Series on "The Message of the Cross" - (23)
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 15696 |
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June 4, 2007 |
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 Eternal Life (1): People Without Salvation Despite Their Confession of Faith in God (2)
"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).
The fundamental purpose for all who have accepted Jesus Christ and believe in God is found in true salvation and heaven. Woe is he who, despite his profession of faith in God, does not receive salvation ands ends up in hell. However, when an individual comes to live by God's will, he will not only reach salvation but also meet with the Lord in the air on His return and participate in the Wedding Banquet with Him.
At that time, people who had heard the Gospel but still refused to believe it will be left behind in this world in grieving and lamenting, and thrown into confusion of unimaginable proportions. Can you imagine how much people who had attended church will mourn and grieve once they realize they have been left behind? They most likely had no reason to doubt the certainty of their salvation but they will be engulfed in fear once they see how contrary the reality is to what they had previously thought. Therefore, as we profess our faith in the Lord, we must also be aware of the circumstances in which there is no salvation to ensure none of us arrives at death.
1.Blaspheming against, Interfering with, and Speak against the Holy Spirit
"Blaspheming against," "interfering with," and "speaking against" the Holy Spirit refer to words spoken and deeds performed in opposition to God's works. Unlike persecution of the church by unbelievers who do not know God, these words and acts come from people who profess to have faith in God and know the truth. There is no salvation for such individuals as they knowingly oppose God's works in accordance with their evil.
After witnessing the healings of diseases and infirmities and demons being driven out by God's power, if an individual still blasphemes against, interferes with, and speaks against the Holy Spirit by labeling such manifestations "works of Satan," how can he possibly be deemed a man of God? Upon witnessing a work of God that cannot be even imitated by the might of man, a truly goodhearted believer of God will only thank and glorify Him. Evildoers, however, are instead quick to deny works of the Holy Spirit and oppose God.
Evil spirits do not possess the power to heal people's diseases or infirmities; even if they did, there is no way they would permit people to glorify God by driving out evil spirits and healing of the sick.
The rule also applies to interfering with the ministry of God's servants by whom God stands and who manifests His power. Such interferences are the same as directly opposing God because they only serve to deny a man of God as well as the works of the Holy Spirit manifested through him.
When they had nothing to eat after the Exodus, the Israelites placed all the blame on Moses and Aaron and grumbled against the two, Moses said to them, "[F]or the LORD hears your grumblings which you grumble against Him. And what are we? Your grumblings are not against us but against the LORD" (Exodus 16:8).
In the first five Verses of Acts 5 is a story of Ananias and his wife Sapphira, who had vowed to sell a piece of their property and give the profits to God. In their greed, however, they kept some of the profits for themselves, brought only a portion of the profits to Peter, and pretended they were giving all they had made. As the couple had deceived not Peter but the Holy Spirit and lied to God Himself, they faced death without even an opportunity to repent.
One other element to keep in mind here is that an individual may, on his own and not by the works of the Holy Spirit, invite devils to himself and then drive them out. For instance, when such people fall ill or difficulties come their way, they admit, "Oh, this is the work of the devil," and invite the devil. According to the law of the spiritual realm, the devil enters the person but because the person is not in a situation to be possessed by it, when he drives it out the devil will be driven out.
Some people, when they drive out demons from others, either swear at or strike them. In light of the truth, however, this is neither right nor the work of the Holy Spirit. Even if an individual is demon-possessed, we are to treat him with dignity and respect and can command only with our word. This is because demons will tremble in fear when they are commanded to be driven out at once by the name of Jesus Christ.
2.Putting the Son of God to Open Shame by Crucifying Him Again
We read in Hebrews 6:4-6, "For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame."
These verses refer to people who, despite having received the Holy Spirit, experienced God's grace, learned of the existence of heaven and hell, and heard and come to believe in the Word of the truth, nevertheless become tempted, abandon God, become corrupt, and openly work to prevent God's glory from being revealed.
If a person began attending church after having been preached the Gospel, there may be one last opportunity for him to receive the grace of salvation at some point even if his faith had been nothing more than knowledge and he had fallen into the ways of the world. However, Satan will work even more fiercely against all those who go back to the world even after having experienced God's grace in the midst of the work of the Holy Spirit as the darkness in them will be even greater. They will perpetrate greater evil than nonbelievers, deny the grace they had once received, and even spearhead the persecution of the church and believers.
As people who put the cross of Our Lord to open shame will not be able to receive the spirit of repentance, they will eventually arrive at death. Just think of Judas Iscariot, who at one point had been one of Jesus' disciples. He had been a firsthand witness to Jesus' ministry but, seeking after his own interests, Judas ended up betraying Jesus and turned Him in for 30 pieces of silver. Judas became guilt stricken and hoped to repent after Jesus was captured but without being given an opportunity to repent of what he had done, he committed suicide, apparently unable to overcome the remorse and regret.
3.'Sinning Willfully after Receiving the Knowledge of the Truth'
Hebrews 10:26-27 tell us, "For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES." This passage points specifically to people who know and believe in the truth but keep on committing the very sins against which God has warned us.
As 2 Peter 2:21-22 remind us, "For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them. It has happened to them according to the true proverb, 'A DOG RETURNS TO ITS OWN VOMIT,' and, 'A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire,'" people who sin willfully are aware that they have sinned, repent of what they have done, and return to a sinful pattern of life.
There was a time when King David of Israel was tempted for a while and committed a horrific sin of murder. When a prophet pointed it out, however, the king was quick to repent and turn from his ways. When he was subject to God's trials on account of his sin, David could overcome them with humility, which in turn enabled him to root out the sinful attributes from his heart and become perfect in God's eyes.
The story of King Saul, however, was a completely different one. Even when Prophet Samuel came by and reminded him of his wrongdoings, the king only produced an excuse, "I disobeyed God for that was the will of the people." As Saul kept on sinning before God without repenting from the depths of his heart, the king ended up heightening the wall of sin and was eventually forsaken by God.
This is also true today. If an individual professing to have faith and know the truth commits sin, he must rend his heart in repentance, walk in the light, and bear good fruit as the Holy Spirit Himself intercedes for him with groanings too deep for words and reminds him of his wrongdoings. When he sins willfully, however, God will turn His face away from Him and in such an event, the person will not be able to receive the spirit of repentance and will end up quenching the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19).
We may desire to repent of our sins but repentance will take place only when God gives us the spirit of repentance. Upon receipt of our repentance, God will then forgive us of our wrongdoings. Without destroying the wall of sin between ourselves and God by repenting before Him, as God Himself tells us in Exodus 32:23, "Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book," our names, which may at one point have been recorded in the book of life, can be blotted out (Revelation 3:5).
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, when an individual commits a sin leading to death, there is no grace of repentance or salvation. Each of us must remember this and make every effort to never commit a sin that will lead us to death.
Furthermore, even if a wrongdoing we have committed is not "a sin leading to death," without casting it away and repenting of it we will never be filled with the Holy Spirit, even be tempted by Satan and compelled to commit "a sin leading to death," and the salvation will be a shameful one at best.
Therefore, may each of you fight sin to the point of shedding blood and abstain from every form of evil so that you will be able to joyfully welcome Our Lord on His return, in the name of Our Lord I bless!
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