Series on "The Message of the Cross" – (22)
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 16077 |
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May 21, 2007 |
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 People Without Salvation Despite Their Confession of Faith in God
"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter" (Matthew 7:21).
"If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not leading to death" (1 John 5:16-17).
In Matthew 25 we find a story of five "prudent" brides-to-be who "oil in flasks along with their lamps" and another five "foolish" brides-to-be "took no oil with them." At the arrival of the bridegroom was announced, the foolish brides-to-be went to purchase oil but when they returned, the door to the wedding banquet had already been shut.
Here, the ten brides-to-be signify all believers with hopes for heaven and "the bridegroom" symbolizes Jesus Christ. The important lesson here is that of the ten, only the "prudent" five entered the wedding banquet and the rest could not. Like the latter five, some believers will not receive salvation.
What kind of believers, among those who confess their faith in God, will fail to receive salvation and enter heaven?
1.People Who Practice Lawlessness
In Matthew 7:21, Jesus tells us that "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter." As Jesus referred to those who call Him "Lord, Lord," it means that among those who know Jesus to be the Savior of mankind and confess Him to be the Savior, some will not be able to enter heaven.
In the following Verses 22-23 Jesus continues: "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'" Even if people proclaim their faith in the Lord and perform miraculous acts, He will say, "I never knew you," to all those "who practice lawlessness."
At the end of the world – on the Day of Judgment – Our Lord will set apart all the unrighteous who have practiced lawlessness and even caused others to falter, and throw them into the furnace of fire that is the punishment of hell (Matthew 13:40-42).
What did Jesus mean by "lawlessness"? As 1 John 3:4 tells us, "Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness," lawlessness, or sin, stems from disobeying of the law of the truth, which is God's Word itself. Lawless people are those who do the things that are forbidden in the Bible; those who do not cast off the things the Bible directs them to cast off; those who fail to do what the Bible prescribes them to do; and those who do not keep or obey what the Bible commands them to keep or obey.
The Bible further elaborates on this in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God."
Romans 14:23 tells us, "Whatever is not from faith is sin" while James 4:17 reminds us, "Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin." Despite one's confession of faith in the Lord, if he or she keeps practicing lawlessness without turning from sin, he will be unable to inherit heaven and thus end up in hell (Galatians 5:19-21).
Some of you may ask, "If a novice Christian told a lie and if he's unable to receive salvation on account of that lie, how many people will actually receive salvation?" Of course, just because an individual has just accepted the Lord, it does not mean he is able to cast off all of his sins right away. Even if the person has not cast off all his sins, when he prays, makes every effort, and is transformed accordingly, God will recognize that effort alone to be the testimony of faith worthy of salvation.
However, if the person does not even try to cast off sins but actually keeps on sinning and becomes even more drenched in worldly ways, his confession, "I believe," becomes a lie.
2.People Who Commit Sins Leading to Death
Among all sins, there are kinds of sins for which you can receive forgiveness by making an effort to repent and cast them off, and there are types of sins for which there is no forgiveness.
1 John 5:16-17 tell us, "If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not leading to death.
We are to diligently encourage and pray for those who have committed sins that will not lead to death and help them turn away from sins but there are also sins that lead to death. What kinds of sins, then, lead people to death?
They are committed when people who blasphemy against, interfere with, and speak against the Holy Spirit.
In Matthew 12:31 Jesus reminds us explicitly, "Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven," and again in Luke 12:10, "And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him."
"Blaspheming against" the Holy Spirit is to blasphemy against and label the Holy Spirit "the devil" or "Satan" and deeming the works of God as manifested by the Holy Spirit to be works of demons and Satan.
"Interfering with" the Holy Spirit is to prevent the works of God from taking place through one's denial of God's works from his own evil even after witnessing firsthand the works of the Holy Spirit. For instance, spreading baseless rumors and making unfounded accusations by calling a congregation filled with the works of the Holy Spirit "heretic" or "in the wrong" is an act of "interfering with" the Holy Spirit. This is a truly grave and frightening sin for it is to challenge God the Creator interfering with and thwarting His kingdom from becoming fulfilled.
People who take this a step further and coming up with schemes and actually carrying them out, thereby intensifying of the blaspheming against the Holy Spirit will commit the sin of "speaking against the Holy Spirit."
Featured in Mark 3:20-22 is a scene in which the Jews blasphemy against, interfere with, and speak against the Holy Spirit. We read, "And He came home, and the crowd gathered again, to such an extent that they could not even eat a meal. When His own people heard of this, they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, 'He has lost His senses.' The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, 'He is possessed by Beelzebul,' and 'He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.'"
Among the people who had heard the news of Jesus, good people believed in Him and gave glory to God. Evil ones, however, were busy creating evil rumors and spread them and such an effort was spearheaded prominently by the scribes and the Pharisees who boasted their deep knowledge of the Scripture.
In Mark 3:23-26 we find, "And [Jesus] called them to Himself and began speaking to them in parables, 'How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. If Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished!'" For there is a strict order even in the world of evil spirits, demons do not drive out from people other demons, and Satan does not drive out itself.
Furthermore, as Jesus continues in Verses 28-29, "Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin," how can someone receive salvation if he has blasphemed against, interfered with, and spoken against the works of God and calls them "works of demon"?
Even among those who confess their faith in God who, out of jealousy and in slandering the works of the Holy Spirit, there are those who say, "Miracles and wonders stopped taking place two thousand years ago. Mankind stopped receiving God's revelations long ago," and argue that the works of the Holy Spirit are actually the works of Satan, heretic, or in the wrong.
God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever shows signs and wonders even today through people with whom He is pleased (John 4:48), and affirms His existence and presence through them. This is how the interference with God's manifestations through works of the Holy Spirit constitutes "interfering with" the Holy Spirit and for this type of sins there is no forgiveness.
The next issue of Manmin News will discuss the sins that lead to death.
May each of you come to fathom through the message above one may not receive salvation despite his confession of faith in God, stay clear off the path to death, and arrive safely at heaven by taking the straight shortcut, in the name of Our Lord I pray!
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