WEBVTT 00:00:00.200 --> 00:00:06.980 And yet God allows us to sometimes to fall. And 00:00:06.980 --> 00:00:10.480 I think he does it so to keep us humble and we 00:00:10.480 --> 00:00:16.179 certainly want to honor him in all things. Whether 00:00:16.179 --> 00:00:18.039 the scripture is being read or being preached 00:00:18.039 --> 00:00:22.440 or being sung or being seen at the table. So 00:00:22.440 --> 00:00:24.879 we're going to look this morning. In Matthew 00:00:24.879 --> 00:00:26.879 chapter 12, this is a very sobering passage. 00:00:26.940 --> 00:00:30.480 It's remarkably sobering in what Jesus said. 00:00:32.420 --> 00:00:39.140 We'll begin in verse 30. Jesus says, or Matthew 00:00:39.140 --> 00:00:44.100 writing here, He who is not with me is against 00:00:44.100 --> 00:00:48.060 me, and he who does not gather with me scatters 00:00:48.060 --> 00:00:52.020 abroad. Therefore I say to you that every sin, 00:00:52.919 --> 00:00:57.820 And blasphemy will be forgiven men. But the blasphemy 00:00:57.820 --> 00:01:00.320 against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. 00:01:01.460 --> 00:01:03.840 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, 00:01:04.019 --> 00:01:07.560 it will be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against 00:01:07.560 --> 00:01:11.120 the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, 00:01:11.239 --> 00:01:16.719 either in this age or in the age to come. Either 00:01:16.719 --> 00:01:20.019 make the tree good and its fruit good, or else 00:01:20.019 --> 00:01:23.590 make the tree bad and its fruit bad. For a tree 00:01:23.590 --> 00:01:26.849 is known by its fruit. Now he's speaking to the 00:01:26.849 --> 00:01:32.010 Pharisees. Brood of vipers. How can you, being 00:01:32.010 --> 00:01:35.950 evil, speak good things? And the implication 00:01:35.950 --> 00:01:38.890 is you can't. For out of the abundance of the 00:01:38.890 --> 00:01:42.250 heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the 00:01:42.250 --> 00:01:43.950 good treasure of his heart brings forth good 00:01:43.950 --> 00:01:47.450 things. And an evil man out of the evil treasure 00:01:47.450 --> 00:01:51.900 brings forth evil things. But I say to you that 00:01:51.900 --> 00:01:55.219 for every idle word men may speak, they will 00:01:55.219 --> 00:02:00.079 give account of it in the day of judgment. For 00:02:00.079 --> 00:02:03.540 by your words you will be justified, and by your 00:02:03.540 --> 00:02:07.060 words you will be condemned. And this is from 00:02:07.060 --> 00:02:09.919 the mouth of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Let's 00:02:09.919 --> 00:02:14.860 pray. Our Father, help us this morning. Lord 00:02:14.860 --> 00:02:16.780 God, help us to understand. Lord God, we have 00:02:16.780 --> 00:02:21.560 gathered as your people. called out by your grace, 00:02:21.699 --> 00:02:26.620 separated unto Christ in baptism. Lord God, we 00:02:26.620 --> 00:02:28.520 desire to hear from heaven. Lord God, we want 00:02:28.520 --> 00:02:32.400 the word of God to rule over us. One of the problems 00:02:32.400 --> 00:02:34.699 with the old covenant people was, Lord God, that 00:02:34.699 --> 00:02:36.979 they would continuously go astray in their hearts. 00:02:37.520 --> 00:02:39.580 They would hear the word of God and it would 00:02:39.580 --> 00:02:43.560 not obey it. Father, help us, Lord, to see their 00:02:43.560 --> 00:02:47.800 example and not to follow that. Lord, speak to 00:02:47.800 --> 00:02:51.750 us, Lord. Father, we pray for the help of the 00:02:51.750 --> 00:02:54.509 Holy Spirit of God. Lord, open our hearts to 00:02:54.509 --> 00:02:58.229 truth this morning. You must do that. And as 00:02:58.229 --> 00:02:59.889 you're opening our hearts to truth, Lord God, 00:02:59.949 --> 00:03:05.990 open our minds to the beauty and the glory and 00:03:05.990 --> 00:03:09.349 the majesty that is found uniquely in Christ. 00:03:09.990 --> 00:03:14.310 For it's in his name we pray. Amen. Our text 00:03:14.310 --> 00:03:17.069 today says there is a stern warning that's given. 00:03:17.580 --> 00:03:20.580 about blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. This sin 00:03:20.580 --> 00:03:24.379 is known as the unpardonable sin or the unforgivable 00:03:24.379 --> 00:03:27.780 sin. Now this particular passage has troubled 00:03:27.780 --> 00:03:31.460 many believers and struck fear in many hearts. 00:03:32.300 --> 00:03:36.039 And we've got to not soften the message. The 00:03:36.039 --> 00:03:39.400 warning is sobering. But Jesus did not give this 00:03:39.400 --> 00:03:42.659 warning to cause anxiety. Rather, it is given 00:03:42.659 --> 00:03:46.460 to awaken people to truth. And here's the truth. 00:03:47.069 --> 00:03:52.669 That what we say reveals our hearts, and our 00:03:52.669 --> 00:03:56.909 hearts reveal who we truly are, and all that 00:03:56.909 --> 00:03:59.009 one day is going to be brought into judgment 00:03:59.009 --> 00:04:04.310 before God. So now in context, this warning was 00:04:04.310 --> 00:04:07.030 given to the religious leaders, to the Pharisees, 00:04:07.030 --> 00:04:09.949 who had said that Jesus was working his signs 00:04:09.949 --> 00:04:13.060 and miracles by the power of Satan. Now we know 00:04:13.060 --> 00:04:15.039 the Pharisees are an influential religious group. 00:04:15.099 --> 00:04:16.699 You have the scribes, you have the Pharisees 00:04:16.699 --> 00:04:19.860 together. They're making up the Sanhedrin, which 00:04:19.860 --> 00:04:22.720 is a ruling body at that time. And the Pharisees 00:04:22.720 --> 00:04:25.259 loved to look righteous. They had a veneer of 00:04:25.259 --> 00:04:27.720 righteousness, but it was only just that. It 00:04:27.720 --> 00:04:30.639 was a veneer. There was no real substance, and 00:04:30.639 --> 00:04:33.420 the Lord Jesus knew that. And what they said 00:04:33.420 --> 00:04:37.480 about Jesus revealed their hearts. For the Lord 00:04:37.480 --> 00:04:39.680 Jesus said, out of the abundance of the heart, 00:04:39.899 --> 00:04:43.459 the mouth speaks. That means this morning that 00:04:43.459 --> 00:04:47.040 your words and mine are a window into our soul. 00:04:48.139 --> 00:04:51.720 The condition of your heart is revealed through 00:04:51.720 --> 00:04:55.079 the content of your speech. So that means your 00:04:55.079 --> 00:04:58.480 words are never just mere words. They are evidence 00:04:58.480 --> 00:05:02.879 of who you truly are. Now this morning we're 00:05:02.879 --> 00:05:06.139 in Matthew 12. Jesus is teaching us this truth 00:05:06.139 --> 00:05:09.629 that the words are the fruit of our soul. And 00:05:09.629 --> 00:05:11.850 he said these words will ultimately one day, 00:05:11.870 --> 00:05:13.850 they're either going to stand there to justify 00:05:13.850 --> 00:05:17.529 us or they'll be brought as a witness against 00:05:17.529 --> 00:05:20.670 us to condemn us on that final day of judgment. 00:05:21.370 --> 00:05:23.470 Now what's the context? Because there's a lot 00:05:23.470 --> 00:05:26.709 going on here. Matthew is writing this gospel 00:05:26.709 --> 00:05:29.769 as an apologetic. He's writing to convince the 00:05:29.769 --> 00:05:32.290 readers, primarily Jewish at this time, that 00:05:32.290 --> 00:05:36.949 Jesus of Nazareth, the one born in Bethlehem, 00:05:36.949 --> 00:05:40.699 is the king of Israel. He wants to convince them, 00:05:40.860 --> 00:05:44.439 the Jewish reader, that Jesus is the Christ and 00:05:44.439 --> 00:05:46.800 that they might believe and find eternal life 00:05:46.800 --> 00:05:50.180 in him. So if you look at it, it's really a masterful 00:05:50.180 --> 00:05:54.420 text. In chapters 1 and 2, he gives you the genealogical 00:05:54.420 --> 00:05:58.300 record and proof that Jesus is the Christ. He 00:05:58.300 --> 00:06:02.000 shows you that Jesus is both son of David, who 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:04.579 would rule forever on his father David's throne, 00:06:05.389 --> 00:06:07.949 But he's also, Jesus is also the son of Abraham, 00:06:08.089 --> 00:06:12.009 that promise given in Genesis 15, that in Abraham, 00:06:12.410 --> 00:06:15.589 in his seed, all the world is going to be blessed. 00:06:15.790 --> 00:06:19.689 That's Christ. In chapters 3 and 4, Matthew calls 00:06:19.689 --> 00:06:23.050 three witnesses to give an account as well. The 00:06:23.050 --> 00:06:25.149 first witness was that old covenant prophet, 00:06:25.470 --> 00:06:28.410 John the Baptist. John the Baptist looks upon 00:06:28.410 --> 00:06:32.029 Jesus and he says, Behold, the Lamb of God, which 00:06:32.029 --> 00:06:35.689 takes away the sin of the world. The second witness 00:06:35.689 --> 00:06:39.490 that was called was God the Father. God the Father's 00:06:39.490 --> 00:06:41.790 voice was heard as Jesus was being baptized. 00:06:41.910 --> 00:06:44.170 The Father is looking over a son and saying, 00:06:44.209 --> 00:06:48.889 Behold, the Son in whom I delight. The Father 00:06:48.889 --> 00:06:51.430 is giving witness. The third witness was also 00:06:51.430 --> 00:06:54.569 the Spirit of God. It also took place at Jesus' 00:06:54.769 --> 00:06:57.329 baptism. Remember, the Spirit of God, like a 00:06:57.329 --> 00:06:59.750 dove, it doesn't say a dove, but like a dove, 00:06:59.850 --> 00:07:02.860 descended upon Christ. Now that's an important 00:07:02.860 --> 00:07:05.600 sign because John the Baptist was told, here's 00:07:05.600 --> 00:07:07.740 how you're going to recognize the Messiah. The 00:07:07.740 --> 00:07:10.279 Messiah will be the one upon whom the Spirit 00:07:10.279 --> 00:07:13.560 of God will descend, which will be the sign that 00:07:13.560 --> 00:07:17.480 this man is sent by God. The implication is clear. 00:07:17.519 --> 00:07:21.220 Jesus is the Christ. Then in Matthew 5, 6, and 00:07:21.220 --> 00:07:24.439 7, Matthew records that wonderful sermon known 00:07:24.439 --> 00:07:26.699 as the Sermon on the Mount, and in it we see 00:07:26.699 --> 00:07:29.990 that Jesus had a unique authority. Not one time 00:07:29.990 --> 00:07:32.449 do you find Jesus quoting other notable figures 00:07:32.449 --> 00:07:36.250 or other famous or influential rabbis. That would 00:07:36.250 --> 00:07:39.009 have been the custom. You wanted to give credence 00:07:39.009 --> 00:07:40.889 and authority to your own voice, so you would 00:07:40.889 --> 00:07:42.769 have quoted someone who agreed with you. Jesus 00:07:42.769 --> 00:07:45.410 didn't. Instead, he simply said, I say to you. 00:07:45.970 --> 00:07:48.670 His voice was authoritative, and in fact, he 00:07:48.670 --> 00:07:51.290 said that his voice was authoritative and was 00:07:51.290 --> 00:07:53.589 able to give the true meaning of the law that 00:07:53.589 --> 00:07:57.509 was given to Moses by God. The implication is 00:07:57.509 --> 00:08:01.050 Jesus is the voice of God. In chapters 8 and 00:08:01.050 --> 00:08:03.889 9, Matthew lists a series of about nine miracles 00:08:03.889 --> 00:08:08.970 giving proof Jesus is the Messiah. Then there's 00:08:08.970 --> 00:08:11.009 some opposition in chapters 10 and 11, but now 00:08:11.009 --> 00:08:13.730 we're back in chapter 12. And once again, we 00:08:13.730 --> 00:08:16.370 see the witness of God the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, 00:08:16.550 --> 00:08:19.449 who is empowering the Lord Jesus Christ to do 00:08:19.449 --> 00:08:21.569 some miraculous signs and wonders before the 00:08:21.569 --> 00:08:25.110 people. This chapter starts off with Jesus healing 00:08:25.110 --> 00:08:29.029 a man with a withered hand. Later on, which we 00:08:29.029 --> 00:08:32.169 looked at last week, there's a blind, mute man 00:08:32.169 --> 00:08:37.149 who also was demon -possessed who was instantaneously 00:08:37.149 --> 00:08:40.690 and miraculously healed by Christ. Matthew's 00:08:40.690 --> 00:08:44.690 message is unmistakable. Jesus is the Christ, 00:08:44.990 --> 00:08:49.490 the one sent by God. Bottom line is, he is the 00:08:49.490 --> 00:08:52.970 king of Israel that God had sent. to rescue his 00:08:52.970 --> 00:08:56.789 people. But not everyone who witnessed these 00:08:56.789 --> 00:09:00.509 events agreed with that assessment. The Pharisees, 00:09:00.509 --> 00:09:05.230 you remember them? The religious ones. They blasphemously 00:09:05.230 --> 00:09:10.429 claimed that Jesus was able to do his signs and 00:09:10.429 --> 00:09:14.730 wonders because he was empowered by Satan. They 00:09:14.730 --> 00:09:18.250 blasphemed that holy name. They could not deny 00:09:18.250 --> 00:09:20.289 that a miraculous event had taken place. There 00:09:20.289 --> 00:09:22.190 were large crowds there. All of them had seen 00:09:22.190 --> 00:09:24.429 what had taken place. Instead of falling on their 00:09:24.429 --> 00:09:26.929 knees, they instead attributed the source of 00:09:26.929 --> 00:09:29.129 that miracle to Satan. And we looked at that 00:09:29.129 --> 00:09:32.429 back in verse 24 two weeks ago. When the Pharisees 00:09:32.429 --> 00:09:34.929 heard it, they said, This fellow, Jesus, this 00:09:34.929 --> 00:09:38.970 man, he does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, 00:09:39.009 --> 00:09:42.529 the ruler of the demons, which is shorthand for 00:09:42.529 --> 00:09:47.470 Satan. So the Pharisees saw firsthand. eyewitnesses 00:09:47.470 --> 00:09:51.190 of all that had taken place. And then they came 00:09:51.190 --> 00:09:54.490 to the conclusion that Jesus was somehow in league 00:09:54.490 --> 00:09:58.450 with Satan. In spite of all the abundant and 00:09:58.450 --> 00:10:01.789 incontrovertible evidence, the Pharisees, and 00:10:01.789 --> 00:10:05.909 here's the word, chose not to believe the truth. 00:10:07.169 --> 00:10:10.250 There's no excuse for their unbelief. These men 00:10:10.250 --> 00:10:13.379 are not ignorant men. In fact, They were experts 00:10:13.379 --> 00:10:16.299 in the law of Moses. They fastidiously followed 00:10:16.299 --> 00:10:20.960 the law of Moses. They knew what the scriptures 00:10:20.960 --> 00:10:23.960 had said about the Messiah. They knew the prophecies 00:10:23.960 --> 00:10:26.860 as well as the mighty works that the Messiah 00:10:26.860 --> 00:10:31.419 would do when he came. And here's Jesus standing 00:10:31.419 --> 00:10:33.899 in front of them doing miracle after miracle 00:10:33.899 --> 00:10:36.980 right in front of their eyes and they look at 00:10:36.980 --> 00:10:40.799 that and they reject it. They attributed the 00:10:40.799 --> 00:10:44.500 clear work of God's Spirit to Satan himself. 00:10:45.240 --> 00:10:47.200 And the Lord Jesus had something to say about 00:10:47.200 --> 00:10:49.360 it. Excuse me, I've got something on my throat. 00:10:49.879 --> 00:10:52.980 Verses 31 and 32. I didn't put that on the screen, 00:10:53.080 --> 00:10:55.960 but it's in the text. That's when Jesus said, 00:10:55.980 --> 00:10:57.659 every blasphemy, every sin will be forgiven. 00:10:58.620 --> 00:11:01.500 But if you blaspheme against God's Spirit, there 00:11:01.500 --> 00:11:03.379 is no forgiveness. Not either in this life or 00:11:03.379 --> 00:11:07.159 in the life to come. So Jesus is speaking about 00:11:07.159 --> 00:11:12.179 a sin. That's never going to be forgiven. Not 00:11:12.179 --> 00:11:15.460 in this age or in the age to come. Now that's 00:11:15.460 --> 00:11:18.039 a terribly frightening word. It's intentionally 00:11:18.039 --> 00:11:20.379 frightening. It's meant to be frightening because 00:11:20.379 --> 00:11:25.899 it was meant to grab attention. In context, it 00:11:25.899 --> 00:11:29.259 was meant to grab the Pharisees' attention. Now 00:11:29.259 --> 00:11:31.659 as the church has gathered this morning, most 00:11:31.659 --> 00:11:33.659 of us have heard about the unpardonable sin. 00:11:34.879 --> 00:11:37.759 And many Christians have wondered, Even if they 00:11:37.759 --> 00:11:40.519 had been guilty of committing it. Let me start 00:11:40.519 --> 00:11:44.539 with this. The very fact that you may fear having 00:11:44.539 --> 00:11:47.659 committed the unpardonable sin is evidence that 00:11:47.659 --> 00:11:50.379 you haven't committed the unpardonable sin. Because 00:11:50.379 --> 00:11:54.600 those who have committed this sin, they're blinded 00:11:54.600 --> 00:11:56.919 to the truth. They're hardened in the truth. 00:11:57.080 --> 00:11:59.460 They never questioned if they committed this. 00:11:59.580 --> 00:12:01.860 They're not wondering at night, have I committed 00:12:01.860 --> 00:12:05.019 this unpardonable sin? It's not who they are. 00:12:05.389 --> 00:12:07.210 They assume they're on the right side of history. 00:12:08.429 --> 00:12:10.529 Now, I want to start with what the unpardonable 00:12:10.529 --> 00:12:14.629 sin is not. It, first of all, is not a careless 00:12:14.629 --> 00:12:18.509 word that was spoken. That doesn't excuse careless 00:12:18.509 --> 00:12:22.009 words, but that's not what this sin is. It's 00:12:22.009 --> 00:12:25.769 not a moment of doubt or even a season, a prolonged 00:12:25.769 --> 00:12:31.169 doubt. When a Christian goes through deep suffering, 00:12:31.389 --> 00:12:34.279 what... some writers have referred to as the 00:12:34.279 --> 00:12:38.320 dark night of the soul, there may be seasons 00:12:38.320 --> 00:12:44.139 of real wrestling, questioning, doubting everything, 00:12:44.460 --> 00:12:48.440 including God himself. That's not the unpardonable 00:12:48.440 --> 00:12:52.320 sin. To that brother or to that sister, I would 00:12:52.320 --> 00:12:56.340 say, don't worry, Christian. God is holding on 00:12:56.340 --> 00:13:00.840 to you. He has you in his grip. He's not going 00:13:00.840 --> 00:13:04.220 to let you go. The one who started a good work 00:13:04.220 --> 00:13:06.740 in you will be faithful to perform it until the 00:13:06.740 --> 00:13:10.539 day of Jesus Christ. You are safe in your Father's 00:13:10.539 --> 00:13:12.799 grip. Because let's not pretend that everything 00:13:12.799 --> 00:13:16.519 is so easy to endure in this life. It's not the 00:13:16.519 --> 00:13:21.139 unpardonable sin then. So what is it then? It 00:13:21.139 --> 00:13:25.879 is a deliberate and willful rejection of the 00:13:25.879 --> 00:13:28.299 work of God's Spirit. I don't have time, but 00:13:28.299 --> 00:13:29.899 I think this is what the writer of Hebrews is 00:13:29.899 --> 00:13:32.960 referring to in Hebrews 6 as well. deliberate 00:13:32.960 --> 00:13:36.539 and willful are the key words. This is when someone 00:13:36.539 --> 00:13:38.960 comes to truly understand, and listen to my words 00:13:38.960 --> 00:13:41.659 carefully, truly understand that Jesus is the 00:13:41.659 --> 00:13:48.460 Christ, but they still deny him and even blaspheme 00:13:48.460 --> 00:13:52.580 him. In this case, it is the Pharisees. They 00:13:52.580 --> 00:13:56.460 were attributing the irrefutable work of God's 00:13:56.460 --> 00:14:00.919 Spirit to Satan. Now I want you to notice that 00:14:00.919 --> 00:14:03.620 Jesus makes a distinction about blaspheming him, 00:14:03.799 --> 00:14:06.600 the Son of Man, versus blaspheming the Holy Spirit. 00:14:06.879 --> 00:14:09.100 He says anyone who speaks a word against the 00:14:09.100 --> 00:14:12.320 Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. History 00:14:12.320 --> 00:14:15.360 is full of many people who began, who started 00:14:15.360 --> 00:14:18.419 out as enemies of Christ. There have been many 00:14:18.419 --> 00:14:22.860 people who began hating Jesus and yet later were 00:14:22.860 --> 00:14:26.000 gloriously converted. The Apostle Paul is the 00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:29.240 chief example given in the Scriptures. He once 00:14:29.240 --> 00:14:32.399 persecuted the church. He even sought to kill 00:14:32.399 --> 00:14:35.480 Christians and consented to their death. And 00:14:35.480 --> 00:14:38.620 yet later, he becomes the chief spokesman for 00:14:38.620 --> 00:14:42.720 the Christian faith. Paul would willingly go 00:14:42.720 --> 00:14:46.820 to his death by the hands of an executioner's 00:14:46.820 --> 00:14:51.899 sword, declaring that Jesus is Lord. Paul thought 00:14:51.899 --> 00:14:54.500 he was doing God's work. He thought this was 00:14:54.500 --> 00:14:58.299 pleasing to God to persecute the church, acted 00:14:58.299 --> 00:15:03.019 in ignorance. And there's the difference. The 00:15:03.019 --> 00:15:06.039 Pharisees are not ignorant. They were there. 00:15:06.399 --> 00:15:09.399 They see Jesus. They see the work of God's Spirit. 00:15:09.620 --> 00:15:12.259 They can see that it is a work that can only 00:15:12.259 --> 00:15:15.480 be done by God. It's only capable of being done 00:15:15.480 --> 00:15:19.700 by God. And they chose to blaspheme what took 00:15:19.700 --> 00:15:22.649 place. This is why Jesus said that if anyone 00:15:22.649 --> 00:15:25.250 speaks against the Holy Spirit, he cannot ever 00:15:25.250 --> 00:15:27.769 be forgiven in this life or in the one to come. 00:15:28.309 --> 00:15:30.730 Now, he said, you can blaspheme me. It's not 00:15:30.730 --> 00:15:33.590 that Jesus is somehow less important than the 00:15:33.590 --> 00:15:35.750 Holy Spirit. It's not what he's saying at all. 00:15:36.809 --> 00:15:39.230 Don Carson, in his commentary, says it this way. 00:15:39.750 --> 00:15:42.669 Within the context of the larger argument, the 00:15:42.669 --> 00:15:44.929 first sin is the rejection of the truth of the 00:15:44.929 --> 00:15:48.029 gospel. That's where Paul was. He did not believe 00:15:48.029 --> 00:15:50.980 the gospel. He wasn't convinced of it. Whereas 00:15:50.980 --> 00:15:53.759 the second sin, what we're talking about today, 00:15:54.039 --> 00:15:57.120 it's rejection of that same truth, the gospel, 00:15:57.320 --> 00:16:01.500 but in full awareness that that is exactly what 00:16:01.500 --> 00:16:05.200 you're doing. Thoughtfully, willfully, and self 00:16:05.200 --> 00:16:08.879 -consciously rejecting the work of the Spirit. 00:16:09.940 --> 00:16:12.299 Now you're saying, but why is that particular 00:16:12.299 --> 00:16:16.299 sin unforgivable? Follow what the scripture says. 00:16:16.960 --> 00:16:20.940 In John 16, 8, we read that the Spirit will convict 00:16:20.940 --> 00:16:24.820 the world of sin and of righteousness and of 00:16:24.820 --> 00:16:28.019 judgment. That's what he does. It is the Holy 00:16:28.019 --> 00:16:31.139 Spirit's job to convict the sinner of his sin 00:16:31.139 --> 00:16:36.159 and lead him to the Lord Jesus Christ. So if 00:16:36.159 --> 00:16:40.399 someone permanently and decisively rejects the 00:16:40.399 --> 00:16:43.080 work of the Spirit of God, you are rejecting 00:16:43.080 --> 00:16:45.480 the only means by which forgiveness can come 00:16:45.480 --> 00:16:50.710 to you. The Spirit of God is the only one who 00:16:50.710 --> 00:16:55.110 can convict of sin and grant new life. No one 00:16:55.110 --> 00:16:58.450 else can do that. So the sin is unforgivable 00:16:58.450 --> 00:17:02.730 not because God is unwilling to forgive, rather 00:17:02.730 --> 00:17:06.150 because this person has shut himself off from 00:17:06.150 --> 00:17:09.410 the only avenue that God has provided to be forgiven. 00:17:10.069 --> 00:17:12.789 It can't happen anymore. That's exactly what 00:17:12.789 --> 00:17:15.349 happened with the Pharisees. See, you continue 00:17:15.349 --> 00:17:17.049 to reject truth, reject truth, reject truth, 00:17:17.130 --> 00:17:18.829 your heart becomes hardened to truth, and you 00:17:18.829 --> 00:17:22.930 cannot repent. The Pharisees were hardened in 00:17:22.930 --> 00:17:24.769 their rejection of Christ. Here's the thing. 00:17:24.789 --> 00:17:26.990 If you see it, you can look at the flow of the 00:17:26.990 --> 00:17:30.609 argument here. The Pharisees had decided previously, 00:17:30.690 --> 00:17:33.710 they had already decided Jesus is not the Christ, 00:17:33.930 --> 00:17:37.430 despite all the evidence to the contrary. It's 00:17:37.430 --> 00:17:39.349 not like they're wondering and they're doubting. 00:17:39.349 --> 00:17:41.950 No, they had already decided this man is not. 00:17:42.380 --> 00:17:45.480 So they blinded themselves. They were willfully 00:17:45.480 --> 00:17:49.119 blind to the truth. And that's the worst blindness 00:17:49.119 --> 00:17:53.059 of all. Willful blindness is when you refuse. 00:17:54.240 --> 00:17:58.880 You choose not to see what is overwhelmingly 00:17:58.880 --> 00:18:01.880 clear. Theologians refer to this as vencible 00:18:01.880 --> 00:18:06.220 versus invincible ignorance. You don't see it 00:18:06.220 --> 00:18:09.910 because you don't want to see it. It makes you 00:18:09.910 --> 00:18:12.089 uncomfortable. I'm not going to believe that. 00:18:12.109 --> 00:18:13.730 No matter what, I'm not going to believe that. 00:18:14.890 --> 00:18:18.170 So here's the thing. After witnessing Jesus and 00:18:18.170 --> 00:18:20.609 his mighty signs and wonders. I mean, Jesus did 00:18:20.609 --> 00:18:23.369 everything. He's healed lepers and blind men 00:18:23.369 --> 00:18:26.950 and deaf men and mute men. He has multiplied 00:18:26.950 --> 00:18:29.970 fish and bread. He has walked on water. He is 00:18:29.970 --> 00:18:32.329 calm to see by his own voice. He has made the 00:18:32.329 --> 00:18:34.730 winds to stop. Stop? He's even raised the dead. 00:18:35.630 --> 00:18:38.640 What more do you want from him? The evidence 00:18:38.640 --> 00:18:41.819 is overwhelmingly clear, but they would not see 00:18:41.819 --> 00:18:45.319 it. They should have fallen on their faces in 00:18:45.319 --> 00:18:49.420 repentance before the Lord Jesus Christ. Instead, 00:18:49.619 --> 00:18:51.420 they convened an assembly and said he must die. 00:18:52.680 --> 00:18:55.619 This guy's got to go. He's got to be killed. 00:18:56.900 --> 00:19:00.500 Again, I want to quote Don Carson here. Jesus 00:19:00.500 --> 00:19:03.039 charges that those who perceive that his ministry 00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:04.900 is empowered by the Spirit, they understand that, 00:19:04.920 --> 00:19:07.299 they perceive it. And then for whatever reason, 00:19:07.589 --> 00:19:10.549 whether it's spite, jealousy, or arrogance, they 00:19:10.549 --> 00:19:12.890 then ascribe it to Satan, they have put themselves 00:19:12.890 --> 00:19:15.109 beyond the pale, for them there is no forgiveness. 00:19:16.990 --> 00:19:19.269 There's no turning back. That's why Hebrews 6 00:19:19.269 --> 00:19:21.089 says, the one who's been enlightened, tasted 00:19:21.089 --> 00:19:23.069 of the heavenly gift of God, if he falls away, 00:19:23.170 --> 00:19:25.349 it's impossible to renew him to repentance. He 00:19:25.349 --> 00:19:27.130 has shut himself off from the only avenue of 00:19:27.130 --> 00:19:31.549 salvation. See, time will always call for a response 00:19:31.549 --> 00:19:33.809 from every one of us. You're going to have to 00:19:33.809 --> 00:19:36.430 make a decision. Either Jesus Christ is a deceiver 00:19:36.430 --> 00:19:39.250 or he's the son of David. You're going to say 00:19:39.250 --> 00:19:42.029 he's either the Messiah or he's an imposter. 00:19:42.569 --> 00:19:45.869 You cannot remain neutral. And the Pharisees, 00:19:45.869 --> 00:19:47.950 the ones who should have been leading the charge 00:19:47.950 --> 00:19:50.049 toward Christ, they looked at all the evidence 00:19:50.049 --> 00:19:53.009 and then they decided consciously he's an imposter 00:19:53.009 --> 00:19:57.349 worthy of death. It's not ignorance. In fact, 00:19:57.349 --> 00:19:59.369 the Bible teaches that sins of ignorance, you're 00:19:59.369 --> 00:20:01.849 able to be forgiven for sins of ignorance. But 00:20:01.849 --> 00:20:05.269 blasphemy against the Spirit of God, that's not 00:20:05.269 --> 00:20:08.970 a sin of ignorance. It's a deliberate act that 00:20:08.970 --> 00:20:14.589 will never be pardoned. Not my words. The theologian 00:20:14.589 --> 00:20:16.890 Burkhauer said, what the Pharisees did, and I 00:20:16.890 --> 00:20:20.490 love how he worded this, it was a conscious disputing 00:20:20.490 --> 00:20:24.430 of the indisputable. What's indisputably clear, 00:20:24.670 --> 00:20:27.349 they're consciously disputing it. Which is foolish, 00:20:27.410 --> 00:20:29.789 isn't it? So you have to understand, if a person 00:20:29.789 --> 00:20:32.589 experiences all the evidence for Christ, they 00:20:32.589 --> 00:20:35.049 feel the weight of it, they know the truth of 00:20:35.049 --> 00:20:40.130 it, and they spurn it, it's impossible to repent 00:20:40.130 --> 00:20:42.690 after that. Because there is no other avenue. 00:20:42.970 --> 00:20:45.230 The Spirit has already done His job. He's convicted 00:20:45.230 --> 00:20:47.390 them of sin. He's shown them the glory of Christ. 00:20:47.490 --> 00:20:49.630 They understand it, and they consciously and 00:20:49.630 --> 00:20:51.210 deliberately, I don't want anything to do with 00:20:51.210 --> 00:20:56.410 it. How is it? How can one, how can the Pharisees, 00:20:56.410 --> 00:21:00.730 who know the law well, how can they see Jesus, 00:21:00.869 --> 00:21:03.549 see his signs, see the miracles, and conclude 00:21:03.549 --> 00:21:08.150 he's an emissary of Satan? It's easy. Verses 00:21:08.150 --> 00:21:10.829 33 -35 explain it. That's what Jesus is saying. 00:21:11.789 --> 00:21:14.970 Now, this is Jesus' argument. You either make 00:21:14.970 --> 00:21:16.950 the tree good and its fruit good, or else make 00:21:16.950 --> 00:21:18.710 the tree bad and the fruit bad, because the tree 00:21:18.710 --> 00:21:21.710 is known by its fruit. Now he turns to the Pharisees. 00:21:21.710 --> 00:21:26.269 You brood of vipers. You venomous snakes. How 00:21:26.269 --> 00:21:30.670 can you being evil, being evil, speak good things? 00:21:31.130 --> 00:21:32.609 Pride of the abundance of the heart, the mouth 00:21:32.609 --> 00:21:37.210 speaks. The Pharisees are bad trees. They're 00:21:37.210 --> 00:21:39.910 evil. They looked righteous outwardly. Of course 00:21:39.910 --> 00:21:43.490 they did. There's no spiritual life. There's 00:21:43.490 --> 00:21:46.109 no life pulsating with the breath and life of 00:21:46.109 --> 00:21:50.009 God. They're hypocrites. They wore masks in order 00:21:50.009 --> 00:21:52.069 to save the people. They wanted you to think 00:21:52.069 --> 00:21:54.029 that they're righteous. They loved being thought 00:21:54.029 --> 00:21:57.009 of as pious, which is why Jesus condemns them 00:21:57.009 --> 00:22:01.009 in Matthew 23, 11 chapters later. Woe to you, 00:22:01.069 --> 00:22:03.869 and when Jesus says woe, you listen up. Woe to 00:22:03.869 --> 00:22:07.069 you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you 00:22:07.069 --> 00:22:09.049 are like whitewashed tombs, which indeed appear 00:22:09.049 --> 00:22:12.349 beautiful outwardly, but inside you're just full 00:22:12.349 --> 00:22:15.779 of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Even 00:22:15.779 --> 00:22:20.200 so, you outwardly appear righteous to men. That's 00:22:20.200 --> 00:22:23.160 what you do. You look good to them. But here's 00:22:23.160 --> 00:22:27.019 what God sees. But inside, you are full of hypocrisy 00:22:27.019 --> 00:22:31.259 and lawlessness. Think about it. They saw a blind 00:22:31.259 --> 00:22:34.180 man, who was also mute, who had been taken captive 00:22:34.180 --> 00:22:36.839 by a demon. They immediately saw that by the 00:22:36.839 --> 00:22:39.460 power of God, this man was set free. And they 00:22:39.460 --> 00:22:43.660 said, nope. He did it by Satan's power. Because 00:22:43.660 --> 00:22:47.619 they're rotten trees with rotten fruit. Their 00:22:47.619 --> 00:22:52.380 hearts are corrupt. And they could not see the 00:22:52.380 --> 00:22:57.099 truth. Who you truly are in here will determine 00:22:57.099 --> 00:23:01.519 what you say here and what you do out here. Your 00:23:01.519 --> 00:23:03.619 heart's controlling it all. It's the processing 00:23:03.619 --> 00:23:06.579 center. So the Pharisees, he said, you're a brood 00:23:06.579 --> 00:23:08.759 of vipers. You're just a bunch of poisonous snakes. 00:23:09.799 --> 00:23:12.980 That's why you don't see the truth. That's why 00:23:12.980 --> 00:23:16.779 you don't understand who I am. Their blasphemous 00:23:16.779 --> 00:23:19.359 words were symptomatic of their blasphemous hearts. 00:23:20.400 --> 00:23:22.039 Which is why Jesus asked them a question. How 00:23:22.039 --> 00:23:26.559 can you being evil speak anything good? Oh, falsely 00:23:26.559 --> 00:23:30.160 good, yeah. They knew the scriptures. But he 00:23:30.160 --> 00:23:31.500 says, out of the abundance of the heart the mouth 00:23:31.500 --> 00:23:33.680 speaks. What had they just said? Jesus did his 00:23:33.680 --> 00:23:37.730 works by Satan. So they were evil. They could 00:23:37.730 --> 00:23:40.549 not speak good things. They could not recognize 00:23:40.549 --> 00:23:43.450 the good, the true, and the beautiful that was 00:23:43.450 --> 00:23:48.130 in Christ. They're blind, but they blinded themselves. 00:23:48.809 --> 00:23:51.970 It was a willful blindness. And so they are speaking 00:23:51.970 --> 00:23:54.609 according to their corrupt nature, which is a 00:23:54.609 --> 00:23:57.230 corrupt fruit. Out of the abundance of the heart, 00:23:57.269 --> 00:24:01.609 the mouth speaks. Listen, friends. The occasion 00:24:01.609 --> 00:24:04.349 for you to say what you said just is the occasion 00:24:04.349 --> 00:24:08.529 to reveal what was already there. Your words 00:24:08.529 --> 00:24:11.869 reveal your heart. Now we tend to equate, oh, 00:24:11.990 --> 00:24:14.130 I wasn't thinking. I didn't mean to say I wasn't 00:24:14.130 --> 00:24:16.410 thinking. We equate what we say with what we 00:24:16.410 --> 00:24:18.970 think, but that's not the Bible. The Bible connects 00:24:18.970 --> 00:24:21.710 our words, our speech to our hearts, not our 00:24:21.710 --> 00:24:25.710 intellect. The heart, that's your core. It's 00:24:25.710 --> 00:24:28.170 the core of your being. It's who you are at your 00:24:28.170 --> 00:24:34.369 deepest level. And so what we speak is tied to 00:24:34.369 --> 00:24:39.390 who we fundamentally are. Which is why our words 00:24:39.390 --> 00:24:43.089 are a good window into our soul. That's why they're 00:24:43.089 --> 00:24:45.410 going to be brought in the day of judgment. See, 00:24:45.470 --> 00:24:48.069 the Pharisees' evil character was revealed by 00:24:48.069 --> 00:24:51.950 the evil words they had spoken. Their hearts 00:24:51.950 --> 00:24:56.730 were overflowing with contempt for Christ. And 00:24:56.730 --> 00:24:58.769 the blasphemous words they spoke revealed it. 00:24:59.529 --> 00:25:02.410 It's just what was already there. It wasn't put 00:25:02.410 --> 00:25:07.380 there. It was there by nature. The evil man From 00:25:07.380 --> 00:25:11.700 his evil heart brings forth evil things. That's 00:25:11.700 --> 00:25:14.839 verse 35. But a good man, out of the good treasure 00:25:14.839 --> 00:25:18.180 of his heart, brings forth good things. So don't 00:25:18.180 --> 00:25:19.759 you notice something? Both the good man and the 00:25:19.759 --> 00:25:22.920 evil man both have a treasure. Every one of us 00:25:22.920 --> 00:25:25.500 have a treasure. Your treasure was simply what 00:25:25.500 --> 00:25:29.099 you value. And what determines the quality of 00:25:29.099 --> 00:25:32.160 that treasure is the condition of your heart. 00:25:34.099 --> 00:25:36.559 Leon Morris in his commentary says, what the 00:25:36.559 --> 00:25:40.839 good man produces is what he values. And it comes 00:25:40.839 --> 00:25:43.259 from the center of his being, his heart. So with 00:25:43.259 --> 00:25:47.059 the evil man, in both cases, what one brings 00:25:47.059 --> 00:25:53.440 forth proceeds from what one is at the core of 00:25:53.440 --> 00:25:56.700 one's being. Let's simplify it. Your treasure 00:25:56.700 --> 00:26:01.019 flows from your heart. Matthew 6, Jesus in the 00:26:01.019 --> 00:26:02.440 great sermon on the mount, for where your treasure 00:26:02.440 --> 00:26:06.170 is, there your heart will be also. You say, well, 00:26:06.190 --> 00:26:08.170 how do I know what my treasure is? It's easy, 00:26:08.309 --> 00:26:10.970 easy, easy to diagnose. Look at where you spend 00:26:10.970 --> 00:26:14.130 your time and what you spend your money on. It's 00:26:14.130 --> 00:26:17.089 your treasure. You can mouth a lot of things. 00:26:17.190 --> 00:26:19.650 You can say Jesus is your treasure. Time and 00:26:19.650 --> 00:26:21.789 money will reveal what it really is. Because 00:26:21.789 --> 00:26:24.470 that's the true litmus test. Where you spend 00:26:24.470 --> 00:26:26.410 your money and where you spend your time will 00:26:26.410 --> 00:26:28.329 tell you what's ultimately important to you. 00:26:29.069 --> 00:26:31.470 Because this is ultimately what you value, which 00:26:31.470 --> 00:26:35.549 is ultimately what you worship. What did the 00:26:35.549 --> 00:26:37.269 Pharisees treasure? They would have said, we 00:26:37.269 --> 00:26:41.029 worship God. No, they didn't. They worshipped 00:26:41.029 --> 00:26:46.109 the applause and praise of men. They craved public 00:26:46.109 --> 00:26:50.490 recognition and honor. They loved being held 00:26:50.490 --> 00:26:53.890 in high esteem and getting important VIP backstage 00:26:53.890 --> 00:26:57.230 passes. They loved being regarded as important 00:26:57.230 --> 00:27:01.329 in the eyes of the public. Which is why they 00:27:01.329 --> 00:27:04.630 hated Jesus. Because he came on the scene and 00:27:04.630 --> 00:27:07.150 began to publicly expose them as hypocrites. 00:27:08.170 --> 00:27:11.210 They want him dead. He's messing with their treasure. 00:27:11.910 --> 00:27:14.130 They can't allow that, because what they ultimately 00:27:14.130 --> 00:27:16.950 value is this public recognition, and Jesus is 00:27:16.950 --> 00:27:18.569 making it look bad in the eyes of the public, 00:27:18.670 --> 00:27:22.349 so their evil hearts will lead them to murder 00:27:22.349 --> 00:27:26.250 their Messiah. That's what happens. There they 00:27:26.250 --> 00:27:29.670 decided, he's got to go. They saw how they might 00:27:29.670 --> 00:27:32.539 destroy him, they said. Their evil hearts lead 00:27:32.539 --> 00:27:35.559 to murder of the Messiah. And Jesus closed this 00:27:35.559 --> 00:27:38.440 very important section of Scripture with another 00:27:38.440 --> 00:27:41.859 stern warning. And it's another warning of impending 00:27:41.859 --> 00:27:46.940 judgment. Verses 36 and 37. But I say to you 00:27:46.940 --> 00:27:50.380 that for every idle word that men may speak, 00:27:50.619 --> 00:27:55.400 they will, not might, they will give account 00:27:55.400 --> 00:27:57.440 of it in the day of judgment. And he's not just 00:27:57.440 --> 00:28:01.650 speaking of Pharisees. All men. For by your words 00:28:01.650 --> 00:28:03.269 you're going to be justified, but by your words 00:28:03.269 --> 00:28:05.990 you'll be condemned. The first thing you notice 00:28:05.990 --> 00:28:07.829 is that Jesus affirmed a final day of judgment. 00:28:08.970 --> 00:28:12.069 You don't hear a lot about it. You used to, you 00:28:12.069 --> 00:28:13.710 would hear a lot of preaching on the day of judgment. 00:28:13.750 --> 00:28:15.509 You don't. You hear a lot of TED Talks today. 00:28:16.509 --> 00:28:19.970 But Jesus affirmed this. And on this day of judgment, 00:28:20.029 --> 00:28:22.049 Jesus said, all men will give an account because 00:28:22.049 --> 00:28:24.450 we have been created by God and for God. You're 00:28:24.450 --> 00:28:26.789 going to give an account to God for every idle 00:28:26.789 --> 00:28:28.829 word that we've ever spoken, and that terrifies 00:28:28.829 --> 00:28:35.519 me. Idle is the word argos in Greek. Idle is 00:28:35.519 --> 00:28:37.880 a good translation. Unemployed, literally, because 00:28:37.880 --> 00:28:40.339 a is the negation, like an atheist, a theos, 00:28:40.400 --> 00:28:44.740 a ergon, no work. So it's an unemployed word. 00:28:45.180 --> 00:28:47.700 I know that makes no sense, but for those of 00:28:47.700 --> 00:28:49.259 you who are word nerds, that's where it comes 00:28:49.259 --> 00:28:53.740 from. So it's idle. It is useless, empty, careless, 00:28:53.859 --> 00:28:57.579 we could use a lazy word. These words are not 00:28:57.579 --> 00:28:59.640 necessarily evil words. That's the point. They're 00:28:59.640 --> 00:29:01.839 not necessarily evil. They're words that we would 00:29:01.839 --> 00:29:04.359 deem insignificant, or we might even say, well, 00:29:04.380 --> 00:29:07.099 that's just not important. It's just a word. 00:29:07.960 --> 00:29:11.299 And the Lord said, every word spoken like that, 00:29:11.420 --> 00:29:16.920 insignificantly, unimportantly, carelessly, that's 00:29:16.920 --> 00:29:20.819 going to be brought into evidence on Judgment 00:29:20.819 --> 00:29:24.849 Day. That's a frightening thing. So these careless 00:29:24.849 --> 00:29:26.750 words are more important than we think because 00:29:26.750 --> 00:29:30.049 they reveal something about us. Your words have 00:29:30.049 --> 00:29:34.309 immoral significance. Words that are carelessly 00:29:34.309 --> 00:29:36.730 spoken are important because these words reveal 00:29:36.730 --> 00:29:38.549 your heart. I hope you're seeing that. That's 00:29:38.549 --> 00:29:40.829 the whole point. And it's sobering for me. It's 00:29:40.829 --> 00:29:42.829 sobering to think one day these people, these 00:29:42.829 --> 00:29:45.750 Pharisees, will be brought before the judge with 00:29:45.750 --> 00:29:48.589 Almighty God, and they're going to give an account 00:29:48.589 --> 00:29:51.210 for those blasphemous words that they spoke against 00:29:51.210 --> 00:29:57.079 God's Son. And they will not be forgiven. And 00:29:57.079 --> 00:29:59.900 they will never be forgiven. For them, it's too 00:29:59.900 --> 00:30:03.380 late. This is what's going to happen. They will 00:30:03.380 --> 00:30:07.500 be condemned by their very words that they spoke. 00:30:09.019 --> 00:30:12.240 Again, Leon Morris said, what Jesus is saying 00:30:12.240 --> 00:30:17.240 is that at the judgment, what we are is what 00:30:17.240 --> 00:30:20.759 matters. And our words, especially to those which 00:30:20.759 --> 00:30:24.279 we give no particular thought, They reveal what 00:30:24.279 --> 00:30:30.960 we are. God will use your words, their words, 00:30:31.000 --> 00:30:33.980 my words against us as evidence on the day of 00:30:33.980 --> 00:30:36.359 judgment. So now the point you're like, oh, I 00:30:36.359 --> 00:30:37.799 have to be more careful with my words. You're 00:30:37.799 --> 00:30:39.880 missing the point. The point is the emphasis 00:30:39.880 --> 00:30:41.920 is to watch over the condition of your heart. 00:30:44.119 --> 00:30:46.400 So you can get legalistic and you can say, the 00:30:46.400 --> 00:30:49.839 Pharisees were not cursing. They were very orthodox 00:30:49.839 --> 00:30:51.799 in their beliefs. What they would have been leading 00:30:51.799 --> 00:30:54.980 people in prayers. But the Bible says, guard 00:30:54.980 --> 00:30:56.799 your heart or keep your heart with all diligence. 00:30:56.980 --> 00:30:59.799 Why? Why guard your heart? For out of it, the 00:30:59.799 --> 00:31:03.140 heart, flow the issues of life. The problem's 00:31:03.140 --> 00:31:06.240 not your mouth, the problem's your heart. And 00:31:06.240 --> 00:31:08.519 they're just, the words are the overflow. By 00:31:08.519 --> 00:31:10.579 your words, now verse 37 says, by your words 00:31:10.579 --> 00:31:13.579 you'll be justified, and by your words you'll 00:31:13.579 --> 00:31:16.019 be condemned. Now let me just say, Matthew is 00:31:16.019 --> 00:31:19.220 not saying that you can be justified before God 00:31:19.220 --> 00:31:22.319 by speaking correctly or the right use of words. 00:31:23.429 --> 00:31:25.690 The word justified in this case, because it can 00:31:25.690 --> 00:31:28.089 mean different things, like in James 2, your 00:31:28.089 --> 00:31:30.910 faith is justified. It's vindicated. Vindicated 00:31:30.910 --> 00:31:32.890 would be a very good word. Diakosune is the Greek 00:31:32.890 --> 00:31:36.289 word. Sometimes it's used in legal matters, sometimes 00:31:36.289 --> 00:31:40.690 it's not. So in the final day of judgment, your 00:31:40.690 --> 00:31:43.670 words are going to be evidence. They're either 00:31:43.670 --> 00:31:46.170 going to show you to be righteous, you're a good 00:31:46.170 --> 00:31:51.160 tree, or corrupt. And how are they going to know 00:31:51.160 --> 00:31:52.799 that? Like you said, well, I'm going to say I'm 00:31:52.799 --> 00:31:56.720 a good tree. I am good. I am righteous. Your 00:31:56.720 --> 00:31:59.720 words will be brought in as evidence, and they're 00:31:59.720 --> 00:32:01.500 either going to vindicate you on that day, or 00:32:01.500 --> 00:32:04.039 they will serve to condemn you. They're either 00:32:04.039 --> 00:32:05.920 going to serve to vindicate you and say, yes, 00:32:05.920 --> 00:32:07.720 you're righteous, and yes, you belong to Christ. 00:32:08.460 --> 00:32:12.579 The work of the Spirit's obvious. Or else all 00:32:12.579 --> 00:32:15.339 that's lacking, and they'll condemn you. Now 00:32:15.339 --> 00:32:18.539 the sinner is justified, that is, before God, 00:32:18.799 --> 00:32:21.640 He is declared righteous by grace alone, through 00:32:21.640 --> 00:32:24.339 faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of 00:32:24.339 --> 00:32:28.460 God alone. We receive, Paul says in Romans 3, 00:32:28.559 --> 00:32:32.720 a gift. It's the gift of righteousness. We receive 00:32:32.720 --> 00:32:36.799 it. It's imputed to us when we come to Christ 00:32:36.799 --> 00:32:40.599 in faith. But the tenor of the scripture says, 00:32:40.759 --> 00:32:44.809 genuine faith... It's never alone. Saved by faith 00:32:44.809 --> 00:32:47.250 alone or saved through faith alone, but a faith 00:32:47.250 --> 00:32:51.829 that saves is never alone. Living faith, James 00:32:51.829 --> 00:32:58.289 2, produces a good fruit. And your words are 00:32:58.289 --> 00:33:01.769 part of that fruit. When we are saved, you do 00:33:01.769 --> 00:33:04.529 not just receive a justified status before God, 00:33:04.650 --> 00:33:07.670 although you do receive that. You also get a 00:33:07.670 --> 00:33:09.589 new nature. That's the born again part, right? 00:33:09.630 --> 00:33:12.660 A new nature. This new nature now delights in 00:33:12.660 --> 00:33:16.480 honoring and obeying God. And your speech bears 00:33:16.480 --> 00:33:19.759 witness of your nature. Your speech will be a 00:33:19.759 --> 00:33:22.660 witness. It will either say, your speech bears 00:33:22.660 --> 00:33:27.359 witness of your old nature in Adam, or your speech 00:33:27.359 --> 00:33:29.440 will bear witness of your new nature in Christ. 00:33:30.839 --> 00:33:33.400 Your words reveal whether or not you are truly 00:33:33.400 --> 00:33:38.539 aligned with Jesus. So let's go two -minute drill. 00:33:38.859 --> 00:33:42.680 What are the takeaways? If you're here today, 00:33:42.799 --> 00:33:44.400 I want you to understand something. If you're 00:33:44.400 --> 00:33:47.740 here today apart from Christ, you cannot remain 00:33:47.740 --> 00:33:50.420 neutral about him. He doesn't give you that option. 00:33:50.559 --> 00:33:53.380 He said in verse 30, he that is not with me is 00:33:53.380 --> 00:33:55.880 against me. So there can be no middle ground 00:33:55.880 --> 00:33:57.559 when it comes to Christ. You're either with Jesus 00:33:57.559 --> 00:34:00.579 or you're against him. There is no net neutrality 00:34:00.579 --> 00:34:03.180 here. Now, let me say this. It is fine to take 00:34:03.180 --> 00:34:05.480 your time to investigate his claims. You can 00:34:05.480 --> 00:34:08.239 understand the terms that he lays down for discipleship. 00:34:08.280 --> 00:34:11.750 But once... That truth has become clear to you. 00:34:12.550 --> 00:34:16.510 You must not hesitate. You must yield to the 00:34:16.510 --> 00:34:19.130 work of God's spirit by repenting of your sin. 00:34:19.869 --> 00:34:23.989 And believing upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Calling 00:34:23.989 --> 00:34:27.150 upon him to save you. And then you rise up as 00:34:27.150 --> 00:34:30.789 disciples and we follow him. And your life must 00:34:30.789 --> 00:34:33.429 reflect the work of God's spirit that he's doing 00:34:33.429 --> 00:34:38.650 in your heart. Secondly though. To the church 00:34:38.650 --> 00:34:41.670 and to me. These words of Jesus ought to make 00:34:41.670 --> 00:34:44.889 us uncomfortable. For he does say, you are going 00:34:44.889 --> 00:34:47.849 to be judged by your words. He does not judge 00:34:47.849 --> 00:34:50.309 us on our knowledge of theology, how much you 00:34:50.309 --> 00:34:52.469 know about the Bible. He does not judge you, 00:34:52.510 --> 00:34:54.829 how many church services you attended. It is 00:34:54.829 --> 00:34:57.250 our words that will be brought to bear against 00:34:57.250 --> 00:35:00.769 us. Why? Why so much importance on these words? 00:35:01.230 --> 00:35:05.190 Because they're the fruit of our hearts. The 00:35:05.190 --> 00:35:09.820 mouth speaks. What your heart is full of. And 00:35:09.820 --> 00:35:11.800 I just want to say this. That level of scrutiny 00:35:11.800 --> 00:35:16.699 would crush us all. None of us can claim innocence 00:35:16.699 --> 00:35:19.280 here. You know where this is really tested for 00:35:19.280 --> 00:35:24.380 me? When I'm driving. I have said, oh my goodness, 00:35:24.460 --> 00:35:28.760 what an idiot. Far too many times. Because my 00:35:28.760 --> 00:35:31.480 heart is self -centered. You get in front of 00:35:31.480 --> 00:35:33.679 me and slow down? Well, how dare you slow me 00:35:33.679 --> 00:35:37.599 down? And that's so, I see this and I'm like, 00:35:37.619 --> 00:35:42.420 Lord, I would be crushed by this. But there's 00:35:42.420 --> 00:35:45.800 hope. There's hope because the one who will judge 00:35:45.800 --> 00:35:50.019 us has also assured us, he said, every sin and 00:35:50.019 --> 00:35:53.320 blasphemy will be forgiven. Not blasphemy of 00:35:53.320 --> 00:35:56.980 the Holy Spirit. What that means, and this we 00:35:56.980 --> 00:36:00.769 cannot miss. The door of grace, this age, this 00:36:00.769 --> 00:36:02.730 dawn of salvation, or the age of salvation is 00:36:02.730 --> 00:36:05.809 dawned. The door of grace is wide open except 00:36:05.809 --> 00:36:12.010 to the one who slams it shut. Our hope and our 00:36:12.010 --> 00:36:15.110 joy is that the one who's going to judge us, 00:36:15.230 --> 00:36:19.110 oh, this is beautiful, friends, is the same one 00:36:19.110 --> 00:36:22.550 who invites us to his table over here and shows 00:36:22.550 --> 00:36:26.300 us how he has redeemed us. This table, the table 00:36:26.300 --> 00:36:28.400 of the Lord, friends, it is not for people who 00:36:28.400 --> 00:36:31.159 have mastered the control of their tongue. It's 00:36:31.159 --> 00:36:34.460 an unruly evil, no man can tame it. It is for 00:36:34.460 --> 00:36:40.019 sinners who know you need mercy. And once again, 00:36:40.079 --> 00:36:44.099 we cast ourselves upon the mercy of God. To his 00:36:44.099 --> 00:36:47.920 people with whom he is in covenant, Jesus does 00:36:47.920 --> 00:36:51.659 not speak words of condemnation. Rather, he speaks 00:36:51.659 --> 00:36:55.800 words of forgiveness that is found. By and through 00:36:55.800 --> 00:36:59.019 his sacrifice for us. It's a beautiful thing. 00:36:59.480 --> 00:37:03.500 Friends, commune with Christ. Fellowship with 00:37:03.500 --> 00:37:05.719 the one who has bought you today. The one who 00:37:05.719 --> 00:37:08.500 has borne your judgment. This is the message 00:37:08.500 --> 00:37:11.539 of Matthew 12. The day of grace is here. Today 00:37:11.539 --> 00:37:14.420 is the day of salvation. Cast yourself upon the 00:37:14.420 --> 00:37:17.360 mercy of God. Call upon him once you see that 00:37:17.360 --> 00:37:20.239 he is glorious and majestic and beautiful. You 00:37:20.239 --> 00:37:23.579 follow. You rise up and follow him. But as believers, 00:37:23.679 --> 00:37:27.300 we have the glorious privilege of participating 00:37:27.300 --> 00:37:30.599 in his death and his resurrection at the table 00:37:30.599 --> 00:37:33.420 of the Lord. Deacons, if you would come and prepare 00:37:33.420 --> 00:37:33.840 the table.