Three Brutal Murders
Pastor Cornelius R. Stam
Every student of the Word should know the threbrutal murders around which
all history revolves. These three murders represent Israel’s response to God’s
three-fold call to repentance. They explain the unpardonable sin and form the
background for the present dispensation of grace.
It was John the Baptist, the last of the Old Testament prophets, who was sent as the forerunner of Christ to call Israel to repentance. He was beheaded by Herod, the wicked and licentious "king of the Jews". After John, Christ Himself took up the cry: "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand". Him they crucified. Then, at Pentecost, Israel was given a third opportunity to repent, until they shed blood again, stoning Stephen to death.
It should be noticed, too, that their guilt, as well as their bitter enmity, increased with the second and third murders! Had Israel, responded to John’s call to repentance Herod would never have dared to even put John in jail. This explains why our Lord did nothing to release him from prison, even though this had offended John. It was not His, but theirs to do something about John’s unjust imprisonment and every moment he spent in prison testified against them. Read carefully Luke 3:18-20; 7:19-29; and Matthew 14:1-11. As to the beheading of John the Baptist, they permitted it. As to the crucifixion of Christ, they demanded it (Luke23:23,24). As to the stoning of Stephen, they committedit, casting him out of the city with their own hands and stoning him there.
And so that generation in Israel committed the unpardonable sin which our Lord warned would not be forgiven, either in that age, or in the age to come. Thus we close this article by quoting those precious passages from Paul’s epistles which clearly DENY the possibilityof any "unpardonable sin" during the prent "dispensation of the grace of God":
"We have redemption through His blood, THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS, according to the riches of His grace" (Ephesians 1:7).
"Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. BUT WHERE SIN ABOUNDED, GRACE DID MUCH MORE ABOUND: that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 5:20,21).
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