BY HAROLD LEE
If you would turn over to Hebrews chapter 10, I’m going to let you through the sermon decide whether you’ve already heard the sermon and this is just a longer sermonette or what. Hebrews chapter 10, it’s a Scripture that we’re all very familiar with. And I think it’s one that’s caused some perhaps consternation among God’s people. I’m going to start in verse 24 just to get the flow of the Scripture that I’m going to eventually lead up to. So we’ll start in Hebrews 10:24. It says
Hebrews 10:24. And let us
consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25) Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves
together, as is the manner of so me,
but exhorting one another, and so
much the more as you see the Day approaching.
And, of course, this passage is talking about stirring up love through our contact with one another. But notice what follows, a very strong warning, verse 26.
Hebrews 10:26. For if we sin
willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer
remains a sacrifice for sins, 27) But a
certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will
devour the adversaries.
We always see the patience, the mercy, the gentleness, the longsuffering of God and we should do that. God wanted us to take on those characteristics. You can read the fruits of the spirit and see that those are what God wants us to take on.
There are, Brethren, however, very strong, very permanent consequences if one who has repented and been baptized and had their names written in the Book of Life and started down the path of firstfruits to then change course and to reject God’s way of life. We’ve come to put a title on that, the unpardonable sin. And the punishment, we know, is eternal death.
Last Sabbath, Mr. Biscan focused his sermon on the lessons
of the summer season and he covered the pitfalls that we encounter, the heat,
the stinging insects, and on and on. I
think I’ve mentioned this before, but historically
I actually did some research as I was going through this and found that both personal crimes—and those are defined as homicides, rape, robbery, assault—and property crimes—defined as burglary, personal and business burglary, larceny, vehicle thefts, and arson—are always the greatest in June, July, and August. It’s the peak. There’s one anomaly to that and that was home burglaries—don’t ask me why—peak in November. So, with all of these statistics, there is a very clear peak in the summer months except for one. And I don’t know. You can give me the facts and I’ll come up with a theory. Perhaps people that are away at Thanksgiving, they’re houses tend to get robbed. I don’t know. But other than that one statistic, crime increases. And, of course, it’s the lowest in the winter months, October through March.
Those of you that are old enough to remember the riots in
the
And by the way, today is the longest day of this year. I think
I can’t prove this. So these are just theories or let’s say Harold’s opinions which are even less than theories. But remember in the Garden of Eden, God was walking in the garden in the cool of the day after Adam and Eve had sinned, perhaps in the summer. David with Bathsheba, it couldn’t have happened in the winter. He wouldn’t have been walking out on the porch and her in her courtyard, which was enclosed, taking a bath. She would have been inside. Again, probably in the summer.
Now for all of us except the Brethren in the southern hemisphere where it is winter, the appropriate time, I believe, for us to focus on our vulnerabilities and the disastrous consequences of allowing ourselves to let down.
Hebrews 10:26. For if we sin
willfully
We read in Hebrews 10:26.
Hebrews 10:26b. after we
have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice
for sins, 27) But a certain fearful
expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the
adversaries.
It’s interesting that God at different times manifested
Himself in different ways. And we know
when we say, “God,” we are referring to the God-Being that later became Jesus
Christ. The God of the Old Testament was
Christ. And He manifested Himself as a
man to Abraham. He was a burning bush, a
still small voice, and a fire. Remember
on
Look over in Hebrews just forward a couple of chapters to Hebrews 12 and verse 18. It says in Hebrews 12:18
Hebrews 12:18. For you have
not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to
blackness and darkness and tempest,
And that word “tempest” is the only place in the New Testament that that word is used. It’s Strong’s 2366, thuella. And it means a whirlwind or a sudden storm, a very strong wind.
Verse 19.
Hebrews 12:19. And the sound
of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be
spoken to them anymore. 20) (For they
could not endure what was commanded:
“And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or
shot with an arrow.” 21) And so
terrifying was the sight that Moses
said, “I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.”)
We have not come to that mount, to this physical mount. We have not witnessed these terrifying events.
Verse 22.
Hebrews 12:22. But you have
come to
It’s interesting the way they say that that we’re registered in heaven.
Hebrews 12:23b. To God the
Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24) To Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant
and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. 25) See that you do not refuse Him who
speaks. For if they did not escape who
refused Him who spoke on earth, [how] much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven,
That word “turn away,” it’s a single word, Strong’s 654, apostrepho. And, of course, it’s the same root that we get apostasy. It is a change of course. It means to turn away, to pervert, to bring again. Zodhiates’ says it means, “a rebellion, or to incite others to rebel, to turn away the ears from truth, or to reject.”
Don’t turn there.
Luke
Luke 23:14. And [he] said to
them, “You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads
And The King James is “perverts.”
Luke 23:14b. the
people. And indeed, having examined Him
In other words, that’s what they accused Christ of doing.
Continuing in Hebrews 12:25.
Hebrews 12:25. See that you
do not refuse Him
As we read in the previous verse, it’s referring to Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 12:25b. who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, 26) Whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” 27) Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28) Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.
Notice!
Hebrews 12:29. For our God is a consuming fire.
If you want a title for today’s sermon, it is Our God Is A Consuming Fire.
Now keep in mind that we just read that we, as a Church of the Firstborn, did not come before Mount Sinai but we’ve come before Mount Zion, the seat of God’s very power and authority, and before Jesus Christ and a spiritual company who speaks from heaven. One physical, one spiritual but He is a consuming fire.
Let’s just explore that for just a moment. Look over in Exodus 24. I mentioned this earlier. I just want to refocus on the point. Exodus 24 and verse 15. It says in Exodus 24:15
Exodus 24:15. Then Moses
went up into the mountain, and a cloud covered the mountain. 16) Now the glory of the Lord rested on
Throughout history of God’s Church, both physical and spiritual, God has been known as a consuming fire. And this aspect of God was repeated and it needs to be noted and remembered.
Look over in Deuteronomy chapter 4. Just as the Israelites were about to cross over into the Promised Land to inherit it, Moses gave his final warning as a witness to the people. Deuteronomy 4 and we’ll pick that up or we’ll start in verse 9. I think this entire discourse, which is a number of chapters, is really worth spending some time on and reading and thinking about it as you read it. Pick it up in Deuteronomy 4:9. It says
Deuteronomy 4:9. “Only take
heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your
eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your
life. And teach them to your children
and your grandchildren. 10) “Especially concerning the day you stood
before the Lord your God in
Horeb, when the Lord said to me,
‘Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may
learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.’ 11) “Then you came near and stood at the foot
of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of
heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness. 12) “And the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no
form; you only heard a voice. 13) “So He
declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, [that is] the Ten
Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone. 14) “And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and
judgments, that you might observe them in the land which you cross over to
possess. 15) “Take careful heed to
yourselves, for you saw no form when the Lord
spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire. 16) “Lest you act corruptly and make for
yourselves a carved image in the form of any figure: the likeness of male or
female,
Moses knew, especially from the golden calf incident,
especially from what they came out of
Deuteronomy 4:17. “The
likeness of any [beast] that is on
the earth or the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, 18) “The likeness of anything that creeps on
the ground or the likeness of any fish that is
in the water beneath the earth. 19) “And
take heed, lest you lift your eyes to
heaven, and when you see the sun, the
moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them
and serve them, which the Lord
your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a
heritage. 20) “But the Lord has taken you and brought you out
of the iron furnace, out of
Just as an aside: We typically picture the Israelites as making bricks and gathering straw and I’ve talked in the past that Israel was a complete society and their bondage was far greater than just having to keep up their tally of bricks.
Those of you—and I know that this area, especially to the
west, was a steel industry—and those of you that have worked around it, the
mining or the smelting, know it’s very hard, very dirty work. It’s difficult. When they were in
Verse 21.
Deuteronomy 4:21. “Furthermore
the Lord was angry with me for
your sakes, and swore that I would not cross over the
Moses was giving them a very personal, very heartfelt warning.
I can remember. Perhaps those of you that were—I don’t know—it was later sixties, early seventies when smoking was proven to have lung cancer. And one of the things that they did back then is they would get well known personalities, perhaps television stars or whatever, that actually were dying from lung cancer and they would stand there and talk about how they felt and the fact that they felt robbed and not to do it.
And I think in a way that’s what Moses was doing. He said, “Look, I’ve lost out because of what I did. But take heed.” I really think he was delivering a very personal story and trying to encourage them to learn from his mistakes.
Continuing on verse 23.
Deuteronomy 4:23. “Take heed
to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves
a carved image in the form of anything which the Lord your God has forbidden you. 24) “For the Lord your God is a consuming
fire, a jealous God.
As I mentioned before, his discourse goes on for several chapters. And in Deuteronomy 9:3, toward the end of that, he reminds them again that God is a consuming fire. And, again, I would encourage you to read the chapters of Deuteronomy 4 through 9 because this was sort of the last words that Moses gave to the people just before they crossed over into the Promised Land. And I think they are, in fact, they’re very important to us even to this day.
Look over in Luke chapter 3.
The agricultural society that was prevalent in the culture of
Luke 3:17. “His winnowing
fan is in His hand,
We could actually do an entire sermon on the concept of a winnowing fan but anciently grain was cut with a sickle. The grain was threshed by walking oxen over the grain heads which separated the seeds and the shaft. And then the grain was winnowed by throwing the grain in the air and letting the wind carry off the chaff. And later, because the velocity of the wind and the reliability of it was not, they actually developed fans. And these fans were—we typically think of a fan that we fan ourselves—these were actually a piece of machinery that was either driven by oxen or by people that would blow a steady stream.
Today if you look at the components—and, of course, in this area, I’m sure you’re all very familiar with a combine—all three elements are in a combine. The grain is cut by these horizontal sickles and then moved into what they call the threshing plates. And these threshing plates move back and forth and they actually separate the grain. They’re jostled. And then they’re moved into the back where there is a winnowing fan. And that winnowing fan, the velocity of it is such that the grain falls through and then is moved with an auger into the storage bins. And then the chaff is blown out the back of the combine and they usually have a little whirlybird out there to sort of scatter it and put it back into the soil.
And the winnowing fan is very, very important. If the velocity of the fan is too low, some of the chaff will remain with the grain. And, of course, it lowers the quality. It will lower what a person gets if they try to sell the grain. And if it’s too great, some of the smaller wheat kernels will be blown out and some of those will be discarded with the chaff. In modern combines, the velocity of the fan can be adjusted. There’s either pulleys, what they call step pulleys and you set the velocity by the ratio of the shaft to the pulley or a lot of them now are hydraulic and just by setting the hydraulic flow through the hydraulic motor that’s running the fan, you can set that. And, again, it’s—I don’t know. I don’t want to say it’s fairly touchy, but it’s an extremely important…. You can grow the best grain. You can cut it. You can thresh it. But if you don’t winnow it right, in other words, if you don’t get the wheat and the chaff separated, you’re going to lose money either because it’s going to be poor quality or you threw away part of your grain.
The winnowing fan that Jesus Christ is talking is perfect. Not one speck of chaff is going to remain and not one grain of wheat will be lost. You don’t have to turn there, Amos 9:9. I’ll just read it. He says
Amos 9:9. “For surely I will
command, and will sift the house of
So, again, part of what He sees His job as, as being that winnowing fan that’s going to separate the wheat from the chaff. I’ll just reread.
Luke 3:17. “His winnowing
fan is in His hand, and He will
thoroughly clean out His threshing floor,
He’s going to get all of it.
Luke 3:17b. and gather the
wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.”
As we continue, let’s remember that our God is a consuming fire. And we that have been called, have been given God’s Spirit, are being judged now. And for us there’s only two outcomes. That is eternal spiritual life or eternal death by unquenchable fire.
Matthew 12 verse 31, it says
Matthew 12:31. “Therefore I
say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven
men. 32) “Anyone who speaks a word
against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks
And that word is logos. And it means more than just vocal words. It also means doctrine or reasoning or motive or intent.
Matthew 12:32b. whoever
speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age
or in the age to come.
If you look at the commentaries on this—of course, the translators believing in a trinity—said, “Well, if the Spirit was a person just like the Father and the Son and if this was true, it would move the importance of the Holy Spirit above Jesus Christ.” In other words, He says, “Look, if you blaspheme against Me, that’s okay. But if you blaspheme against the Spirit, it can’t be forgiven.”
We understand, Brethren, that a person is given God’s Spirit and that Spirit dwells in them. What this is talking about is after being given God’s Spirit, then they change their intent, their doctrine, their motive, their reasoning, they’ve committed that sin that will not be forgiven.
Brethren, God, we see Him as a consuming fire. And all of man’s works, all of man’s works are going to be destroyed, are going to be burnt up. We’ve also seen that there are sins that will be committed that are unpardonable.
Let’s spend the remainder of the sermon focusing on this concept. One of the truths that we in God’s Church understand is that God’s will is every person will have a chance to make a choice to be in God’s Family, to be a spirit being. And the issue, as we know from keeping the Holy Days, is a matter of timing. God determined it to be that way. There are the firstfruits and then there is the latter time. And we also know that there are relatively few, speaking of the comparison, that are being called from the beginning of time up until now that are going to be the firstfruits that God’s determined. It’s only those few firstfruits that understand what it means to be a spirit led Christian.
Go over in Romans chapter 8. These things are spiritually discerned. They’re not physically discerned. And therefore, they can only be discerned by someone with God’s Spirit. Romans 8 verse 7, it says
Romans 8:7. Because the
carnal mind is enmity against God;
for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.
In other words, it’s impossible for the carnal mind, apart from having God’s Spirit, to be subject to God. It’s impossible.
Romans 8:8. So then, those
who are in the flesh cannot please God.
But he says
Romans 8:9. But you are not
in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in
you.
So he’s saying, “Look, those of you that can please God that are not in the flesh but in the Spirit if you have God’s Spirit.”
Romans 8:9b. Now if anyone
does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10) And if Christ is in you, the body is
dead because of sin, but the Spirit is
life because of righteousness. 11) But
if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who
raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through
His Spirit [that] dwells in you. 12)
Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the
flesh. 13) For if you live
And that word “live” is the word zao. And it means to live, to breathe. It means to pass your life in a manner of living.
So, if you live
Romans 8:13b. according to
the flesh [It says.], you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the
deeds of the body, you will live.
Just read that last verse in The Bible In Basic English. It says
Romans 8:13. For if you go
in the way of flesh, death will come to you; but if by the Spirit you put to
death the works of the body, you will have life.
And then verse 14 sums it up, I think, very succinctly.
Romans 8:14. For as many as
are led by the Spirit of God, these are [the] sons of God.
And I don’t think you can add anything to those very clear Scriptures regarding who are God’s children. It says it all. There’s no getting around it. Those that have God’s Spirit dwelling in them are God’s children.
When we follow the sequence that’s commanded in Acts 2:38 of repentance, of baptism for the remission of sins, there’s two things that happen. One is God gives us His Spirit as a gift. That’s brought out in the last part of Acts 2:38. But there’s something else. Look over in Philippians 4. There’s another thing that happens at that instant that God gives us His Spirit. Philippians 4 verse 3, it says
Philippians 4:3. And I urge
you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel,
with Clement also, and the rest of [the followers], whose names are in the Book of Life.
At the instant that you receive God’s Spirit, your name is entered into the Book of Life. The two words, there are two words in Greek that make up “Book of Life,” Strong’s 976, biblos, which is a book or a scroll or a writing, and the “Life” is Strong’s 2222, and that’s zoe, and, of course, that means eternal life. This is the Book of Eternal Life, Biblos Zoe. This means the Book of Eternal Life. Brethren, every person that has God’s Spirit, their names were written in when they received God’s Spirit.
At that moment, there’s only two possible outcomes, to live our lives following the path that God gives us, growing, striving to overcome, falling, repenting, asking God to pick us back up, and continuing on that course till our change comes, or deciding to get off that path, reject the Tree of Life and start eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
Turn over to Revelation 3. In one of the letters to the Church, Jesus Christ discussed this in a very strong warning to His Church. Revelation 3 and verse 5. Again, we’ve spent a lot of time in Revelation 3 lately. Think about this. Revelation 3:5, it says
Revelation 3:5. “He who
overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name
from the Book of Life;
In other words, it was there. It was written. And by continuing down a wrong course, our names can be blotted out.
Revelation 3:5b. but I will
confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
We can only go forward a few more verses—and we won’t—to find out how we obtain those garments. But I’ll leave that to you in your own study.
The point is, Brethren, is every Spirit led Christian already has their names written in the Book of Life. And it will remain there unless we, due to our actions, cause our name to be blotted out. Let’s not forget our salvation is a priceless gift. We could never earn it, but we can despise it. We can devalue it and we can lose it.
Back to Hebrews 12 and starting in verse 14, it says
Hebrews 12:14. Pursue peace
with all people, and holiness,
without which no one will see the Lord:
15) Looking [diligently] lest anyone fall short of the grace of God;
lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become
defiled; 16) Lest there be any fornicator or profane person like
Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright.
Remember the story? He devalued his birthright. He put His physical comfort above the blessing that was his by inheritance. Don’t turn there. I’ll just read it, Genesis 25:34.
Genesis 25:34. And Jacob
gave Esau bread and stew of lentils: then he ate and drank, arose, and went his
way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
He put his physical well being and comfort above the countless blessings.
Continuing on in verse 17 of Hebrews 12.
Hebrews 12:17. For you know
that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he
found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.
Many in God’s Church today, including myself, came out the “Christian” denominations of the world. And one of the errors that is taught is once a person is “saved”—and I put that in quotes—they’re always saved. Once you do that, once you accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, a switch gets thrown and that’s it. What do you have to do beyond that? Nothing. You’re done. You just keep doing what you were doing or whatever.
I think this can and has rubbed off somewhat in God’s Church to a degree. During the apostasy, this supposed doctrine reemerged. And, Brethren, we’ve all witnessed the very tragic results of that.
Look over in Galatians 6. We can through neglect allow ourselves to become deceived. And we can take ourselves off that road that we should be traveling. Galatians 6 and start in verse 7. It says
Galatians 6:7. Do not be
deceived,
Brethren, that’s a warning because that means you can be deceived and some have been deceived.
Galatians 6:7b. God is not
mocked;
In other words, deceived about the idea that regardless of our actions that we’ll be in God’s Family is mocking God.
Galatians 6:7 cont. for
whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
8) For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but
he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9) And let us not grow weary while doing
good, for in due season we shall reap [Notice!] if we do not lose heart. 10) Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us
do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.
So let’s just recap. We know that God is the same today, yesterday, and forever. And He is a consuming fire. All of man’s works are going to ultimately be burned up and destroyed. And the only thing that remains is God’s work and what God is doing. We also see that we can, it is possible for us to commit the unpardonable sin to the end that we will have our names blotted out of the Book of Life. And, Brethren, to have that done means eternal death. We will die forever.
Over the last few months I’ve had discussions with individuals regarding this. One as recent as this week and that prompted this sermon. First I’d like to state that one of the greatest blessings that God has given us is the limitation that we can’t discern another person’s heart. We can’t properly judge people’s relationship with God and therefore, I believe, we can’t always decide who has God’s Spirit and who doesn’t. Yes, ultimately we produce fruits, but a lot of times our window into a person’s life is very short, much too short because, as everyone that has God’s Spirit knows, a Christian life is not just a solid road upward.
I’ve heard the talk about some that were in Worldwide and whether they’ve committed the unpardonable sin. And, again, for us to judge that presupposes that we know whether God called them, whether they truly repented, and whether they truly threw it away. And I don’t know. And I’m very relieved that I don’t have to be their judge. Only God knows. And, frankly, I hope for anyone that God will be as merciful to that person as He is to me and as I want God to be as merciful to me because without mercy we’re all doomed. Now I’m not saying they have or have not. I don’t know. I am not their judge. I do not want to be any man’s judge. I have enough trouble with Harold Lee in keeping him in line.
That being said, I’ve seen people in the Church that have acted in a very carnal manner. And you know what? Those actions of themselves, that doesn’t determine the outcome. We’re on a journey. Every one of us are on a journey. We’re God’s works and we’re in God’s hands.
I’d like to do a case study. Look over in Romans chapter 1. As you all know, the apostle Paul was one of the most enigmatic people in the New Testament times. Even the contemporary Peter says Paul’s writings were enigmatic. But I want you to consider the hole that would be left in our understanding if Paul had never existed. Just imagine we have the New Testament and we’ve pulled all of Paul’s life and all of his writings and all of that out. There would be a huge hole, I believe, in our understanding. And, of course, I’m thankful to God that Paul went through what he did and those lessons are for us because I believe Paul brings another level of dimension to, at least my understanding, while also and sometimes, like Peter, bringing some level of uncertainty. Now what was he trying to say here? Or something.
Romans 1 verse 1, he says
Romans 1:1. Paul, a
bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be
an apostle, separated to the gospel of God
2) Which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy
Scriptures, 3) Concerning His Son Jesus
Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4) And
declared to be the Son of God with
power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the
dead. 5) Through Him we have received
grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His
name, 6) Among whom you also are the called
of Jesus Christ;
On the one hand we know Paul was from—I think he sort of…. Maybe these are—I’m adding a few words—but he was from perfect Israelite stock. He was from the tribe of Benjamin. He was a Pharisee of the Pharisees. Educated in the right schools of thought, instructed in keeping God’s Laws, zealous in his beliefs. If you wanted to try to get a poster child for someone—you should try to be like this—Paul would have been the poster child. We also know that he was humbled by his calling and his conversion and he made a hundred and eighty degree turn. We can look at the end of Paul’s life and be confident that Paul stayed the course and was faithful to the end.
Look over in 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse—well, we’ll start in verse 1. It says
2 Timothy 4:1. I charge you therefore before God and the Lord
Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His
kingdom: 2) Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince,
rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
So here he is at the end of his life and he is encouraging those others to continue on.
2 Timothy 4:3. For the time
will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according their own
desires, because they have itching ears,
they will heap up for themselves teachers;
What a prophecy!
2 Timothy 4:4. And they will
turn their ears away from the truth,
and be turned aside to fables. 5) But
you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an
evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
These are warnings not only for Timothy, but, Brethren, warnings, strong warnings that we can heed today.
Notice there was also encouragement, verse 6.
2 Timothy 4:6. For I am
already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is
at hand. 7) I have fought the good
fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8) Finally there is laid up for me the crown
of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that
Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
Brethren, there was no doubt in Paul’s mind. There should be no doubt in our m
Now most of you listening have years of experience behind you. Ask yourself a question. Has your growth been a steady, ever increasing better experience with no downs, no variations, no setbacks, no lapses? I think we all know that just isn’t true. The other question is: Have we committed the unpardonable sin by those lapses, by those setbacks? And the answer has to be: It depends.
Look over in Romans chapter 7 because here is in the middle of Paul’s life and see how he felt. Let’s start in verse 12 of chapter 7. He says
Romans 7:12. Therefore the
law is holy, and the commandment holy
and just and good.
Verse 14, skip down.
Romans 7:14. For we know
that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15) For what I am doing, I do not understand.
I just don’t know why I did that.
Romans 7:15b. For what I
will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.
Did Paul have lapses? Did he have problems? Did he have fights? Did he have struggles?
Romans 7:16. If, then, I do
what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17) But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin
that dwells in me. 18) For I know that
in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with
me, but how to perform what is good I
do not find.
I know what’s right. I know what I should be doing. I just don’t always do it. I can’t figure it out. I can’t find the way.
Romans 7:19. For the good
that I will to do, I do not do; but
the evil I will not to do, that I
practice. 20) Now if I do what I will
not to do, it is no longer I who do
it, but sin that dwells in me. 21) I
find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do
good. 22) For I delight in the law of
God according to the inward man.
I love God’s Law. It’s good. It’s right. It’s just.
Romans 7:23. But I see
another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me
into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Just hold your finger there. Go back to Galatians 5 and verse 16. It says
Galatians 5:16. I say
then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall
not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17)
For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and
these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you
wish.
Our life is a continuous battle because going on inside us with God’s Spirit and with God’s Laws we know what we should be doing. And there’s the human nature that pulls us in another direction. And, at times—a lot more often than we want—at times we give in and we sin.
Okay, back to Romans 7 verse 24. He says
Romans 7:24. O wretched man
that I am! Who will deliver me from this
body of death?
Now is this the words of someone that never sinned? That was on this straight path that started here and ended here? Did Paul have his series of ups and downs in his spiritual development? You bet he did. Do we? Brethren, more than we like to think.
Verse 25.
Romans 7:25. I thank
God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So
then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law
of sin.
Chapter 8 verse 1, I think the key to our understanding this matter. Let’s consider very carefully.
Romans 8:1. There is therefore now no condemnation
to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the
flesh, but according to the Spirit.
And that’s the key, Brethren. Let me read it again.
Romans 8:1. There is therefore now no condemnation
to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the
flesh, but according to the Spirit.
Brethren, we do sin. And due to weaknesses, we sin willingly. But how do we live our lives? What is the path that we’re traveling? Our walk is on a path. Do we willfully wander off that path and just keep going? If we do, then we’re walking according to the flesh, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Do we sin and see our error and then ask God to forgive us and try to get back on the path? Once? Twice? Seven times? Seventy times seven, four hundred and ninety?
If we repent, remember God will remove our sins as far as the east from the west. Agape love, remember that God has for us. Remember it says it keeps no record of wrongs?
But Brethren, the ball is in our court. It is not what we do but how we respond to our sins and faults that’s important. We’re all going to fall. We’re all going to. But what’s important is what we do after that.
Continuing on in verse 2.
Romans 8:2. For the law of
the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and
death. 3) For what the law could not do
in that it was weak through the flesh, God did
by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh,
No one can live a perfect life.
Romans 8:3b. on account of
sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4) That the righteous requirement of the law
might be fulfilled in us [Notice!] who do not walk according to the
flesh but according to the Spirit.
Notice, Brethren, the requirement for our sins to be covered and blotted out is determined by our walk. The direction that we travel, what we focus our life on, not if we slip and sin.
Just hold your finger there. Look over in Psalm 84 and verse 5. Psalm 84:5, it says
Psalm 84:5. Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart
And I’m reading this out of The New King James and it’s really very obscure.
Psalm 84:5b. whose heart is set on pilgrimage.
Now we know we’re strangers and pilgrims. Some of the commentaries even talk about
those that this was a condemnation of people didn’t want to go to the
Feast. They wanted to stay home. And actually that word “pilgrimage” really is
a highway to
So what this is saying and I’ll read this out of The King James. It says
Psalm 84:5. Blessed is the man whose strength is in [you]; in whose heart are the ways of them.
The Revised Standard says
Psalm 84:5. Blessed are the
men whose strength is in [you], in whose heart are the highways to
Okay, let’s go back to Romans 8 and just pick it up in verse 5. And, again, this verse 5, it says
Romans 8:5. For those who
live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but
those who live according to the
Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
And, Brethren, that’s what we have to think about. What is our mind on? What is our future? What is our hope? What dominates our thoughts?
Verse 6.
Romans 8:6. For to be
carnally minded is death, but to be
spiritually minded is life and peace.
I mentioned before: Have we committed it? And I said, ‘It depends.” There are two ways in which we, as spirit begotten heirs, can commit the unpardonable sin. I’m going to review them, but frankly, the fact that a person is still listening, a person is still here, a person is still trying, points to the fact that the person hasn’t committed the unpardonable sin. The person that just walks away—and, again, that is assuming that they truly have been given God’s Spirit, that is assuming that they understood and then walked away. Again, I don’t think we can judge. But the fact that we are still listening, the fact that we are still here with our problems, despite our problems, every day struggling, sometimes failing, trying to get back up. Brethren, God doesn’t condemn us for that. It was brought out I think very clear in the sermonette. We’re going to sin much more than we think, much more than we care to know. And yet, if as a little child and we see ourselves small and we go to God and we ask God for help, He’s not going to turn us away.
The two ways: The first one is by a deliberate choice. We can decide to get off the path, reject the sacrifice that was made, and decide to go our own way. This isn’t something I think that you just wake up one day and do. It’s usually in response to some traumatic event in our lives. Sadly, I’ve seen those that accuse God of deserting them when they were faced with some sore trial and it created resentment and bitterness. “How could God let this happen to me? Would a loving Father allow me to go through this?” The faulty conclusion is “No.” And the next wrong conclusion is “He must have abandoned me. Therefore, I am free to go my way. God doesn’t want anything to do with me. Therefore, I don’t want anything to do with God.”
When things don’t work out like we expect them and who of us twenty, thirty years ago, forty years ago, however long, who of us could have mapped the course where we are today? Let me tell you, things haven’t worked out the way any of us thought that they would work out and when they worked out! And trying to hold God, trying to hold Him to your expectations, they’re always going to be missed. And, Brethren, we can become bitter over it. We can allow a root of bitterness and we can devalue our inheritance.
I’ll just reread. You don’t have to turn there. Hebrews 12:14.
Hebrews 12:14. Pursue peace
with all people, and holiness,
without which no one will see the Lord:
15) Looking [diligently] lest anyone fall short of the grace of God;
lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become
defiled; 16) Lest there be any fornicator or profane person like
Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright.
Now, Brethren, I can tell you from personal experiences what we’ve experienced over the last twelve or twenty years were times that we all felt betrayed by family, by friends. And the concept of allowing yourself to become bitter is very real from those experiences. And, Brethren, it is a very deadly threat to God’s Church today. Again, a root of bitterness doesn’t happen overnight. It says in Hebrews, “It springs up.” It means like a small plant. It starts out small and it grows and it grows. And if that growth is not checked, it can overwhelm a person and choke them off.
We just last week were down in east
And a root of bitterness can be that way too. It starts out as a root. You can’t even see it. And then it grows and it grows. And it continues to get larger and the first thing you know, it overwhelms and it’s too late. We’re attached to a vine. And, yet, we can still be choked off from the true Vine by allowing a root of bitterness. Brethren, it’s something to remember. It’s something to examine. And I will tell you, again, personally, it’s one that takes, I think, active fighting to prevent.
The second path to the unpardonable sin is through neglect. This life, everybody knows it’s difficult. And what we face everyday can numb us. I don’t want to pick on the media, but if you’ve noticed that over the last some period of time, even the entertainment’s become more violent. And it’s become a lot darker as time progresses. A look at the TV shows and the movies, now if they don’t have these computer generated graphics, they just focus on more and more—and I’m going to say—extremely violent and even demonistic themes. And I think that can numb a person.
A real danger in us, we always think about love and the opposite of love is hate. And I want you to consider something. Hate is still a strong emotion. I think about—and I’ve said this many times—an atheist who doesn’t believe in God, those that get up and run it down, I really think a true atheist that doesn’t believe in God really doesn’t care. Hate is still a strong emotion. Like Paul, what God did was able to turn that hate into love.
I think the danger is apathy because we get so numb from taking the punches you just don’t get back up. You just lay there. And that is a danger. We can neglect our Christian lives, our prayer, our study, our fellowship. Life, sometimes we can just stop walking and sit down. We just get tired. Our forward progress is halted. And if that continues, our mind will return too because the mind doesn’t—even when you’re asleep, it’s got to have something to grind on. And what’s in your mind if you start becoming numb to that, your mind’s just like Solomon. It’s going to return to the physical. And we’re going to start looking at the physical pleasures. We’ll again become interested in the materialistic to the exclusion of. And, again, I’m not—God made us physical and there are certain physical things that I think that we need. Again, I’ve pointed out, of course, our sports. Paul used the idea of the runners running the race. So again, those things are not wrong, but that can take over if we allow it to and we need to be mindful of that. So, neglect.
Look over in Colossians chapter 3 and verse 1. Colossians 3 and verse 1, it says
Colossians 3:1. If then you
were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is,
sitting at the right hand of God. 2) Set
your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
The King James says
Colossians 3:2. Set your
affection on things above, not things on the earth.
And The New Jerusalem Bible says
Colossians 3:2. Let your
thoughts be on things above, not on the things that are of the earth.
And again, does this mean we’re to completely shun earthly pursuits? Do we throw out our TV’s and tear up our season tickets? Well, if you’re thinking of doing that, talk to me first. Brethren, we’re human and we should have human interests, but what dominates our thoughts? Have we allowed those two laws that are warring in our minds to become unbalanced? Allowing the physical to crowd out the spiritual? And only you can answer that about yourself. As the hot summer approaches, it’s a good time to reevaluate our priorities.
Again, I would say for those who are listening who have not made a conscious effort to reject God’s way of life, the greater danger is in the latter one. Remember, we’re in the Laodicean era. And we’re living in an era of being satisfied with what we have.
Remember the ten virgins, which we believe represents the Church at Christ’s return, were all asleep. What do they call this? The lazy, hazy days of summer? What do you think of? A mint julep and a hammock in the afternoon. Oh, and a fan. They’re all asleep. They’ve grown weary and tired. Some have allowed their oil to become depleted or in danger of their lamps going out.
One final Scripture, Romans 13 verse 11, it says
Romans 13:11. And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep;
for now our salvation is nearer than
when we first believed. 12) The night is far spent, the day is at
hand. Therefore let us cast off the
works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13) Let us walk properly, as in the
day,
Remember a walk is a path. It is a journey. It is how you live your life. And everyone that’s walking properly, Brethren, you’re still going to stub your toe. You’re still going to stumble over a rock or something in the way.
Romans 13:13. Let us walk
properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and
lust, not in strife and envy. 14) But
put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
Brethren, God is a consuming fire. And for those of us who have His Spirit and are walking the path less traveled, He is our loving Father who has invested His Son in our future. In the time ahead let’s make sure that we’re indeed on the path and we’re moving forward. We’re all going to have our ups and downs. It’s just part of the human experience. But let’s not allow the long hot summer ahead to distract us from our mission. Our forefathers did and they perished. We also have a choice between life and death. Our choice of life will be manifested not by our words but how we walk day in and day out, not making a provision to fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Let’s take to heart the admonition we read and just realize, Brethren, that the “night is far spent and the day is at hand. Let us cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light.” If we do, the fear of committing the unpardonable sin will be far from us. And we, like Paul, can be sure that when Christ returns with him we will receive our crown of life.
Transcribed by kb