NT Framework - Questions on The Kingdom

Questions always arise concerning the Kingdom of God. Is it physical or spiritual? Did it disappear forever or was it taken from one generation because they committed the “unpardonable sin”? We take a careful walk through Matthew 12 to show what Jesus meant by blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, why it was a public slander tied to a specific generation and how it impacted the arrival of The Kingdom of God.

More information about Beyond the Walls, including additional resources can be found at www.beyondthewalls-ministry.com 

This series included graphics to illustrate what is being taught, if you would like to watch the teachings you can do so on Rumble (https://rumble.com/user/SpokaneBibleChurch) or on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtV_KhFVZ_waBcnuywiRKIyEcDkiujRqP).

Jeremy Thomas is the pastor at Spokane Bible Church in Spokane, Washington and a professor at Chafer Theological Seminary. He has been teaching the Bible for over 20 years, always seeking to present its truths in a clear and understandable manner. 

Transcript

What Is The Unpardonable Sin

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas and our series on the New Testament framework. Today, a smaller, bite-sized piece from the larger lesson. We hope you enjoy it.

Judgment On A Generation In AD 70

Is Unbelief Unpardonable

Condemnation And Justification Explained

Introducing The Question Of Kingdom

Tracing The Kingdom Through Scripture

Kingdom Offered And The Davidic Line

Role Of The Church And Closing

SPEAKER_01 0:10

This is what is known as the unpardonable sin. It's the blasphemy of the Spirit, which is the word blasphemy means to slander. So they were slandering the work of the Spirit through the Messiah that could only be committed by that generation. And he pronounced judgment on that generation, and that judgment ended up coming in AD 70. So there's no such thing today as an unpardonable sin. Now, the question that one of the two questions that came up that I needed to address today is someone said, Well, isn't the sin of unbelief an the unpardonable sin? Well, first of all, to answer this question without spending a lot of time in a lot of detail, the Bible says there's only one sin that's the unpardonable sin. And it says that explicitly in Matthew chapter 12, verses 31 and 32. So there's only one unpardonable sin. I've already described that sin as a generational sin committed by the nation of Israel, the judgment for which has already come in AD 70. So there is no quote-unquote unpardonable sin today. Now, what about what about unbelief? Well, I just treat it differently. I think this is the easiest way to state it. I just treat it differently. And I would just simply say something like John 3.18. To him who uh he who believes is not condemned, but he who has not believed is condemned already. Why? Because he has not believed in the only begotten Son of God. So as long as a person does not believe, they are in a state of condemnation, which is a legal status. They are condemned by God because they do not have, have not believed, and therefore do not have the righteousness of Christ. So this is the easiest way to uh, but I would not call that the unpardonable sin. I would just say, hey, you know, I mean, a person has to believe, right? And so that's all a person has to do to have, to move from a state of condemnation to a state of full acceptance and have peace with God. You know, Romans 5, 1. We uh therefore have peace with God. Because we have a justified status, it's a legal status that is acquired the moment a person believes, whether male or female, slave or free, uh old or young, it matters not, right? Whenever we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, he imputes his righteousness to us, and we have an eternal standing with him. And that standing is one of perfect righteousness. And so this is our position. And so that's simply how I would discuss that. I wouldn't say that unbelief is the unpardonable sin. I would be very careful to highlight the sin in Matthew 12 as the unpardonable sin. Now another question came up, which was not floating through my mind right now, but oh, it's the question of the kingdom. So I wanted to define the kingdom. As we talk about the kingdom and the kingdom being offered, I did not technically define the kingdom. So it's nice to mention what exactly or how I define the kingdom. I would define the kingdom in terms of a few Old Testament passages that would be the key. Genesis 1, 26 to 28 would be the first passage where God created man in his own image to rule. Okay, and this was obviously an earthly rule over the earthly environment and anything which might come into that environment, including Satan who came in through the serpent, right? Now, of course, they failed in that rule, but God's intention and purpose is to restore this rule, this earthly rule of man. And so the next passage I would turn to would be something like Genesis 17, 6, which would discuss how kings would come forth from Abraham under the Abrahamic covenant. And then we could trace the kingly line through the tribe of Judah, Genesis 49, 10. We could trace this all the way to David in 1 Chronicles 17, 10b through 14, where we find in the house of Judah David that it would come from the house of David. This would be the kingly line. But even before that, you've got you've got Exodus 19, 4 through 6, where God, well, the nation Israel has now come to Mount Sinai. They're awaiting at the base of Mount Sinai, and God says, I will make you a kingdom of priests. So the concept of kingdom, again, is now going to relate to Israel. We already knew it was going to relate to the earth. It's going to have a king who comes from the line of David. This is how I would define the kingdom. So that when you come into the Gospels and you have the message, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, what we're talking about is the restoration of this kingdom that was to come to rest on the Davidic house. And that's why the New Testament begins with words directly related to this kingdom. These are the generations of the son of Abraham, the son of David. So it's talking about the king himself who comes from this line, and of course, the kingdom that had uh needed to be restored. So when I speak of the kingdom offered, that's what I mean. I mean a kingdom that will be on earth, where man will rule, and chiefly, of course, the Messiah, the one from David, he will be the king. And then now we are right now, as we work through the gospel, setting up to try to understand the church and what your role and my role is in relationship to that kingdom.

SPEAKER_00 5:37

Thank you for joining us on Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas. If you would like to see the visuals that went along with today's sermon, you can find those on Rumble and on YouTube under Spokane Bible Church. That is where Jeremy is the pastor and teacher. We hope you found today's lesson productive and useful in growing closer to God and walking more obediently with Him. If you found this podcast to be useful and helpful, then please consider rating us in your favorite podcast app. And until next time, we hope you have a blessed and wonderful day.