- Sin Against the Holy Spirit
- Matthew 12: 31, 32 Sins agains the son of man will be forgiven but sin against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
- Not a one time thing.
- Peter denied Jesus and wept over his sin. (Matthew 26: 69 – 75)
- If we confess our sins, he is faithful to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1: 9)
- “Although I [Paul] was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” (1 Timothy 1: 13 – 15)
- Zacchaeus was a tax collector and one visit from Jesus and he is giving money to the poor and repaying the evil he had done. (Luke 19: 1 – 10)
- The people who are challenging Jesus are willfully resisting the work that Jesus is doing.
- What work did Jesus do? healed on the Sabbath.
- Did Jesus break the Sabbath?
- it is alright to break the Sabbath to do good for another
- Sheep in a well (Matthew 12: 11)
- Alright to break the sabbath to do good
- This is what the Pharisees hated about Jesus (See Vs 14)
- It is not alright to heal on the Sabbath, but it is alright to plot a murder?
- Two ways to sin against the Holy Spirit
- When we take the work that Jesus is doing and put it on the devil, we are sinning against the Holy Spirit.
- When we resist the work of the Holy Spirit
- Convict world of sin
- Proclaim God’s righteousness
- Share of coming judgement. (See John 16: 8 – 11)
- Person who is resisting work of Holy Spirit (Hebrews 10: 29)
2. New Covenant More glorious 7 – 11
- The law is a ministration of death to the sinner Vs 7
- It cannot be kept; therefore death
- It awakened death in us (Romans 7: 5)
- It could not clear a guilty conscious (Hebrews 9: 14)
- Still it came “with glory”
- Still it was passing away
- Moses wore a veil because the glory of his face was fading.
- It cannot be kept; therefore death
- Our righteousness is not from the law. 8, 9
- It pointed us to the need of a blood sacrifice
- The comparison is not even worth comparison
- Unless we hate our brother or sister. (Luke 14: 26)
- Just as the sun outshines the brightest moon
- Old Covenant is glorious
- Paul is not rejecting the Torah and all of it commandments
- Jesus did not reject it, but fulfilled it. (See Matthew 5: 17 – 20)
- Example of coming to presence of God in each covenant (Hebrews 12: 18 – 27)
3. Ministry in the New Covenant 12 – 18
- New Glory is not fading Vs 12, 13
- There is a sense of permanence with the new covenant
- The glory does not fade like it did to Moses
- Just as some religions have marks to show their allegiance (Robes, haircuts, clothing) We have the glory of God in us that sets us apart.
- The Jews did not recognize the vanishing glory of the Law Vs 14
- They understood Moses glory to be an abiding glory
- They veiled their hearts to Jesus when he stood among them.
- the veil that was once on their faces is on their hearts Vs 15
- When they turn to the Lord, the veil is removed Vs 16
- With the New Covenant, we have freedom of access to God Vs 17
- We pass from death into life
- There is liberty in Christ.
- The liberty of the spirit contrasted with the letter of the law.
- Romans 8: 15 not a spirit of bondage, but adoption
- Galatians 5: 1 not entangled again with yoke of bondage.
- Spirit makes us ministers of this new covenant Vs 6
- Looking at Jesus we are transformed into His likeness Vs 18
- This belongs to all believers without exception
- We look at the bible through the eyes of faith.
- EXAMPLE: burns are staying in his presence and we are changed
- We continue to behold Him (See 1 John 3: 2)
- We no longer live by works and are transformed.
- three conditions must be met
- Turning to the Lord
- Every veil must be removed
- Desire that only his glory would be reflected
- Then we are transformed.