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Colin Smith: I'm increasingly convinced that one of the greatest dangers for Christian believers today is that we look like we're proclaiming ourselves. We know how to do life, come with us. That's the kind of arrogance that causes other unbelieving people to blaspheme the name of God.

Steve Hiller: You're listening to Open the Bible Weekend with Pastor Colin Smith. Colin, I think that's a good word of warning for us. We obviously want to be inviting people into the church while giving them a very real picture of the body of Christ.

Colin Smith: Yeah, that's right. And the way that we do that is not by pointing to ourselves with a kind of moral superiority. Hey, come with us because we're better than you. No, the very point of being a Christian is that a Christian by definition has recognized his own need.

To be a Christian is to say, I am not what God has called me to be. That is why I need a Savior, why I'm following this Savior, because all my good is in him. So the church is to be a community of people that's not pointing to itself, but is pointing to its Savior, who is the hope of the world.

Steve Hiller: And so for the Christian and the church to do that effectively, how would you encourage us to do that?

Colin Smith: Well, we've got to be in touch with the reality of our own need. The human problem is not just that I've done a few things wrong that need to be forgiven and then I'm all right. The human problem is much deeper than that. Sin is more like a cancer in the soul.

I need a redeemer throughout life, and I'm going to need a redeemer in death and to bring me into eternity. If I lose sight of that, then I may get carried away with my own imagined goodness, and then the Savior becomes eclipsed. So that's one of the reasons we've got to keep Christ first and center so that we're humbled and he's exalted, so that people think more of him and less of us. That's the right way around.

Steve Hiller: And we're going to spend some time diving deeper into that today as we continue a message entitled Your Struggle with Religion. I think you're going to be intrigued. Want to stay tuned for this because one of the most common questions is: is there an unforgivable sin? Is there a sin that Jesus said won't be forgiven, and what does it mean to blaspheme the Spirit? That's coming up in just a little bit. But if you can, join us in Exodus chapter 20. Here's Pastor.

Colin Smith: God takes this sin personally. It is uniquely personal to him. You would of course do the same. How would you feel if someone used your name to justify acts of violence or empty promises or used it in a frivolous kind of way for all kinds of stupidity?

Of course, it shouldn't surprise us that God's name is misused so much. Always has been and always will be. Anything that is of value will be counterfeited. God speaks about this in Jeremiah chapter 14 and verse 14. He talks about prophets who prophesy lies in my name. They get up, they use the name of God, these false prophets, but all they're doing is they're spouting their own ideas. And it's an offense to me, says the Lord.

Jesus speaks about this most powerfully, of course, in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapter seven. Not everybody, he says, who says, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven. Not everyone who uses my name is going to be in heaven, but only him who does the will of the Father who sent me. There will be religious kind of people who've made all sorts of claims but have been abusing the name of Jesus for their own ends. Don't expect to see them in heaven, says Jesus.

Those who use God's name for their own ends end up disowned by the God whose name they misused. Now, I want you to see how uniquely serious this is. Notice from Exodus chapter 20 and verse seven that God puts this sin in a unique category. Notice what he says. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for—and we often forget the second bit.

But look at what it says. We can't skip over it. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. This is the only one of the ten commandments where God speaks like this. But here he specifically speaks of a lasting guilt. That's what it says, isn't it? We daren't skip over this. Don't expect to be forgiven for this one, God says. I will not hold you guiltless over this.

Wait a minute. Are you saying that there is a sin that is unforgivable? Well, yes. The Bible speaks very clearly about one sin that cannot be forgiven and it concerns the name of God. And the third commandment points directly to it. That is why there is this unique statement at the end of the third commandment that should cause all of us to stop seriously and think.

Misusing the name of God, of course, in the light of all that is revealed in scripture includes misusing the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And the third commandment points directly to two New Testament scriptures that speak about a sin for which there is no forgiveness. Now, every pastor sooner or later gets asked a question about these two passages from the Bible.

So we're going to look at them together now, and you might like to turn to them. They're difficult passages, but I want us to see how they connect to the third commandment, and I think that will be helpful to us all. The first of them concerns the name of Jesus, and this is in Hebrews chapter six and verses four to six. You might like to turn to that. One of the very important statements about blaspheming the name of Jesus.

And here we read these words in Hebrews six. It is impossible—so he's talking about something that's impossible—for those who have once been enlightened, have tasted the heavenly gift, have shared in the Holy Spirit, have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age. It's impossible if they fall away, it's impossible for them to be brought back to repentance because to their loss, they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

That's a difficult verse, but it is making essentially a simple point. The book of Hebrews was written to a group of Jewish believers who after they came to faith in Christ were under intense pressure to renounce Jesus and go back. The book of Hebrews is written to encourage them to stay the course and to honor the name of Jesus. The message of the book of Hebrews can be summed up in three words: don't go back.

Because if you renounce Jesus, there is no other way by which you can be right with God. And in these verses he's laying this out. If you're turning away from Jesus, then you turn away from all that's in Jesus. You turn away from the Holy Spirit, you turn away from the heavenly gift, you turn away from the goodness of the word, you turn away from the powers of the coming age.

You turn away from Jesus, you lose everything. You turn away from Jesus, you're back in your sins. You turn away from Jesus, it will be your everlasting loss. That's what he's saying. The only repentance that is acceptable to God is repentance in the name of Jesus. Detach yourself from the name of Jesus and you detach yourself from the possibility of repentance because repentance can only be in his name, right?

He is the name given by which you may come to God. Leave the name and you leave all that is in it. There is no forgiveness without his name. Renounce him and your guilt remains upon you. That's what he's saying. Now turn to the second reference that speaks of this tragic situation. This is the reference to blasphemy against the Holy Spirit in Mark chapter three and verse 28.

If you'll turn with me. Another verse that often troubles Christian believers. Mark chapter three and verse 28 and again we'll try and understand the setting and then hear the words. What's happening here is that Jesus has been healing the sick, he has been casting out demons. And the fascinating thing is that not a soul could dispute the authenticity of the miracles. Everyone who saw them knew that they were real.

So no one said they didn't happen because they obviously did. People saw them happen. And so the enemies of Jesus resorted to another tactic. They suggested that this power which was obviously real was actually the devil's power. And they said it in verse 22: He's possessed by Beelzebub. That means the devil. By the prince of demons he's driving out demons.

Now you see what's happening here now? Jesus comes with grace and mercy and he brings the blessing of God. And here are a group of people who see the blessing of God poured into people's lives and they say that's the devil. And Jesus is saying to them in effect that is the greatest misjudgment you could ever make. What you have just seen is the work of the Holy Spirit of God.

And if you turn away from the blessing of his work, there is no hope for you. So verse 28: I tell you the truth, Jesus says, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, for he is guilty of an eternal sin. See, forgiveness is possible by embracing the one who forgives.

But if a person will not embrace the one who forgives, how can that person be forgiven? If someone turns away from the name of Jesus, from the work of the Holy Spirit, and casts this off as being something of darkness and hardens his or her heart towards it, if you will not embrace the one who forgives, how can you be forgiven? And that's the whole point of the third commandment.

God will not hold guiltless those who abuse his name. Apart from the name by which we must be saved, we remain in our guilt. The Bible puts this so clearly in both the Old and the New Testament: everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Notice, calling on the name of the Lord. Salvation comes, repentance comes, through the name of the Lord.

Notice it's in the Old Testament and in the New. In the Old Testament, Joel the prophet says the way to be saved is to call on the name of Yahweh, the name we've learned that God gave to Moses. That's how you're going to be saved. You've got to come in humility and in faith and embrace him, and he will save you. You'll be saved by his name. And Peter on the day of Pentecost takes up that same theme, that same quotation.

He says, now look, this is what that means. It means you have to embrace the name of Jesus. You have to call on the name of the Lord Jesus in order to be saved because Jesus is the one by whom this God has made himself known. He is God in the flesh. He's given his life for us and it's through him that we find repentance and salvation. So hear me clearly.

God offers forgiveness to every person. God offers forgiveness for every sin. Every sin. Including denials of Jesus, blasphemies against the Holy Spirit, misuse of the name of God, including the vilest thing that you can conceive of in your mind. God offers forgiveness for that too through the blood of Jesus. There is no sin for which you cannot be forgiven.

But the only way for you to be forgiven is to embrace the one who forgives. And if you will not embrace his name, if you will not call on the name of the Lord, there is no other way for you to be saved. And in that circumstance your guilt remains. Now this is serious stuff, folks. Because there are some of us who've heard it again and again and again and again and again.

You've heard the gospel. And you've got used to sitting in church and pushing it away. You've got used to the "I'm all right Jack" kind of an attitude. And to this day you've not come to the place of saying, I'm someone who needs Jesus Christ to save me. And your guilt right now remains. That's what the third commandment tells you.

And it will remain unless and until you call upon his name. Why would you, having come to the service of worship today, go out through these doors with your guilt remaining on you when you could embrace Jesus and be forgiven and begin a new life in him? That's the invitation of the gospel. But there is no other way. Today if you hear his voice this time, don't harden your heart.

Steve Hiller: You're listening to Open the Bible Weekend with Pastor Colin Smith and a message called Your Struggle with Religion. And we're going to have to pause the message right here, but we'll continue in just a little bit, so I hope you'll stay with us.

Our message is part of a larger series called The 10 Greatest Struggles of Your Life as we're taking a look at the Ten Commandments. And if you ever miss a broadcast in our series, come and listen online. Our website is openthebible.org. There you can stream the program or download an MP3 for free. Again, that's at openthebible.org.

Well, what if you could go on a hike with Pastor Colin and go all the way through the Bible story, see how it all fits together and how it all points to Jesus? Well, now you can with the new podcast, Hike Through the Bible.

Colin Smith: Yeah, and this is for everyone who wants to understand the Bible better and for everyone who wants to love Jesus more. In each episode, I'll read a chapter from my book, Hike Through the Bible, and then I'll discuss it with some friends. A new episode releases every week, and so you can take this hike at a gentle pace.

In a year, you'll have covered the entire Bible story. I really hope that you'll join me on this journey, and it's not too late to get started now. So you can subscribe to the Hike Through the Bible podcast for free wherever you get your podcasts, and you'll find more information at openthebible.org/hike. That's openthebible.org/hike.

Steve Hiller: Well, thank you, Colin. Let's get back to the message: Your Struggle with Religion.

Colin Smith: Now we've talked about the struggle, we've talked about the offense. Lastly and very briefly, a word about the calling. Because for all those who have embraced the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in humility and by faith, we have a great calling to live for the honor of his name. And put very simply, God's answer to a world that blasphemes his name is a community of people who honor his name.

It's put very beautifully in Isaiah chapter 52 and verse five, where there's almost an anguished cry that comes out from the heart of God. Isaiah 52 and verse five. This is what God says. All day long my name is blasphemed. Isn't that awful? That the Creator would look down on the face of this earth and as he looks at this world, he would say, Isaiah 52 verse five, all day long my name is blasphemed. That's the truth.

Now, what's the answer? This is what God says immediately in Isaiah chapter 52 in verse five and verse six. All day long my name is blasphemed on the earth, therefore, he says, therefore, my people will know my name. See, God's answer to a world that blasphemes his name is a community of people who honor his name. And that's our greatest calling, and isn't it true that that's our greatest struggle?

To honor him in everything we do individually and together. To speak and to think and to act in a way that all things honor him in a world that so despises his name. That's our calling. How are we going to do it? It's a great struggle. Let me suggest just three strategies very briefly in these last moments.

The first is humility. Lord, give us humility to do this. I'm increasingly convinced that one of the greatest dangers for Christian believers today is that we look like we're proclaiming ourselves. We know how to do life, come with us. We got it all sorted out. And that's the kind of arrogance that causes other unbelieving people to blaspheme the name of God.

That's not what you find in the New Testament. You find a humble spirit of people under the word of God who want to share something of what they've found about Jesus Christ. Come and look at his claims. Come and look at what he did. Come with us and learn from him. Our task is not to hit the unbelieving world over the head with a two-by-four. It is to invite people to consider Jesus.

And then integrity. If we're to live to honor his name, it's going to take not just humility, it's going to take a real integrity. The deepest impressions that are made on people regarding the name and the reality of God, for many people, will probably come from what they see in you and in me. That's true of any name. Think of a name. Kennedy. Kennedy.

As soon as you say the name Kennedy, a great family name, all kinds of impressions immediately come flooding into all of our minds associated with the name Kennedy. And the impressions come from the actions, good and bad, of family members who bear that name. Now, you bear the name of God. We are the family of God.

And the impressions that many people have about God himself will come from the actions of those who bear his name, what they see in us, what they hear in us. And if we're to live for the honor of his name, it's going to take not just humility, it's going to take the active pursuit of integrity. This is the biggest struggle of our lives. To live in such a way that we really commend Jesus in a world that doesn't know him.

And the last thing that it'll take, of course, is love. Because if you love him, you will not misuse his name. And as we cultivate our love for him more, we'll be more sensitive to living in a way that really honors him. That's of course the whole point of worship. That's why worship centers around the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's always its focus on earth and in heaven.

That's why so many of our hymns express the beauty of the name of Jesus. How sweet the name of Jesus sounds in a believer's ear. It soothes his sorrow, heals his wounds, and drives away his fear. Jesus, the name high over all in hell or earth or sky, angels and men before it fall and devils fear and fly. I'll be happy if with my latest breath I could just but gasp that name, preach him to all and then cry in death: behold, behold the Lamb.

Way back in the 12th century, Bernard of Clairvaux: Jesus, the thought of thee with sweetness fills my breast, but greater far thy face to see and in thy presence rest. We love him because he has first loved us. And if we're to live to honor him, we need that through worship, the lens of our souls will be opened to take in a greater knowledge of his glory, his love, and his everlasting life.

And as you grow to love him, it will shape the way that you speak about him so that others will come to see that to you, he is so much more than just a name.

Steve Hiller: The name of Jesus is so much more than just a name, isn't it? And as we learn to love him, as Pastor Colin was just talking about, we will treat that name differently than any other. I think that when we treat his name lightly or flippantly, when we don't honor the name Jesus or God, it's because we don't truly understand what it means to love him, or we've at least not thought through that.

I also love how Pastor Colin talked about in the message today that there is no sin for which you can't be forgiven, but the only way to be forgiven is to embrace the one who does the forgiving. And to do that, we need to embrace his name, to call on Jesus, to recognize that he is the one who is able to forgive those sins because he's the one who conquered death and rose again.

Now, if you have questions about what it means to embrace the name Jesus, what it means that he went to the cross for you, then I want to encourage you to contact us here at Open the Bible Weekend. Visit our website openthebible.org or call us at 1-877-OPEN-365. That's 1-877-673-6365. For Pastor Colin Smith, I'm Steve Hiller. Thanks for listening, and I hope you'll join us next time.

Open the Bible Weekend is a listener-supported production of Open the Bible. Fly Through the Bible is a short, simple, and shareable book that you can use with a friend, a neighbor, or a loved one who needs to know Jesus. It's also freely available online.

Fly Through the Bible will introduce you to five people in the Old Testament, five events in the life of Jesus, and five gifts God gives to every believer. You could ask a friend to read Fly Through the Bible with you. The book has 15 chapters. You could read a chapter and meet together over coffee and discuss the questions.

Fly Through the Bible is designed to help you open the Bible with others. It will give you a better grasp of the Bible's story, and most of all, it will help you to grow in your love for Jesus Christ. For more information, visit openthebible.org/fly. That's openthebible.org/fly.