93. Warned against rejecting forgiveness.

"When he (Holy Spirit) comes , he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin ... because men do not believe in me ..." (John 16:8) The gravest (serious, dreadful) sin of the world is not murder or adultery but is in rejecting God's solution for sin and his offer of forgiveness through Christ. 'He is the propitiation (appeasement) for our sins; and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.' (1 John 2:2 KJV) There is atonement for every sin except for the unpardonable sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit - Matthew 12:31-32 - and the sin of rejecting Christ, for which there is no atonement but only condemnation! 'Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.' (John 3:18) The reason why men reject God's offer of forgiveness through Christ is because they don't want to accept God's terms of salvation but want to set their own terms! 'For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened ... Furthermore, they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God ... They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity ... Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.' (Romans 1:21-32) It's not just unbelievers who are being warned against unbelief but even believers are warned against falling away from faith! 'If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgement and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God ... How much severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? ... It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.' (Hebrews 10:26-31) No wonder the psalmist said: 'With you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared.'(Psalm 130:4) Amen.