Dr. David Jeremiah Presents
Living inthe Ageof Signs
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Living in the Age of Signs
Online Destination
Sign 29
The Latitude and Longitude of Gratitude: Those Nearby
Today’s Audio Devotion:
The Latitude and Longitude of Gratitude: Those Nearby
Verbally expressing emotions can be challenging. And ease of expression can vary with personality type. It sometimes surprises Bible readers to discover that the apostle Paul was so free in expressing positive emotions to others. But he was—and so should we be.
Which is harder to say: “I love you” or “I’m thankful for you”? Surprisingly, it may be the latter. We say, “I love you,” frequently to family, even to friends—and that's a good thing. But it’s easy for it to become habitual and less meaningful over time. What we don’t say very often is, “I’m thankful for you.” Those words imply a degree of humility and transparency that can be more challenging. Those words say, “Your presence in my life adds things that I could not experience if you weren’t here.”
Think about the people in your life for whom you are thankful. Now think about how often you have expressed your thankfulness to them—and purpose to do it more often.
Thankfulness is a flower which will never bloom well excepting upon a root of deep humility.
J. C. Ryle
One of the questions I'm regularly asked is, "Pastor, can I commit a sin that God cannot forgive?"
Jesus answered this question in Mark 3:20–30. According to Him, there is one thing a person can do for which there is no forgiveness either in this age or in the age to come: blaspheming against the Holy Spirit. But what does it mean to blaspheme the Holy Spirit?
Let's examine Jesus' concluding statement in verses 28–30:
"Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation,"—because they said, "He has an unclean spirit."
This paragraph has often been misunderstood by Christians. To arrive at the correct interpretation, we must begin with the last phrase, which explains why Jesus made this statement. He gave this teaching because His critics were accusing Him of being demon–possessed (verse 22). Our Lord was telling them, in essence, "There is a sin that you are on the verge of committing. You should be very careful, because you're about to do something for which there is no forgiveness."
What were they about to do?
It's Not a Thoughtless Mistake
Let me take a moment and say the unpardonable sin isn't something that someone commits accidentally. The scribes who came from Jerusalem didn't jump to a conclusion about Jesus. If you follow the references to these scribes throughout the book of Mark, you'll see there is a progression to their unbelief. They were initially curious about Jesus and His ministry. Then they had questions. In time, they grew indifferent; but then their indifference metastasized into a malicious attitude that became so hateful that it ultimately nailed Jesus Christ to the cross.
In our story in Mark 3, there's an important distinction that is lost in our English translations. It is only apparent in the Greek New Testament. According to verse 22, the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebub." The verb form for "said" is in the imperfect tense. It can be translated as, "They kept on saying." The scribes didn't utter a sudden thoughtless word or shout an instant reaction. Their words represented a hardened attitude and an embittered, impenitent heart.
It's a Progressive Rejection
When God convicts us of sin and presents us with the Gospel, it's dangerous to neglect it, especially if our procrastination becomes chronic. After continued resistance, we become so hard–hearted and sin–hardened that we grow calloused of soul. Our ears can't receive the truth. Our minds shake off the conviction of the Spirit. We become cynical of conscience. And although the grace of God is still available to us, we push away from it.
These scribes had become Jesus–resistant because of the time–lapsed attitudes of their own evil hearts. It's tragic, for these scribes had devoted their lives to copying the Word of God. Note the relationship between the words scribe and scribble. These men had copied and recopied the Old Testament. Every day they copied an ancient Scripture scroll by hand.
They had copied Isaiah 53, about the Suffering Servant. They had copied Psalm 22, about the death of the Messiah. They knew Micah 5 and the prophecy of our Lord's birth. Yet their hearts had become so hardened they couldn't receive His grace when it arrived in the person of Jesus.
It is possible to become hardened to spiritual truth by living in the middle of it. The scribes had come to the place where they were so familiar with religious things that when the Son of God showed up, they didn't know who He was, and they accused Him of being from Satan.
It's Denying the Deity of Christ
By ascribing the miracles of Jesus to Satan, the religious leaders were denying the deity of Jesus Christ. They were saying He could not be God. Yet by His miracles He was showing Himself to be nothing and no one less than God. Only God Himself could do what He had done. His followers believed in His deity.
It's the Holy Spirit who witnesses to the deity of Christ in our world today. If you refuse to accept the ministry of the Holy Spirit or you ascribe His ministry to Satan, you are denying Christ's deity. You must believe in Jesus as the Son of God. You must accept the witness of the Holy Spirit and act upon the conviction He brings.
Have You Committed the Unpardonable Sin?
The thought of an unforgivable sin has haunted sensitive people in every Christian century, and maybe it has haunted you. I want to be clear in saying that if you're bothered in your spirit that you may have committed a sin God will not forgive, the very fact that you have anxiety over that is evidence you've not committed the sin. If He is still working in your heart, it's not possible to have committed the unpardonable sin. The very fact that you're reading this article is a tremendous indication you've not committed the unforgivable sin described in the Gospel of Mark.
In its essence, the unforgivable sin is hardening your heart against God by repeatedly refusing to respond to His entreaties to your soul. By continuing to resist and reject the Lord, you build calluses on your soul until the conviction of the Spirit of God no longer registers in your heart. Over a period of time, you become hardened. You hear the Word of God, and it makes no impact on you. If you die in that condition, there's no further forgiveness available. For those who reject Jesus Christ, there's no forgiveness anywhere else, anytime, either in this world or the next. He died for you, and if you reject that, there's no other sacrifice for sin.
Don't worry that you've committed the unpardonable sin. But if you don't know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, be concerned that you might. If you've resisted Christ and refused Him as your Savior, and if something happens and you die, you will have committed the unpardonable sin. You won't get a second chance after death. Whatever we do concerning Christ, we do in this life. Don't gamble that you will have time or that you will be able to respond later. The Bible says, "Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near" (Isaiah 55:6).
You can trust that Jesus is who He claims to be. He is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the only way to God. He is Son of God and Son of Man, our Savior, the Word made flesh, the Firstborn from the Dead. He is our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend. He is Christ the Lord, the Rock of Ages, the Sure Foundation, the Cornerstone. When He is your unforgettable Savior, you'll never have to worry about the unforgivable sin.
After the events of the Tribulation and the Battle of Armageddon, it would be tempting to think things couldn't possibly get any worse. For some, that will be true. Christians, including those who accept Christ during the Tribulation, will enjoy peace and prosperity during Christ's Millennial Kingdom and then throughout eternity. For others, things will become eternally worse.
No one can escape the judgment of God. The Bible describes two future days of judgment in which every human being who has ever lived will be judged by Jesus Christ. Christians will be judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Everyone else, those who does not know Jesus as their Savior, will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment. Let's take a closer look at the details surrounding this event.
The People Before the Great White Throne
"As John views the great white throne, he sees the dead. All who died without a relationship with Jesus Christ."
Revelation 20:12–13 describes the people at the great white throne: "I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God.… The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them."
As John views the great white throne, he sees the dead—all who died without trusting Jesus Christ as their Savior. These people are spiritually dead because they died apart from Christ. Their bodies are summoned from their graves and from the sea. Their souls are called from Death and Hades to stand before the Judge of all the earth. And John says this group will be made up of both "small and great." That expression appears often in the Bible—over five times in the book of Revelation alone. It reminds us that there will be rich and poor, famous and obscure, powerful and weak.
Erwin Lutzer says this multitude is diverse in its religions.1 There will be Buddhists and Muslims and Hindus and Protestants and Catholics and Baptists and Presbyterians. There will be those who believed in one God and those who believed in many gods. There will be those who refused to believe in any God at all. There will be those who believed in meditation or mindfulness as a means of salvation and those who believed that doing great deeds was the path to eternal life. We see the moral and the immoral, the priest as well as the minister, the nun as well as the missionary.
What will happen to the religious people and the humanitarians when they stand before God? The Lord Jesus answered that question. "Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' " (Matthew 7:21–23)
Contrary to popular opinion, believing in your chosen truth does not make it true. There is only one truth, and that's the truth of Jesus Christ. He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). There is only one way to the Father and one way to eternal life.
Where Will the Great White Throne Judgment Take Place?
"The Bible does not specify where the Great White Throne Judgment will take place. We do know where it will not be however."
Revelation 20:11 says, "I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them." The Bible does not specify where the Great White Throne Judgment will take place, but we do know where it will not be. It will not be in heaven, nor will it be on earth.
It cannot take place on earth because the earth and skies will have fled away at the appearance of the Lord. It cannot take place in heaven because no sinner can enter God's presence there. So, the Great White Throne Judgment takes place somewhere between heaven and earth. It may happen on a distant planet we don't even know about, but it will take place.
Perhaps its name is more important than its location. The word great speaks of the infinite One who is the Judge. The word white speaks of divine holiness, purity, and justice. And throne speaks of the majesty of the One who has the right to determine the destiny of His creatures.
The Judge of the Great White Throne
"The Millennium is a thousand–year reign of peace, and the Lord Jesus Christ will be King."
Revelation 20:11–12 provides the identity of the Judge: "Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it…. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God."
Who is the Judge on the Great White Throne? He is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Some people like to imagine Jesus as nothing other than a mild–mannered teacher, but His own words confirm His role as Judge: "The Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son…. and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man" (John 5:22, 27). The only One who has ever been completely holy and yet completely human is the only One who will judge mankind.
Paul wrote to the Romans, "God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ" (Romans 2:16). In Acts, Peter declared that Christ "was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead" (10:42).
Christ will judge the living at the Judgment Seat of Christ when believers stand before Him after the Rapture, and He will judge the spiritually dead at the Great White Throne Judgment. Jesus Christ will conduct the trial, and no one is better qualified. He did everything possible to redeem mankind. Anyone who has accepted His redemption will receive grace and be judged mercifully at the first judgment. Anyone who rejects His offer will receive the full penalty due for every offense at the second and final judgment.
Blotted Out in the Book of Life
"The names of all of the people born into the whole world are originally entered into the Book of Life. But those names are subject to being removed."
Revelation 21:27 says only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life will be admitted into heaven—so what is that book? It tracks every person's birth. When we are born, our names go into the Book of Life, and we have our entire lifetime to accept Christ. If we come to the end of our lives and we haven't accepted Him, our names are blotted out of the Book of Life. No one can go to heaven whose name is not in the Lamb's Book of Life.
We can speculate that every person's name is written in the Book of Life with the time of conception and the time of birth. The age of accountability might be next to his name. And then, if he's a Christian, the date of his conversion to Christ as His Savior is there. If there are no entries for the last items by the time that person dies, the entry will be blotted out (Revelation 3:5). An awful blank space will be left in the book at the place where that name should have been. Displaying this blank spot in the book will be the final and conclusive evidence that the person being judged must be consigned to life forever without God.
What If I'm Not a Christian During the End Times?
"…the only way that you can be protected from the awful judgment… is to put your trust in Jesus Christ, today."
The One who spoke the world into being is the One who will ultimately make all things right. The Bible says we will be with Him forever because we put our trust in Him. Those who know Christ and are alive when He returns will be caught up into the air with Him and will be taken to heaven.
Those who die before He returns will rise from their graves before everyone else and be caught up together to be with Him. From then on, they will always be with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
Christians can rejoice knowing they will not face God's condemnation (Romans 8:1). For everyone else, the only way to receive protection from the Great White Throne Judgment and from eternal punishment in the lake of fire is to trust Jesus as Savior and obey Him as Lord. Those living during the Tribulation will still be able to accept Christ, but why would anyone wait? Today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2).
1Erwin Lutzer, "Is God Unfair?" 2011, https://www.moodymedia.org/articles/god–unfair/, accessed on April 16, 2019.
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God Loves You!
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
(John 3:16)
God has a wonderful plan for your life!
I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
(John 10:10b)
Walking Down the "Romans Road" to Salvation
Because of our sin, we are separated from God.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
(Romans 3:23)
The Penalty for our sin is death.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.
(Romans 6:23)
The penalty for our sin was paid by Jesus Christ!
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
(Romans 5:8)
If we repent of our sin, then confess and trust Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we will be saved from our sins!
For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
(Romans 10:13)
...if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
(Romans 10:9,10)
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To receive Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, pray this prayer:
Lord Jesus, I'm like everyone else - I can't make it through life on my own. I'm imperfect. I'm prone to sin. I have come to realize that there's nothing in the world I can do to make myself acceptable to You. But I know that You have loved me so much that You were willing to submit to the cross and die on my behalf. That's a grace so amazing I cannot understand it; I can only accept it. And I do. I accept Your free gift, and I know that from this moment on, I am saved. I am a child of God. And I give the rest of my life to serving You and experiencing the joy that only You can offer. Fill me now, dear Lord, and raise me to walk in the newness of life. I thank You and praise You! Amen.
Now that you are a "new creation" in Jesus Christ, the road ahead will be full of life-changing experiences. Growing in knowledge and understanding of the Bible and your Christian walk with God is essential for your spiritual growth.
Here are some ways that you can grow as a Christian:
Be baptized.
Baptism identifies you with Christ.
Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, "See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?" Then Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.
(Acts 8:35-40)
Study the Bible.
The Bible will guide you through life and answer life's questions.
Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
(Psalm 119:105)
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
(2 Timothy 2:15)
Share your faith with others.
Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord.
(2 Timothy 1:8)
Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.
(Matthew 10:32)
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witness to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
(Acts 1:8)
Be part of a local church.
And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
(Ephesians 4:11-12)
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
(Colossians 3:16)
Fellowship with other Christians.
And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works; not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
(Hebrews 10:24, 25)
God desires to meet your needs! Make prayer a part of your daily life.
So He said to them, “When you pray, say: our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."
(Luke 11:2-4)
If you would like to know more about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, request your FREE copy of Your Greatest Turning Point here.