[Passage]
[Matthew 7:21] [1 John 5:16-17]
[Matthew 7:21] “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.”
[1 John 5:16-17] “If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not [leading] to death, he shall ask and [God] will for him give life to those who commit sin not [leading] to death. There is a sin [leading] to death; I do not say that he should make request for this. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not [leading] to death.”
[Introduction]
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in Matthew chapter 25 is a parable of the ten virgins.
The five wise virgins among the ten prepared the oil to light the lamp, but the other foolish five virgins were run out of oil.
When they heard the voice that the bride was coming, the foolish five virgins went to buy the oil, but when they came back, the gate to the wedding banquet was shut.
They pleaded to open the gate for them, but they could only hear hopeless answer, “I do not know you.” Here, the ten virgins symbolize the believers who are waiting for the Lord, who is the bridegroom.
When the Lord our bridegroom comes, those believer who prepare themselves well and wait for the Lord will enter the wedding banquet. But what is important is that not all the ten virgins who were waiting for the Lord entered the wedding banquet.
All the ten virgins knew the bride was coming and waiting for him. But five of them could not enter the wedding banquet. It is the same with the believers. When they unite with the Lord our bridegroom, they will be saved and enjoy eternal life.
But even among those who accepted the gospel and profess that they believe in the Lord, there are some people who will not be saved.
They certainly think they believe and they attend church and do some church works, too. But if they cannot enter the kingdom of heaven, how meaningless is it? It is not only meaningless, but the result is very fearful.
Therefore, we should not lead our Christian life just like that but we have to have true faith with which we can be saved knowing the will of God.
In this session and the next session, we will look at the cases where you think you believe in the Lord but cannot be saved.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will clearly understand what kind of faith you must have through the message and be able to enjoy eternal life.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Matthew 7:21 says, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.”
Calling Jesus, ‘Lord, Lord,’ means that they know Jesus is the Savior. So, it means that even among those who profess that Jesus is their Savior, there are people who cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.
In the following verses 22-23, it says, “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'”
Even though they say they believe in the Lord and even if they did something in the name of the Lord, if they practice lawlessness, the Lord says, “You have nothing to do with me.”
1 John 1:6 also says, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and [yet] walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;” It means if a person who lives in untruth of this world says “I have fellowship with God. I believe in God,” this is a lie.
Matthew 13:40-42 compares these people to tares. It says, “Therefore just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Just as a farmer divides the tares from the wheat at the harvest, the Lord will divide the ones who have false faith like the tares at the end of the world, namely at the time of judgment.
He will put those who practice lawlessness and cause others to fall, even though they say they believe, in the fire of furnace, the fire of hell. Even if they attend church on Sundays, give tithes, thanks offerings, and do many other church works, those who practice lawlessness will have to gnash their teeth in the darkness.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, then, who are the ones who practice lawlessness? 1 John 3:4 says, “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.” It is lawlessness and sin to violate the word of God, the law of the truth.
Those who do the things that Bible tells us not to do, do not cast off the things that Bible tells us to cast off, and do not keep the things that the Bible tell us to keep, are all who commit sins.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 says, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor [the] covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”
Being covetous is to covet money or food. Revilers are those who slander and curse at others. Swindlers are those who take away other people’s belongings or money by force.
Some of those believers who try to live by the word and not to do anything unrighteous are tempted after some time and practice lawlessness. For example, let us consider the case of keeping the Sabbath. Our members offer the whole Sunday before God spending their time worshipping and having fellowship with brothers in faith.
But those who temp you tell you to attend the worship service and then take worldly pleasures. They urge you to enjoy golfing, fishing, mountain climbing, movies, or sports games, or to earn more money and enjoy worldly meetings.
They say, “Why do you have to lead such a difficult Christian life?” “All other Christians act with flexibility, and why do you only have to be so special?” So, if they put their heart in the worldly things so much like this, do you think it is possible for them to offer a living sacrifice in spirit and in truth?
If you neglect the worship, which is the most basic thing in faith, you will only be farther away from God in all other matters.
If you accept these temptations, when you do merchandise or some business, you cheat just like the worldly people saying, “All others are cheating, so I cannot survive without cheating.”
Even if you are an elder or a deacon, sometimes you drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes.
Also, just like before you accepted the Lord, you get angry and lead a lustful life, but you think, “I am attending church, so I am saved. I am forgiven by the blood of the Lord.”
But Galatians 5:19-21 says, “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”
As said, “I have forewarned you,” it is warned even from the Old Testament and it is always warned through Jesus, His disciples, and other men of God. Even though you profess your faith in the Lord, if you do not turn from sins but still practice lawlessness, you will not inherit the kingdom of God, so you can only fall into hell.
Other than the works of the flesh described in Galatians, the second half of Romans 14:23 says, “and whatever is not from faith is sin.” And James 4:17 says, “Therefore, to one who knows [the] right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin.”
After all, anything with which God is not pleased is sin and lawlessness. Then, you might have a question here. For example, if a new-believer cannot be saved just because he told a lie, how many people will actually be saved?
Of course, you cannot cast off all your sins immediately after you accept the Lord. But even though you have not cast off all your sins, if you pray and try to change yourself, you are in the process of changing, and this means that you have faith.
God does not say you are unrighteous but recognizes you that you have faith to be saved. But if you do not even try to cast off sins but rather still commit the works of flesh and get stained with more of the worldly things, even if you confess, “I believe,” it can only be a lie.
Therefore, if you truly believe in the Lord, when you commit a sin by chance, you have to turn as soon as you realize it and change into perfect heart quickly. But among the sins, there are sins that can be forgiven while there are sins that cannot be forgiven, too.
In the Bible, we can see that there are sins that we must never commit having faith in God, namely sins that cannot be forgiven.
1 John 5:16-17 says, “If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not [leading] to death, he shall ask and [God] will for him give life to those who commit sin not [leading] to death. There is a sin [leading] to death; I do not say that he should make request for this. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not [leading] to death.”
For those who commit the sins that do not lead to death, you should diligently pray for them, and warn them so that they will turn from their sins. But you should also know that there are sins leading to death that cannot be forgiven.
Now, let us consider each of the sins leading to death. First, it is the blaspheming, speaking against, and acting against the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 12:31 says, “Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.” Also Luke 12:10 reads, “And everyone who will speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him.”
Speaking against the Holy Spirit is what it literally says. For example, seeing the works taking place by the power of the Holy Spirit, if you say it is the work of demon or of Satan, it is to speak against the Holy Spirit, saying that the Holy Spirit is dirty demon or Satan.
Also, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is, after seeing the works of the Holy Spirit taking place, to deny God’s works with ones’ own evil and disturb the works so that God’s work cannot be accomplished.
For example, it is the case of a person who spreads false rumors and talks badly about a church where the works of the Holy Spirit are taking tremendously that it is heretic and wrong. This is not to blaspheme a man who is a creature but it is standing against God the Creator and hindering His works from being accomplished, so it is such a fearful sin.
Moreover, going over this level, if one makes schemes and plans to stand against the works of the Holy Spirit, it is to act against the Holy Spirit. In Mark 3:20-22, we can see the Jews were blaspheming, speaking against, and acting against the Holy Spirit.
It says, “And He *came home, and the multitude *gathered again, to such an extent that they could not even eat a meal. And when His own people heard [of this,] they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “He has lost His senses.” And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.”
Among the people who heard news about Jesus, those who were good in their heart believed them and gave glory to God, but those who were evil did not believe them, but rather, they made evil words about Jesus and spread them. Furthermore, it was not Gentiles who did not know God or ordinary people but the scribes who were studying God’s word and Pharisees.
They thought they were through with the law even to memorize the whole law, but they did not practice it. They did not either accomplish the word in their heart. Therefore, their spiritual eyes were darkened, so they could not even recognize Jesus, who is the Word itself, and they finally spoke and stood against the Holy Spirit
Mark 3:23-26 says, “And He called them to Himself and began speaking to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? “And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. “And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished!”
A country or a family cannot stand firmly if there are internal problems. Even the world of evil spirits has strict order, so demons will not drive out demons nor will Satan drive out Satan.
Some say if a sorceress or a shaman performs as exorcism, the demon becomes quiet. This is not because Satan drove out Satan. It is just that the demon stays calm for a moment because people worship it and give exorcism food.
After some time, it will work even more strongly to receive the worship again. When people worship it again, it will stay calm for a moment again, and after some time, it will begin to work again. If this goes on, the whole family will be ruined.
You cannot drive away demons by exorcism or ritual and putting an amulet but rather, you are calling in more of evil spirit. Therefore, to drive away evil spirits, you must have stronger spiritual authority than the evil spirits.
The one who is stronger than Satan is God, and we can control the evil spirits only when the Holy Spirit, who is one with God, works.
The following verses 28-29 say, “Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.”
The Holy Spirit is God, and if you blaspheme the works of God saying it is the works of demons, and if you speak against and act against God, how can you be saved? For example, if the children spit on, slap, and say such bad words against their parents, they cannot even call their parents, ‘father’ and ‘mother’.
No matter how enthusiastically you may seem to be leading your life in faith, if you blaspheme the Holy Spirit, it is standing against God completely. If a work of God takes place somewhere, those who have good heart and communicate with God will rejoice and give glory to God.
But some people, even though they say they believe in God, are jealous of and slander the works of the Holy Spirit. They say, “Signs and wonders took place only 2,000 years ago. Revelation and communication with God ended long ago,” and talk about the works of the Holy Spirit that they are the works of Satan and those who perform these works are heretic.
But John 4:48 says, “Jesus therefore said to him, “Unless you [people] see signs and wonders, you [simply] will not believe.” Also, Jesus and the apostles testified to the living God by performing signs and wonders.
Stephen and Phillip performed wonderful miracles although they were just deacons, and through these, so many people came to believe in God. God, who is the same yesterday and today manifest signs and wonders through those whom He is pleased with. Through these works, He testifies to Himself.
Thus, if a person speaks against the works manifested by God through the Holy Spirit, it is to blaspheme and stand against God, and this sin cannot be forgiven.
If one blasphemes the Holy Spirit with words saying that he believes in God and knowing the Bible, he is just too far away from goodness, and he has nothing to do with God. That is why God says this kind of person will not be forgiven in this age and in the age to come.
But, as said, “And everyone who will speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him,” in some cases, one who has not received the Holy Spirit or one who does not know the truth may blaspheme the works of the Holy Spirit.
This is not to stand against God, but it can be considered as speaking against the Son of Man, so if they repent thoroughly, they can be forgiven.
About the second sin leading to death, I will explain to you in the next session.
[Conclusion]
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, when I was preaching in revivals of other churches before, I preached about sins leading to death. Then, the members, and even the leaders were surprised saying they did not know there were such words in the Bible. Even when I preached that those who practice lawlessness will not be saved even though they say, ‘Lord, Lord’, many people said they did not know there was such word.
Because they do not know even the words that are clearly written in the Bible, so many people get away from the truth and stand against God. So, they always suffer from tests and trials and finally fall into the way of death.
All of you who have listened to this message today should not go the foolish way but I urge you to dwell in the truth and light as children of God.
Therefore, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will always experience the power of the Holy Spirit who helps us, guides us, and blesses us, and take the straight shortcut to the kingdom of heaven.