The Unpardonable Sin — Bob Bruton

The Warning of Judgment and the Reality of Spiritual Death

Let's turn to 2 Peter, chapter 2, and verse 9. You have two references of Scripture that we want to point your attention to, and the first is 2 Peter, chapter 2, and verse 9. 2 Peter 2, verse 9. 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.

Spotless they are in blemishes, reveling with their own deceivings while they feast with you, having eyes full of adultery that cannot cease from sin, beguiling unstable souls in the 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 for ever.'".

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 and 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 rebuketh thee.

But these speak evil of those things which they know not, but what they know naturally as fruit beasts. In those things they corrupt themselves. Woe unto them, for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam, for reward, and perished in the gained fane of Chorus.

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 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 twenty-two 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. For 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?

Examples of Those Who Reject the Gospel

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, I 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 the 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 meeting again. I went to see him a number of times and said, 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, and 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 Hagin, and this man is a fine, upstanding 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-deaf, 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 there? Well, we all know people, don't we? And we look at 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 distant places of time. Take your Bible and turn to Genesis chapter 6 and verse 3, and we will lead up to it.

The Unpardonable Sin Before the Flood

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 but 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 of the thoughts 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 all together, 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.

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.

Rejection and Reprobation in Romans 1

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 the 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, bankbinders, 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, implacable, 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 him.

Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

And look what he said. Matthew chapter 12 and verse 22. 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 small is good, except he first bind the strong man, and then he will fall 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 them. And whosoever speaketh a 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.

The Mark of the Beast and Irrevocable Judgment

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 had 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 them, 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 receive it 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 are 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?

Hebrews 6 and the Fivefold Rejection

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 crucified 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 on the benches in the pews of Orange Avenue Tabernacle and other places, and I heard the gospel, but I never heard a 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 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 14 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 that comes. 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 to 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 ears, 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? 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 sin, 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 is 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 and 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 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 looked 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 it 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 step, and we're made partakers of the Holy Spirit.

The Testimony of the Holy Spirit and God's People

Oh, Bob, I've got you now. Made partakers of the Holy Spirit. Well, look that word partakers up sometimes. You know what it means? It means the same thing that we use when we say fellow-tribes. 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 points. 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 what God wants. And it means 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 to trust God. 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 people. That's what that really means. The testimony of the Word, they're 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.

The Powers of the Age 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 the 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, in 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 a time 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. 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 lightly, 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.