What Are We Doing Here At Abundant Life? Share Part 1

Isaiah 53:6; Romans 3:9-11, 23; Ezekiel 18:20; Romans 6:23; John 3:16; Acts 4:12.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday June 14, 2020.

We have been talking about the purposes of the Church and its members.  We will now look at the last purpose, which is to passionately share Jesus with those who do not know him.  It can be seen as part of purpose #2.  In a way, we are serving those who are lost by telling them the good news.  However, since it is quite different then the ways we serve other believers, it is best to give it its own purpose.  Unbelievers have only one overwhelming need and that is Jesus.  Everything else pales.  They need to connect to the Lord of life, and only those who know Jesus can help them do that.  If you feed a person’s belly, but don’t help them connect to Christ then you have not helped them in the way that they needed.  Of course, you can do both, but we must never lose sight of our true purpose in their life.

People need Jesus whether they know it or not, and Christians must be convinced of that enough to go out of our comfort zones.  So today, let’s talk about the fact that people need to hear the good news of Jesus.

Each of us is a sinner

The first two passages that I have listed impress upon us that each person on this earth is a sinner.  Even those who are trying to keep the righteousness of God fall short.  It is interesting that people typically feel like they are doing a good enough job, and that their good outweighs their bad.  However, the revelation from God tells us that this isn’t true.

Mankind wasn’t always this way.  Back in Genesis chapters one and two, we are told that God created humans good and without sin.  Yet, in Genesis three, Adam and Eve rebel against God’s command and purposefully sin.  Sure, they were deceived, but they still knowingly broke God’s command.  At this point, Adam and Eve entered into a fallen, dying state.  This fallen state would also affect all of humanity that would come after them.  The death that God warned them about was both physical and spiritual.

All humans born after Genesis three would also be dying beings who were separated from the direct presence of God.  This may seem unfair, but there is no logical way around it.  The choice of parents always affects what a baby experiences: where it is born, how well it is taken care of, whether or not it is raised for the Lord, and the list goes on.  We can scope this out to recognize that the choice of families determines what a neighborhood experiences, and the choice of neighborhoods determines what a city experiences, and so to the state, nation, and ultimately the world.

Of course, there is more to this than just our choices.  There is also the fact that the devil and his cohorts have interfered in our relationship with God.

Given enough time, every person born on this planet will become sinners.  Isaiah is speaking about a people, Israel, who knew God’s law and yet he recognized that none of them were righteous before God.  He revealed that God would one day put our sins upon another, the Messiah.  I will talk more about that later.  In the Romans passage, Paul also emphasizes that both Jews and Greeks (basically everybody that wasn’t Jewish) fall short of God’s glory because of their sin.

We are born to sinful parents, who are in a sinful world, and we have a propensity for sin, that is, a sinful nature.  This is quite evident in each person.  You do not have to teach a child to sin.  It comes naturally.  However, you do have to teach and train them to do what is right.  This does not mean that everyone becomes as sinful as they can possibly be.  It simply means that, in the middle of all our choices, none of us measures up to complete righteousness.  It would be good for us to remember this in our social discussions and arguments.  Usually, it is the first thing we jettison.  When I am railing against someone else’s sin, I should remember that I too am a sinner.

How about the aborted baby, or the baby who dies within the first year?  Technically they are not guilty of sin before God, but they are stuck in the human condition.  They die and go into a spiritual holding place where all other humans have gone before them.  Without Jesus, they would still be stuck there.  There are some who have taught that we are born having inherited the guilt of Adam.  I don’t believe that this is a proper reading of Romans 5:12 and other passages about the effect of the original sin.  It was death and separation from God that spread to all the rest of us, not Adam’s guilt before God.  However, if they had been allowed to live, they would have eventually become sinners too.  At some point, they would become aware that they were doing something wrong and yet, would do it anyways.  It is at that point that we become guilty before God for our own sins.

The judgment of God is upon us

Yes, man is a sinner, but Ezekiel tells us the decree of God.  The soul who sins will die.  The wages of sin is death.  In Genesis 3, we see God meting out judgment.  Though we could talk about painful childbirths and the sweat of our brow, the most important part of our punishment is that we die.  Before that day, Adam and Eve were not as we are today, growing old and dying.  However, this is not only true physically, but spiritually as well.  They were kicked out of the Garden and were separated from the presence of God.  This spiritual separation is the death of a relationship, but it also leads to an eternal spiritual death if it is not fixed.  We will all be held guilty for our own sins, not the sins of our parents, or our neighbors.  The question is not, did they sin, but what did I do because of their sin?  Usually, we use it as an excuse for our own sin.

This sets up a dilemma, not in the sense that God was stumped and couldn’t figure it out, but in the sense that there is a tension between God’s love and His Righteousness.  The Old Testament emphasizes both and even posits the need of a sacrifice to cover our sins.  God is love, so He wants to save us.  However, He is also just, so He cannot overlook our sins.  It is easy for us to say, “He’s God!  He can do anything that He wants.”  However, we fail to recognize that God cannot quit being Himself.  He is fully love and yet fully just.  We can overlook sin because we are sinful humans.  However, God is not.

Let’s look at an illustration.  If someone raped and murdered a loved one of yours, and then was arrested, confessed, and proven guilty at trial, what would you think if the judge chose to overlook the case and simply let the guy go free?  Something within us would cry out, “That’s not right!”  Even if we weren’t bloodthirsty for his death, we would still think that something more than just letting him go should happen.  We easily pick and choose when to demand justice and when not to, but God cannot.  As Paul says in Romans 6:23, He must give us the wages that we deserve.  The good news is that there is a way out of this, but we must not jump ahead of ourselves.

We cannot save ourselves

So, we are sinners, and therefore are under the judgment of God.  This last point is that we cannot save ourselves.  Many people will recognize the bad stuff of the world and its need for some kind of answer.  However, God tells us that we are in a situation that no human or group of humans can fix by themselves.

The smartest and best individuals of humanity cannot fix the sinful nature that is within each of us.  Paul says in Romans 3:23 that our attempts at righteousness fall short and are unacceptable.  In fact, they are woefully short.  Imagine someone giving you a glass of water, but it only has a couple of specks of feces in it.  Is that acceptable?  But, Lord, it is better than that other glass that is half full of crud.  It doesn’t matter.  A couple of specks of feces is still too much, and unacceptable.  Another way to look at this is this.  If the best among us only sin between one to three times a day, that is still between 365 to 1,000 times a year.  Over a typical lifetime, we would amass between 25,000 to 75,000 sins, and this is the best-case scenario.  If your plan to save yourself is to be a good person then hear what God’s Word is telling you.  It won’t work.  It falls woefully short in even the best of people, and most of us are average.  If your plan is to follow the wise people of this world who can lead us into Utopia then hear what God’s Word says.  It won’t work.  It not only falls short, but always leads to a destructive end because humans are sinful. Globalism won’t solve our problem.  It will only dismantle the protections that God installed at the Tower of Babel against an evil man ruling over the entire earth.  This is exactly what the book of Revelation tells us is on the agenda for the last days.  A man of sin will take over the earth and the world will eat it up.  However, it will also bring great destruction upon the world.

No, our righteousness falls short and always will.  What we need is God to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.  Jesus was, and still is, God’s solution for the world.  Because He loved us, God sent His Son to pay the price for our sins.  All who put their faith in him can have their sins covered by His righteousness, and then be justly allowed to join His family.  Only God’s plan will work.

As we close, I want us to remember that there is a whole world of people in need of the truth before they leave this earth, which few get to know when that is.  They are in the same situation that you were in before you met Jesus.  They are lost and without hope.  Some have never really heard the good news.  Some have heard a little of it, but it is fuzzy and without resolution.  Some have heard it, but also experienced a bad witness.  Perhaps they were in a cult, or were hurt and wounded.  Some have heard the gospel and have outright rejected Christ.  Yet, God loves them.  He made them to become like Him, to reflect His image, to dwell with Him.  This is the plight of the world around us.  They are under judgment and cannot save themselves.  Oh, the need is great for laborers who will go out into the field and share the good news of who Jesus is.  May God help us to have the guts to go do it!

Share I

The Danger of Causing Someone to Stumble

Mark 9:42-50.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, February 02, 2020

How do I treat other people?  Our passage is specifically about how Christians treat each other.  Our culture has developed a blasé attitude regarding the issue of how our words and actions affect other people.  Some even become very heated in their statements that it’s their problem and not my responsibility.  They should be stronger or better than that, appears to be their response.

Here, Jesus shuts the door on the propriety of a brazen attitude towards the affect our words and actions have upon others, especially other believers.  We are going to be held accountable, and there will be no excuses that will work.  May God help us to take these matters seriously because we are going to be a challenge to one another even if we are doing our best.  There is no call for making it worse through neglect, or purposeful intent.

Jesus warns against tripping others up spiritually

In verses 42-48, it is clear that this is the climactic instruction from Jesus to his disciples concerning their interest in which of them is the greatest of his disciples (vss. 33-37).  He first challenged them with the illustration of a small child. Then he dealt with their attitude towards a believer in Jesus who was not a part of their group (38-41).  This passage puts the capstone on the warning that Jesus is giving to his disciples, and us by extension.  They were in danger of being a stumbling block to one another and they needed to quit it.

Let’s deal with what is meant by the words “to fall into sin” or “cause to stumble,” in verse 42.  Both translations are correct.  The word is literally “to put a stumbling block in front of someone and is typically used metaphorically for causing someone to sin.  The KJV uses the word “to offend,” which meant “to strike against.”  This isn’t a bad translation either, for its time, but the normal usage of this English word can mislead us today.  The focus is not on how our actions and words can make a person feel, though that is a subset of the issues involved.  Rather, it is about the fact that our words and actions can cause a person to spiritually stumble and fall into sin.  To be fair, we should also note that it is not particularly about our intention either.  Whether intentional or not, our words and actions can be like a stumbling block that trips a person up.  Some people are particularly agile in this area and do not fall into sin, whereas, others are not. 

It is clear that Jesus is rebuking their attitudes towards each other within the group, and also with others who were not a part of the group.  Their attitudes would lead to a multitude of sins and the ruination of what Jesus was laying his life down in order to build.

The first warning is given through the reference of a horrible, unthinkable death.  For clarity in this section, I will use the terms the offender and the offended.  Jesus warns us that it is better to have a horrible death of a millstone tied to your neck and be thrown into the sea than to be a cause for the stumbling of another.  Such a death is the ancient equivalent to the mob putting your feet in cement and tossing you in the river.  It would involve the terror and horror of being murdered through drowning. 

All of us would agree that this would be an undesirable death, but not all of us would agree about how deserving of judgment our actions are toward another.  We tend to see our actions as innocent and the actions of others as fraught with injustice.  Could you imagine if the game of football didn’t have referees, but instead every player and the coaches all had their own flags?  What chaos that would be.  We are ready to “throw the flag” on everything others do and vehemently contest the flags that they throw against us.  Jesus is warning us that it is foolish to remain in such a state.  You will stand before God one day and give account for how you treated others.  He who is the judge of all men, both the living and the dead, takes these things seriously.  It is better to have a horrible death without causing others to stumble than it is to have a wonderful death, and then face the judge having lived carelessly.

We should also notice that Jesus ties this warning back to the image of the little child standing in their midst.  “These little ones who believe in me” are not just about physical age, but also about spiritual age.  Young believers of any age do not have as much spiritual growth and more easily stumble.  If we are focused on our greatness then we tend to only care for ourselves.

We must ask ourselves if our words and actions help others to believe in Jesus, or could they be a source of stumbling into sin for them?  The warning is very strong, and is against treating this lightly.

The second warning is reiterated three times.  However, there is a textual issue in these verses.  Depending on what Bible version you are using, you may be missing some of the verses that are in some of the older translations.  There is no conspiracy to get rid of any doctrines.  It is a matter of determining what Mark exactly wrote.  Let’s look at this textual issue further.

Here is a brief layout of the warning:

43.  If your hand causes you to sin…

                44. Where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.

45.  If your foot causes you to sin…

                46.  Where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.

47.  If your eye causes you to sin…

                48.  Where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.

The three sections are identical except for a different part of the body being mentioned.  People often sin with their hands, feet, eyes, and Jesus could have continued.  In between each is a quote from Isaiah 66:24 regarding their worm and the fire that is unquenchable.  When the KJV was written, they had a particular number of known Greek manuscripts from which to determine what the text originally said.  The scholars of that day felt the repetition of verses 44, 46, and 48 were original.  There have been many more manuscripts discovered over the years since then (the most famous being the Dead Sea Scrolls).  Some of these manuscripts do not have verse 44 and 46, but they do have verse 48.  To many scholars today, it appears that the statement of verses 44 and 46 were not originally there.  That means it was only stated once at the end.  Of course, the repetitive structure of this teaching would imply that it applies at those places too.

Whether such scholars are right in this judgment or not, notice that the absence of verses 44 and 46 do not change the meaning and their presence is definitely implied.  The absence or presence of these verses, therefore, are not a problem for the biblical reader.  Nothing is lost or gained in either decision.  Now, let’s get to the particulars of this second warning.

Verses 43 through 48 all represent a reiterative, second warning.  This warning can be taken as towards the offender and the offended.  It begs the question of what exactly is “causing” us to sin.  In the end, no one can make me sin by being offensive, or by being such that stirs up the desire in me to offend them.  The issues of sin are deeper than what others have done to me.  Notice that the thing that causes me to sin here is not another person, but rather parts of my own body, a hand, a foot, and an eye. 

The structure of this warning draws us into the deeper issues such as who do I blame?  It is easy to blame others for my sin, but James 1:14 tells us, “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.”  Yet, the warning mentions the parts of our body that are often used to act out the sin.  It would definitely be harder to sin without hands, feet and eyes (and we could add brains at this point).  Jesus is using the obvious external things to connect to the hidden internal things that cause us to sin.  It is not the presence of a hand that causes a person to steal, but the internal evil desire takes advantage of the fact that they do have hands.

What Jesus does here is extremely powerful.  We can all imagine the horrors of cutting our own hand or foot off.  Yikes!  I do not believe that Jesus ever intended that people would actually do this.  However, neither do I want to mitigate the power of what he is doing.  Such a drastic act is extremely rare.  There is a story of a hiker, Aron Ralston, whose hand was pinned by rock in Utah.  He could not get free, until he imagined the possibility of cutting his hand off.  He lives today because of his courage.  Most people would have died in that same spot.  To the degree that the outward physical act seems outrageous, is the degree to which we should go in fighting against the internal.  In fact, it begs the question of effective ways to fight against strongly entrenched desires.  It can be a combination of drastic external and internal changes that set us free from the control of sin in our life.

The person addicted to pornography does not need to gouge their eyes out, but they do need to get drastic about cutting off things in their hearts and in their daily activity.  They need to get drastic about their computer usage, and accountability to other people in their life.  We can say things like: “But I need to have my smart phone with a data plan,” or “There is no verse that says I can’t have a computer!”  Yet, all of such things are only the protestations of a corrupt desire.  We must get drastic because our sin can cause us to go to hell.    It is better to live this life without something and make it to heaven than to keep it and end up in hell because of it.  Which is more important to you?

The word for hell in this passage is “Gehenna” in the Greek.  It translates a Hebrew word that means the Valley of Hinnom.  In the past, the English word “hell” was used to translate several Greek words, which has caused much confusion.  The word “Hades” refers to the grave, a spiritual holding place for all who have died.  There they await the judgment.  It is not properly hell.  However, the condition that one experiences in the grave is clearly connected to a person’s eventual judgment.  Thus, the rich man of Luke 16:23 was in torments in Hades.  It was hot and he desired just a drop of water from the finger of Lazarus who was in the paradise of Abraham’s bosom.

Gehenna literally refers to the valley southwest of Jerusalem, which connects with the Kidron valley which comes from the east side of Jerusalem.  Let me just list some Old Testament passages that will give us background to the sinister connotations of Gehenna.  2 Chronicles 28:3; 33:6; Jeremiah 7:31-32; 32:35. At one point in Israel’s history, a place called Topheth in the Valley of Hinnom (GeHinnom/Gehenna) had an altar or a high place to the false god Molech.  There many Israelites, including some of their kings, burned their children as sacrifices to the false god of the Ammonites in hopes of fertility in crops and more children, and in hope of success in war.  The idea is that you show the god your devotion and he rewards you with these other things.  We may shudder at child sacrifice, but it really is an extremely pragmatic proposition.  This was always called an abomination, thing of abhorrence, to the God of Israel, the One True God.  Isaiah particularly uses Topheth as a picture of the burning wrath of God that was coming for the wicked.  Isaiah 30:33 and 66:24 are his descriptions of something that is more than a place on earth of judgment on the wicked, but is a judgment of a fire that never goes out.

Gehenna properly connects to the Lake of Fire in the book of Revelation, not the grave.  There we see it is the Second Death that all men and spirits must face.  We will either be judged worthy to enter into eternal life, or we will be given eternal judgment.  Whether you think such a judgment is warranted or not, we must hear the warning of Jesus.  It is better to go through this life without something that keeps leading us to sin, than to end up in the Lake of Fire with that thing.  What good do eyes do me if I am in the Lake of Fire?  None whatsoever.  The emphasis is not so much that you will go to heaven without your hand, etc.  This says nothing about resurrection.  The emphasis is on your condition when you “enter” the next stage.  I enter life as a man who had lost his hand, but I avoid the Lake of Fire because of my sacrifices in this life.  I won’t continue on this theme. 

Let me just end it by saying that Jesus spoke of Gehenna to religious people and always as a warning that was intended to shock them out of lethargy concerning their sin.  You do not see him trying to scare those who don’t know God with the reality of hell.

Don’t let the trials of this life rob you of peace with one another

We need to bring this to a close, so let’s quickly look at these last two verses.  The desire to be the greatest threatened to rob the disciples of peace between each other in this life, and potentially peace internally in the life to come.  Jesus challenges us not to let the trials of this life rob us of our peace.

When he says that everyone will be seasoned with fire, he uses imagery that represents the trials and occasions of stumbling into sin that come upon us in this life.  We would probably use the word “peppered.”  We are peppered with fiery trials and temptations in this life.  It is impossible to avoid them.  We can focus upon the people who put the stumbling blocks in front of us and blame them, but that won’t deliver us from the temptations.  You can’t avoid it through the blame game.  You must deal with sin in your own life, or become a casualty to it.

Thus, our lives are called to be a sacrifice (living sacrifice) here on this earth.  The lives of the righteous are a sacrifice in the sense that we go through these fiery trials for the glory of God and in honor of him.  We become an acceptable sacrifice that is pleasing to God when we put our faith in Jesus, pick up our cross, and follow him.  The lives of the wicked are a sacrifice in the sense that they are an unacceptable sacrifice that is not pleasing to God.  Thus, eternity is not pictured as being salted with fire, but being immersed in a Lake of Fire with no moments of reprieve.  We must not kid ourselves that hell describes our life here without God.  No, such is only a foretaste of something far worse, walled off from the goodness of God.

To follow Jesus is compared to remaining salty.  In Colossians 4:6, Paul says, “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.”  The more that we live out the godly character of Jesus, the more that we will have peace with one another.  Of course, it takes two to tango.  So, you can only focus upon your part of the equation.  I don’t want to be a source of trial that causes you to sin.

Gehenna is the negative motivation for not wanting to hurt one another.  However, peace and eternal life are the real motivations that ought to spur us on to love and forgiveness with each other.  Ultimately, we need to see that we will not have rest, in this life or the next, until we desire to be like Jesus more than we desire the lust of our flesh, the lust of our eyes, and the pride of this life.

Causing to Stumble Audio

Christmas through Time

John 1:1-4, 14-17; Hebrews 2:14-18; Revelation 21:3-8.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on December 22, 2019.

In Charles Dickens’ story, A Christmas Carol, Scrooge is visited by spirits that show him his Christmas past, present, and future.  Today, we are going to widen the scope beyond just the life of one person.  For you see, Christmas is far more ancient than the Christmas of your childhood, and it is further into the future than the Christmas of your old age.  It is the eternal plan of God stretching from eternity past into eternity future.

I pray that we may once again be filled with joy that the story of humanity is not just darkness and woe.  Rather, it is a story of Christmas down through the ages, a story of Christmas through time.

The Savior has come (John 1:1-4, 14-17)

At Christmas time, we recognize that the Savior of the world has already come.  It is generally obvious that Christmas is rooted in the birth of Jesus over 2,000 years ago.  However, Christmas goes further back than that technically.

In this passage, John shows us that the incarnation is rooted in eternity past, even before the earth was created.  This should remind us of Revelation 13:8. If the crucifixion is somehow rooted in that eternal past before creation then it is a logical necessity that his incarnation was too.  What does it mean for Jesus to be crucified, and therefore incarnated, before the foundations of the earth were laid?

It is part of the reality that, when God was planning creation, He also knew that those who were made to be an image of Him would fall into the slavery of sin and need saving.  It is then that He chose to do what was necessary to make salvation possible for us.  He chose to incorporate an incarnation into His plan, as well as a crucifixion.  He would enter the world and help us.  Thus, Christmas is far more ancient than that moment at a manger in Bethlehem.  It is part of the very character of God.

Everything before that moment in Bethlehem was prologue to the incarnation and later the crucifixion.  Thus, the Bible is not just a compilation of stories.  Each story is a small part of a larger story, a story of the character of God being revealed to mankind.  Everything has its place: the fall from the paradise of Eden, the Flood, the Tower of Babel, the creation of nations, the Law of Moses, the nation of Israel, and its turbulent history.  All of these are important in the greater plan of God. 

This should give us confidence that we are not in the middle of a time that is unimportant.  We too are a part of this larger story that did not end 2,000 years ago.  What we see around us now is also important in the revealing of God’s good purpose for His creation, and particularly those He made in His image.

In Jesus, God stepped down into our world.  He “became flesh” as John puts it in vs. 14. He is the light of the world to illuminate the darkness of our ignorance, but more than knowledge, it says, “in him was life.”  Jesus comes to give us knowledge and even more he comes to give us life.  Yes, he gives eternal life, but this is more than just a promise of something down the road.  He also gives us life right now.  At Christmas, God came into closer relationship with humanity than was ever thought possible.  In Jesus, God says, “I see you… I know it is tough… I will help you; let me help you.”  This is what God has done in Christmas past.

The Savior is here (Hebrews 2:14-18)

At Christmas time, we also recognize that the Savior of the world is still with us here today.  Hebrews 2 focuses on what Jesus has made available to those who are believing in him.  The first of these is that he is delivering people from the slavery of sin.

Through the temptation of sin, we all fall into the trap of slavery.  It seems to promise freedom, but in the end, you are not free because freedom to do anything that I want always leads to bondage.  We become a slave to fleshly appetites that our mind knows is not good or has gone beyond proper boundaries.  The same spirit that raised Christ from the dead is here today to live within each and everyone who puts their faith in Jesus.  He is working right now to convict us of sin and what is right.  

Of course, our modern world scoffs at such antiquated notions.  What we don’t understand is that there is a moral reality to this world that is every bit as real as the physical reality that our scientists study in order to build a machine that flies in the air or goes to the moon.  If I tried to build a flying machine that only conformed to my imagination and desires, it would never really fly.  I would only be able to sit in the cockpit and pretend to fly around like a little kid playing with a cardboard box in the living room.  However, if I face reality- even that which I don’t like- I can finally begin to build something that can lift off of the earth and travel around the world.  These are two very different freedoms that are innocent when we talk about kids playing and adults creating.  The first is a freedom of fantasy and the second is a freedom of reality.  In their proper settings both can be helpful.  However, morality, right and wrong, also are hardwired into this reality.  We are physical creatures and our choices and actions have physical consequences.  Be sure that your sins will find you out in the end.  It is just as reliable as gravity acting upon an object.  If you remain in a moral fantasy and live in a way that pleases your imagination then your experience will not be as innocent as a kid playing in the living room.  No, when we are young our parents give us some shelter from sinful choices and should work to teach us right and wrong.  Eventually, we grow up and leave the living room to go out into the world, where harsh realities and the school of hard knocks awaits those who refuse to wake up and deal with reality in moral matters.

Jesus comes as a baby, and babies are the most helpless of us all.  He is showing us that he understands weakness physically.  He also grew up to be tempted in order to show us that he understands weakness spiritually.  He was really on this earth in physical form, experiencing what you experience.  However, he is also really here, right now, to help us, to help you.  He hasn’t abandoned us and forgotten us.  It just feels that way because the world is a dark place, and we are afraid.

Hebrews tells us that he not only delivers us from sin, but we are told that he provides for us mercy as our faithful high priest between us and God the Father.  We can’t see that part of his work, and so it takes faith to trust that he is fulfilling his role faithfully.  When I fail, the enemy of my soul wants me to quit and say it isn’t working.  However, God’s word tells us to repent and believe in Jesus.  If we do that, he is faithful and just to cleanse us from the guilt of our unrighteousness.

Are you receiving the mercy and cleansing that Jesus is giving out today?  Or, are you still stuck in your sins wondering what God is doing, even giving up that there may even be a God to help you in the first place?  The message of this world is that there is no one to save us but ourselves.  This is the lie that will ensure our mutually assured destruction.  Jesus has come, and he is still here through the Holy Spirit and those people that he inhabits.

The Savior is coming (Revelation 21:3-8)

When the story of the Bible comes full circle in the last book, the theme is the nearness of God.  For some, the current arrangement of Jesus being here spiritually is just not good enough.  This is tragic because he has promised to come again in a physical way, as he did on that Christmas day so long ago.  It will be Christmas on earth once again.

God will dwell with us, and not just spiritually.  Jesus will step down from out of heaven as the only righteous King who can deliver this world from the darkness of its sin.  He has not abandoned us.  In fact, the passing of time is the mercy of God to give people time to change.

This Christmas that lies in our future is the greatest Christmas of all, or at least the climax of the eternal Christmas.  It will be a Christmas when we find under the tree that all of the sin and evil of this world is removed.  It is a Christmas when we find that new, unbroken things have taken their place. 

In this passage, we are told that the former things will have passed away.  The former things are things like: separation from God and each other, tears, death, sorrow, crying, and pain.  Imagine a world where none of these things exist.  Who do you believe can actually deliver such a thing?  Is your faith in us saving ourselves?  Is it in one of the fallen angels who could dare to present themselves to the world as a king, that is a solution from the spirit realm that is “other” than Jesus?  Or, is your faith in Jesus? 

We are told that new things will replace the former things.  So, what are they?  We are united with God in a life where he is visibly with us.  We are to inherit all things, and, as if that wasn’t enough, we will enter into the full status as the adult “Sons of God.”  Wow, what a Christmas!

This Christmas let us remind ourselves that the story of Christmas and the little baby in a manger is only one chapter along the ancient story of the past, the fresh story of today, and the long-awaited climax that lies before us in the future!

Christmas audio

A Warning against Blasphemy

Mark 3:28-30.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Memorial Day Weekend, Sunday, May 26.

Today we are going to talk about the Unpardonable Sin.  Many people who become Christians live under a fear of an inner accusation, which tells them that they can’t really be saved because they did something so bad that God won’t forgive it, no matter how repentant they are.

Our passage is short and follows on the heels of the response of Jesus to the Scribe’s accusation that he is in league with the Demon Lord, Beelzebub.

The general statement about forgiveness

After showing that it is illogical to think that Satan would cast out his own demonic minions, Jesus gives what can only be seen as a warning.  Is he saying that the Scribes had already gone too far and could no longer be saved, or is it simply a warning that they are flirting with a serious offense?  That would seem to be the question.  Before we get into the unpardonable sin, though, we should spend some time talking about the powerful statement Jesus first gives in verse 28.

It is an amazing statement about our sins and blasphemies, and the possibility of their forgiveness.  Let’s first notice that it opens with the word “Amen.”  This is usually translated as truly or assuredly (KJV = verily).  This is a Hebrew word that means something is firm and dependable, along with everything else this implies.  We are most used to its use at the end of a statement, or as an affirmation of the hearers to a statement that is truth.  So, to preface a statement with this word is to in a sense amen your own statement.  It functions as a form of emphasizing the importance of what one is going to say.

So, what about our sins and blasphemies?  Jesus states that God is ready and able to forgive them.  That is an important statement.  Sin is the many ways that we miss the mark or goal that God has for us in this life.  It is not just an inability to hit the target, but also our partiality to missing it on purpose. Interestingly, the word that is used in the Greek is a modified form of the word for sin and adds the sense of including even the results of our sins.  Thus, it points to our sinful actions (whether in thought, word, or deed) and the sinful results they produce in us and others. 

Blasphemy on the other hand is a particular kind of sin, or a subset of it.  It means to slander someone or speak in a way that intends to bring harm and injury to them.  It is not about hurting someone’s feelings, but about our intention to hurt their reputation, their place in society, and even their physical well-being.  This can be done against another person, but also against God Himself.  Though we don’t use this word in our society, we probably should, since much of our politics and social discourse consists of lots of slander, whether intentional or not.  At best our politicians throw mud against their opponent hoping it will stick to them in your mind and heart.  Beware of being drawn into the blasphemies of others for their selfish motivations and your own. 

Now, as horrible as sin and blasphemies can be, the statement is that they can be forgiven.  Each one, no matter how bad.  Yes, we are going to get an exception.  However, we should not jump past this statement.  God is ready and able to forgive us our sins, pause and meditate.

The second emphasis is that God alone is the remover of sins.  When we say that they will be forgiven, it is not a statement of universalism, which means every sin regardless of our heart condition will eventually be forgiven, i.e. no one will be judged eternally.  Rather, this is a statement of possibility and God’s disposition towards us as sinners.  He is willing to forgive us.  The word “forgive” is far more specific in the Greek.  It literally means to remove our sins, including their guilt, and cause them to be separated from us.  It does not mean to overlook something.  God will remove them so that no one, not even Satan himself can bring them up to be used against us before His judgment seat.  So, how does this work when we are told to forgive one another?  We cannot remove another person’s sin and guilt from them, only God can do this.  When we forgive another person, we choose to let go of the offense and not bring it up against them ever again.  If they are truly forgiven is between them and God.  I, however, need to forgive for at least two reasons.  One, I testify to the other person of the greater forgiveness of God that they should seek.  Two, I shut down the sins of hatred and bitterness in my own heart.

The phrase “shall be forgiven” in verse 28 is in the future tense and has a quality that means, “at whatever time it is needed or necessary.”  Though Jesus does not bring up the mechanism of getting God to forgive us, the Scriptures teach that those who humble themselves, repent of their sins, and believe in Jesus will receive forgiveness from God.  1 John 1:9 states, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  Confession is agreeing with God concerning just what sin is (i.e. not changing the definition to suit us).  Repentance is the idea of turning away from our ideas and emotions about our “sins” and turning towards God and His Word of Truth. 

This is a powerful reminder of the grace of God that works tirelessly to give us what we desperately need and yet also give us what we undoubtedly do not deserve.  We stand completely guilty before Him of not just accidental and incidental sin, but also of willful and purposeful ones.  Yet, He does not want us to perish in our guilt.  He makes forgiveness possible through the death of Jesus, who takes our sins upon him and carries them away from us.  Praise God for His indescribable gift!  We must simply humble ourselves, ask his forgiveness, and put our faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ.

Blaspheming the Holy Spirit

Now, we turn to verse 29 and the qualification to the general statement that all our sins can be forgiven.  Blaspheming, or slandering, the Holy Spirit is put forth as a sin that will not be forgiven.  So, what does this actually mean? 

Many treat it as a simple one-time act that can remove us from any hope of salvation.  They can picture a person who is begging God to forgive them, but He will not because they did a sin that is unpardonable.  Is this actually what Jesus means?  And, do we ever see God telling a truly repentant person in Scripture that they cannot have forgiveness in the Scriptures?  The answer to that last question is an emphatic, “No!”  Yes, there are some verses that may seem on the surface to say such, but the truth is that on deeper inspection it is not.  This is often approached in one of two ways.  People either use it as a point of fear and warning, with no hope for those who may do it, or they try to water down the idea to the point that you don’t really need to worry about it because it is basically impossible.  I believe that either way is foolish.  Jesus would not have said this if it was impossible to blaspheme the Holy Spirit in such a way that you could not be forgiven.  It is a real warning of something that we can actually do, if we let ourselves do so.  Sin is damaging, even to the point of eternal damage.  Thus, it should not be taken lightly.  The passages that warn of judgment are as important as the passages that point us to grace.  So, whatever we do, we must understand that this is a true warning from Christ of a sin that can affect our eternal salvation.

Yet, does this mean it is something that we can unwittingly do in an unguarded moment of time?  To analyze this, we must think about the way the Holy Spirit is involved in forgiveness as revealed by Scripture.

The Bible tells us that it is the job of the Holy Spirit to convict or convince people of their sin, their coming judgment, and the righteousness of Christ.  This can be found in many places, but John 16:8 says it best.  Even as Jesus was doing what he was doing, the Holy Spirit was moving on the hearts of those watching him.  The Spirit was working to convince them of their sin, coming judgment, and need for God’s righteousness.  Thus, it is the Holy Spirit that helps us to humble ourselves, repent, and believe.  If it wasn’t for the grace of God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit, none of us would do so.  The Holy Spirit operates upon every heart and mind upon the earth, drawing them to Christ.  Jesus does the work of making forgiveness available to us, but it is the convincing work of the Spirit that encourages us to believe in Jesus and receive the benefits of what He has done.

This is a critical point because, if we need the Holy Spirit’s work in our heart and mind in order to be forgiven, then any resistance and slandering of that work pushes away the only thing that can bring us to it.  Essentially to resist the Holy Spirit is to build a wall between us and salvation.  To slander the Holy Spirit is an even greater wall between us and forgiveness of sins.  The point of verse 29 is not about an instant in time.  We have plenty of examples in Scripture of people who resisted the Holy Spirit, and even blasphemed His work, and yet who later repented and received forgiveness (Paul the apostle comes to mind).  In fact, all humans who ever get saved do so after a period of resisting the work of the Holy Spirit and what He was trying to do in our hearts and minds. 

Many people who have been hurt in this life will tell themselves that they want nothing to do with organized religion.  In so doing they protect themselves from the charlatans that abuse the words and authority of Christ.  Yet, in so doing, they also wall themselves off from a huge witness that the Holy Spirit could use to reach their hearts.  If we continue to block and resist the Holy Spirit in our heart regarding Jesus, then we have no hope.  There is no other answer; there is no other way.  Jesus is God’s solution to our problem of sin and the Holy Spirit is God’s worker to convince us of this, period.

The phrase in verse 29 that is often translated “never has forgiveness,” literally says, “is not having forgiveness into the age, but is presently guilty of eternal judgment.”  The emphasis is on a current condition that will not be overturned in the age to come.  The emphasis is not on whether or not we can get out of that current condition as long as we are alive.  We are presently in the age of grace in which God is allowing whosoever will to believe and receive forgiveness of sins.  We are approaching the age of judgment and the restitution of all things.  Let no one think that the sins they refuse to deal with in this age will be overlooked in that age.  Now is the day of salvation.  Today, if you hear His Voice, do not harden your hearts, as they did in the rebellion.  Rather, repent and believe in the Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord.  Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is serious because you are fighting against the one person who can convince you of salvation.  I do not believe Jesus is saying that one instance of blasphemy can damn a person forever.  However, each time we do so we are damaging our ability to respond to the Holy Spirit.  We can so damage our ability to respond to the Holy Spirit that we are unrecoverable.  How can a person know if they have gone too far?  If you are worried that you may have gone too far, then it is a sign that you haven’t.  Only the Holy Spirit can convict us of sin and by definition those who have gone too far are beyond His work, or no longer sensitive to His stirrings. 

If you feel fearful and despondent today, don’t stay in that place.  The Holy Spirit is calling you to Christ, but the Devil wants to scare you away.  Repent of past disbelief and rationalizations of why you don’t need to pick up your cross and follow Jesus.  Then believe on Jesus and follow Him.  You can know today that your blasphemies can be forgiven, if you will yield to the conviction of the Holy Spirit right now.

Blasphemy audio