Think You've Committed the Unpardonable Sin? Find a Promise - Tim Conway

Just this week,

I received a phone call from a man.

Professing Christian for a long time.

Even in the ministry.

Living in all manner of immorality.

Do you know what happened?

A friend of his turned on

Paul Washer's message -

I think it's the same one
that was preached here:

"Examine Yourself"

Maybe the very same message.

This man was laid bare,

and he recognized,

I don't measure up.

And do you know what he fears now?

Is being in the ministry,
having so much light,

having this false profession for so long,

living in this immorality.

You know what he's afraid of now?

That he's Esau.

He's afraid he's committed
the unpardonable sin.

He's afraid he's gone too far

and there's no way back.

Now, I'll tell you this -

I'll tell you what I told him.

I can't tell you that there is a way back.

The truth is there is a line in Scripture

that when men cross it,
there's no way back.

There is a Hebrews 6 reality.

There is a place men come to

that there is no more repentance.

He told me that his friends and counselors

had sent him to the Word of God.

That's good.

To look at passages that
dealt with the cross.

I told him that's good.

But you see what he could tell me:

"Well, I believe He went to the cross.

I believe He died.

I believe everything I'm reading.

I just don't know if it's for me."

I told him, "exactly."

That is exactly the issue.

I said, "What you need to do

is you need to find that one verse..."

that he can sink his faith into;

that he can say, "That's for me."

You see, that's where faith is.

Saving faith isn't saying:

"I believe Jesus was a
true historical figure."

It's not saying, "I believe
Jesus went to the cross."

It's got to be personalized.

There's got to be something
you can hang on

that you know is for you,

because you know what the
devil's going to do to him?

The devil's already doing it to him.

He's there whispering in his ear:

"After what you've done,

there's no hope for you.

You are Esau."

He just keeps hearing that in his ear

over and over and over.

You know how you answer that?

You answer that with the kind of promise

that resists the devil;

that the devil simply cannot answer.

What do you tell him?

I told him, "You may
have crossed that line."

But I know this, that if he can find

any promise in this book

that he can lay his faith onto,

he will not be disappointed.

He will not be confounded.
He will not be cast away.

Because that's what saving faith is.

And you know as I was thinking

after I got off the phone with him,

I start thinking about,

what sort of verses are they

that a man in that condition might find?

I mean, if he was going through Scripture,

what might be one verse?

I'll tell you one that jumped out at me.

And sometimes they can be obscure verses,

and sometimes you may think

that they're not even dealing with

the very thing that you
take it in faith to mean.

But if you take it in faith to mean it;

if you take it in faith
that you're trusting

the God behind these things...

I mean, we could just look at that -

the broadness of some of God's promises.

I mean, you know what?

You think about how in Isaiah 53,

how by His stripes we're healed.

Does it blow anybody away that Matthew

basically in Matthew 9 says

He's healing the people,
thus fulfilling that?

You're like wait a second,

I thought that was spiritual
healing back there.

And Jesus is physically healing.

We might just talk about the broadness

of some of God's promises.

But I got to thinking about this.

Jesus Himself says,

"If somebody strikes you on one cheek,

turn to him the other also."

If a man could just find hope there.

I've struck Him in the cheek

by my actions,

but He is such a God

who sends His Son

who is the radiance of the glory of God,

and He is the kind that teaches us

that if we're struck, turn the other also.

I mean, if He's teaching that to us,

is He not also a God who takes many blows,

many dishonorings and yet is still willing

to turn the other cheek?

Or, how about this?

In Joel 2, God says,

"Yet even now..." Those three words

could be something that somebody's faith

could cling to.

"Yet even now..."

Wait, what's that?

"Yet even now, declares the Lord,

return to Me with all your heart."

You know when you say that -

"yet even now" -

it's after people have done a lot of bad.

Yet even now after all you've done,

"if anyone will turn to Me
with all their heart

with fasting, with weeping, with mourning,

rend your hearts and not your garments,

return to the Lord your God,

for He is gracious and merciful..."

How about these three words?

"...slow to anger."

I mean if a man's faith can get into that.

God is slow to anger.

I can put my weight on that promise,

because I've provoked Him for a long time,

but He's slow to anger.

Oh, certainly the God of Scripture

in all of His infinite mercies,

certainly I could not
wear out His kindness

just in these years I've done this.

Certainly God is greater than that.

Those words, "yet even now."

Or how about this?

God's kindness is meant
to lead to repentance.

Because one of the things I told him,

I told him one of the things that tells me

God is not done with you,

is He led you to that Paul Washer sermon.

And He convicted you.

And you came clean!

He confessed.

He confessed to his wife.

He confessed to his church.

That is a kindness.

And what would you say?

God's kindnesses are not meant

to lead him to repentance?

You see, that isn't the indication

in my estimation of somebody

that God is done with.

Or how about this?

To Sardis - Oh, when I preached

about those seven churches in Asia Minor,

Sardis jumped out at me.

"You have a name

that you are alive,

but you are dead."

This is a church.

You talk about people exposed to light.

But, you're dead.

What did He say? No hope?

You've crossed the line?

He doesn't.

He says, "Wake up."

You see if our faith can just
grab words like that:

"Wake up."

Of course, there's these words.

John 6:37

Our Lord says,

"Whoever comes to Me,

I will never cast out."

Whoever!

It doesn't matter what
you say you've done.

If you go to Christ,
He won't cast you out.

Period.

It's amazing when I come across people

who are struggling with
the unpardonable sin

and I bring up this text,

immediately, "Yeah, but..."

Look, if you want to find every reason

not to believe a text,

that's classic unbeliever.

And you will perish.

See, the only hope is

that our faith can find a place to stay.

This except was taken
from the full sermon:

"People of Promise"