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Have I Committed the Unforgivable Sin?

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Here is a conversation I have on a regular basis: Reader: “Paul, I’m worried that I have committed the unforgivable sin.” Me: “You haven’t.” Reader: “But I had these terrible thoughts about the Lord…” Me: “You didn’t commit an unforgivable sin.” Reader: “I shook my fist at heaven and said these wicked things…” Me: “Still no.” Reader: “But I took the Lord’s name in vain.” Me: “The good news is he forgives you. Jesus said, ‘Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven’ (Matthew 12:32).” Reader: “But the rest of that verse says those who speak against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. I’m doomed!” Me: “Uh-huh. So you think Jesus is gracious and forgiving but the Spirit of Christ holds a grudge? What’s wrong with that picture? Relax. The Holy Spirit keeps no record of your sin (Heb 10:17).” Reader: “I still worry that I committed the unpardonable sin.” Me: “Do you love Jesus?” Reader: “Of course.” Me: “What does Jesus mean to you?” Reader: “He’s my Lord.” Me: “You could not know that except the Holy Spirit showed you. The only thing that cannot be forgiven is rejecting what the Spirit says [...]

The Top 12 Promises on Eternal Security

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I have begun listing the many promises in God’s Word regarding the eternal security of the believer. So far I’m up to 130 scriptures, with more to come. It’s a  wonderful, reassuring list, but too long to reproduce here. So for the sake of brevity I have pulled the top 12 promises guaranteeing your eternal salvation. These are promises to treasure. If you are uncertain and insecure, these promises will give you a confident assurance of your future. 1. Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. (John 5:24) The insecure reads this backwards: “If I falter I’ll cross from life to death.” But Jesus said no such thing. You have crossed from death to life and it’s a one-way trip. You are not alive one day, dead the next, then alive again. The old has gone and the new has come. 2. All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out… And this is the will of him who sent me; that I shall lose [...]

Does 2 Peter 2 Say You Can Lose Your Salvation?

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In this world of anxiety and fear, it is a radical thing to proclaim the eternal security of the believer: One with the Lord, your future is the same as his. No one can snatch you from his hand; nothing can separate you from his love. Yet every time I say things like this, someone will point to 2 Peter 2 as though this one chapter could undo the many promises of God and make Christ’s saving work of no effect. “Peter describes Christians who forsook the Lord and were condemned,” they say. “So much for once saved, always saved.” Hardly a month goes by when I don’t have occasion to talk about 2 Peter 2. In this chapter, Peter warns about false teachers who deny the Lord and teach heresy. Let there be no doubt he is not referring to Christians. These people are slaves of depravity (v.19) who never stop sinning (v.14). They are not saints but brute beasts who are condemned to perish (v.12). But were these sinners once saints? Were they Christians who lost the way, and fell beyond the reach of grace? This is an important question, because if they were once saved, then you [...]

Guilt is Powerful. Discover the superior power of a clear conscience.

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Guilt is powerful, it will chart your course for you. It will cause you to repeat destructive patterns and make excuses for allowing sin in your life. If you have guilt or shame, that area of life is defining you. The way out is to live from a new identity that is not defined by the past. Have you ever been vexed with something? Meaning something has a strong pull within you even though you don’t

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The post Guilt is Powerful. Discover the superior power of a clear conscience. appeared first on Forward Ministries.

Discover how to draw purpose from the highest dimension of life

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Life is like the light spectrum or audio spectrum. The human eye is not capable of seeing ultraviolet light without the proper conditions. The human ear cannot hear past 20,000 hertz. There is an eternal or higher dimension of the “life spectrum” as well. Humans, in a physical body, have the capacity to live in the carnal dimension. The physical body can not function in higher frequencies of life, which is what we typically call

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The post Discover how to draw purpose from the highest dimension of life appeared first on Forward Ministries.

Jesus and the Destruction of Death (A Communion Meditation)

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No, that’s not the name of a heavy metal band, that’s the goal of the cross…the total obliteration of death and its effects on mankind. The blood of Jesus takes us from dark to light…from death to life.

The mission of Jesus and our appropriate response is less about right and wrong and more about life and death. We believe unto life…eternal life. There is no humanly way possible to escape the destruction of sin, which is death…so God dealt the final blow in Jesus. Of course we await the time when the last enemy, death, is put under the feet of his body but regarding our spiritual life, death has lost it’s sting.

Take a moment and commune with Jesus, remember his body and blood and allow his spirit to manifest his life through you.

The post Jesus and the Destruction of Death (A Communion Meditation) appeared first on Forward Ministries.

How Do I Know I’m Saved?

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“Are you saved? Are you sure?” These questions are sometimes used to scare people into signing up for works-based insurance, which is bad. But the questions themselves are legitimate. In scripture we are exhorted to examine ourselves to see whether we are in the faith (2 Cor 13:5). As I have explained elsewhere, this does not mean […]

556. Why Jesus Taught Two Covenants (Part 13): The Good Samaritan & Self-Justification

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What inspired the story of The Good Samaritan? A lawyer was testing Jesus with a question about the law that came through Moses. The Scripture states he was trying to do what other Jews did under the law — they attempted to justify themselves. In order to truly justify himself, the lawyer was told to do according to what the law says. The problem with this? Nobody had ever done it before. While the world has encouraged us to be the good Samaritan, Jesus is actually the one represented by this person in the parable.



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555. Why Jesus Taught Two Covenants (Part 12): “What Must I DO to Have Eternal Life?”

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This week we provide a perspective on the story of The Rich Young Ruler. He asked Jesus what he needed to do to have eternal life. Interestingly, Jesus did not say what we Christians might have expected — He did not say, "believe in me." He answered the law-based question with a law-based answer by telling the young man to obey the commandments from the Mosaic law. Why? Jesus was trying to show him the impossible standard of perfection the law demanded without any provision to be able to accomplish it. Have you ever walked out of church feeling worse than when you went in? It was probably for the same reason as the young ruler... The good news was missing.



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Your Unbreakable Union with Christ

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Some Christians understand their union with the Lord but only half way. “Sure, God is with us, but sometimes he isn’t. He comes and he goes.” It’s true that in the Old Testament the Holy Spirit came upon certain people at certain times, but that was then and this is now. Jesus said the Holy […]

Patient Endurance (Revelation 14:12)

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A reader asked for my thoughts on the following passage: This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus. (Rev 14:12, NIV) When I was a younger man I might’ve preached a message on this verse that went something like this: “You gotta hang […]

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