. 421 00:25:53,120 --> 00:25:59,720 Even now in Matthew chapter 12, then he says this, and this is a 422 00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:02,640 great axiom and this is a great idea. 423 00:26:02,640 --> 00:26:06,320 Here He who is not with me is against me. 424 00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:10,000 Isn't that true? We use it today. 425 00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:13,120 If you're not for me, you're against me. 426 00:26:14,560 --> 00:26:17,960 Sometimes people in our life act like they're our friends, but 427 00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:20,520 we're up against it and we're in a difficult situation. 428 00:26:21,160 --> 00:26:23,720 Maybe there's a conflict between US and somebody else and we're 429 00:26:23,720 --> 00:26:25,720 right and somebody says they're your friend with a chicken out 430 00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:28,560 and they won't stand with you. You know what Jesus says? 431 00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:30,000 You're not. If you're not for me, you're 432 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:33,080 against me. You don't stand with me, you're 433 00:26:33,080 --> 00:26:37,520 against me. All right, That's from a 434 00:26:37,520 --> 00:26:42,400 perspective of today, from a spiritual perspective. 435 00:26:42,400 --> 00:26:43,920 Let's talk about that for just a moment. 436 00:26:45,240 --> 00:26:48,120 Some people try to casually ride the fence when it comes to 437 00:26:48,120 --> 00:26:51,920 spiritual matters too. I'm just going to ride the fence 438 00:26:51,920 --> 00:26:53,560 from a spiritual perspective too. 439 00:26:54,400 --> 00:26:56,400 I'm not going to really stand up for Jesus. 440 00:26:56,400 --> 00:26:58,160 I'm just going to kind of ride the fence. 441 00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:03,440 No, Jesus says if you're not for me, you're against me. 442 00:27:05,400 --> 00:27:06,960 There may came a time in your life when you have an 443 00:27:06,960 --> 00:27:10,320 opportunity to stand up for Jesus and speak the truth. 444 00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:11,880 And you know what? You may get kicked in the teeth 445 00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:12,560 for it. So what? 446 00:27:14,120 --> 00:27:17,840 The Lord's proud of you. When you stand for what is 447 00:27:17,840 --> 00:27:21,880 right, the Lord is proud of you. Now we do that. 448 00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:24,440 We season our words with salt. We speak the truth and love. 449 00:27:24,640 --> 00:27:27,480 We do all that stuff. But sometimes with our life, we 450 00:27:27,480 --> 00:27:29,920 have to make a stand and we have to stand up for things that we 451 00:27:29,920 --> 00:27:33,200 know are true and right. It's called standing up for the 452 00:27:33,200 --> 00:27:36,640 Lord. I wonder sometimes when you look 453 00:27:36,640 --> 00:27:39,560 back, I've had people say, man, if I was back there with Peter 454 00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:42,000 and the and all the rest of the guys there, I would have, I 455 00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:44,520 wouldn't have turned my back on him and forsook him and fled. 456 00:27:44,520 --> 00:27:45,840 I stood right in there. Come on. 457 00:27:46,160 --> 00:27:48,640 Yeah, you would have. Yeah, you'd have bailed too. 458 00:27:49,760 --> 00:27:52,040 And sometimes we think, man, you know, here we go. 459 00:27:52,040 --> 00:27:53,920 You got, you know, I'd stand in there. 460 00:27:53,920 --> 00:27:56,120 I'd be like Peter. When Peter was in the garden, 461 00:27:56,440 --> 00:27:59,600 garden of of Gethsemane, I'd have taken that sword and cut 462 00:27:59,600 --> 00:28:01,360 off Malchus ear trying to cut his head off. 463 00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:06,280 I'd have stood in for Jesus. But I think most of the time 464 00:28:07,680 --> 00:28:12,640 we're like the way Peter was when that girl came up to him 465 00:28:14,120 --> 00:28:16,160 and says, I know you were one of them. 466 00:28:17,320 --> 00:28:22,080 Your speech betrays you, and he says cursing and swearing, I 467 00:28:22,080 --> 00:28:26,200 know not the man. Sometimes we're ready for the 468 00:28:26,200 --> 00:28:27,800 big stuff. We're not ready for the girl. 469 00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:30,800 We're ready for the sword. We're not ready for the girl 470 00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:34,520 standing up for Jesus. Jesus says if you're not for me, 471 00:28:34,520 --> 00:28:36,080 you're against me. If you're not with me, you're 472 00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:37,840 against me. There's no middle ground. 473 00:28:40,440 --> 00:28:42,080 Then he makes this reference right here. 474 00:28:42,640 --> 00:28:45,320 He who does not gather with me is scattered abroad. 475 00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:47,040 Now he's going to refer to sheep. 476 00:28:47,800 --> 00:28:50,280 I said this before. I said, remember when I said 477 00:28:50,440 --> 00:28:53,600 what the multitude said? Could this be the son of David, 478 00:28:53,760 --> 00:28:55,480 as our English translations render it? 479 00:28:55,960 --> 00:28:57,760 Or this couldn't be the son of David, could it? 480 00:28:57,880 --> 00:29:01,040 Either way, there was an inquiry. 481 00:29:01,040 --> 00:29:04,680 Could this be the Messiah? You know what they were? 482 00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:08,760 They were potential sheep. Why did Jesus come? 483 00:29:08,880 --> 00:29:10,960 To take lost sheep and put him in the fold? 484 00:29:11,800 --> 00:29:15,600 That's why Jesus came. He was trying to take sheep and 485 00:29:15,600 --> 00:29:17,840 put him in the fold. And the Pharisees stood in the 486 00:29:17,840 --> 00:29:20,800 way. And Jesus says if you're not for 487 00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:23,080 me, you're against me. If you're not with me, you're 488 00:29:23,080 --> 00:29:26,120 against me. And if you don't gather with me 489 00:29:26,120 --> 00:29:28,560 the sheep, then you scatter them abroad. 490 00:29:28,680 --> 00:29:31,320 And that's exactly what they were doing by what they said 491 00:29:31,400 --> 00:29:33,960 when they said Jesus performed this miracle by the power of the 492 00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:39,160 devil, not the Holy Spirit. OK, OK, that's the context. 493 00:29:40,400 --> 00:29:45,200 That's the context. We got the point, call the Holy 494 00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:48,760 Spirit the devil. They said Jesus was connected to 495 00:29:48,760 --> 00:29:51,120 the devil by performing miracles by the power of the devil. 496 00:29:52,440 --> 00:29:54,880 This is what Jesus says finally, and then he rolls into the next 497 00:29:54,880 --> 00:29:56,200 passage. That's the context. 498 00:29:56,360 --> 00:30:01,520 And then he gets into verse 31 and then he says, therefore I 499 00:30:01,520 --> 00:30:06,440 say to you. In other words, he already 500 00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:11,960 refuted the notion that he was in a league with Satan, and now 501 00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:15,960 he goes on to pass judgment on the wicked men that made the 502 00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:20,920 accusation of saying that you did this by the power of the 503 00:30:20,920 --> 00:30:24,440 devil, attributing your works to the devil, and calling the Holy 504 00:30:24,440 --> 00:30:26,440 Spirit the devil, which is the unpardonable sin. 505 00:30:27,360 --> 00:30:32,080 OK, and now comes the condemnation. 506 00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:36,160 He begins by saying this. Every sin and blasphemy will be 507 00:30:36,160 --> 00:30:38,320 forgiven, men. All right here. 508 00:30:38,320 --> 00:30:42,600 Jesus makes the distinction between sin and blasphemy. 509 00:30:43,080 --> 00:30:46,760 Now I got a question. Isn't blasphemy a sin? 510 00:30:49,040 --> 00:30:53,360 It absolutely is a sin. Why do you think Jesus made a 511 00:30:53,360 --> 00:30:55,760 distinction between sin and blasphemy? 512 00:30:55,760 --> 00:30:57,640 He said this. I'm going to say this to you. 513 00:30:58,200 --> 00:31:01,280 Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven, man. 514 00:31:01,280 --> 00:31:02,600 I think the answer is very simple. 515 00:31:03,760 --> 00:31:06,800 He's making a distinction here, or separation, because he's 516 00:31:06,800 --> 00:31:11,080 going to make a strong distinction between this kind of 517 00:31:11,080 --> 00:31:14,640 blasphemy here and the blasphemy that's never forgivable. 518 00:31:15,320 --> 00:31:19,800 That's why he's doing it. What is sin with reference to in 519 00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:22,280 this passage? What does sin represent? 520 00:31:22,480 --> 00:31:27,400 Sin represents all immoral and ungodly thoughts and actions. 521 00:31:27,560 --> 00:31:29,560 OK, All right. What's blasphemy? 522 00:31:29,840 --> 00:31:33,320 Blasphemy represents conscious denunciation and rejection of 523 00:31:33,320 --> 00:31:35,160 God. The Pharisees were guilty of 524 00:31:35,160 --> 00:31:38,080 both. They had ungodly thoughts which 525 00:31:38,080 --> 00:31:42,200 led to ungodly actions. OK, they also were guilty of 526 00:31:42,200 --> 00:31:45,400 blasphemy. They had complete denunciation 527 00:31:45,400 --> 00:31:48,920 and rejection of God because they rejected Jesus and they 528 00:31:48,920 --> 00:31:52,080 rejected the miracle that He did to the power of the Holy Spirit. 529 00:31:52,280 --> 00:31:55,080 They were guilty of blasphemy because they called the Holy 530 00:31:55,080 --> 00:31:58,320 Spirit the devil. Oh, but there's so much more. 531 00:32:03,980 --> 00:32:09,540 What is blasphemy? By definition, blasphemy is 532 00:32:09,540 --> 00:32:14,740 irreverent speech or action against that which is holy. 533 00:32:16,620 --> 00:32:22,580 It is making light of defaming or mocking that which God deems 534 00:32:23,220 --> 00:32:28,880 sacred. It's a serious matter. 535 00:32:30,280 --> 00:32:33,600 Do you know in the Old Testament, in the Old Testament, 536 00:32:33,600 --> 00:32:38,680 in the book of Leviticus, if you were guilty of blasphemy, it was 537 00:32:38,680 --> 00:32:44,360 grounds for the death penalty. I'm glad I don't live under the 538 00:32:44,360 --> 00:32:50,160 law of Moses. The other day, I'm sitting at a 539 00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:53,280 restaurant and I was invited over to a table of some people, 540 00:32:54,680 --> 00:32:56,720 and there was about 15 of them, I think. 541 00:32:57,320 --> 00:32:58,760 And there were some Jewish people there. 542 00:33:00,120 --> 00:33:01,960 And I was just minding my own business, just sitting over 543 00:33:01,960 --> 00:33:07,320 there eating lunch. And this one Jewish fella turns 544 00:33:07,320 --> 00:33:08,680 around. He's a Jewish believer in 545 00:33:08,680 --> 00:33:10,240 Christ. And he turns around. 546 00:33:10,240 --> 00:33:12,040 He says, hey, why don't you join us? 547 00:33:12,040 --> 00:33:17,360 He has no idea who I am. OK, I joined them. 548 00:33:18,880 --> 00:33:22,640 Got to talking about this, got to talking about aspects of the 549 00:33:22,640 --> 00:33:25,800 old law, got to talking about things from the old law. 550 00:33:26,400 --> 00:33:28,600 There's a whole bunch of Jewish people there that actually 551 00:33:28,600 --> 00:33:31,680 believed in and wanted to continue in aspects of the old 552 00:33:31,680 --> 00:33:34,480 law. Why would you want to do that? 553 00:33:35,920 --> 00:33:38,720 And if we're justified by the law, this passage came up. 554 00:33:38,880 --> 00:33:42,240 If you're justified by the law, the law of Moses, Paul said you 555 00:33:42,280 --> 00:33:47,440 are have fallen from grace. I think it's wonderful that a 556 00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:49,280 Jewish person now believes in Jesus. 557 00:33:49,280 --> 00:33:51,480 But listen, turn loose of the old law. 558 00:33:53,200 --> 00:33:56,360 Notice what happened under the old law according to blasphemy. 559 00:33:56,360 --> 00:33:58,720 And I'm going to show you what Jesus said under the new law 560 00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:01,560 when it comes to blasphemy. Old Testament, here we go. 561 00:34:01,560 --> 00:34:05,080 Leviticus 2416. And whoever blasphemes the name 562 00:34:05,080 --> 00:34:07,440 of the Lord shall surely be put to death. 563 00:34:08,120 --> 00:34:10,400 Wow. All the congregation shall 564 00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:14,520 surely stone him, the stranger, as well as him who was born in 565 00:34:14,520 --> 00:34:16,560 the land. When he blasphemes the name of 566 00:34:16,560 --> 00:34:18,679 the Lord, he shall be put to death. 567 00:34:19,520 --> 00:34:24,320 Man, that's what happens. That's what happened under the 568 00:34:24,320 --> 00:34:27,080 old law of Moses. When you blasphemy, you know 569 00:34:27,080 --> 00:34:28,560 what Jesus said in the New Testament. 570 00:34:28,719 --> 00:34:32,120 It's forgivable. There's mercy. 571 00:34:32,719 --> 00:34:34,320 It's forgivable in the New Testament. 572 00:34:34,920 --> 00:34:38,080 In fact, Paul was actually one who obtained mercy. 573 00:34:38,840 --> 00:34:41,080 First Timothy chapter 1, verses 12 and 13. 574 00:34:41,080 --> 00:34:43,520 I'm talking about general blasphemy here, OK? 575 00:34:44,360 --> 00:34:47,679 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has enabled me because 576 00:34:47,679 --> 00:34:50,600 he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I 577 00:34:50,600 --> 00:34:55,600 was formerly a blasphemer, formerly a persecutor, and an 578 00:34:55,600 --> 00:34:58,720 insolent man. But I obtained mercy because I 579 00:34:58,720 --> 00:35:05,840 did it ignorantly, in unbelief. That's what Paul did under the 580 00:35:05,840 --> 00:35:09,640 new law of Christ. Peter blasphemes Jesus Christ. 581 00:35:09,640 --> 00:35:11,240 I already mentioned that cursing and swearing. 582 00:35:11,240 --> 00:35:14,000 I know not the man. He was restored. 583 00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:17,880 John assures up that assures us again. 584 00:35:17,880 --> 00:35:20,920 Here's that great passage. If we confess our sins, he's 585 00:35:20,920 --> 00:35:24,120 faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from 586 00:35:24,120 --> 00:35:29,320 all unrighteousness so we can be forgiven absolutely be forgiven 587 00:35:29,640 --> 00:35:32,720 of every sin and every blasphemy. 588 00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:40,040 However, then Jesus says but the blasphemy against the Spirit 589 00:35:41,640 --> 00:35:48,320 will not be forgiven. Men in the NIV Mark chapter 3 590 00:35:48,320 --> 00:35:54,160 and verse 9 calls it the eternal sin Mark 329 but he who 591 00:35:54,160 --> 00:35:56,880 blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, 592 00:35:56,880 --> 00:36:02,600 does the new King James, but is subject to condemnation, never 593 00:36:03,160 --> 00:36:08,200 forgiven. And again, because Jesus made 594 00:36:08,200 --> 00:36:12,640 such a finality here and such a harsh condemnation, it's caused 595 00:36:12,640 --> 00:36:15,320 many people to believe in fear that maybe just maybe they've 596 00:36:15,320 --> 00:36:18,560 committed that sin to. I remember as a little boy I 597 00:36:18,560 --> 00:36:20,400 wondered that man, I can't make sure I don't do that one. 598 00:36:21,640 --> 00:36:23,720 Got to make sure I don't slip up and do that one because if I do 599 00:36:23,720 --> 00:36:25,840 that one, Jesus says I can't, I can't, I can't be forgiven. 600 00:36:27,200 --> 00:36:29,880 It is eternal condemnation if I commit that sin. 601 00:36:31,000 --> 00:36:34,040 All right, here's the question. Two things, What was Jesus 602 00:36:34,040 --> 00:36:36,240 referring to? And #2 we go back to this. 603 00:36:36,400 --> 00:36:39,320 Is it possible to commit this sin today? 604 00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:42,840 When we understand any Bible passage, we understand the 605 00:36:42,840 --> 00:36:45,400 context, and the context is this. 606 00:36:45,720 --> 00:36:50,520 It's the Pharisees, and it's the accusation that Jesus, his 607 00:36:50,520 --> 00:36:54,200 miraculous power was attributed to Satan. 608 00:36:55,880 --> 00:37:00,720 If the Pharisees are successful in doing that, it would thwart 609 00:37:00,720 --> 00:37:05,680 the gospel purpose, wouldn't it? If people started going around 610 00:37:05,680 --> 00:37:09,360 saying when Jesus performed miracles, it would destroy the 611 00:37:09,360 --> 00:37:14,280 work of the Kingdom, It would have destroyed all the things 612 00:37:14,280 --> 00:37:16,960 that Jesus did, all the things that Jesus taught. 613 00:37:17,880 --> 00:37:21,360 It would also have destroyed everything the apostles did, all 614 00:37:21,360 --> 00:37:24,480 within the age of miracles when they performed miracles. 615 00:37:24,640 --> 00:37:27,840 If they were accused of performing miracles by the power 616 00:37:27,840 --> 00:37:31,000 of Satan, it would have ruined the gospel message. 617 00:37:32,840 --> 00:37:36,760 Jesus had to cast down this terrible, terrible condemnation. 618 00:37:37,040 --> 00:37:40,600 One man put it this way. Future generations, dependent on 619 00:37:40,600 --> 00:37:43,920 the testimony of eyewitness accounts, would lack the firm 620 00:37:43,920 --> 00:37:46,720 evidence that authenticates Jesus's ministry. 621 00:37:46,720 --> 00:37:48,000 Remember the reason for miracles? 622 00:37:49,920 --> 00:37:51,680 Why were there? Why was there miracles in the 623 00:37:51,680 --> 00:37:59,520 New Testament #1 Authenticate the messenger, authenticate the 624 00:37:59,520 --> 00:38:06,720 message #2 and prompt a response #3 When people understood that 625 00:38:06,720 --> 00:38:10,920 the miracles came from God or in particular the Holy Spirit, it 626 00:38:10,920 --> 00:38:14,080 caused people to believe and prompt the response. 627 00:38:15,120 --> 00:38:17,800 If people would have thought that it came from the devil, 628 00:38:18,640 --> 00:38:22,880 people would not have believed. And Jesus slams down this 629 00:38:22,880 --> 00:38:26,800 condemnation on that sin exclusive to the age of 630 00:38:26,800 --> 00:38:33,080 miracles. OK, since miracles are no longer 631 00:38:33,080 --> 00:38:37,800 in existence today, then by conclusion, the sin the 632 00:38:37,800 --> 00:38:43,040 Pharisees commit is not, as one scholar said, in the strictest 633 00:38:43,040 --> 00:38:47,640 sense replicable. Jesus's words are aimed at a 634 00:38:47,640 --> 00:38:54,160 specific set of circumstances at a specific time in his ministry. 635 00:38:55,080 --> 00:38:59,320 Furthermore, let me just say this too, in all the New 636 00:38:59,320 --> 00:39:03,880 Testament, I don't know of one other example where this sin was 637 00:39:03,880 --> 00:39:07,760 committed, but I find other examples where there's all kinds 638 00:39:07,760 --> 00:39:11,320 of sin committed, and sometimes it's the same sins repeated over 639 00:39:11,320 --> 00:39:12,800 and over and over. Are they forgiven? 640 00:39:12,800 --> 00:39:14,600 Yeah. Some people even blasphemed 641 00:39:14,600 --> 00:39:18,200 Jesus. Some people even blasphemed God 642 00:39:19,640 --> 00:39:21,680 by their actions and demeanor and behavior. 643 00:39:22,680 --> 00:39:26,400 Is it forgivable? Jesus says all manner of sin and 644 00:39:26,400 --> 00:39:31,760 blasphemy shall be forgiven except this blasphemy against 645 00:39:31,920 --> 00:39:35,760 the Holy Spirit. So this is a sin that does not. 646 00:39:35,760 --> 00:39:39,200 This is a sin that we cannot commit today. 647 00:39:39,640 --> 00:39:42,040 All sins in the Bible are forgivable, as we said, by 648 00:39:42,040 --> 00:39:44,440 repentance and confession to God. 649 00:39:45,280 --> 00:39:47,160 Let me just say this too, I have to add this. 650 00:39:49,960 --> 00:39:56,080 If every sin is forgivable to God by repentance and confession 651 00:39:56,080 --> 00:39:58,920 to God, then please understand this. 652 00:40:00,280 --> 00:40:05,240 Any sin you will not repent of and any sin you will not confess 653 00:40:05,240 --> 00:40:10,600 to God will not be forgiven. That's the condition. 654 00:40:10,600 --> 00:40:13,200 Then the flip side is you can't be forgiven with what you won't 655 00:40:13,200 --> 00:40:17,080 make right in the eyes of God. OK, all falls into that category 656 00:40:17,080 --> 00:40:20,240 except blasphemy. The Holy Spirit in this passage 657 00:40:20,240 --> 00:40:22,840 in the age of miracles. Now some people do this though. 658 00:40:23,160 --> 00:40:26,480 Maybe you're thinking this too? Some people make a modern day 659 00:40:26,480 --> 00:40:28,560 application. I understand Preacher, I 660 00:40:28,560 --> 00:40:32,960 understand that's the context of the passage. 661 00:40:34,560 --> 00:40:38,000 But here's the modern day application of how we can apply 662 00:40:38,640 --> 00:40:42,800 that sin today. And they say it's just simple, 663 00:40:43,360 --> 00:40:46,960 100% rejection of the Holy Spirit. 664 00:40:48,400 --> 00:40:54,040 In other words, anytime a person completely rejects the overtures 665 00:40:54,200 --> 00:40:57,520 of the Holy Spirit, whether in the 1st century by way of 666 00:40:57,520 --> 00:41:00,880 miracles or whether today through the Word of God, it is 667 00:41:00,880 --> 00:41:04,000 never forgivable. That is the modern day 668 00:41:04,000 --> 00:41:07,440 interpretation of trying to make a modern day application. 669 00:41:07,640 --> 00:41:12,200 Here's my problem with that. Granted, if you reject the Holy 670 00:41:12,200 --> 00:41:15,080 Spirit or the Holy Spirit through the Word, if you reject 671 00:41:15,080 --> 00:41:20,400 the Word, OK, in that regard, yeah, you can't be forgiven. 672 00:41:21,680 --> 00:41:27,320 But impossible, No. Remember, when you reject the 673 00:41:27,320 --> 00:41:29,640 gospel, you're forgiven. As soon as you quit reject the 674 00:41:29,640 --> 00:41:33,640 gospel, and you obey the gospel, everything's OK again, right? 675 00:41:34,640 --> 00:41:38,600 A Christian then, therefore, that has already been baptized 676 00:41:39,280 --> 00:41:42,320 and rejects the teachings of the Word of God, in their 677 00:41:42,320 --> 00:41:44,560 unrepentant state, they're not forgiven. 678 00:41:44,560 --> 00:41:46,720 That's true, absolutely. That's true. 679 00:41:46,840 --> 00:41:49,560 They're rejecting the dictates of the Holy Spirit. 680 00:41:49,680 --> 00:41:54,360 Yes, that's true, but it doesn't mean they can't be forgiven. 681 00:41:54,360 --> 00:41:56,280 And I'm going to tell you this, I've known people. 682 00:41:57,360 --> 00:42:00,320 I knew a lady one time from another state that was out for 683 00:42:00,520 --> 00:42:04,120 20 or 30 years. I mean, turned her back on the 684 00:42:04,120 --> 00:42:08,920 Lord for 30 years. Is it improbable that she would 685 00:42:08,920 --> 00:42:11,160 come back? Maybe impossible. 686 00:42:11,160 --> 00:42:12,640 No, she came back and you know what? 687 00:42:12,640 --> 00:42:14,800 She lived faithfully and then died going to heaven. 688 00:42:14,800 --> 00:42:20,120 How about that? Remember Jesus says when you do 689 00:42:20,120 --> 00:42:24,040 what He said in that passage, you can never be forgiven. 690 00:42:26,720 --> 00:42:30,440 Then Jesus concludes with this and verse 32, our last verse, 691 00:42:32,160 --> 00:42:36,040 anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be 692 00:42:36,040 --> 00:42:40,320 forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the 693 00:42:40,320 --> 00:42:45,920 Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him either in this age 694 00:42:45,960 --> 00:42:50,000 or in the age to come. Again, the Lord's point is even 695 00:42:51,320 --> 00:42:54,280 that even speaking a word against Jesus is forgivable. 696 00:42:55,240 --> 00:42:58,800 But when you spurn the miraculous work of the Holy 697 00:42:58,800 --> 00:43:04,960 Spirit in the age of miracles, OK, by attributing it it to the 698 00:43:04,960 --> 00:43:11,080 devil, it is never forgivable. And in this, it's not going to 699 00:43:11,080 --> 00:43:15,200 be forgiven in this age or in the age to come. 700 00:43:15,280 --> 00:43:17,320 And I'm going to tell you what people say that this means 701 00:43:18,280 --> 00:43:22,440 because the King James, the old King James says neither in this 702 00:43:22,440 --> 00:43:25,720 world or in the world to come, they say this. 703 00:43:25,880 --> 00:43:28,560 Here's the interpretation. I've read commentators that have 704 00:43:28,560 --> 00:43:33,800 said this. The word world by the way does 705 00:43:33,800 --> 00:43:37,120 mean age, its properly translated age. 706 00:43:38,120 --> 00:43:44,160 And people say if you commit blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, it 707 00:43:44,160 --> 00:43:49,520 is not forgivable in this life or in the life to come in 708 00:43:49,520 --> 00:43:52,160 heaven. And that's how some interpret 709 00:43:52,160 --> 00:43:54,840 that. I got a question, why in the 710 00:43:54,840 --> 00:43:56,480 world would you ever need forgiveness in heaven? 711 00:44:00,080 --> 00:44:02,520 Why would you ever need to be forgiven in heaven? 712 00:44:05,160 --> 00:44:07,880 The word world is not a good translation of this word. 713 00:44:07,920 --> 00:44:10,320 The word age is. Let me give you some. 714 00:44:10,480 --> 00:44:11,560 Let me give you a scholar on this. 715 00:44:11,560 --> 00:44:15,520 Let me give you what Zur says. The original word for world is 716 00:44:15,520 --> 00:44:18,600 that word right there, however you pronounce it, and one 717 00:44:18,600 --> 00:44:21,960 meaning of it is age. When Jesus spoke this passage, 718 00:44:21,960 --> 00:44:27,000 the Jewish age was enforced and the Christian age was to come. 719 00:44:27,520 --> 00:44:30,640 The blasphemy against the Holy Spirit would not be forgiven 720 00:44:30,640 --> 00:44:32,760 under either dispensation of time. 721 00:44:33,560 --> 00:44:38,000 To say that the world or age comes means the life in heaven 722 00:44:38,240 --> 00:44:42,480 would imply some sins will be forgiven at that time, which we 723 00:44:42,480 --> 00:44:46,280 know is not true. All sin, whether pardonable or 724 00:44:46,280 --> 00:44:49,480 not, will have to be have been forgiven before the Judgment Day 725 00:44:49,600 --> 00:44:52,880 for any person to enter into that life at that time. 726 00:44:52,880 --> 00:44:56,360 The status of every intelligent being will be as described in 727 00:44:56,360 --> 00:45:00,240 Revelation 22 and verse 11. You know what that means? 728 00:45:01,080 --> 00:45:03,880 The spiritual classification of every one of us is not going to 729 00:45:03,880 --> 00:45:10,160 change after this life. So if I get forgiveness, it's 730 00:45:10,160 --> 00:45:11,680 not going to be in the world to come. 731 00:45:11,680 --> 00:45:14,080 It's going to be now. Or I guess what? 732 00:45:14,160 --> 00:45:15,800 Or I don't get to go to the world to come. 733 00:45:16,720 --> 00:45:19,200 I don't get to go to heaven. I got to be forgiven now. 734 00:45:20,160 --> 00:45:21,880 Simply put, I'll just put it like this. 735 00:45:21,880 --> 00:45:25,520 What this means is this So what he was saying is let me just 736 00:45:25,520 --> 00:45:29,320 back up what he was saying is this sin is not forgivable in 737 00:45:29,320 --> 00:45:33,200 the Jewish age which Jesus was living under currently then in 738 00:45:33,200 --> 00:45:35,800 the age of miracles exclusive the age of miracles in the 739 00:45:35,800 --> 00:45:37,520 Jewish age. And it's not going to be 740 00:45:37,520 --> 00:45:41,800 forgivable in the Christian age during the time of miracles too, 741 00:45:41,800 --> 00:45:43,640 when the apostles performed those miracles. 742 00:45:44,720 --> 00:45:46,880 It's not going to be forgiven in either age. 743 00:45:49,720 --> 00:45:54,440 In other words, it's not talking about after this life, 744 00:45:56,560 --> 00:46:02,320 Revelation 22 and 11. He who is unjust, let him be 745 00:46:02,320 --> 00:46:05,520 unjust still. He who is filthy, let him be 746 00:46:05,520 --> 00:46:08,760 filthy still. He who is righteous, let him be 747 00:46:08,760 --> 00:46:13,400 righteous still. But he who is holy, let him be 748 00:46:13,400 --> 00:46:15,760 holy still. You know what that means right 749 00:46:15,760 --> 00:46:19,320 here. The lost will have no hope and 750 00:46:19,320 --> 00:46:29,280 the same will have No Fear. OK, blaspheming the Holy Spirit 751 00:46:29,280 --> 00:46:33,800 in the context that Jesus says as an unpardonable sin is not 752 00:46:34,120 --> 00:46:40,240 replicable or committable today because we do not live in the 753 00:46:40,240 --> 00:46:46,000 age of miracles. Every other sin can be forgiven 754 00:46:46,520 --> 00:46:48,600 with repentance and confession to God. 755 00:46:49,920 --> 00:46:53,720 And before somebody becomes a Christian, they're all forgiven 756 00:46:54,440 --> 00:46:56,160 when they're baptized for their mission of sins. 757 00:46:56,200 --> 00:46:58,360 Contact the blood of Jesus. I'm finished. 758 00:47:00,200 --> 00:47:10,000 I hope this makes sense. We never close a time that we 759 00:47:10,000 --> 00:47:12,000 assemble, teach from the word of God without extending an 760 00:47:12,000 --> 00:47:15,480 invitation. It's the greatest invitation in 761 00:47:15,480 --> 00:47:16,760 all the world. I don't know how it is with 762 00:47:17,120 --> 00:47:19,600 anyone that is here, but the steps of obedience are simple. 763 00:47:20,360 --> 00:47:22,520 Romans 10/17 says you got to hear the word of God. 764 00:47:22,520 --> 00:47:25,200 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. 765 00:47:26,920 --> 00:47:27,960 You got to believe with all your heart. 766 00:47:27,960 --> 00:47:30,400 Hebrews 11 and 6. Without faith it's impossible to 767 00:47:30,400 --> 00:47:33,840 please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and 768 00:47:33,840 --> 00:47:36,520 that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. 769 00:47:36,520 --> 00:47:39,040 Then what do you got to do? He got to repent of your sins. 770 00:47:39,160 --> 00:47:41,240 We've said that word many times today. 771 00:47:42,000 --> 00:47:43,920 You got to repent. You got to change. 772 00:47:44,640 --> 00:47:48,000 And by the way, when you confess your sins to God after you are 773 00:47:48,000 --> 00:47:51,200 Christian, it's a matter of saying the same thing God says 774 00:47:51,200 --> 00:47:53,600 about that sin. That is repentance and godly 775 00:47:53,600 --> 00:47:57,080 sorrow with your confession. Confession, but it's all about 776 00:47:57,080 --> 00:47:59,760 changing repentance. Truly these times of ignorance 777 00:47:59,760 --> 00:48:03,240 God overlooked but now commands all men everywhere to repent. 778 00:48:03,480 --> 00:48:05,960 Now what you got to be willing to say the greatest thing you 779 00:48:05,960 --> 00:48:08,520 will ever say. Then Peter said if you believe 780 00:48:08,520 --> 00:48:10,160 with all your heart, you may. And he answered and said, I 781 00:48:10,160 --> 00:48:13,360 believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 782 00:48:14,040 --> 00:48:16,320 Upon taking these steps, you're a fit candidate to go to the 783 00:48:16,320 --> 00:48:20,840 waters of baptism, the point of salvation, be baptized for the 784 00:48:20,840 --> 00:48:23,280 remission of your sins. Mark 1616. 785 00:48:23,280 --> 00:48:27,600 He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does 786 00:48:27,600 --> 00:48:31,960 not believe will be condemned. Maybe you've taken these steps 787 00:48:31,960 --> 00:48:33,880 of obedience. Actually, there's one more 788 00:48:33,880 --> 00:48:36,520 passage I want to put on here. First, Peter 321 the like figure 789 00:48:36,520 --> 00:48:39,920 we're in the even baptism death also now save us. 790 00:48:39,920 --> 00:48:42,040 Not the putting away the filth of the flesh, but the answer of 791 00:48:42,040 --> 00:48:45,360 a good conscience toward God by the resurrection of Jesus 792 00:48:45,360 --> 00:48:46,640 Christ. That's what puts you into 793 00:48:46,640 --> 00:48:49,080 Christ. Maybe you've taken those steps 794 00:48:49,080 --> 00:48:51,000 and maybe you've drifted away. What you all you got to do 795 00:48:51,120 --> 00:48:55,480 Again, we talked about how you do that first, John 19 confess 796 00:48:55,480 --> 00:48:56,840 our sins. He's faithful and just to 797 00:48:56,840 --> 00:48:59,640 forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 798 00:48:59,640 --> 00:49:03,320 That is repentance and godly sorrow with your confession. 799 00:49:04,520 --> 00:49:07,640 James 516 says confess your trespasses to one another and 800 00:49:07,640 --> 00:49:09,240 pray for one another. It may be healed. 801 00:49:09,480 --> 00:49:12,840 The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much 802 00:49:14,160 --> 00:49:18,320 There be one here today that is either not a Christian or you 803 00:49:18,360 --> 00:49:20,520 are a Christian and you've drifted away or there are things 804 00:49:20,520 --> 00:49:21,640 in your life you need to correct. 805 00:49:21,640 --> 00:49:25,240 You can do that today. You want to be the class, Come 806 00:49:25,240 --> 00:49:25,640 forward.