UNITY
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1). “Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13). Christ wants Christians to strive to keep the unity of His church: “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9). Never cause discord or division in the body of Christ (the church), for those who do such “doth the Lord hate” (Proverbs 6:16–19; see also 1 Corinthians 3:17).
UNPARDONABLE SIN
“Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation. Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit” (Mark 3:28–30). The religious crowd of Jesus’s day rejected Him, saying Jesus had an unclean spirit, thus in context “blaspheme against the Holy Ghost” would be rejecting Christ. It is the Holy Spirit that presents Christ to man and convicts him of his sins (John 16:7–11), if one rejects Christ (“blaspheme against the Holy Ghost”), he could not be saved. Nothing is said here about committing the sin of adultery or murder (King David did both) or any other sin except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. One cannot make the meaning contradict the rest of the Bible where it is clear that a continual rejection of Christ is unforgivable because God has no other plan of salvation for us. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36; see also v. 18).
This is similar to where God said in Genesis 6:3, “My spirit shall not always strive with man” and then followed the flood of Noah. God “shut” the door to the ark (Genesis 7:16), and they waited for “seven days” (Genesis 7:9–10) before the flood came, so for one-week mankind was without the possibility of escaping divine judgment.
(There is a movie out called “Noah,” which has the flood being a punishment for man’s disrespect for nature, as opposed to sins against God. Did Hollywood get it right or wrong? The following is the pertinent passage from the Bible, may the reader decide: “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6:5–8). If Noah was a tree hugger then why did he cooperate in a worldwide flood that destroyed the environment and 99.9% of all animals and humans on the earth? What environmentalist would be in favor of that? Hollywood only had one daughter-in-law of Noah going on the ark but they all went (Genesis 7:13 and 1 Peter 3:20).
Though all are born with the possibility of being saved, a few have become doomed before they die, without the possibility of salvation. Having a seared conscience and no longer able to feel guilt, “having their conscience seared with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:2), their hearts have become hardened day by day, and they continue to say no to the Holy Spirit until “God gave them over to a reprobate mind” (Romans 1:28). If, on the other hand, a person feels convicted for his sins, and realizes he should be saved, he can still be saved by calling upon Christ to forgive him of his sins.
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1). “Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13). Christ wants Christians to strive to keep the unity of His church: “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9). Never cause discord or division in the body of Christ (the church), for those who do such “doth the Lord hate” (Proverbs 6:16–19; see also 1 Corinthians 3:17).
UNPARDONABLE SIN
“Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation. Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit” (Mark 3:28–30). The religious crowd of Jesus’s day rejected Him, saying Jesus had an unclean spirit, thus in context “blaspheme against the Holy Ghost” would be rejecting Christ. It is the Holy Spirit that presents Christ to man and convicts him of his sins (John 16:7–11), if one rejects Christ (“blaspheme against the Holy Ghost”), he could not be saved. Nothing is said here about committing the sin of adultery or murder (King David did both) or any other sin except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. One cannot make the meaning contradict the rest of the Bible where it is clear that a continual rejection of Christ is unforgivable because God has no other plan of salvation for us. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36; see also v. 18).
This is similar to where God said in Genesis 6:3, “My spirit shall not always strive with man” and then followed the flood of Noah. God “shut” the door to the ark (Genesis 7:16), and they waited for “seven days” (Genesis 7:9–10) before the flood came, so for one-week mankind was without the possibility of escaping divine judgment.
(There is a movie out called “Noah,” which has the flood being a punishment for man’s disrespect for nature, as opposed to sins against God. Did Hollywood get it right or wrong? The following is the pertinent passage from the Bible, may the reader decide: “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6:5–8). If Noah was a tree hugger then why did he cooperate in a worldwide flood that destroyed the environment and 99.9% of all animals and humans on the earth? What environmentalist would be in favor of that? Hollywood only had one daughter-in-law of Noah going on the ark but they all went (Genesis 7:13 and 1 Peter 3:20).
Though all are born with the possibility of being saved, a few have become doomed before they die, without the possibility of salvation. Having a seared conscience and no longer able to feel guilt, “having their conscience seared with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:2), their hearts have become hardened day by day, and they continue to say no to the Holy Spirit until “God gave them over to a reprobate mind” (Romans 1:28). If, on the other hand, a person feels convicted for his sins, and realizes he should be saved, he can still be saved by calling upon Christ to forgive him of his sins.