Severe Warnings Everyone Must Remember, Part 1

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Today on Insight for Living with Chuck Swindoll. The claims of Jesus are the claims of Jesus. We either believe them or we don't.

What he said is either false or true. Don't call yourself a Christian if you believe only half of the red letters in your Bible. Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me. There's no neutrality.

Remember that. What are the tell-tale signs of those who follow Jesus and those who don't? Is it the church they attend? The social circles they create?

The rules they follow? According to Jesus, following him has nothing to do with these external expressions of faith. Instead, Jesus provided a picture that illustrates those who are loyal to him and those who defy him. Today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll is teaching from Matthew chapter 12 about a defining lecture from Jesus on the subject of true religion.

Chuck titled today's message, Severe Warnings Everyone Must Remember. Paul writes in Romans chapter 15 verse 4, Whatever was written in earlier times was written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort from the Scriptures might have hope. He was writing specifically of the Old Testament, what was written in earlier times, for the New Testament was then being written and in the process ultimately of being compiled. But even in the days of the Old Testament, what was written for it was written for our learning. And then when we come to the New Testament, we have God's final word to all of us, and it begins with the gospel by Matthew, and we are involved in a verse-by-verse study of this great book. We're at chapter 12, beginning at verse 30, and I'll take us down through verse 37 today as we consider what will be three severe warnings we all must remember. Matthew 12 30, Anyone who isn't with me opposes me, and anyone who isn't working with me is actually working against me. So I'll tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven, except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven.

Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come. A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good.

If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad, you brood of snakes. How can evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. And I tell you this, you must give an account on Judgment Day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you. You're listening to Insight for Living.

To study the book of Matthew with Chuck Swindoll, be sure to download his Searching the Scripture studies by going to insightworld.org slash studies. And now the message from Chuck called Severe Warnings Everyone Must Remember. One of the most fascinating books in my library is titled Snakes in Suits. The cover is chilly. It's a man dressed in a tailored suit ready for business.

White shirt, well pressed, sharp looking, but instead of a necktie around his collar, there is a snake coiled around his neck. The subtitle, When Psychopaths Go to Work. Not only interesting, it is intriguing because the book describes and frequently illustrates the ranks of humanity that include those who have that serious personality disorder. A psychopath is known for lying, manipulation, deceit, egocentricity, callousness, and other destructive traits. The book focuses on those in the workplace, but not exclusively, since psychopaths are found in every other realm of life, including the home and the church.

Let me dig a little deeper in order to describe this type of person. And I quote, Psychopaths are without conscience and incapable of empathy, guilt, or loyalty to anyone but themselves. Some psychopaths live in society and do not technically break the law, although they may come close, with behavior that is very unpleasant for those around them. They do not make warm and loving parents or family members. They do not make reliable friends or co-workers. You probably know one you could work for or work with or be married to one with a psychopathic personality who causes you so much pain and distress.

They are egocentric in the extreme, seemingly unable to experience deep human emotions, especially love and compassion. Jesus dealt with such individuals during his earthly ministry, except they were not snakes in suits. They were snakes in religious robes and influential, like most of us could not imagine. You did not question a Pharisee. You did not correct a Pharisee. You listened and you obeyed if you knew what was good for you, for no one could shame or shun like a Pharisee.

You might think as I say this, I'm a little harsh. Actually, I'm simply quoting Jesus, who called them, verse 34, Matthew 12, brood of vipers. Literally, the Greek says offspring of vipers. You came from vipers. They were sons of vipers. You birthed vipers. Hypocrites in religious garb.

Is there anything worse? If you think he was being too harsh, you've already forgotten that these were the ones who just earlier in the same chapter called a meeting to plot how to kill Jesus. That's a snake, ready to strike. A.T. Robertson writes, they now find out what a powerful opponent Jesus is by parables, by sarcasm, by merciless logic. He lays bare their hollow insincerity and the futility of their arguments. I failed to mention earlier they were legalists, all capital letters. Their list was law. Not satisfied with the Ten Commandments, they added hundreds of others that to them carried the same weight as what God's finger wrote in stone and passed over to Moses. Jesus, when he came, decided enough was enough.

The people have lived under this kind of pressure long enough. They need to know the truth and oh, how Pharisees hate the truth. Unintimidated and unswerving in his approach, Jesus took them on with both barrels blazing. Did not back down except when it came time for others to say, he is Messiah, he is the one we should take right onto the kingdom. And he stopped them knowing his hour had not yet come. And speaking of that, it would be the Pharisees who would play a major role in his being arrested, tortured, and crucified.

Snakes in religious robes. So we're not surprised that Jesus in his teachings, especially at this chapter, which is sort of the hinge of the book of Matthew, thinks change in chapter 12, where much of Jesus' teaching goes underground because the pressure is mounting for his demise and he's not yet ready to turn himself over to them. He has work to do with his disciples and his followers need to hear things that would help them as they carry on without him. So Jesus draws a line in the sand, his enemies are on one side, his friends and followers are on the other, and he helps them understand who the Pharisees really were.

Not only was it true back then, it is true today. You will encounter and I will encounter Pharisees. I have a friend I love dearly who has walked with the Lord for a number of years, happens to be a musician that lives in Nashville and he said in one of the concerts he gave some time ago for one of our Insight for Living gatherings, he said, I want all of you to know the truth. I'm a recovering Pharisee.

I like the way that sounds. You don't just pull out of it quickly. If you've been a legalist a long time, it takes a long time to pull out of it and understand grace. If you've been judging and condemning others, it takes a long time to learn how to affirm and encourage them as you walk humbly with your God realizing you more than any other needs to be examined. That's why Jesus said a person should take care of the log in his own eye before he concerns himself with the splinter in another's eye. So his warnings come in three here in the central section of Matthew 12. There's a warning in verse 30. There's a second warning in verses 31 and 32 and a third warning in 33 down through 37.

Take them in that order. The first warning is this, then I'll read the 30th verse. It's impossible to remain neutral. It's impossible to remain neutral.

Listen to Jesus' words. Anyone who isn't with me opposes me. Anyone who isn't working with me is actually working against me. There's no middle ground.

There's no fence you can sit on. You get off on one side or the other. What is it one man wrote? It is neutrality that curses a man in the hour of decision. It's never more true than the decision regarding Christ.

You're either working for him or you are working against him. Let's help you examine your life as I examine mine. We've all been at those awkward moments in our lives when we're tempted to stay quiet as Christ is being worked over the coals, as Christianity is being mocked or the teachings of Jesus are being attacked. In that awkward moment, Jesus says you either get off on my side or you get off on the wrong side.

Here's another. If you're dealing with an issue that is very important and you're surrounded by a majority who are politically correct and walking very gingerly through that issue, if you are a Christian, it is easy to hide in the shadows and let the majority have their say. But I urge you, based on what we've just read in verse 30, take your stand.

Do not be afraid. And I say that at this time of the year when so many high schoolers and collegians and seminarians are graduating, and those in graduate school are pulling out of their final days at school and you're on your own. You will someday find yourself in the ranks of those who will have nothing to do with Christ and you'll be tempted to blend in. Douglas Sean O'Connell writes this, With the rise of the scientific worldview, with the rise of pluralism, it is difficult for many to believe that Jesus is the only way to God. We do not live in a religious bubble.

Not only can we learn about other religions by reading, traveling, or surfing the web, but also by sitting down at a school cafeteria or a coffee shop and listening to our co-workers or fellow students who come from different parts of the world representing different worldviews. But as Christians, O'Connell writes, we must not let such information make us intelligently impotent. The claims of Jesus are the claims of Jesus. We either believe them or we don't.

What he said is either false or true. Don't call yourself a Christian if you believe only half of the red letters in your Bible. Don't think Jesus didn't die for your sins and rise for your justification if you choose to smear his name. If you think obeying Christ's command is optional, don't call yourself a Christian. If you think there are many ways to God, don't call yourself a Christian. So those who hedge about devotion to Jesus or about the importance of a clear decision for him who question Jesus's exclusivity are in trouble.

You're either for him or against him. I know that is brutally frank, but that is the truth. And you will perhaps never hear it anywhere but in a church that stands for the truth. You won't hear it on the evening news.

You won't hear it in any form of the media. You will hear it when a Bible is opened and truth is being declared. Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me. There's no neutrality. You either come to God through Christ or you don't come to God when you die.

It's that simple. It's impossible to remain neutral. My Christian friends, don't be afraid of that. You and I now more than ever in the history of the world, certainly the whole world, are living in a day when being known as a Christian is a threatened existence. We're watching it all around us. Who knows how long it will be before it will invade our own shores. I warn us all about trying to remain neutral. We may see the day when it will mean our life.

Remember that. Now the severity of blasphemy. Verses 31 and 32. I would suggest that he look directly at the Pharisees because they had just committed this unpardonable sin by attributing to Satan the work of God. We saw that earlier. He says, I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven.

By the way, that's a great relief. We've all sinned and perhaps some have even blasphemed. Blasphemy or sin itself can be forgiven.

He says so more than once here. Except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which would be questioning the one who energizes the person of Christ. Calling into question his motive will never be forgiven. Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven either in this world or in the world to come. What is the unpardonable sin? It is attributing to Satan what is accomplished only by the power of God. That's exactly what the Pharisees did.

Remember? They were the ones who said, verse 24, no wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan, the prince of demons. So it is a combination of a clear knowledge and intentional rejection of Jesus Christ.

Being fully aware of the light and hating the light in an earnest, persistent, intentional determination to extinguish the light. That is the Pharisees' MO. Jesus walked on earth, and all of those days he exposed those around him to truth. He did so through his words and through his works. Those who understood what he did and what he claimed, but deliberately, persistently, and blatantly rejected all of that, continuing to do so to the end, found themselves in an unpardonable situation. And again, the classic example would be the Pharisees. It's not simply rejecting Jesus, his teachings or his miracles or his offer of salvation. It is the determination to know all that and attribute the origin of all that to Satan and to continue in that disbelief. They know they are doing it.

They do not care about the outcome. And for this very reason, Chuck Swindoll chose this title for today's message, Severe Warnings Everyone Must Remember. This is Insight for Living.

Please keep listening. We set aside several minutes at the close of today's program to hear a final comment from Chuck. And to learn more about this ministry, please visit us online at insightworld.org. At Insight for Living, we understand that some of your best times with God occur when you're alone and have some sorely needed quiet time to read and reflect.

In these moments of stillness, it's easier to hear God's voice and to feel his presence. Well, in addition to your Bible reading, let me recommend a helpful book Chuck has written that complements our studies in Matthew 12 this week. We're confident this book will cultivate calmness and a renewed confidence that God is with you. The book is called Finding God When the World's on Fire. If you're looking to rekindle your passion for God, even in the midst of unsettling circumstances, the Bible teaching in this book will guide you. Again, it's called Finding God When the World's on Fire. And you can purchase a copy right now by going to insight.org slash offer. Or give us a call.

If you're listening in the United States, dial 1-800-772-8888. And now, as promised, these closing comments from our teacher. Chuck? Not long ago, we received a touching letter from Tammy. She wrote this, Chuck, lately I've been spiritually dry.

In fact, desert dry. Your messages were exactly what I needed to hear, and I've been inspired to persevere no matter what. Well, Tammy, let me say this to you.

You are not alone. We've all been to those parched places of discouragement. Nothing satisfies more deeply than taking a sip of living water from the Word of God. Reminds me of Jeremiah's reassuring words, those who trust in the Lord are like trees planted along a riverbank with roots that reach deep into the water.

Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. We know that insight for living has become a daily oasis for men and women just like Tammy who are longing for spiritual nourishment. And it's one of the many reasons we're determined more than ever to remain a trusted source of biblical refreshment for generations to come. And so, in light of that, I am asking you to respond generously today by giving a donation.

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Just call us. If you're listening in the U.S., dial 1-800-772-8888 or go online to insight.org. Chuck Swindoll's message, called Severe Warnings Everyone Must Remember, continues Monday on Insight for Living. The preceding message, Severe Warnings Everyone Must Remember, was copyrighted in 2016 and 2021, and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2021 by Charles R. Swindoll. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.