Today’s Devotional – November 17th (The Unpardonable Sin)
By admin On November 11th, 2013.
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Today’s Devotional – Year 1, NOVEMBER 17TH
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THE UNPARDONABLE SIN
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‘Wherefore I say unto you,
All manner of sin and blasphemy
shall be forgiven unto men:
but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost
shall not be forgiven unto men.”
Matthew 12:31
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The above verse presents a most fearful concept which has plagued many serious-minded church-goers over the centuries since it was first penned in Matthew’s Gospel.
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And upon first examination, it would appear that merely saying something evil about the Holy Spirit is the unpardonable sin.
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No forgiveness for those who speak a word against the Holy Spirit!
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Pilgrim’s Progress – Wikimedia – US Public Domain
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JOHN BUNYAN
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In the book “Grace Abounding To The Chief of Sinners”, author, John Bunyan was plagued by Satan over this issue. Prior to Bunyan’s full conversion, the Devil was playing games with Bunyan, tempting him over and over with the thought to sell out Christ. The Devil put the thought within him… “Sell Christ for this, or sell Christ for that; sell Him, sell Him, sell Him.”
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John Bunyan by Thomas Sadler – 1684 – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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MANY ARE LIKE BUNYAN
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Well, Satan laid a trap for Bunyan, and Bunyan fell into it. And, after much prodding by Satan, Bunyan finally whispered, “Let Him (Christ) go if He will.”
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And from that moment on, Satan used it for an opportunity to plague poor Bunyan for several years, making him to doubt that he could ever find forgiveness!
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Christian and Apollyon – Wikipedia – Public Domain
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DOCTRINE NOT FORMED BY 1 VERSE!
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But Bunyan was not alone. Many serious-minded Christians have likewise fallen into this same devilish trap! And Satan mercilessly plagues them, terrorizing them, that they have committed the unpardonable sin!
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But for those who persevere in God’s Word, they eventually discover that this passage from Matthew needs to be compared with other similar passages, in order to be correctly understood.
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Chaplain reads Bible – Wikimedia – US Govt. Public Domain
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PRESUMPTUOUSNESS & THE GREAT TRANSGRESSION!
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But there is a much bigger issue here! And it has to do with the different attitudes of Believers and “Make-Believers”! It has to do with the presumptuous spirit of many church-goers!
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In other words, we shouldn’t think of those self-distrusting ones, like Bunyan, as though they are ignorant or less than what they should be!
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No, rather, these are quite often in a much better place with God, than those of us who are confident about our standing with Heaven!
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(This painting is of two different attitudes so often seen among God’s professed followers: the proud, self-confident Pharisee and the humble, self-distrusting Publican. see Luke 18:9-14)
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Listen to this next little section…
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Tissot – The Pharisee and publican – Brooklyn Museum & Wikimedia – US public domain
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THE SHEEP: UNPRESUMPTUOUS SELF-DISTRUST
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The Parable of the Sheep & Goats gives some insight concerning this idea of the unforgiveable sin. Notice that the sheep were very unsure of themselves, when confronted by Christ… “Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee an hungered, and fed Thee? or thirsty, and gave Thee drink? When saw we Thee a stranger, and took Thee in? or naked, and clothed Thee? Or when saw we Thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee?” Matthew 25:37-39.
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Here is seen the humble self-distrusting UN-presumptuous attitude of True-Worshippers. God had already driven out their presumptuous pride, leaving them as meek as the man, Moses (see Numbers 12:3). And in their humility, they only see their own unworthiness and un-Christlikeness!
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Judgment of Sheep & Goats – Fra Angelico – cropped & altered photo – Wikipedia – Public Domain
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GOATS: PRESUMPTUOUS & SELF-ASSURED
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But this parable reveals the presumptuous attitude of the goats, having just the opposite attitude of the sheep. Listen… “Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?” Matthew 25:44, 45.
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Notice that in this hasty response, the goats were surprised that they had been accused by Jesus. “When did we not do this? When did we not do that?”
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Now this presumptuous attitude reminds us of Psalm 19, in which David prays the following… “Who can understand his errors? cleanse Thou me from secret faults. Keep back Thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. Psalm 19:12, 13.
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Yes, as this above passage reveals, there are many who go on in their unconverted lives, thinking that they are a “shoe-in” for Heaven!
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Notice in this not-so-funny cartoon, a concept portrait of a man that is thinking he is in Heaven! But truth-be-told, this man is deceived by Satan and his minions, and in reality, is actually in the darkness of Hell!
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SELF-DISTRUSTING ONES!
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“Who can understand his errors? cleanse Thou me from secret faults. Keep back Thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. Psalm 19:12, 13.
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But for those who are grieving for their sin, and fearful for their Salvation, Psalm 19:12, 13 brings much comfort! And so, upon reading such passages as this one, that genuine truth-seeker can at last breathe a sigh of relief, finally realizing that the unpardonable sin is not committed by a mere slip of the tongue!
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David’s sorrow – Wikigallery – Public Domain
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PRESUMPTUOUS SINS
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There are many faithful church-attendees who commit the presumptuous sin of using human reason to disregard a commandment of God.
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For example, they might say, “Well, I’m not going to pay taxes because the government is corrupt, and misusing my tax money for evil purposes.”
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Or they might say, “I’m not going to bother getting the proper permits to build this or that project, for this or that reason!”
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Or they might say, “I’m going to go into this or that place, for this or that reason, even though the Bible warns against going there!”
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These are the kinds of presumptuous sins which are committed by many in the Church who have never received the true gift of Salvation.
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All such deceived ones should examine themselves to see whether or not “I am guilty of being presumptuous about my faith”.
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Pilgrim’s Progress – 09, p29 – Obstinate – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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“GOOD NEWS FROM A FAR COUNTRY!”
Proverbs 25:25
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Well, the very Good News is, that today is still the day of salvation!
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We can still cry out to God to deliver us from our presumptuousness, converting us into trusting and humble servants.
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And maybe our prayer might sound like this…
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“Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them not have dominion over me:
then shall I be upright,
and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
Let the words of my mouth,
and the meditation of my heart,
be acceptable in thy sight,
O LORD, my strength, and my Redeemer.
Psalm 19:13, 14
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Prayer – USMC – Wikimedia – US Govt. Public Domain
Girl Praying – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Take away all my presumptuousness. Make me to fear and tremble before Thy Word…
Marine Praying – cropped image – Wikimedia – USMC Public Domain
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READ MORE…
You may wish to read this article…“March 3rd (Who Lowered the Bar? Pt. 1)“, or you can read this…“May 29th (The Unforgiveable Sin!)”
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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THE END
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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN
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ORION THE JUDGE
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“Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe… Multitudes, multitudes in the Valley of Decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the Valley of Decision.” Joel 3:13, 14
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The above passage from that fiery prophecy of Joel, and speaks of the Judgment of God in terms of a wheat harvest. And now Signs Of Heaven is revealing the most amazing of all constellations: Orion. One great reason that Orion is so amazing is that the Constellation Orion can be seen in five different ways:
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1. Orion the Archer.
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2. Orion the Reaper.
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3. Orion the Soldier.
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4. The Cross of Orion.
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5. Orion, the Good Shepherd
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ORION THE REAPER
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Orion the Reaper is the office of Christ which will be dealt with in this article. And if the Reader has read the introduction article called Orion the Reaper, then it is understood that these first four offices of Orion seem to correspond to the four horsemen of Revelation Ch. 6. And of the first four Orion’s, this Reaper corresponds best to the 3rd Horseman in Revelation Ch. 6; the Horseman that depicts “Judgment”.
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Orion the Reaper is not only encrypted in Revelation Ch. 6, but more directly spoken of in Revelation Ch. 14… “And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.” Rev. 14:14. So this constellation is connected to Revelation in a number of ways.
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READ MORE…
For a more in-depth discussion of this subject, just click here… “The Orion Phenomena”
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TOMORROW:
November 18th (Squirreling-away Money)
Acorn Squirrel – wikimedia – share-alike license
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20+ MINUTE AUDIO JEREMIAH STUDY
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ALL‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO BEGIN FOLLOWING THIS 650+ AUDIO BIBLE STUDY THROUGH THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH EACH DAY ON THIS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.
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THIS IS STUDY #319 PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…
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Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.com – Public Domain
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Click on image credit links below each photo, for licensing names, details, and tags, etc.. Most Images cropped & reduced in size.
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