Sermon Tone Analysis

*APATHETIC CHRISTIANS*

*MATTHEW 12:30-37*

* *

30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.

31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy/ against/ the/ Holy/ Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.

32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the/ world/ to come.

33 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by/ his/ fruit.

34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things?

for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

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*INTRODUCTION:  *I have found that the most serious infiltrating sin within Christians today is a great state of apathy.

It is this apathy that is causing the breakdown of the many churches in our nation.

We have apathy not only in our churches but also within our homes for not only are churches breaking down but also the family unit too.

I have found in my talks with many so called Christians that they are content just to sit in the pews and warm them, and not really wanting to get involved.

But I’m not here to talk about the problem within churches for we are the church therefore the problem is within us.

This problem is not a new one for even Jesus dealt with the same problem over 2000 years ago.

We are here to open the Word of God and find out the answer to that problem.

The saddest of all is that apathy is in every one of us in one form or another.

The most common of these is when we decide to go one way without consulting God and then hope God comes along side supports this decision.

The most common saying today is, “We are going to do this if God supports then so be it, if He doesn’t then we are going to do it anyway.”

This thinking is very dangerous because then it becomes our agenda and not His.

I paraphrase it this way, “It is easier to say yes and do nothing than to say no and do something about it.”

Let me illustrate this by my own life, when someone asks me to be a teacher for Sunday School, I say yes not really consulting God about it and then just show up sporadically.

It is easier that way because a no answer would cause argument and even may seem to others that we are not as spiritual as we hold ourselves to be in this way I can make some excuses that are excusable but not legitimate.

Now that we understand what apathy is let’s look at God’s word and see how to cure it within ourselves thus curing it within our churches.

*BACKGROUND:  *This passage comes from Jesus right after the Pharisees have just accused Him of doing His many signs by the power of the Devil.

Understand that they have just attributed the power of the Holy Spirit, by which Jesus clearly states these signs are being done, to the work of Satan.

We know that Jesus rebukes their logic in this statement because He tells us that a kingdom divided against it cannot stand.

He tells us that if Satan is attacking his demons then he’s working against him thus it will eventually fall apart.

You will remember well when John sends his disciples to Jesus to ask Him if He indeed is the messiah and Jesus points him to what?

He points him and them to the many signs and miracles he has done.

In Jesus’ entire ministry His main evidence of who He was and claimed to be was revealed by His miracles and healings and signs.

Jesus plainly tells John’s disciples that His signs and wonders were enough to reveal He was the messiah and savior of the world.

This being said the Pharisees have now just blasphemed the Holy Spirit by attributing His holy work to the devil.

THERE ARE SEVERAL TRUTHS THAT WE NEED TO GET OUT OF THIS TEXT.

THE FIRST IS:

 

I.

DOING NOTHING IS DOING SOMETHING

a.

The act of not doing anything is still choosing sides.

Jesus was saying that by the Pharisees not doing anything with their knowledge of who He was most certainly claiming to be was still in itself choosing a side.

We often think, as I have already stated, that by us trying to stay out of the situation we are avoiding making a decision but in essence Jesus has said in this first statement in our passage that we have already made a choice.

We think that only our decisive actions can get us into trouble but that is most certainly not true at all.

An example of this would be a present situation with voting in November, those that choose not to vote have in essence still voted and made a decision still contributing to the vote in November.

Their lack of action at the polls will ultimately decide the winner and loser just as those of us that do vote will.

A biblical example and better example would be that of the Pharisees, they knew exactly who Jesus was claiming to be but did absolutely nothing about that knowledge thus declaring them to be against Jesus by not doing anything.

II.

The second part of the same verse condemns them even further.

In stating that who gathers not with me scatters abroad Jesus is telling them that they are hindering the Gospel message to those that need it with their very act of not doing anything.

I don’t know if you have thought about it much but you sitting in that pew and not getting involved you are doing the same, you are scattering them abroad.

If we do not get involved Jesus tells us that we are against Him.

a.

Many Reasons for our Apathy

                                                              i.

Fear-

1.

What will people think of me?

2.      I will get hurt if I put everything I have into this project or group.

3.      The sacrifice is too great.

4.      What if I fail?  (He knows we are going to fail, don’t you think He can overcome your failures for His benefit.)

ii.

Anger-

1.

I have done my part, let someone else who is younger do it.

2.      God doesn’t need me.

(You are right but He has also allowed you by Grace to be a part of His work.

We all have jobs to do.)

3.

This is the way we have done it for 20 years why change it?

a.       Jesus did things differently than the way the Pharisees did.

iii.

Resentment-

1.

Why do I have to be the only one doing it?

iv.

Discouragement-

1.

There are many more who are more qualified than I to do those things that need to be done.

2.      I’m not talented enough to do that.

(God has gifted each and everyone one of us for our specific job.)

3.      What if nothing happens?

4.      What if no one comes?

v.

Downright disobedience-

1.      I’m not going to do that!

2.      I have better things to do with my life.

3.      That takes up too much of my time outside of church.

III.

BLAPHEMING THE HOLY SPIRIT CAN STILL HAPPEN TODAY

a.

In verse 32 Jesus tells the Pharisees that what they have just done is blasphemed the Holy Spirit for attributing His works to Satan.

We must understand that this exact sin is not capable today because Jesus would have to be on earth for that to happen.

They were calling the works of the Spirit those of Satan.

We must also understand that this sin in a different form can still be done today.

b.

When we think that God cannot do what He says He can then we are blaspheming the Holy Spirit because we doubt God’s word.

This is exactly what the Pharisees were doing doubting Jesus’ works by the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit lives within us and when we choose not to make a decision or get involved in God’s kingdom work by one of the reasons I have already listed we are doubting God’s words and promises thus blaspheming the Holy Spirit.

Let me give you an example when we doubt one attribute of God we are bringing His name down or making it less than it really is.

We are saying that God is not worthy or capable of doing something.

It is the same as if someone comes to you at your work and doubts whether you can do some aspect of that job, do you not take it personally and think it an affront to who you are, how much more our Heaven Father and more importantly the Holy Spirit.

No we don’t blaspheme God in the same way the Pharisees do but I would submit to you that our doubts are more destructive than those of the Pharisees, our doubts hinder the very work of the Holy Spirit, for He is the one present within us and in the world.

God will get accomplished what He desires and doesn’t need us but how much of an honor is it to be wanted and included in His Great Plan.

You see blaspheming is not just cussing or taking the Lord’s name in vain but doubting who He is and any one of His many countless attributes.