In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of receiving God's testimony through His word, His Son, and the Holy Spirit. He compares this process to a sales pitch, where the goal is to make the listener say "yes" to each point. The speaker shares his personal experience of initially hearing the gospel but not truly understanding it until the Spirit of God revealed it to his heart. He also discusses the concept of the unpardonable sin, suggesting that it refers to a point where someone refuses to accept all five testimonies of God at once.

Thank you, Bibles. Let's turn to 2 Peter, chapter 2, and verse 9. 2 Peter, chapter 2, and verse 9. We have two references of Scripture that we want to point your attention to, and the first is 2 Peter, chapter 2, and verse 9. The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished, but chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise government. Presumptuous are they, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities, whereas angels who are greater in power and might bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord. But these, as natural brute beasts made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not, and shall utterly perish in their own corruption, and shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. Spots they are, and blemishes, reveling with their own deceivings while they feast with youth, having eyes full of adultery that cannot cease from sin, beguiling unstable souls in heart they have exercised with covetous practices, cursed children who have forsaken the right way and are going astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness, but was rebuked for his iniquity. The dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbade the madness of the prophet." Now notice verse 17. These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest, to whom the midst of darkness is reserved forever. The thing that I want to point out here is that these men were alive when the word was spoken, and it says the midst of darkness is reserved for them. Now, one other reference, Jude. The little book of Jude, just before the book of Revelation, Jude, verse 8. We have almost identically the same text. Concerning the false teachers, those who have said no to Jesus Christ, those who say no to the invitation of the gospel, and who take up opposition against the gospel in the blood of Jesus Christ. Verse 8. In like manner also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignity. Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil, he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. But these speak evil of those things which they know not, but what they know naturally as brute beasts in those things they corrupt themselves. Woe unto them, for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the era of Balaam, for reward, and perished in the gain of Cain, of course. These are spots in your love feasts which they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear. Clouds they are without water, carried about by winds, trees whose fruit withereth without fruit, twice dead." Did you get that? Twice dead, and yet they're still alive. Plucked up by the roots, raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame, wandering stars, and notice the conclusion, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. Now, we're not going to speak on the eternal punishment of the condemned, but let me say that we have read two texts out of 22 in the New Testament that point out that when man dies without Christ, he goes to an eternal punishment with never the ability to escape. He's there forever, but this is not what I want to talk about tonight. In one of our texts, we found that they were already dead. Now, the first death in the Bible speaks of the physical death, but those who die physically and who die in their sins, they experience the second death as well, and these people still alive, still walking around, the scripture says they are twice dead. Now, tonight I would like to try to answer the question, at least to my satisfaction, what is the unpardonable sin? Now, this is a word that's not necessarily a scriptural word when we ask the question, is it possible for a man to commit the unpardonable sin today? You know, we have all types of people in church services from time to time, and throughout the years all types of people come to this very assembly, and we all know people who came, who heard the word, who got involved, you might say, for a short period of time. Later on they walked out of the church, they said, no thank you, that's not for me, and today they're somewhere else living a different type of life, and Christianity means nothing to them. I think of one particular fellow in one of the assemblies on the West Coast, and this man was an alcoholic, this man was an adulterer. If anything that could be done wrong, it seems that he had already done it and continued doing it. He was a relative of one of the fine Christians in one of the assemblies. He came, he heard the word, and he said no a few times, but one night after meeting in one of the Christian homes we were talking about the Lord, and it sounded so good he said, yes that's what I want, and he professed to accept the Lord, and he just blossomed out with enthusiasm and interest, and in about three weeks he was so hungry to serve the Lord, it seems, that they said, well Al will give you a little job to do, and to make a long story short, he began to get involved in the local work. Now I believe that the brethren allowed him to go forward too fast, because it wasn't long before he became a substitute, substitute, substitute Sunday school teacher, and lo and behold, as it seems the devil would have it, all the teachers and substitutes were sick one Sunday, and he was called on to teach a class. Saturday night he had to prepare, and it was too much for him, and he went out and got stone drunk, and he denied the law. In fact, later on he backed away, and he never came back to the meeting again. I went to see him a number of times and said, oh wait a minute, did you or did you not accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior? And we won't go into the details, but to make a long story short, he never came back. I found him drunk later, he was later on accused of all the same old sins, and today God only knows where he is. He left his wife, he forsook his children, he left all the debts that he had, and no one really knows where he is. Now the question comes up, is this man saved? Was he ever saved? Will he ever be saved? We know a number of people. I'm thinking of another man right in my home assembly there in and this man is a fine, outstanding father. He has two lovely children, and he has a Christian wife, and he's a very dignified man. He's a fine businessman, and everything that a husband and a father could be, he is, except being a Christian. And he comes to every meeting, and he sits in the audience, and he's heard enough gospel to save Russia, and yet this man can sit there stone dead, it seems to the gospel, for years and years and years. He's just as faithful in coming as anyone else. Ask him, Mr. Gerard, are you saved? Not interested. Not interested. Just as uninterested in the gospel as this desk here is as far as being saved is concerned. Is this man saved? Will he ever be saved? What's the problem then? Well, we all know people, don't we? And we look their lives, and we say to ourselves, I wonder if this person will ever be saved. He's heard it all, he's been the route, he's had the opportunity, and he said no thanks. Well, this is the question we want to try to answer tonight from the Bible, and let me say that I'm not God. You're not God, they're not God, and only God really knows who is saved and who is not. But I would like to share with you a few scripture verses tonight that indicate that it's possible not to be lost when you take your last breath on earth and in this life, but Christians and unbelieving friends, it's possible to be lost now, twenty years before you die, and be so definitely lost that when the gospel is preached, you don't even hear it. It's possible to have committed a certain sin, and once you make that sin, you commit that sin with the finality about it, God says, all right, you've had it, I'm through with you, and he moves on to someone else. The unpardonable sin, I believe we're going to see about that tonight. Now, by way of introduction, let me say that millions have committed this sin in other dispensations of time. Take your Bible and turn to Genesis chapter 6 and verse 3, and we will lead up to it. Genesis chapter 6 and verse 3. Here we see that in the days of Noah, in fact 120 years before the flood, we find this verse in Genesis chapter 6 and verse 3, and the Lord said, My spirit shall not always find what man, for that he also is flesh, yet his day shall be a hundred and twenty years. Now, here we see that God looks down and He sees man. Verses 5 and 6, And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination and the thought of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented God that he had made the man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air, for it repented me that I have made him. God saw the wickedness of the heart of the human race, and He said, I'm going to deal with them 120 years. I'm going to give them 120 years to repent, and for 120 years we find in 1 Peter, the last part of the third chapter of 1 Peter, that Jesus Christ spoke to the people on earth prior to the flood through the Spirit for 120 years, and not one apart from Noah and his family, eight people altogether, was saved. They had made their choice. They didn't want it, and at the end of that time the flood came and took them all away. Notice that throughout the 120 years apart from Noah. Now, that's a lot of people. They tell me that during the days of Noah when the flood came, I don't know frankly, but those who have a system of figuring things out like this, they tell me that there was just about as many people on the face of the earth in that day as there are today, as there is today, and all the human race had no faith at the message of the gospel by the Holy Spirit, and God took them all away. Millions, I believe, committed what we're going to call the unpardonable sin prior to the flood. Now, turn to Romans chapter 1 and verse 21. Romans chapter 1 and verse 21, and here we see not only did millions commit the unpardonable sin, we'll call it, before the flood, but from the flood on down to the birth of Christ, millions of others did it. Verse 21, because when they knew God, they glorified him not as God. You see, they knew him first. They knew all about it, but they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like unto man, and birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up. You see, they gave God up first, and he gave them up. Let's go on. Gave them up also to uncleanness through the lust of their hearts to dishonor their own bodies between themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served a creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections, for even their women did exchange the natural use for that which is against nature, and likewise also the men leaving the natural use of the woman burned in their lust one toward another, men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was fitting. Sounds like today in San Francisco, doesn't it? And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, see body, soul, and spirit, God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not seemly. Being filled with all unrighteousness and fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity, whispers, backbiters, haters of God, insolent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents. You see, some were children. Disobedient to parents without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, impeccable, unmerciful. Now look at verse 32. They were still alive. They knew they were under the curse. They had heard the gospel and said, No, thank you. And look what happened. Who, knowing the judgment of God that they who commit such things are worthy of death not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do. You see, they said, No, thank you. They knew the right way and turned from it, and they were consigned to the caverns of the damned forever. And they knew it, and they went on living as normal. Now, during the life and times of the Lord Jesus, turn to Matthew chapter 12, and we see that when the Lord started His public ministry, Matthew chapter 12, they came and they criticized it. And look what He said, Matthew chapter 12 and verse 22. Now imagine. We can imagine it back in Noah's day. We can imagine it between the flood and the birth of Christ, but pray tell me, how can one come face to face with Jesus Christ? And yet, look at verse 22. Then was brought unto him one possessed with a demon, blind and dumb, and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spoke and saw. And all the people were amazed and said, Is not this the son of David? But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out demons, but by Beelzebub the prince of demons. And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. And if Satan shall cast out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then shall his kingdom stand? And if I, by Beelzebub, cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they shall be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else, how can one enter into the house of a strong in a strong man's house and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man, and then he will spoil his house? Verse 31. Wherefore, I say unto you, all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven men. And whosoever speaketh the word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him. But whosoever speaketh against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this age, neither in the age to come. And so we see that those who blasphemed against the Spirit of God in that day, they feel their own doom. Now, there are two more references I want you to see. We find that some committed the unpardonable sin before the flood. Some committed the unpardonable sin from the flood down to the birth of Christ. Some committed the unpardonable sin during the life of Christ. Now, let's skip this dispensation for a moment and look ahead into the tribulation and turn to Revelation chapter 14 and verse 9. You know, some are going to be saved in the tribulation, but it's not going to be those who have the opportunity and said no. For 2 Thessalonians 2 tells us God will allow a strong delusion to come upon them, and they won't see it, they won't understand it, and they'll die and go to the caverns of the dams forever. But some will be. Revelation chapter 14 and verse 9. This was mentioned again this morning. The mark of the beast, and it says, And the third angel followed him, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead or in his hand, anyone now, did you note that? Anyone, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation, and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day nor night, to worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. If any of you are here tonight who happen to remain here if the Lord were to come this week, and you were to live on into the tribulation period, having rejected Jesus Christ as Savior now, more than likely you will receive the mark of the beast, and the moment that mark is stamped upon you, dear friend, you're doomed for eternity if God's word is true, I believe. And so we see here that the day they receive the mark, they don't go to hell, but they're consigned, they're doomed already. The contract will be carried out in due time. Now you say, Bob, that sounds all right for the time before the flood. That sounds all right from the flood down to Christ and during the life of Christ, and I know it's going to happen in the tribulation, but what about today? What about the church age? What about right now? Well, I don't think that Hebrews chapter 6 is applicable. Let's turn there for a minute. Hebrews chapter 6, and I believe that this portion of Scripture is applicable today, tonight, this hour, to those of us in this room, and I believe that it's possible that this may be the unpardonable sin. Hebrews chapter 6, verses 4 through 6. Now, I'm aware of the fact that this is primarily Jewish. I'm aware of the fact that it's primarily to them, however they are human beings, and I believe it's applicable to the Church, Jew and Gentile today. And look what it says, verse 4, For it is impossible. Now, you know what the word impossible means? It means impossible. That's what it means. It cannot be done. It won't be done. It's impossible. For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word God, and the powers of the age to come, if they shall fall away to renew them again unto repentance, seeing that they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put into an open chain. It is impossible to renew them again unto repentance. Now, I'm clearly aware of the major four interpretations of this portion of Scripture. Some say that it refers to the saved, indicating that they can be lost again. I don't believe that. Others say that it refers to Christians, speaking of their baptism of Christianity, and they have no other sacrifice. And there are other interpretations, but I believe that this portion of Scripture is in reference to those who are almost saved, but lost. And I believe that the indication here is that the fivefold rejection of the message of this text is the committing of the unpardonable sin. Now, dear friend, tonight I ask you in love, and I've never been more sincere in my life, have you committed the unpardonable sin? Let's see if you have. Number one, it is impossible for those who are once enlightened. What does this mean? Well, I believe that enlightenment comes by the word of God. More than likely, every one of us in this room have heard the word of God. We have heard the message. We know that the Bible teaches that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, and that the wages of sin is death. Now, it's one thing to hear with the ears. It's another thing to hear with the heart, and many a time I sat in the benches in the pews of First Avenue Tabernacle and other places, and I heard the gospel, but I never heard the word of it. I heard it with my ears, but I praise God that there was a time after hearing it over and over and over, and some of you may remember the night I began to tremble in my seat. I couldn't sit back. I couldn't stand up. I couldn't do anything. The Spirit of God had revealed the message to my heart, and I wanted to do something about it. That's what it means to hear. It reaches your soul. It stirs your emotions, and you decide that something has got to be done. And for fourteen days in my life, I don't believe I could have been much more miserable. You know, I believe in this old-time conviction period we call it. We don't hear much about conviction anymore. We used to talk about people who were under conviction. You know, for a long time they go along in life and they never show any indication of being interested, and all of a sudden they begin to get upset, and they're all perturbed. They're turned upside down. They're mad at everyone. They can't do anything right. They're crying all the time, and everything goes wrong. We get under conviction. That's it. And when the Spirit of God begins to bear down and crush the soul, we'll get under conviction. And what I believe this means here, when it says we're once enlightened, it means not just to come to a church service and hear the word with the ear, but to hear the word, and to think about it, and the Spirit of God reveals the message to you, and to be disturbed about it, and to be enlightened. I'm lost, and I need to be saved. I want to go to heaven, and Christ died for me. That's what it means. To be clearly enlightened of the way, to know the way without any doubt, to be enlightened. Now it says, first of all, to be enlightened. To know the word, to be disturbed by the word, and yet refuse to commit himself to it. May I ask you in love tonight? I'm sure that you heard the word. In fact, you just heard enough to be saved, frankly. But have you ever committed yourself to it? Do you know how it is when a young bride walks down the aisle, and the groom is standing here on the front, and he's watching the wife, the wife-to-be, and she comes down, and daddy gives her away? She comes up, and she stands before the man, and he pronounces a few words, and finally that moment comes in which he says, will you take this man to be your lawful wedded husband? And she says loudly, I do. That's it. Now it's one thing to do everything else to lead up to, but it's that final decision, I do, that really counts. Have you ever said, I do, to the message of the word of God? Have you ever said, I do, to Jesus Christ, died for my sins? I can claim him, I can trust him in his finished work to save me forever. Have you ever said, I do, or are you still beating around the bush? This is step number one. It is impossible for those who were once enlightened by the word of God. This is God's first testimony to mankind, the revelation of his word, the revelation of the gospel by his word. So let's go on. It is impossible for those who were once enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift. Now somebody's saying, aha Bob, I've got you there. The heavenly gift is the Holy Spirit, and everyone who receives the Spirit is saved. Oh no, I don't believe that's the Holy Spirit. The reason I don't, because it goes on in the very same verse and says, and have tasted and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit. Now he wouldn't say the same thing twice, would he? I believe that the heavenly gift is not the Spirit of God here, it's God the Son, the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ there upon the cross. God's gift to mankind. Jesus Christ reigns in the heart of the believer today through the Spirit, but the primary thing is not the Spirit. The primary thing is to receive Christ as your Savior, and I believe there when it says have tasted the heavenly gift, it means to taste the Lord Jesus Christ. In John chapter 6 in verse 53, there's a verse that says, except he eat my flesh and drink my blood. Now it's one thing to eat something, and it's another thing to taste something, and in turn spit it out. You notice that he didn't say, and have eaten the Lord Jesus Christ. I like just about everything that people cook. In fact, there's a number of things I don't like that I enjoy if I'm eating at their home, and it's free. Not long ago I went to a home, and this lady had a nice bowl of something green, and she had almonds in it, and some kind of white thick gravy, and she says, we were eating a number of things going around the table. You know how you do. You just start passing things, and the way I do, I take a little of everything, you see, and this stuff came by, and I said, my, it looks good. I said to the lady that had prepared it, never stick your neck out before you taste anything. But I said, my, this looks good, and I took a nice big helping of it, and of all the things that I like, there is one thing that I have a terrible time getting down, and it's spinach. And I had already said it sure looks good, it must be good. I had to sit there and eat a half a pound of spinach. If I could have, I just wish there had been a little dog around somewhere, you know, that I could have gotten rid of that spinach. I had eaten the spinach, too, but if I could have, I would like to have spit it out. It's one thing to digest something, and get it into your system, and enjoy it, and then have its influence and work in the body. It's another thing to taste something, and ordinarily, if we don't like something, we spit it out, we reject it, we don't eat it, and there's a big difference between tasting and eating. Now, I believe here the idea is not that we taste and swallow the Lord Jesus, but because of the testimony of the Word of God, we hear enough about the Lord Jesus to taste and see that he is good. What does this mean? It means to come to a gospel service just like this, maybe over and over and over again, and you hear so much of the Word that you decide to try Jesus Christ, and you go along for a while. Oh, how good God is! And we seek to work up an appreciation of the Son of God, but when the time comes to make that final decision, instead of saying after trying him, yes, I want him, that's it, he's everything to me, I will receive him, you say, no, thank you, I'd rather go back to the old ways. This is what it means. Rejection of God's testimony through his Word, number one. Rejection of God's testimony through his Son, number two. Now, let's come down to the third act, and have, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit. Oh, Bob, I've got you now. Made partakers of the Holy Spirit? Well, look that word partakers up sometimes. Do you know what it means? It means the same thing that we use when we say fellowship. You know how it is, you get on a bus somewhere, and you're going somewhere, and you're going to Los Angeles, and a person gets on the bus with you, let's say plane, that sounds better, and he's going to Los Angeles too. You don't know him, he doesn't know you, but you sit down together, and he says, my, it's a lovely day, yes, it's a lovely day. Well, what do you think of the weather? Well, if it wasn't good weather, I wouldn't be on the plane. Where are you going? I'm going to Los Angeles, and you have a little chit chat, and you go along as a fellow traveler. Now, you don't say, listen, I think it's going to be a horrible day, and start an argument. You're not really that concerned. You just pass the time of day by small talk. The communists have a word, fellow traveler, and what that means is that you're not a card-carrying, dedicated communist, but you're not against it. You're just kind of going along with the way the wind blows, and this is what they're doing to take the whole world over. They're going to take it over by fellow travelers, if you please. I understand there are less than two million communists on the face of the earth, in fact, less than ten thousand card-carrying communists, but they're going to make fellow travelers of the whole world, we're still against it, we don't want it, but we're not going to fight it, and this is what that means there, to go along up to a point. If this man on the plane said, well, I like chocolate ice cream, what do you like? Well, I like the strawberry. Well, why don't you like chocolate? Chocolate is better than strawberry, and you have a little argument there, but when they talk about the weather, the time of day, you know you're just going to be on the plane within three and a half hours, and pretty soon you can get off, and you'll never see him again, so you tolerate him. This is what it means here. To be a fellow traveler with the Spirit of God, he comes. Now, friends, this is a serious thing. First of all, to receive God's testimony by the Word of God. Secondly, his testimony through the Son of God, and thirdly, the Spirit of God reveals clearly the message, and to go along with him up to a certain point, and this is a witness. I admit, you want my heart. You want me to change my plans in life. You want my love. You want me to love you, God, more than I love my wife or my husband. You want me to love you more than I love my home, and my business, and my great plans of life. That's to see all the way through, and come up to a place where you say, that's as far as I'm going. No, thank you. I have gone so far, but I won't go all the way. This is what it means to be a fellow traveler, to be made a partaker of the Holy Spirit. There's no way in the world that word partaker can be rearranged to mean that we receive the Spirit of God, and He dwells within us like He does the truth, and then it goes on, and have tasted the good word of God. Now again, you see the word tasted. It means to hear the word, and for a season, a period of time to agree with it, and to enjoy it. I praise God that my dear own father now professes to know Jesus Christ as his own. But I'm sure he would tell you, as well as every member of the family, for a number of years he wasn't a believer in Christ. And I'm telling you, on Sunday afternoon there's nothing he enjoyed more than turning on the radio, laying across the couch, listening to some good old-time country preachers. My, that was good! He said, I enjoyed that, but still lost. Well, I'm very grateful that he later on professed the first time. But there are so many who can be attracted by the gospel. They can be attracted by a man, attracted by the Spirit temporarily and to a certain degree, and to enjoy all of this. But when the test comes, they say, oh no, that's not it. They hear sound preaching from God's That's what that really means. Testimony of the Word is tasted, the good Word of God, maybe through the witness of a dear friend, maybe through the witness of the preacher, maybe through the witness of the Sunday school teacher, or down at camp, or someone at work. Once enlightened, the Word of God, tasted the heavenly gift, the Son of God, partakers or fellow travelers of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, tasted the Word of God, and I like to apply this to the message of the people of God. He heard their word. He saw them. He was brought in contact with God's people, and he saw even by their way of life a new way, and this brings us to the next point, and the powers of the world to come. He tasted the Word and the powers. He tasted the powers of the world to come. What does this mean? I believe that the word world there is age. How can we taste the age to come? Well, I believe that ultimately the age to come is the eternal state, but I believe here that the reference is to the Millennial reign of Christ. On this earth today, the Christians are in the minority, and the world, the Christ-rejecting world system is in the majority, and the Christian has to take the back seat in many cases and many times, and he's the oddball. He's the square peg in the round hole. He's always not exactly right with the world system because he's a believer, and many times he loses that opportunity in business. Many a time he's stiff-armed, he's insulted, he's pushed around because he stands for the Lord Jesus Christ. But in the Millennial reign of Christ, all this is going to be turned around, and the child of God is going to be on the winning side publicly as well as privately, and the world is going to be the minority. The world system is going to be at a minority, and things are going to be so much better. The Lord Jesus Christ is in command. The Lord is at the head of everything. Well, how can we taste that today? I'll tell you how. In the fellowship of God's people, that's all. In the local assembly where Jesus Christ reigns, and the people are living according to the word as best they can. And I believe when it says, and have tasted the powers of the age to come, it means that maybe here's an unsaved husband, and he's married to a saved wife. Or the reverse, an unsaved wife married to a saved husband, or parent unsaved, and they have a saved daughter or son, and through the influence of the one who is the Christian, they are brought to daily vacation Bible school commencement service, or they come to Sunday school, or somehow or another they are brought in contact with the local church, and they experience temporarily, and very likely, but just enough to see the difference, they see a tremendous new world, the beginning of a new world, if you please, in God's people. We meet differently, though. Our priorities aren't the same as the world's. We have our priorities lined up in a different way, and they see how nice and how good, in fact, they may even want in their heart for a short period of time, I wish I could be a part of that. That's so nice in such a rotten world. But when the test comes, they are not wanting to give up. No, no, I'd rather have the old world. I can't give up the world for this new way of life, even though I think it's pretty nice, you see. Now we come down to the crux of the whole matter. Bob, what do you tend to say when you say the unpardonable sin? My personal belief is that when it says it is impossible to renew them again unto repentance, it means to renew them again to the place where they say yes to all five testimonies of God at one time, for God runs out of testimonies. For a short time, I worked for a company that sold insurance, and we had a five-page booklet that we went through, and there wasn't six pages, only five, and we were told to demonstrate or make a point on each page, and before we turned that page, we were told to make them say, yes, I like it. We would turn to page one, and we would give our little spiel. What do you think of that? Well, I don't know, but we wouldn't turn the page. Well, I'm sorry I didn't make myself clear, and we'd go back and start all over, and we would not turn that page until they said yes. And then we would go to page two, and we would do the same thing, and we had five points, and believe you me, friend, if you said yes five times, I began to count my commissions when I got to the back part of the page, because I knew you were one of mine. Now, this is exactly the same way. God turns to one page, and he gives you the witness of the word. Well, yes, I like it. Some say, well, it's all right, but I don't think I really want it. He turns the next page, and he gives you the witness of his son, and you learn enough about him. You see deep enough into the plan, and into the message, and into the very person of Christ, and you say you have enough intelligence to decide, well, I don't really want it. And on down, the witness of the word, the witness of the Son, the witness of the Spirit, the witness of the people of God, and the witness of the ways of God. And I believe that the unpardonable sin is committed when one sees all five very clearly, all at one time. And I don't know who does and who doesn't. This is a work of the Spirit of God. But when looking at all five things at one time, you say, yes, I know it, I'm clear on it, I understand it, I see everything, you don't need to say another word, no thank you. And when you reject that message, dear friend, you've done it. You've done it. You've done it. You may live 20 years later. You may live 40 years later, and you may come back to this very building, and you may sit in that very seat, and you'll hear the gospel a hundred thousand more times, possibly. But as you sit there, the Spirit of God is not dealing with you. You're yawning, you're chewing gum, you're looking around, you're playing tic-tac-toe, you're watching your wife, you're wanting this thing to get over. Maybe you're just coming to please your wife, or your husband, or your parents, but once you make that final decision and say, no, it's too late. I believe that. And your heart is cooled down to God, and there's nothing else. You see, there's no more testimony. And you may live to be 65, 75, 85, or 95, and die in your sense. You're just as good as lost the moment you make that decision. Now, dear friend, this is solemn. This is solemn. The solemn thing about it is, you may come to one meeting and hear about the Word. You may come to the next meeting and hear about the Son, and only God the Spirit knows when He has revealed to you enough light. You see, it's all by the Spirit, not by me or anyone else. But once you hear it all, and God runs out of material, if you please, and He comes to the last page in His demonstration booklet, and He says, all right, I have asked you yes or no five times. Yes or no? No, no, no, no, no. All right, now what is your final decision? My final decision is no. And just as any good insurance salesman will do, after he's tried about five times, he will close his case, zip it up, and go on to the next posture. And I believe this is exactly what the Spirit of God said. In fact, I don't believe there'll ever be a person in hell that the Spirit of God did not come to in some degree or another and reveal enough. And he says, no, I don't want to. I'd rather have some. This rejection may come in the middle of one's life. You may be 12 years old here tonight and pay no attention. This rejection may come at the age of 20 or 21, 25, 30, 40, 50. We don't know. Only God knows, but I believe that it's possible. And from that moment on, you might as well go ahead and die and go to hell as far as salvation is concerned. What about you tonight? Dear friends, you've heard the way. And by the grace of God and by the Spirit of God, it may be that tonight for the first and last time in your life, you've heard all five at one time. Now, what are you going to do with it? To say anything else besides yes is to say no. And you may look the same and act the same and live the same and be the same for many years to come, but it's too late. May God the Spirit deal with you. May you say yes. There is a time I know not when, a place I know not where, which marks the destiny of men to heaven or despair. There is a line by us not seen which crosses every path, the hidden boundary between God's patience and His wrath. To cross that limit is to die, to die as if by stealth. It may not tail the beaming eye nor quench the glowing health. The conscious may be still at ease, the spirit light and gay. That which is pleasing still may please, and care be thrust away. But on the forehead God hath set indelibly a mark by man unseen, for man is yet as blind and in the dark. And still the doomed man's path below may bloom like Eden bloomed. He did not, does not, will not know nor feel that he is doomed. He feels, he sees that all is well. His every fear is calm. He lives, he dies, he waits in hell. Not only doomed, but damned. Oh, where is that mysterious thorn by which each path is crossed, beyond which God Himself hath sworn that he who goes is lost? How long may man go on in sin? How long will God forbear? Where does hope end and where begin the confines of despair? Oh, answer from those, one answer from those skies is sent. Ye who from God depart, while it is still time, repent, and pardon not your heart. What about it, dear friends? Will you come to Christ today? We came through Niagara Falls on the way here from the West Coast. I didn't see it, but I'm told that a little ways back on the upper side of the falls there's a line that says, Beyond Redemption Point. Now, they can fish beyond on the other side of that sign, because the current, the pull of the fall won't affect the boat, and they can fish around, they can motor over to the side, they can roll around, but there's a place that says, Beyond Redemption Point, and no one is allowed to go beyond that point. The reason is because about a mile on down there's this tremendous Niagara Falls, and the weight, the pull of the water will pull anything over the dam eventually that crosses that line. Now, one can cross that line, and it may be a half hour before he gets there, depending on the volume of water though, but the moment he crosses that line, dear friends, he's losing it. He may be happy, he may be singing, he may be smiling, he may be drunk, he may be blind. No excuse. He's eventually going over the dam. What about you tonight? Am I speaking to anyone that is right up to that line, that line beyond Redemption Point? It may be that tonight you may say, No, thank you, no, thank you, no, thank you, no, thank you, no, thank you, no, thank you, and when you walk out that door you're going through Redemption Point, and it may be forever and eternity. May God the Spirit help you tonight to reverse your decision, and if you want to be saved, if you're hungry to be saved, now is the time the Spirit of God is dealing with you. No man can come to God except the Spirit of God, and if you want to come, that's an indication that he's driving you. Why not come tonight? Why not say yes to the praise of tonight? Just go ahead and pray. And with each head bowed, both saved and sinner, let me say that I'm keenly aware that the majority of us are saved, and if you are saved, dear friend, pray that the Spirit of God will speak to that one prepared heart. I don't expect everyone to be saved, or how I'd appreciate it, I pray for it, but ordinarily in a meeting this size, God the Spirit is dealing with one or two, and you've been hungry for years. You've tried this and that and the other. You've done a number of things, but now is the time. You're brought face to face. There's no excuse. There's no turning back. Either you go through with it, or you may never go through. As we sing the invitation song, why not say yes to the Savior tonight? I'm going to ask you, dear friend, in love and in interest, in your dear lost soul, and in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ for your own good, will you make those words your own and say yes to Him? In fact, you can testify that you're saying yes to Him by just slipping out of your seat and coming right down here to the front and standing, looking at the pulpit or bowing your head. You don't have to say a thing. Or if you want to be saved, and yet you're not quite sure, you want to settle it, then I slip out of your seat nevertheless and come on down, and we're going to go into the little room on my right, and by the grace of God and the Spirit of God and the Word of God, we'll kind of settle this thing. Now, dear friend, I have gone as far as I can go. It's up to you and your decision to the message of the Spirit of God. May God help you to say yes tonight. Father, we pray that the Spirit of God will not let anything at this moment deter our thinking, not let any other thoughts creep in, but that we might face the issues where it's face-to-face, eye-to-eye, heart-to-heart, and settle this thing in question once and for all. These things we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's turn to number 235. Number 235. Why not say yes to the Savior's night? He's tenderly pleading with thee. Succumb to him now with thy sin-burdened heart, for pardon so full and so free. For with you the Spirit, listen to this, for with you the Spirit will not always plead. Do not reject him tonight. Tomorrow may bring you the darkness of death, unbroken by heavenly light. Take Christ as your Savior, then all shall be well. Tomorrow let bring what it may. His love shall protect you, his Spirit shall guide you, and safely keep you in his way. Will you claim no night? If you've never done it before, let's do it tonight, and make it known by taking, stepping out, and taking your stand before Christ. Shall we stand and sing all three stanzas, and the meeting will be over. Your opportunity to act, dear friend, with, for, or against Jesus Christ. Before he has the experience of preaching the gospel and observing someone. I know one of the first experiences I ever had like this was at a prison camp, and I preached the gospel simply and plainly as I could. And a man came up and he said, I'm interested. I want to be saved. We showed him how to be saved. We told him everything we knew, and he said, well, I just can't. He said, between now and next week.