Luke 12:8-12

Confessing Christ: V. 8. Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess Me before men, him shall the Son of Man also confess before the angels of God; v. 9. but he that denieth Me before men shall be denied before the angels of God. V. 10. And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven. V. 11. And when they bring you unto the synagogs and unto magistrates and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say; v. 12. for the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.

In order to impress upon His disciples the necessity of an open and fearless confession, Jesus solemnly refers to the final judgment. A confession of Christ before men, an open proclamation of the truth and a steadfast defense of the truth, is demanded of every follower of Christ. By the grace, in the strength of Christ, we confess. And He will stand by us on the last day and confess us just as fully and much more cheerfully before the angels of God that will be present before the judgment throne.

But if we deny Christ before men, we thereby prove that we have no faith in our heart. The denier of Christ will find himself denied and rejected just when he needs help and saving, on the Day of Judgment, before all the holy angels of God as witnesses.

There is grave danger in denial, even in the present time, under the present conditions. For denial may result in blasphemy, of a kind spoken by the Pharisees that charged Jesus with being in league with Satan or Beelzebub.

There may be such a thing as a lapse, a temporary speaking against the person of Jesus. That sin will readily find forgiveness if true repentance is found. But if one blasphemes against the Holy Ghost, against His work, then the sin, in its very nature, is outside of the pale of forgiveness.

"To blaspheme the Holy Ghost means to hate and reject the Spirit of Truth wantonly, with full knowledge and will. Only such a person can do this as has felt the work of the Spirit in his heart and knows Him to be the Spirit of Truth. If any one, as a child of Satan, follows Satan in this, that he hates the Spirit who reproves him as a spirit of torture, and becomes an enemy and opponent of the truth witnessed by the Holy Ghost: such a person blasphemes the Holy Ghost, and this sin is unforgivable. The reason why it cannot be forgiven is not to be found in this, that the fountain of mercy in God's heart is stopped up, but rather in this, that the opening for repentance and faith in the heart of the sinner is stopped up."

As for the disciples, however, let them feel no uneasiness and fear about their ability to defend their faith at the proper time. When their enemies would bring them before the council of their synagogs, before the rulers, and before other tribunals, it would be true indeed that they could not hope to dominate the situation by means of their own ability. The wisdom and skill of the world in oratory would be arrayed against them. But still they should not worry about their defense, for the Holy Ghost would teach them at that time and give such words into their mouths as would exactly fit the situation and tend to confound their enemies.

Many a Christian has been surprised, when attacked by the enemies of Christ, at the easy flow of thoughts and words which came to him at such a time. If a person does not depend upon his own art and skill, the Lord Himself will guide his tongue in the defense of the great truths of the Bible.