0:00:04.742,0:00:06.863 Maybe I've said this before, 0:00:06.863,0:00:11.047 the two topics that seem to be 0:00:11.047,0:00:14.078 the most sought after, 0:00:14.078,0:00:17.298 of the most interest that James posts, 0:00:17.298,0:00:20.418 it seems like either have to do 0:00:20.418,0:00:25.807 with the battle against [br]sexual sin and temptation, 0:00:25.807,0:00:31.783 or this one classic question 0:00:31.783,0:00:36.215 has to do with the unpardonable sin. 0:00:36.215,0:00:41.657 And we've dealt with it. 0:00:41.657,0:00:44.736 We had a special - 0:00:44.736,0:00:49.938 we filmed a special interview basically 0:00:49.938,0:00:51.469 where I dealt with that, 0:00:51.469,0:00:53.319 and then have we ever dealt with it 0:00:53.319,0:00:56.358 in any other APT's? 0:00:56.358,0:00:58.510 Five times? 0:00:58.510,0:01:03.394 So, that's how often [br]this situation comes up. 0:01:03.394,0:01:07.299 Let me read it to you. 0:01:07.299,0:01:11.933 "I've committed the unforgivable sin - 0:01:11.933,0:01:16.778 99% chance. 0:01:16.778,0:01:18.309 I just want to ask you 0:01:18.309,0:01:20.455 what happens when you commit it? 0:01:20.455,0:01:22.947 Because here's what happened to me. 0:01:22.947,0:01:24.543 Everything went away. 0:01:24.543,0:01:26.704 Honestly, everything. 0:01:26.704,0:01:32.887 Even temptations now - I have none." 0:01:32.887,0:01:35.604 I don't think that's exactly [br]what he means to say. 0:01:35.604,0:01:40.233 I think he means that [br]even with temptations, 0:01:40.233,0:01:41.674 everything has gone away. 0:01:41.674,0:01:44.010 He has no ability to resist or fight 0:01:44.010,0:01:46.618 I think is what he means. 0:01:46.618,0:01:49.364 "Emotions - I have only fear. 0:01:49.364,0:01:51.511 I don't even love my family anymore. 0:01:51.511,0:01:53.008 It all happened two days ago 0:01:53.008,0:01:55.106 after I blasphemed the Holy Spirit 0:01:55.106,0:01:56.980 in my mind. 0:01:56.980,0:02:00.288 I didn't mean the words that I said, 0:02:00.288,0:02:02.728 but somehow I said them from my heart 0:02:02.728,0:02:04.043 in my mind. 0:02:04.043,0:02:06.464 It was just like in one [br]second, there it was. 0:02:06.464,0:02:07.511 I cannot believe it. 0:02:07.511,0:02:09.732 I asked God if I've really done this, 0:02:09.732,0:02:12.234 and my conscience says that I did. 0:02:12.234,0:02:15.115 I've been begging for forgiveness[br]and nothing happened. 0:02:15.115,0:02:18.373 I cannot recognize when [br]I commit sin anymore. 0:02:18.373,0:02:19.944 I'm not being convicted. 0:02:19.944,0:02:24.647 I wish I was never born." 0:02:24.647,0:02:29.831 Now, let me just say this. 0:02:29.831,0:02:35.090 When a person is perceived 0:02:35.090,0:02:39.202 to be struggling, 0:02:39.202,0:02:41.589 oftentimes what that provokes, 0:02:41.589,0:02:45.640 or we think should be provoked from us 0:02:45.640,0:02:49.246 is pity. 0:02:49.246,0:02:52.725 But the thing is with spiritual things, 0:02:52.725,0:02:56.785 sometimes the things [br]that people struggle with 0:02:56.785,0:02:59.077 or the problems that they have 0:02:59.077,0:03:02.481 is not actually something to be pitied; 0:03:02.481,0:03:07.038 it's something that they [br]are to be blamed for. 0:03:07.038,0:03:12.167 There are ways of handling 0:03:12.167,0:03:13.880 problems that people have 0:03:13.880,0:03:24.291 that can seem less than compassionate. 0:03:24.291,0:03:30.807 I feel like I have read so many - 0:03:30.807,0:03:33.496 this is the classic question. 0:03:33.496,0:03:40.135 There are so many individuals. 0:03:40.135,0:03:43.476 I've spent I don't know how much time 0:03:43.476,0:03:46.407 with people on the phone 0:03:46.407,0:03:48.177 and by email, 0:03:48.177,0:03:50.155 and if I've spent that much time, 0:03:50.155,0:03:53.441 James has probably spent a [br]hundred times that amount. 0:03:53.441,0:03:55.038 Craig is answering. 0:03:55.038,0:03:57.003 He's dealing with that. 0:03:57.003,0:03:59.456 Do you ever give those things to Jeff? 0:03:59.456,0:04:02.293 James: A lot of the unpardonable [br]sin ones Jeff gets. Yes. 0:04:02.293,0:04:04.183 Tim: Okay. 0:04:04.183,0:04:07.924 So here's Ichabod Spencer. 0:04:07.924,0:04:11.145 This man lived about 200 years ago. 0:04:11.145,0:04:18.192 He was a pastor in the northeast. 0:04:18.192,0:04:19.955 He wrote this book. 0:04:19.955,0:04:21.031 I highly recommend it. 0:04:21.031,0:04:24.089 It's called "A Pastor's Sketches." 0:04:24.089,0:04:25.641 What this book is - 0:04:25.641,0:04:29.011 now you talk about photographic memory - 0:04:29.011,0:04:31.459 he must have had a photographic memory. 0:04:31.459,0:04:34.983 He could interview somebody 0:04:34.983,0:04:38.273 and then sit down and write 0:04:38.273,0:04:40.656 and record the conversation that he had 0:04:40.656,0:04:42.610 word for word. 0:04:42.610,0:04:44.883 And this is what we have here. 0:04:44.883,0:04:47.516 We have him dealing with people - 0:04:47.516,0:04:50.508 both Christians in struggles that they had 0:04:50.508,0:04:51.836 and unbelievers - 0:04:51.836,0:04:55.086 him dealing with them [br]in an evangelistic sense. 0:04:55.086,0:04:58.098 It's an extremely helpful book. 0:04:58.098,0:05:00.973 He deals with some problems 0:05:00.973,0:05:03.784 that are timeless. 0:05:03.784,0:05:06.775 They're not just things people [br]struggled with 200 years ago. 0:05:06.775,0:05:10.550 And here is a short chapter 0:05:10.550,0:05:13.458 where he deals with a young lady 0:05:13.458,0:05:16.775 who believed that she [br]committed the unpardonable sin. 0:05:16.775,0:05:19.275 And I want you all to hear it. 0:05:19.275,0:05:23.005 Because what has struck me 0:05:23.005,0:05:26.270 about the vast majority of the people 0:05:26.270,0:05:30.490 that think that they've committed [br]the unpardonable sin, 0:05:30.490,0:05:36.604 is even if you could convince [br]them that they hadn't, 0:05:36.604,0:05:38.720 I'm not really convinced these people 0:05:38.720,0:05:40.979 are lining up to be saved. 0:05:40.979,0:05:45.376 I think the real problem is 0:05:45.376,0:05:51.287 they think that it's no [br]longer within their capacity 0:05:51.287,0:05:53.536 to be saved when they want to be saved 0:05:53.536,0:05:56.625 and that's what concerns them. 0:05:56.625,0:05:58.884 Not that they really want to be saved; 0:05:58.884,0:06:01.428 they just want to know that they can be 0:06:01.428,0:06:03.735 if they want to. 0:06:03.735,0:06:06.214 And they've done something, 0:06:06.214,0:06:08.251 and whether the devil's involved in it 0:06:08.251,0:06:09.941 and whispering in their ear 0:06:09.941,0:06:11.165 and condemning them, 0:06:11.165,0:06:13.677 or trying to convince them [br]that they've committed it 0:06:13.677,0:06:15.954 when they haven't committed it, 0:06:15.954,0:06:16.848 I don't know. 0:06:16.848,0:06:18.516 How much it's their own conscience; 0:06:18.516,0:06:21.347 how much it's their own ignorance. 0:06:21.347,0:06:29.585 But listen to this. 0:06:29.585,0:06:32.300 "Her most common topic..." 0:06:32.300,0:06:33.981 This young lady he's speaking to. 0:06:33.981,0:06:35.658 "Her most common topic 0:06:35.658,0:06:39.005 was the magnitude of her sins. 0:06:39.005,0:06:40.518 She was such a sinner 0:06:40.518,0:06:42.601 that there was no mercy for her."[br] 0:06:42.601,0:06:44.265 And he would try to convince her 0:06:44.265,0:06:46.079 the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth 0:06:46.079,0:06:49.456 from all sin. 0:06:49.456,0:06:52.601 Well, at this point, he doensn't know 0:06:52.601,0:06:54.373 that she thinks she has committed 0:06:54.373,0:06:55.738 the unpardonable sin. 0:06:55.738,0:06:57.162 He's pressing her. 0:06:57.162,0:06:59.860 He's visiting with her from time to time. 0:06:59.860,0:07:02.051 "One day, as I was urging this point, 0:07:02.051,0:07:05.557 and entreating her to be reconciled to God 0:07:05.557,0:07:09.029 by yielding her heart to the persuasions 0:07:09.029,0:07:11.530 of the Holy Spirit, 0:07:11.530,0:07:13.582 she said to me, 0:07:13.582,0:07:16.606 'I believe I've committed [br]the unpardonable sin.'" 0:07:16.606,0:07:19.976 Now listen to how he interacts with her. 0:07:19.976,0:07:23.284 "What makes you think so?" 0:07:23.284,0:07:25.389 See, that's a good question to ask people. 0:07:25.389,0:07:26.883 People who come along and say, 0:07:26.883,0:07:28.823 "I've committed the unpardonable sin." 0:07:28.823,0:07:35.641 Well, ask them why they think so? 0:07:35.641,0:07:37.004 Because what you want to be 0:07:37.004,0:07:38.526 is you want to be a soul doctor. 0:07:38.526,0:07:40.359 You want to try to help people. 0:07:40.359,0:07:43.388 Why would they think [br]that they committed it? 0:07:43.388,0:07:47.977 "'Well, I feel so,' she said hesitatingly. 0:07:47.977,0:07:51.099 'What makes you feel so?' 0:07:51.099,0:07:53.012 'Well, the Lord would have forgiven me 0:07:53.012,0:07:54.535 before this time if there was 0:07:54.535,0:07:57.749 any forgiveness for me.'" 0:07:57.749,0:08:00.106 And he says to her, 0:08:00.106,0:08:02.239 "He will forgive you now 0:08:02.239,0:08:03.770 if you will repent of sin 0:08:03.770,0:08:06.081 and trust in the redemption of Christ." 0:08:06.081,0:08:08.055 Now listen, no matter what anybody says 0:08:08.055,0:08:09.403 they think they've done, 0:08:09.403,0:08:11.008 I'll guarantee you this, 0:08:11.008,0:08:14.572 if somebody repents and trusts 0:08:14.572,0:08:16.345 the redemption of Christ, 0:08:16.345,0:08:19.304 they will be saved. 0:08:19.304,0:08:22.072 You say what if they've [br]committed the unpardonable sin? 0:08:22.072,0:08:23.854 I don't care what they've committed. 0:08:23.854,0:08:25.439 If they will trust Christ, 0:08:25.439,0:08:28.859 Jesus said He will not turn away anybody 0:08:28.859,0:08:30.548 that comes to Him. 0:08:30.548,0:08:32.160 That's what He says. 0:08:32.160,0:08:35.211 And so that's a good [br]place to go with people. 0:08:35.211,0:08:36.973 No matter what you think 0:08:36.973,0:08:38.277 that you've committed, 0:08:38.277,0:08:41.150 if you will repent of sin 0:08:41.150,0:08:43.562 and trust in the redemption of Christ, 0:08:43.562,0:08:45.988 He will forgive you now. 0:08:45.988,0:08:49.924 That's based on His promises. 0:08:49.924,0:08:52.181 "'No,' said she, 0:08:52.181,0:08:53.945 'I've committed the unpardonable sin. 0:08:53.945,0:08:55.873 There is no forgiveness for me.' 0:08:55.873,0:08:59.901 She wept and sobbed aloud." 0:08:59.901,0:09:03.656 So this isn't superficial with her. 0:09:03.656,0:09:06.736 This is deep. She feels this. 0:09:06.736,0:09:09.671 "Said I, 'How long have you been thinking 0:09:09.671,0:09:12.417 that you committed the unpardonable sin?' 0:09:12.417,0:09:15.464 She answered, 'I have [br]known it a long time.'" 0:09:15.464,0:09:20.022 See, that was a good [br]first question he asked. 0:09:20.022,0:09:24.248 What makes you think you've committed it? 0:09:24.248,0:09:27.660 Now, here's a good question too 0:09:27.660,0:09:30.178 when somebody asks it. 0:09:30.178,0:09:34.618 What is the unpardonable sin? 0:09:34.618,0:09:36.286 You know, you get a lot of people 0:09:36.286,0:09:40.517 that think they've committed it. 0:09:40.517,0:09:41.977 (incomplete thought) 0:09:41.977,0:09:43.803 Listen to how she answers. 0:09:43.803,0:09:45.814 "'What is the unpardonable sin?' 0:09:45.814,0:09:49.536 She answered, 'the sin [br]against the Holy Ghost 0:09:49.536,0:09:51.652 which hath never forgiveness 0:09:51.652,0:09:53.322 neither in this world 0:09:53.322,0:09:57.195 nor in the world to come.'" 0:09:57.195,0:09:59.935 But see, although that's [br]correct what she said, 0:09:59.935,0:10:03.688 that isn't what the sin is. 0:10:03.688,0:10:08.527 "He says, 'What is the sin [br]against the Holy Ghost?' 0:10:08.527,0:10:11.605 After much hesitation, she replied, 0:10:11.605,0:10:15.256 'It is the sin that [br]Jesus Christ mentioned, 0:10:15.256,0:10:19.239 speaking against the Holy Ghost.' 0:10:19.239,0:10:20.956 He asked her, 'Have you been 0:10:20.956,0:10:24.302 speaking against the Holy Ghost?' 0:10:24.302,0:10:29.146 'Oh no, I have not done that,' said she. 0:10:29.146,0:10:31.180 'What then do you mean? 0:10:31.180,0:10:33.959 What is your unpardonable sin?' 0:10:33.959,0:10:36.254 She gave no answer." 0:10:36.254,0:10:38.408 You see, that's the thing that you would 0:10:38.408,0:10:41.185 ask somebody is 0:10:41.185,0:10:44.344 have you been speaking against the Spirit? 0:10:44.344,0:10:47.542 I mean, you remember what those Jews did? 0:10:47.542,0:10:50.633 They were saying that Jesus [br]had an unclean spirit. 0:10:50.633,0:10:52.492 (incomplete thought) 0:10:52.492,0:10:55.776 And they were doing it maliciously. 0:10:55.776,0:11:00.534 They were doing it willfully; purposely. 0:11:00.534,0:11:03.300 It's not like a thought [br]shot through their minds, 0:11:03.300,0:11:05.707 and they're like, "Oh no! [br]I thought that thought! 0:11:05.707,0:11:07.851 Now I've committed the unpardonable sin!" 0:11:07.851,0:11:10.830 They're attacking Christ. 0:11:10.830,0:11:15.891 They're maliciously saying, 0:11:15.891,0:11:21.339 "He casts out demons [br]by the prince of demons." 0:11:21.339,0:11:24.193 You see what they're doing? 0:11:24.193,0:11:28.440 And she said, "No, I have not been." 0:11:28.440,0:11:29.616 "She gave no answer. 0:11:29.616,0:11:31.194 I continued to ask, 0:11:31.194,0:11:33.384 'When did you commit [br]this unpardonable sin?' 0:11:33.384,0:11:34.774 She said nothing. 0:11:34.774,0:11:36.671 'Tell me what it is.' She said nothing. 0:11:36.671,0:11:38.005 'How came you to commit it?' 0:11:38.005,0:11:39.326 She said nothing. 0:11:39.326,0:11:42.901 'What makes you think [br]you've committed it?' 0:11:42.901,0:11:44.785 She said, 'God would have forgiven me 0:11:44.785,0:11:48.268 before this time if I [br]had not committed it.' 0:11:48.268,0:11:51.538 'Before this time? What do you mean?' 0:11:51.538,0:11:55.314 'Why I have been a great while 0:11:55.314,0:11:58.768 seeking religion.' 0:11:58.768,0:12:02.302 He answered, 'Because you've [br]been so long seeking it, 0:12:02.302,0:12:06.001 you think it's no present fault of yours 0:12:06.001,0:12:08.638 that you have not found it? 0:12:08.638,0:12:10.423 But that God will not forgive you 0:12:10.423,0:12:12.021 because months ago you committed 0:12:12.021,0:12:13.112 the unpardonable sin? 0:12:13.112,0:12:14.601 Is that what you mean?' 0:12:14.601,0:12:16.479 'Yes sir.' 0:12:16.479,0:12:18.301 'Very well,' said I. 0:12:18.301,0:12:20.373 'I suppose you want nothing more of me 0:12:20.373,0:12:21.598 if you're unpardonable. 0:12:21.598,0:12:24.212 I can do nothing for [br]you if that is the case. 0:12:24.212,0:12:25.657 I may as well leave you. 0:12:25.657,0:12:27.680 You may go to your closet and tell God 0:12:27.680,0:12:29.462 as you kneel before Him 0:12:29.462,0:12:31.595 that you are willing to repent, 0:12:31.595,0:12:33.747 that you're willing to trust in Christ, 0:12:33.747,0:12:36.184 you're willing to obey God in all things, 0:12:36.184,0:12:37.834 and that it's no fault of yours 0:12:37.834,0:12:39.332 that you're not a Christian. 0:12:39.332,0:12:40.856 Tell Him that the only thing now 0:12:40.856,0:12:42.404 in your way to salvation 0:12:42.404,0:12:44.150 is that old unpardonable sin 0:12:44.150,0:12:45.728 which He will not forgive. 0:12:45.728,0:12:46.782 Goodbye.' 0:12:46.782,0:12:50.000 I left her at once." 0:12:50.000,0:12:53.796 Now, you think. 0:12:53.796,0:12:56.994 I would say that to this man. 0:12:56.994,0:12:58.558 I would say that to anybody 0:12:58.558,0:13:04.423 who thinks they've committed [br]the unpardonable sin. 0:13:04.423,0:13:07.961 See, that gets right to the point. 0:13:07.961,0:13:10.044 Are you saying that you're ready 0:13:10.044,0:13:11.550 to take Christ at His word 0:13:11.550,0:13:13.792 and trust what He's done on that cross? 0:13:13.792,0:13:16.035 You're ready to turn from your sin? 0:13:16.035,0:13:18.218 You're ready to follow Christ 0:13:18.218,0:13:20.251 and take His commandments 0:13:20.251,0:13:22.711 as your daily meat, your daily food, 0:13:22.711,0:13:24.494 and follow Him? 0:13:24.494,0:13:27.104 You're ready to do that? 0:13:27.104,0:13:30.587 You desire to do that? 0:13:30.587,0:13:32.423 And you're telling me 0:13:32.423,0:13:34.253 that you're actually repentant 0:13:34.253,0:13:36.837 and you're believing, 0:13:36.837,0:13:39.273 but God won't save you 0:13:39.273,0:13:42.656 because of that unpardonable sin? 0:13:42.656,0:13:46.723 You see, that would make God to be a liar. 0:13:46.723,0:13:48.702 Because God says if you trust His Son 0:13:48.702,0:13:49.880 you will be saved. 0:13:49.880,0:13:52.240 You will not be ashamed. 0:13:52.240,0:13:58.003 Scripture says that if you repent, 0:13:58.003,0:14:01.376 you will not likewise perish. 0:14:01.376,0:14:04.899 If you don't repent, you will perish. 0:14:04.899,0:14:11.065 If you do repent, you'll be saved. 0:14:11.065,0:14:14.761 God's a liar otherwise. 0:14:14.761,0:14:16.161 (incomplete thought) 0:14:16.161,0:14:18.444 So, he walks away. 0:14:18.444,0:14:22.801 Now listen, let me tell you this. 0:14:22.801,0:14:29.141 Too often, especially [br]with young believers, 0:14:29.141,0:14:31.621 you can feel like if people 0:14:31.621,0:14:33.278 are willing to listen, 0:14:33.278,0:14:36.455 you'll just talk on and on and on 0:14:36.455,0:14:39.121 and on and on and on... 0:14:39.121,0:14:43.551 Some of you are getting [br]involved in door-to-door ministry. 0:14:43.551,0:14:46.271 You do not have to talk to [br]somebody for two hours 0:14:46.271,0:14:49.297 just because they're willing to talk. 0:14:49.297,0:14:52.564 You can tell them the truth. 0:14:52.564,0:14:55.216 If they have valid questions, 0:14:55.216,0:14:56.912 you can seek to answer them, 0:14:56.912,0:14:58.789 but you don't have to go in circles. 0:14:58.789,0:15:02.242 You can walk away. 0:15:02.242,0:15:04.817 Do you notice that the rich young ruler, 0:15:04.817,0:15:10.130 Jesus didn't debate with him. 0:15:10.130,0:15:13.708 He laid it all on the [br]table, and that was it. 0:15:13.708,0:15:16.200 In that case, Jesus wasn't [br]the one that walked away; 0:15:16.200,0:15:18.272 the rich, young ruler was. 0:15:18.272,0:15:20.604 But you know what? Same thing. 0:15:20.604,0:15:24.633 You do not have to go on and on. 0:15:24.633,0:15:28.365 I'm afraid that many [br]less mature Christians 0:15:28.365,0:15:30.221 would have sat with this girl 0:15:30.221,0:15:35.277 and they would have almost carried her 0:15:35.277,0:15:40.593 into the kingdom. 0:15:40.593,0:15:41.997 He walked. 0:15:41.997,0:15:45.756 And you know He often did that. 0:15:45.756,0:15:49.364 You know, Asahel Nettleton - 0:15:49.364,0:15:52.998 he was a contemporary of Ichabod Spencer. 0:15:52.998,0:15:55.136 He was very greatly used 0:15:55.136,0:15:57.912 in the second Great Awakening. 0:15:57.912,0:16:00.610 He would walk away from whole churches. 0:16:00.610,0:16:03.837 He would stay away from whole churches. 0:16:03.837,0:16:06.474 If he saw that their [br]attitudes weren't right 0:16:06.474,0:16:07.656 about revival; 0:16:07.656,0:16:10.112 if he saw that they [br]weren't trusting the Lord, 0:16:10.112,0:16:12.161 they were trusting him... 0:16:12.161,0:16:17.212 (Incomplete thought) 0:16:17.212,0:16:23.106 It's not our calling to simply say 0:16:23.106,0:16:25.203 as much as we possibly can 0:16:25.203,0:16:27.209 to every single person in this world. 0:16:27.209,0:16:28.743 In fact, we're told things like 0:16:28.743,0:16:32.375 don't cast your pearls before swine. 0:16:32.375,0:16:33.876 Jesus told His own disciples 0:16:33.876,0:16:35.191 if they don't receive you, 0:16:35.191,0:16:38.829 you shake the dust off [br]your feet and hit the road. 0:16:38.829,0:16:40.574 It's amazing sometimes we feel like 0:16:40.574,0:16:43.566 we just have to go on and on and on, 0:16:43.566,0:16:45.563 like our multitude of words 0:16:45.563,0:16:48.216 is going to persuade them. 0:16:48.216,0:16:51.957 You know what? If they [br]don't receive the truth, 0:16:51.957,0:16:55.434 there's a place just to walk away. 0:16:55.434,0:16:58.099 And sometimes that can [br]be the most powerful thing, 0:16:58.099,0:17:00.591 because what you're doing -[br]you gave them the truth, 0:17:00.591,0:17:04.683 now you're leaving them with the Lord. 0:17:04.683,0:17:07.041 By the way, it's the Lord you need to have 0:17:07.041,0:17:08.816 speak to people through your words 0:17:08.816,0:17:13.156 more than your multitude of words. 0:17:13.156,0:17:14.860 "The next day..." 0:17:14.860,0:17:16.531 See, he walked away from her 0:17:16.531,0:17:18.373 and how she's not comfortable. 0:17:18.373,0:17:20.120 Her own conscience is going crazy. 0:17:20.120,0:17:22.639 "The next day, she sent for me again. 0:17:22.639,0:17:25.946 I found her as I did not expect." 0:17:25.946,0:17:29.262 See, he expected that this [br]was going to be beneficial. 0:17:29.262,0:17:31.922 And that she'd come to the Lord. 0:17:31.922,0:17:37.082 He said, "I found her in [br]the same state of mind; 0:17:37.082,0:17:40.069 brooding sadly over the unpardonable sin. 0:17:40.069,0:17:41.852 After much conversation and aiming 0:17:41.852,0:17:43.216 to remove the difficulty 0:17:43.216,0:17:45.539 and assuring her of her error, 0:17:45.539,0:17:46.869 she still insisted, 0:17:46.869,0:17:48.775 'I've committed the unpardonable sin. 0:17:48.775,0:17:50.376 I know I have. I know I have. 0:17:50.376,0:17:52.968 I know I have.' 0:17:52.968,0:17:56.216 I desired her after a few moments 0:17:56.216,0:17:58.245 to quit her agitation 0:17:58.245,0:18:00.175 and fix her thoughts on things 0:18:00.175,0:18:04.159 which I was going to say to her." 0:18:04.159,0:18:05.853 You know what he said to her? 0:18:05.853,0:18:07.850 He said young lady, 0:18:07.850,0:18:12.157 I'm going to speak to you plainly. 0:18:12.157,0:18:14.600 He said you're going to understand 0:18:14.600,0:18:17.593 every word I say. 0:18:17.593,0:18:19.469 That's good. 0:18:19.469,0:18:21.504 "Some of the things which I shall say 0:18:21.504,0:18:23.674 may surprise you, 0:18:23.674,0:18:26.388 but I want you to remember them. 0:18:26.388,0:18:27.975 All along through the summer 0:18:27.975,0:18:30.434 I've treated you with the utmost kindness 0:18:30.434,0:18:32.002 and indulgence. 0:18:32.002,0:18:34.238 I've always come to you [br]when you've sent for me 0:18:34.238,0:18:36.803 and many times when you [br]have not sent for me. 0:18:36.803,0:18:39.552 It's because I feel [br]kindly towards you still 0:18:39.552,0:18:41.452 and wish to do you good 0:18:41.452,0:18:44.354 that I shall now say [br]some very plain things 0:18:44.354,0:18:47.611 which you may not like, [br]but they are true." 0:18:47.611,0:18:48.906 This is another thing. 0:18:48.906,0:18:50.884 If you want to deal with people's souls, 0:18:50.884,0:18:52.547 you often have to tell them things 0:18:52.547,0:18:55.101 they don't like. 0:18:55.101,0:18:56.840 You see, he was a man who knew 0:18:56.840,0:18:59.449 when to walk away, 0:18:59.449,0:19:00.887 and he was also a man to say 0:19:00.887,0:19:04.867 hard things to people. 0:19:04.867,0:19:08.571 This is where I'm coming back to this. 0:19:08.571,0:19:10.202 You get a person that's struggling 0:19:10.202,0:19:13.416 with the unpardonable sin. 0:19:13.416,0:19:16.429 Oftentimes the feeling I get 0:19:16.429,0:19:20.123 is that the people want pity. 0:19:20.123,0:19:23.904 They want you to help them. 0:19:23.904,0:19:25.781 They want you to pity them. 0:19:25.781,0:19:27.935 They want you to feel bad for them. 0:19:27.935,0:19:30.397 They want you to enter in 0:19:30.397,0:19:36.620 to their pity party. 0:19:36.620,0:19:38.355 Now, you're going to maybe think 0:19:38.355,0:19:39.504 what he says is cruel, 0:19:39.504,0:19:45.272 but I want you to hear him very carefully. 0:19:45.272,0:19:49.468 "First, you say that you have committed 0:19:49.468,0:19:52.566 the unpardonable sin, 0:19:52.566,0:19:55.423 but you do not believe what you say." 0:19:55.423,0:19:57.533 Now, obviously, he got her. 0:19:57.533,0:19:59.868 Because he said to her, 0:19:59.868,0:20:02.092 have you spoken against the Holy Spirit? 0:20:02.092,0:20:04.375 And she said no at first. 0:20:04.375,0:20:06.755 And then she couldn't answer. 0:20:06.755,0:20:08.746 "And he said, 0:20:08.746,0:20:10.818 'you don't believe what you say. 0:20:10.818,0:20:12.507 You believe no such thing.'" 0:20:12.507,0:20:14.167 Now look, that's not to say 0:20:14.167,0:20:15.545 that there aren't some people 0:20:15.545,0:20:18.091 that you come across [br]who really do believe it 0:20:18.091,0:20:22.475 and may be under a [br]vicious attack of the devil. 0:20:22.475,0:20:25.114 Bunyan is a great example of that. 0:20:25.114,0:20:27.024 He was attacked with that. 0:20:27.024,0:20:29.455 I remember that happening to me 0:20:29.455,0:20:30.596 after I was saved. 0:20:30.596,0:20:32.244 It didn't happen when I was lost. 0:20:32.244,0:20:33.886 It happened after I was saved. 0:20:33.886,0:20:38.268 I was bombarded with these thoughts. 0:20:38.268,0:20:40.183 But he said, "you believe no such thing. 0:20:40.183,0:20:42.004 You know indeed that you're a sinner, 0:20:42.004,0:20:44.107 but you do not believe [br]that you've committed 0:20:44.107,0:20:45.669 the unpardonable sin. 0:20:45.669,0:20:47.015 You're not honest; 0:20:47.015,0:20:49.165 not sincere when you say so. 0:20:49.165,0:20:50.722 You do not believe it.'" 0:20:50.722,0:20:52.931 Anyways, he's just there - 0:20:52.931,0:20:57.035 he's pegging her on her own words. 0:20:57.035,0:21:00.514 Some people do actually believe it. 0:21:00.514,0:21:02.651 But I think what he says after this 0:21:02.651,0:21:06.153 is so applicable to so [br]many of these cases. 0:21:06.153,0:21:11.533 "Second, it is pride. 0:21:11.533,0:21:15.006 A foolish pride of a wicked heart 0:21:15.006,0:21:16.613 which makes you say 0:21:16.613,0:21:18.719 that you've committed [br]the unpardonable sin." 0:21:18.719,0:21:21.523 Now, I suspect if I would [br]have read that and said, 0:21:21.523,0:21:23.343 okay, what would you all say to her, 0:21:23.343,0:21:25.845 probably none of you would have[br]raised your hand and said, 0:21:25.845,0:21:27.727 "I'd have said that she had a foolish, 0:21:27.727,0:21:29.620 prideful, wicked heart..." 0:21:29.620,0:21:32.407 which makes him say 0:21:32.407,0:21:35.151 that he's committed the unpardonable sin. 0:21:35.151,0:21:38.318 You say, how is that? 0:21:38.318,0:21:41.290 Listen. 0:21:41.290,0:21:44.057 "Influenced by pride 0:21:44.057,0:21:46.394 you half-strive - 0:21:46.394,0:21:48.132 only half after all - 0:21:48.132,0:21:51.274 to believe you've done it." 0:21:51.274,0:21:53.994 And you know what he says? 0:21:53.994,0:21:58.314 You wish to exalt yourself. 0:21:58.314,0:21:59.835 You say how? 0:21:59.835,0:22:01.554 You see, that's what pride is. 0:22:01.554,0:22:05.184 Pride is when we exalt ourselves. 0:22:05.184,0:22:10.041 How can it be that many people 0:22:10.041,0:22:12.824 who claim to commit the unpardonable sin - 0:22:12.824,0:22:19.123 how would that be an exalting of self? 0:22:19.123,0:22:25.111 What sort of sin is an unpardonable sin? 0:22:25.111,0:22:26.765 It's like the sin of all sins. 0:22:26.765,0:22:28.959 It's like you're a sinner greater 0:22:28.959,0:22:32.513 and further and blacker and deeper 0:22:32.513,0:22:35.180 and darker and more sinister 0:22:35.180,0:22:37.927 and more debauched and more depraved 0:22:37.927,0:22:39.068 than anybody else. 0:22:39.068,0:22:45.467 You're the worst of the worst. 0:22:45.467,0:22:50.803 It's one thing if the Spirit [br]of God has broken you 0:22:50.803,0:22:53.201 and you can say like Paul, 0:22:53.201,0:22:55.686 "I'm the chief of sinners." 0:22:55.686,0:22:58.057 That's one thing. 0:22:58.057,0:23:01.052 When you're able to say that in humility. 0:23:01.052,0:23:04.343 When you're able to [br]say that in brokenness, 0:23:04.343,0:23:08.986 but you also are able to cling to Christ 0:23:08.986,0:23:11.107 and trust what He's done. 0:23:11.107,0:23:13.045 It's another thing when a person says 0:23:13.045,0:23:14.827 they're this horrible sinner 0:23:14.827,0:23:16.424 and then they turn around and say 0:23:16.424,0:23:18.114 but I won't take God at His word 0:23:18.114,0:23:21.951 and trust His Son. 0:23:21.951,0:23:24.610 He says, "you wish to exalt yourself. 0:23:24.610,0:23:28.659 You pretend that it's some great 0:23:28.659,0:23:30.520 and uncommon thing which keeps you 0:23:30.520,0:23:32.467 from being a Christian. 0:23:32.467,0:23:35.863 It's the unpardonable sin. 0:23:35.863,0:23:41.228 Pride lies at the bottom of all this." 0:23:41.228,0:23:45.390 And then third, right on the same note. 0:23:45.390,0:23:49.809 "You have no occasion for this pride." 0:23:49.809,0:23:55.418 He says there's nothing [br]uncommon about you. 0:23:55.418,0:24:00.916 You're just an average sinner. 0:24:00.916,0:24:03.907 "You're very much like other sinners. 0:24:03.907,0:24:05.969 It's not likely that you could commit 0:24:05.969,0:24:07.474 the unpardonable sin, 0:24:07.474,0:24:09.825 even if you should try. 0:24:09.825,0:24:12.766 I don't think you know enough to do it." 0:24:12.766,0:24:14.792 You see, one of the things that the Jews - 0:24:14.792,0:24:16.919 they had great light. 0:24:16.919,0:24:18.450 Jesus was doing these miracles 0:24:18.450,0:24:22.275 right in front of them. 0:24:22.275,0:24:26.853 They knew - even in their own councils, 0:24:26.853,0:24:29.824 they would say, 0:24:29.824,0:24:32.440 we know that nobody can do these things 0:24:32.440,0:24:36.734 unless God is with them. 0:24:36.734,0:24:40.630 That a notable miracle has been done? 0:24:40.630,0:24:43.891 They knew. 0:24:43.891,0:24:47.555 And they would look at that. 0:24:47.555,0:24:49.888 They would watch Jesus heal. 0:24:49.888,0:24:53.028 They would know the [br]miracles that took place, 0:24:53.028,0:24:55.871 and they knew miracles took place. 0:24:55.871,0:24:57.887 They knew He cast out demons. 0:24:57.887,0:24:59.835 They knew He healed the sick. 0:24:59.835,0:25:03.502 They knew that He did this. 0:25:03.502,0:25:05.353 And they looked at it and they said 0:25:05.353,0:25:09.347 the devil enables Him to do that. 0:25:09.347,0:25:13.667 He's just saying the unpardonable sin 0:25:13.667,0:25:15.990 is basically this - 0:25:15.990,0:25:20.207 it's the idea that you have all this light 0:25:20.207,0:25:22.318 on who Christ is, 0:25:22.318,0:25:26.223 on who the Spirit is, 0:25:26.223,0:25:29.998 and you specifically say - 0:25:29.998,0:25:32.558 with all that light - 0:25:32.558,0:25:36.171 you specifically blaspheme [br]the Spirit of God. 0:25:36.171,0:25:37.737 (Incomplete thought) 0:25:37.737,0:25:40.590 He's not even imagining that she has 0:25:40.590,0:25:44.361 sufficient light to do that. 0:25:44.361,0:25:45.878 "'Why?' said she, 0:25:45.878,0:25:48.104 'Is there not such a sin?' 0:25:48.104,0:25:50.972 'Well, yes, but you don't know what it is, 0:25:50.972,0:25:55.000 and you don't know enough to commit it.'" 0:25:55.000,0:26:00.694 Now, this fourth one I think is huge too. 0:26:00.694,0:26:02.586 He says this to her, 0:26:02.586,0:26:06.206 "You are one of the most self-righteous 0:26:06.206,0:26:10.901 creatures I ever saw." 0:26:10.901,0:26:15.621 So he's told her she's full of pride. 0:26:15.621,0:26:19.114 Now, one of the most self-[br]righteous creatures I ever saw. 0:26:19.114,0:26:22.736 Now you have to stop and think. 0:26:22.736,0:26:26.791 Why would somebody be considered 0:26:26.791,0:26:35.867 by Spencer to be this mass [br]of self-righteousness? 0:26:35.867,0:26:41.111 See, I think this is what you [br]want to remember especially 0:26:41.111,0:26:43.087 in dealing with people who believe 0:26:43.087,0:26:47.252 they've committed the unpardonable sin. 0:26:47.252,0:26:50.063 "You try to think 0:26:50.063,0:26:54.148 that you're not to blame [br]for your irreligion." 0:26:54.148,0:26:57.076 You see? It becomes an excuse. 0:26:57.076,0:27:00.577 "Well, I can't become a Christian." 0:27:00.577,0:27:02.832 "I can't repent." 0:27:02.832,0:27:06.882 "I can't fall down before [br]God in surrender." 0:27:06.882,0:27:07.913 "I can't." Why? 0:27:07.913,0:27:09.843 "I've committed the unpardonable sin." 0:27:09.843,0:27:12.284 In other words, it's not my fault. 0:27:12.284,0:27:15.101 And you know what it implies? 0:27:15.101,0:27:17.578 Well, I would do all of [br]that if God would let me, 0:27:17.578,0:27:19.674 but God won't let me [br]because I've committed 0:27:19.674,0:27:22.932 the unpardonable sin. 0:27:22.932,0:27:25.619 He says to her, 0:27:25.619,0:27:27.491 "You try to think that you're willing 0:27:27.491,0:27:29.589 to be a Christian, 0:27:29.589,0:27:31.958 and would be a Christian, 0:27:31.958,0:27:34.318 if it were not for that unpardonable sin 0:27:34.318,0:27:35.995 which you try in your pride 0:27:35.995,0:27:37.815 to believe you've committed. 0:27:37.815,0:27:42.110 You pretend that it's not your present 0:27:42.110,0:27:46.066 and cherished sin which keeps you 0:27:46.066,0:27:48.322 in your impenitence." 0:27:48.322,0:27:50.605 Now that's huge. 0:27:50.605,0:27:53.141 You see what he's saying to her? 0:27:53.141,0:27:55.081 The reason you're not a Christian 0:27:55.081,0:27:57.117 is because you've got sin in your life 0:27:57.117,0:27:58.733 that you love, 0:27:58.733,0:28:01.999 and you're not willing to let go of. 0:28:01.999,0:28:04.029 And what you're wanting to do 0:28:04.029,0:28:07.687 is blame God for the fact, 0:28:07.687,0:28:10.874 because God invented this unpardonable sin 0:28:10.874,0:28:13.474 and you want to convince [br]yourself you've committed it 0:28:13.474,0:28:15.682 and therefore give you an excuse 0:28:15.682,0:28:19.828 as to why you're not turning from your sin 0:28:19.828,0:28:25.354 and embracing the sacrifice of Christ. 0:28:25.354,0:28:26.866 That's exactly it. 0:28:26.866,0:28:28.893 And that is the feeling that I get 0:28:28.893,0:28:35.346 from most of the people. 0:28:35.346,0:28:42.985 You don't get the sense that it's: 0:28:42.985,0:28:45.556 "I'm wicked, 0:28:45.556,0:28:47.877 and I'm looking to the healing 0:28:47.877,0:28:51.631 that's found in Christ's suffering." 0:28:51.631,0:28:53.291 That's not it. 0:28:53.291,0:28:56.080 It's typically: 0:28:56.080,0:28:58.578 "Well, I can't become a Christian. 0:28:58.578,0:28:59.599 I just can't." Why? 0:28:59.599,0:29:01.979 "I've committed the unpardonable sin." 0:29:01.979,0:29:03.495 And what they're implying is, 0:29:03.495,0:29:04.641 well, I would become one 0:29:04.641,0:29:06.596 if it wasn't for that unpardonable sin. 0:29:06.596,0:29:08.977 I would become one if [br]it wasn't for the fact 0:29:08.977,0:29:12.432 that the doorway's been shut on me. 0:29:12.432,0:29:14.182 That's just not true. 0:29:14.182,0:29:16.887 The reason they're not becoming Christians 0:29:16.887,0:29:19.311 is because they love their sin 0:29:19.311,0:29:21.573 and they won't come to the light. 0:29:21.573,0:29:24.613 And that's what he's calling out. 0:29:24.613,0:29:26.575 "You pretend that it's not your present, 0:29:26.575,0:29:28.069 cherished sin which keeps you 0:29:28.069,0:29:29.848 in your impenitence. 0:29:29.848,0:29:34.033 Oh, you are good enough, [br]surely, to repent. 0:29:34.033,0:29:35.469 You would repent. 0:29:35.469,0:29:37.289 Indeed, you would, 0:29:37.289,0:29:39.627 if it were not for that unpardonable sin. 0:29:39.627,0:29:40.946 That's your heart - 0:29:40.946,0:29:44.353 full of self-righteousness and pride." 0:29:44.353,0:29:47.178 Fifth, "Your wicked heart clings 0:29:47.178,0:29:49.506 to this idea of the unpardonable sin 0:29:49.506,0:29:53.755 as an excuse for your [br]continued impenitence; 0:29:53.755,0:29:55.870 for your living in the indulgence of sin, 0:29:55.870,0:29:58.676 unbelief, and disobedience [br]to God every day. 0:29:58.676,0:30:01.466 And your excuse will not stand. 0:30:01.466,0:30:04.245 You make it insincerely. 0:30:04.245,0:30:05.806 It's not the unpardonable sin 0:30:05.806,0:30:08.239 which hinders your being a Christian. 0:30:08.239,0:30:09.959 It's your wickedness of heart, 0:30:09.959,0:30:11.770 your pride, your vanity, 0:30:11.770,0:30:14.940 and your insincerity." 0:30:14.940,0:30:17.351 And now he's done with her for good. 0:30:17.351,0:30:20.057 He says, "I shall never speak again. 0:30:20.057,0:30:22.834 I shall never again have anything 0:30:22.834,0:30:26.395 to say to you about the unpardonable sin. 0:30:26.395,0:30:29.431 If you had any real and [br]just conviction of sin, 0:30:29.431,0:30:32.150 you would never name [br]the unpardonable sin." 0:30:32.150,0:30:36.607 You ought to pick up on that too. 0:30:36.607,0:30:41.424 When a person truly has a convicting 0:30:41.424,0:30:44.515 work of the Spirit, 0:30:44.515,0:30:47.293 that Spirit crushes a man 0:30:47.293,0:30:51.979 from every dependence in himself. 0:30:51.979,0:30:58.386 A God-given, Spirit-given conviction. 0:30:58.386,0:31:02.297 That Spirit will cause [br]us to look to Christ 0:31:02.297,0:31:04.440 and find our hope there 0:31:04.440,0:31:07.431 and find our help there. 0:31:07.431,0:31:10.324 He's right. 0:31:10.324,0:31:12.442 If you had any real and just 0:31:12.442,0:31:14.991 conviction of sin, 0:31:14.991,0:31:17.383 you would never name the unpardonable sin. 0:31:17.383,0:31:18.713 "Some months after this, 0:31:18.713,0:31:21.268 she called upon me in deep trouble. 0:31:21.268,0:31:23.582 But now her complaint was that 0:31:23.582,0:31:26.107 she had a wicked, [br]deceitful, and hard heart 0:31:26.107,0:31:27.963 opposed to the law of God. 0:31:27.963,0:31:29.779 She became finally, as she believed, 0:31:29.779,0:31:34.729 a true penitent and professed [br]Christianity publicly. 0:31:34.729,0:31:36.508 But in all her religious exercises, 0:31:36.508,0:31:39.260 there appeared nothing very peculiar 0:31:39.260,0:31:40.579 and she never named to me 0:31:40.579,0:31:43.127 the unpardonable sin again." 0:31:43.127,0:31:45.999 In other words, he just said in the end, 0:31:45.999,0:31:50.625 she was just an average sinner. 0:31:50.625,0:31:52.584 Then he makes one last statement here. 0:31:52.584,0:31:54.804 "True light..." 0:31:54.804,0:31:56.744 True light. 0:31:56.744,0:32:04.246 "True light in the conscience is one thing 0:32:04.246,0:32:10.003 and a deceitful gloom in the proud heart 0:32:10.003,0:32:12.462 is quite another." 0:32:12.462,0:32:14.074 Do you see the difference? 0:32:14.074,0:32:16.609 You get individuals who feel like 0:32:16.609,0:32:18.907 they've committed the unpardonable sin, 0:32:18.907,0:32:21.335 and it just fills them with this gloom 0:32:21.335,0:32:24.378 and this dread. 0:32:24.378,0:32:26.117 But he's saying this. 0:32:26.117,0:32:28.828 This is what he recognized. 0:32:28.828,0:32:30.976 He lived in the day where I believe he saw 0:32:30.976,0:32:34.948 five separate revivals. 0:32:34.948,0:32:39.150 And he saw when the [br]Spirit of God was working 0:32:39.150,0:32:41.136 true light in the conscience - 0:32:41.136,0:32:43.245 it looked one way. 0:32:43.245,0:32:46.292 People felt the weight of their sin, 0:32:46.292,0:32:48.550 and they turned to Christ. 0:32:48.550,0:32:52.368 And it's as somebody has said before, 0:32:52.368,0:32:54.402 once you take a sinner and you show them 0:32:54.402,0:32:57.008 indeed truthfully their sin 0:32:57.008,0:33:00.106 and you show them the remedy, 0:33:00.106,0:33:01.397 the work's done. 0:33:01.397,0:33:03.734 They will run to the remedy. 0:33:03.734,0:33:05.384 You show them their sickness. 0:33:05.384,0:33:07.715 They will run to the doctor. 0:33:07.715,0:33:09.732 And that's totally different 0:33:09.732,0:33:11.580 than when you get a person 0:33:11.580,0:33:15.056 who has a proud heart 0:33:15.056,0:33:19.516 coupled with a deceitful gloom. 0:33:19.516,0:33:21.435 He says this, "When a sinner 0:33:21.435,0:33:25.174 has any just sense of his condition 0:33:25.174,0:33:28.228 as alienated from a holy God, 0:33:28.228,0:33:30.307 he will not be apt to think 0:33:30.307,0:33:32.749 of the unpardonable sin. 0:33:32.749,0:33:38.972 Spurious conviction is [br]common but useless." 0:33:38.972,0:33:43.018 Spurious conviction - 0:33:43.018,0:33:46.857 where people are convicted - 0:33:46.857,0:33:50.639 spurious means it's no good. 0:33:50.639,0:33:52.717 You're all riled up about something 0:33:52.717,0:33:54.928 that leads to no good end. 0:33:54.928,0:33:56.678 Just thinking you've committed 0:33:56.678,0:33:59.198 this unpardonable sin. 0:33:59.198,0:34:03.935 Anyway, I thought his treatment of it 0:34:03.935,0:34:06.040 goes to the root of exposing 0:34:06.040,0:34:09.624 some of the real issues concerning it. 0:34:09.624,0:34:11.281 (from the room) 0:34:11.281,0:34:13.441 So from that email, 0:34:13.441,0:34:15.161 what made you believe 0:34:15.161,0:34:17.595 with a limited context, 0:34:17.595,0:34:20.324 that this person who emailed in 0:34:20.324,0:34:22.969 was just like maybe one of these people 0:34:22.969,0:34:25.703 that Spencer dealt with 0:34:25.703,0:34:28.047 and not maybe someone like Bunyan 0:34:28.047,0:34:29.674 or when he was a young Christian. 0:34:29.674,0:34:31.022 I guess how would you maybe 0:34:31.022,0:34:35.474 differentiate them? 0:34:35.474,0:34:39.111 Tim: Well, I mean the thing was 0:34:39.111,0:34:42.941 that if you go back and [br]read "Grace Abounding," 0:34:42.941,0:34:46.056 Bunyan's testimony. 0:34:46.056,0:34:47.965 When he's under attack 0:34:47.965,0:34:50.939 and being tempted to feel that, 0:34:50.939,0:34:53.007 he's running to the Word of God. 0:34:53.007,0:34:54.946 He's calling upon the Lord. 0:34:54.946,0:34:56.258 He's looking to Christ. 0:34:56.258,0:34:58.039 That was the same thing I was doing 0:34:58.039,0:35:00.273 in the midst of all of it. 0:35:00.273,0:35:03.239 Where you have a gloom; 0:35:03.239,0:35:11.747 (incomplete thought) 0:35:11.747,0:35:14.097 "I've committed the unforgivable sin; 0:35:14.097,0:35:17.129 99% chance. 0:35:17.129,0:35:18.913 I just want to ask you what happens 0:35:18.913,0:35:19.820 when you commit it, 0:35:19.820,0:35:22.203 because here's what happened to me. 0:35:22.203,0:35:24.779 It all happened two days ago. 0:35:24.779,0:35:27.165 I didn't mean the words that I said..." 0:35:27.165,0:35:28.925 So right there I would say 0:35:28.925,0:35:31.132 he didn't mean the words that he said. 0:35:31.132,0:35:32.753 That's not the unpardonable sin. 0:35:32.753,0:35:35.379 If you even start where [br]he started with the girl, 0:35:35.379,0:35:38.330 this isn't the unpardonable sin. 0:35:38.330,0:35:43.059 But the thing is, "I've asked [br]God if I've really done this. 0:35:43.059,0:35:45.096 My conscience says that I did. 0:35:45.096,0:35:47.416 I've been begging for forgiveness. 0:35:47.416,0:35:49.505 Nothing happened. 0:35:49.505,0:35:52.425 I cannot recognize when [br]I commit sin right now. 0:35:52.425,0:35:55.320 I'm not being convicted. 0:35:55.320,0:36:01.081 I wish I never was born." 0:36:01.081,0:36:05.144 You know, "I'm not being convicted," 0:36:05.144,0:36:07.554 and yet, "I'm begging for forgiveness." 0:36:07.554,0:36:09.211 Well, what that tells me 0:36:09.211,0:36:11.113 is that what he's saying 0:36:11.113,0:36:14.518 is I don't even sense my sin; 0:36:14.518,0:36:16.756 I don't love my family. 0:36:16.756,0:36:19.795 What he's asking forgiveness for 0:36:19.795,0:36:23.425 is that this one thought [br]shot through his mind. 0:36:23.425,0:36:26.114 And I think the real issue 0:36:26.114,0:36:29.629 comes back to what was happening there. 0:36:29.629,0:36:31.201 Is this really a young man 0:36:31.201,0:36:34.124 that's been convicted of the Spirit? 0:36:34.124,0:36:36.111 True light in the conscience? 0:36:36.111,0:36:40.841 Where he sees himself as a wicked sinner 0:36:40.841,0:36:44.727 and is coming to God to [br]be pardoned of all of it. 0:36:44.727,0:36:48.066 Or, is it really somebody who's wanting 0:36:48.066,0:36:52.193 to blame God? 0:36:52.193,0:36:54.346 "I've committed the unpardonable sin, 0:36:54.346,0:37:00.103 therefore all these things are justifiable 0:37:00.103,0:37:02.332 because after all, I've committed 0:37:02.332,0:37:03.899 the unpardonable sin and now 0:37:03.899,0:37:07.942 God has put me in this place. 0:37:07.942,0:37:11.023 He's taken away my love for my family. 0:37:11.023,0:37:15.522 I don't have any conviction anymore." 0:37:15.522,0:37:18.850 I would just say this - 0:37:18.850,0:37:21.712 the same thing that was said to the girl - 0:37:21.712,0:37:25.926 so are you saying you would repent 0:37:25.926,0:37:28.151 and flee to the cross 0:37:28.151,0:37:32.329 if only it wasn't for this [br]unpardonable sin? 0:37:32.329,0:37:34.599 I think the difference is that Bunyan 0:37:34.599,0:37:38.111 was likely already converted. 0:37:38.111,0:37:42.747 I was already converted. 0:37:42.747,0:37:45.259 I don't doubt that the devil 0:37:45.259,0:37:49.824 can play with our minds and thoughts 0:37:49.824,0:37:52.251 and consciences on this point. 0:37:52.251,0:37:55.089 You come across the fact that[br]there's an unpardonable sin 0:37:55.089,0:37:58.370 and the devil will be right there [br]to tell you you've committed it. 0:37:58.370,0:38:02.098 There's no use going. 0:38:02.098,0:38:04.954 But I think the thing is 0:38:04.954,0:38:07.223 people do all sorts of things 0:38:07.223,0:38:09.613 where they heard about [br]the unpardonable sin, 0:38:09.613,0:38:11.159 the unforgivable sin, 0:38:11.159,0:38:13.133 this blaspheming the Holy Spirit, 0:38:13.133,0:38:14.765 and then what happens is 0:38:14.765,0:38:19.985 they make an oath; 0:38:19.985,0:38:22.507 they make some kind of covenant, 0:38:22.507,0:38:25.790 they make some kind of commitment, 0:38:25.790,0:38:29.111 they vow and then they break it. 0:38:29.111,0:38:30.739 We've seen that before. 0:38:30.739,0:38:34.755 Or, he has a thought that crosses his mind 0:38:34.755,0:38:37.443 and I think that's the question [br]that needs to be asked. 0:38:37.443,0:38:38.687 What are you saying? 0:38:38.687,0:38:45.476 Are you saying that you would repent 0:38:45.476,0:38:47.647 and believe and trust Christ 0:38:47.647,0:38:50.306 if it just wasn't for this [br]unpardonable sin? 0:38:50.306,0:38:52.633 I think he's hitting at the root 0:38:52.633,0:38:56.309 of a vast ocean 0:38:56.309,0:39:01.339 behind these unpardonable sin 0:39:01.339,0:39:03.226 questions and concerns, 0:39:03.226,0:39:09.056 that is a tremendous self-righteousness. 0:39:09.056,0:39:12.347 Obviously, he met repeatedly 0:39:12.347,0:39:15.164 with this young lady. 0:39:15.164,0:39:17.245 We only have the ability to work 0:39:17.245,0:39:20.012 with a paragraph. 0:39:20.012,0:39:26.911 So, yes, if Spencer sat down with this guy 0:39:26.911,0:39:32.205 and upon much further conversation 0:39:32.205,0:39:35.407 and digging have answered differently? 0:39:35.407,0:39:37.256 Perhaps. 0:39:37.256,0:39:40.145 But I guess, I have this sense 0:39:40.145,0:39:42.305 that people are saying: 0:39:42.305,0:39:44.074 "Well, yes, I would repent 0:39:44.074,0:39:46.117 and I would believe and I would 0:39:46.117,0:39:49.216 if it just wasn't for this [br]unpardonable sin." 0:39:49.216,0:39:53.805 That's a total fallacy. 0:39:53.805,0:39:54.890 (from the room) 0:39:54.890,0:39:58.224 I guess, yeah, answering emails 0:39:58.224,0:39:59.959 this comes up, but I've never 0:39:59.959,0:40:02.236 gone out evangelizing 0:40:02.236,0:40:04.617 and had a conversation like that. 0:40:04.617,0:40:07.433 Tim: No, typically that's [br]not the kind of thing 0:40:07.433,0:40:09.195 you'd come across evangelizing. 0:40:09.195,0:40:10.975 It's the kind of thing 0:40:10.975,0:40:14.249 that the very nature of I'll Be Honest 0:40:14.249,0:40:17.338 and the fact that we entertain questions 0:40:17.338,0:40:19.172 and have this APT 0:40:19.172,0:40:20.667 and James is available 0:40:20.667,0:40:22.373 and Jeff is available 0:40:22.373,0:40:24.796 and Terry and Craig, 0:40:24.796,0:40:27.109 that they're answering [br]all these questions. 0:40:27.109,0:40:32.602 There's a lot of people [br]who find this outlet 0:40:32.602,0:40:37.492 to try to get some kind of answers 0:40:37.492,0:40:40.336 for whatever may be plaguing them 0:40:40.336,0:40:42.277 or troubling them.