I read a story where a man was preaching in a jail and folks were getting saved. After the man prayed with a group for salvation, an inmate asked; what about me? I have been a devil worshiper and have blasphemed God, is it too late for me, have I crossed a line with God where there is no hope? The man asked him a question, are you worried about it? He answered and said; I am terrified of my fate. The man told him, it is not too late, repent of your sins and make Jesus Christ your lord! With a brokenness he repented and was saved and baptized in the Holy Spirit!
The devil had told him; he had crossed a line.
Many today, because of some horrible or repeated sin, have been convinced they have crossed a line, the unpardonable sin. However, if we repent, God’s grace will far exceed our sins.
When the inmate admitted, he was scared of his fate, the man knew he had not crossed that line. The unpardonable sin is where religion has made your heart so hard and cold that all of the fear of God has been removed. The fear of God is replaced with a false assurance that you are saved. The false assurance comes thru slogans like “once saved always saved” and a few isolated misinterpreted scriptures such as, “And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.” John 10:28.
Christians aren’t perfect; they are just simply forgiven.” Everyone sins, so don’t doubt your salvation because of it; unless, all you did was say the “sinners prayer” and went on you merry way. If you do not live a life of repentance, you will cease to seek God’s salvation and you will become content by justifying your sins.
This contentment gives Christians a sense of false security and takes away the peace or the fear of God. Consequently, they will no longer see the need to purify their hearts every day all day long. They will no longer keep their focus on Jesus Christ; instead, they will refuse to give up their love for the flesh and they will justify themselves with a few isolated scriptures. Their love for the world will override their love for Jesus; they will lose their first love. In addition, they will devise ungodly ways to enter the kingdom, doing the same things satan got kicked out of heaven for.
There is no greater security than being in Christ Jesus, but being in him is obeying Him and dying to this flesh. John 5:3 says, ” This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous” When Jesus Christ and the Spirit of God control our lives, we overcome the flesh nature in order to be conformed to the image of Jesus. The Spirit of God leads us to overcome the nature of satan in order that we will have the nature of Jesus and be able to walk in holiness which is a pure heart. Like the layers of an onion, the Holy Spirit uses his Word and fiery trials to expose those things hidden from us that we might repent! (1 Peter 5:6- 11)
As we learn to walk in the blessing and peace of God, we become more and more sensitive about avoiding sin. We are on a short leash, so when we lose our peace, we ask the Holy Spirit what did I do? At some point He will reveal it to us. Then quickly and urgently, we confess and repent in prayer and the blood of Jesus cleanses and forgives us making us no longer a transgressor and our hedge of protection and peace returns. This is the discipline that leads us to purify our hearts and love others as Jesus has loved us. (Hebrews 12:7-8).
When you go to church and hear the Word of God, it does one of two things. First, by your obedience it will transform your heart slowly but surely into the Image of Jesus. Or, if you hear the Word and don’t obey it, it will harden your heart; consequently, over the years you will grow cold as ice. More over, because of false teaching, you will feel comfortable in that deception and will stay in that state.
Furthermore, Christians in that state feel justified because they have turned from their bar room sins, but in their heart they are full of unforgiveness, fear and worry. They become very critical and judgmental. To them, scripture becomes a burden that reveals an absence of love for God and men. If their hearts were not so cold, they would not find scripture so grievous. Consequently, they quit reading God’s Word causing them to continue their downward journey into the obyss. Over time something else will get their heart and Jesus becomes just one of the things they do, not the principle purpose of life as the word of God demands.
Often, you will hear them make statements like; ” I go to early service to get it over with!”
That’s usually because those making such statements have been a member of the church for a long time and some have risen to places of authority and block every thing God wants to do. They have become so set in their ways and traditions, that like the Pharisees in Jesus Day, they could not see the Son of God even though He was standing right in front of them. They could not see Him because He did not fit in their structure and teachings of their denomination; as a result, they declared his works of being of the devil. AND that is the unpardonable sin!
This is good news to the man that feels he has crossed a line and feels condemned; repent and throw yourself on God’s mercy. There is hope! The fact that you fear God shows that your heart can be pliable when put into the Masters hands. To the man that this message stings and he doesn’t like it; examine yourself as your heart is starting to get hard and grow cold; thereby, you are losing your first love. Repent before it is too late! To the man this message makes very angry and offended, I ask why are you angry? Does this not expose that something is wrong with your heart? (Matthew 7:21-23 )
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