When asking for forgiveness, the world has an expression they frequently use. They say, “Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?” But to paraphrase an old saying, they are asking others to look for forgiveness in all the wrong places! “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jer. 17:9). Any forgiveness that someone finds there is likely to come with conditions and many strings attached.

If you are finding it difficult to forgive someone, rather than trying to find it in your heart, find it in God’s grace.

“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Eph. 4:32)

Perhaps you are thinking, “Pastor, you don’t know how this brother offended me.” It’s true, I don’t. But was it more than how your sins offended God? Yet He forgave all of your sins by His grace, and now asks you to forgive your brother by grace. God was “satisfied” with the payment Christ made on the cross for your brother’s offense (Isa. 53:11), and has forgiven him for what he did to you. If you fail to forgive him by God’s grace, that means your standards are higher than His.

So don’t be like the world, looking for forgiveness in all the wrong places. If your brother’s sin “abounded” against you, let God’s grace “much more abound” (Rom. 5:20), even as it did when God forgave you. “Receive not the grace of God in vain” (2 Cor. 6:1). Let it abound in your life to others. Be a grace believer in the highest sense of the name.

“How can Matthew 5:12 talk about rewards in heaven for kingdom saints if their future will be here on earth?”

This verse is not alone in promising heavenly rewards to kingdom saints (Matt. 6:20; 19:21; Heb. 10:34). But Peter wrote to them about “an inheritance… reserved in heaven for you” (1 Pet. 1:4). Jews would understand from this that he wasn’t saying they would go to heaven to receive their inheritance. They would have known he meant that their inheritance would come to them on earth in the kingdom. The Lord told a parable in which…

“A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for Himself a kingdom, and to return…And…when He was returned, having received the kingdom…” (Luke 19:12,15).

The nobleman represents the Lord (cf. Mark 13:34). The “far country” to which He traveled after His resurrection was Heaven. When He returns for Israel, He will return “having received the kingdom” that He will establish on earth for them. But in the meantime, all of the “treasures” of the Jewish kingdom saints are “reserved” there in Heaven with Him.

“What did Jesus mean when He said the least in the kingdom was greater than John?”

“…Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” (Matt. 11:11).

Some feel that the Lord was speaking of Paul, since the apostle uses the word “least” to describe himself twice (1 Cor. 15:9; Eph. 3:8). However, “the kingdom of heaven” of which the Lord spoke was the kingdom that will one day be established on earth for the redeemed in Israel, and Paul was never a part of that kingdom, nor will he ever be.

In that kingdom, all the redeemed will be filled with God’s Spirit, who will “cause” them to walk in His statutes (Ezek. 36:27). Because of this, the least member of that kingdom will be incapable of sinning, and so will exceed the righteousness of even a man as holy as John. Speaking of the kingdom, the prophet declared,

“…he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them” (Zech. 12:8).

“Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.”

In this passage, salvation by “faith” is being contrasted to salvation by “works” (Rom. 3:27), the works or “deeds” of the law (v. 28). The law demands 100% righteousness to be saved (Gal. 3:10; James 2:10,11). That means to be saved by the deeds of the law, you would have to bend the law to say that God will accept people who are only 75% righteous, or 88% righteous, or even 99% righteous.

But faith in the sacrifice of Christ for our sins doesn’t have to bend the law, it establishes the law. Faith acknowledges that “the law is holy, and…just, and good” (Rom 7:12), but that we are “carnal, sold under sin” (v. 14). That is, faith establishes that there is nothing wrong with the law, there is something wrong with us. We can’t keep the law perfectly, so we must place our faith in the Christ who kept it perfectly for us, and then died a sacrificial death on our behalf.

It was because the righteousness of the law couldn’t be fulfilled by us that Christ “gave Himself for us” (Titus 2:14), that “the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us” by Him (Rom. 8:4).

That’s the question Juliet asked upon learning that Romeo’s last name was Montague, the family name of her rival. When she went on to say, “that which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet,” it is rumored that Shakespeare was poking fun at the Rose Theater, the rival of his own Globe Theater. The less-than-desirable sanitary conditions at the Rose were said to have created an atmosphere that was somewhat odoriferous!

The name “Paul” means small or little, but the apostle who bore that name was originally called “Saul” (Acts 13:9), a name that means desired. When the people of Israel desired a king (I Sam. 8:5), God told the prophet Samuel to choose a man named Saul (I Sam. 9:17). In relaying this to Saul, Samuel said, “On whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on thee?” (v. 20).

This prompts us to ask about the Apostle Paul, “Why would a man whose name means desired choose to go by a name that means small?” We believe the answer is that he no longer wanted to be desired of men. He now wished to appear small in the eyes of men, so that the Lord would loom large in their sight, and they would begin to desire Him instead. If you are looking for fulfillment in life, you might want to consider following his example, for that is the only path of joy for a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.

We see this clearly emphasized in the case of King Saul, who chose a path that was opposite of the path chosen by Paul. King Saul started out little in his own eyes and then got “too big for his britches,” as they say. We know Saul started out well, for when Samuel told him that God had chosen him to be Israel’s king, he responded,

“Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me?” (I Sam. 9:21).

As a member of the smallest family in the smallest tribe of Israel, Saul felt unqualified to lead God’s people. But God chose him because he considered himself to be less than the least of all the saints in Israel. We know this because when he rebelled against God, Samuel said to him,

“When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel… Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD…” (I Sam. 15:17-19).

Samuel’s use of the past tense here indicates that Saul was no longer little in his own sight. Evidently he began to think, “I’m the king of Israel, I can do as I please!” If you’re thinking that you’re the king of your life, and can do as you please, you’ll soon find yourself like Saul, someone who is no longer “meet for the Master’s use” (II Tim. 2:21).

Beloved, it’s human nature to want to be desired of men, but it’s an evidence of divine nature to desire to look small in the sight of men so that the Lord might loom large in their eyes. Why not learn from King Saul’s poor example, and choose the path the Apostle Paul chose. He started out as one who was desired of men, but learned to look at himself as “less than the least of all saints” (Eph. 3:8), one who longed that “Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death” (Phil. 1:20).

Do you long for the Lord to be magnified in you?

What’s the difference between a piano and a fish? You can tune a piano, but you can’t tuna fish!

While you may have never wondered about the difference between a piano and a fish, you may have wondered about the difference in the various types of prayer that Paul mentions in 1 Timothy 2:1:

“I exhort therefore, that, first of all supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men.”

The word “supplication” means to ask someone for something (1 Kings 8:52; Esth. 4:8). Some grace believers are uncomfortable asking God for things, but it is our own apostle Paul who encourages us to “let your requests be made known unto God” (Phil. 4:6). Just try not to be as selfish as unbelievers are when they pray. I once saw a comic strip that featured God sitting at a computer and saying to an angel, “I need to set up a spam filter to block requests to win the lottery!” While Paul says to let your requests be made known unto God “in every thing,” the more you mature in Christ, the less your
prayers will include selfish requests like that.

If you’re wondering what the difference is between “supplications” and “prayers” (the next category Paul mentions)—don’t tell anyone! You see, if you are wondering that, it means you think the word prayer means to ask God for things. But there are lots of other things you can say to God in prayer. For example, you can praise Him for His goodness and His grace. Speaking of tuning things, an old hymn contains the powerful prayerful line, “tune my heart to sing Thy grace.”

“Prayers” can also involve just talking to God about whatever is on your heart. Christians who think God invented prayer just so they could call Him to ask for things are similar to selfish adult children who seem to think the telephone was invented so they could call and ask their parents for things.

The “intercessions” that Paul mentions next are selfless prayers prayed to God solely on behalf of others, the kind of prayer the Lord prays for us (Rom. 8:34). If you want to live as unselfishly as the Son of God, reflecting Him in your prayer life would be a good place to start. An old poem says,  Others, yes others, let this my motto be. Lord help me live for others, that I may live like Thee.”

The final type of prayer Paul mentions is the “giving of thanks.” This kind of prayer needs no explanation, but it can usually use some exhortation! With that in mind, I invite you to consider that Paul mentions the different forms of prayer in 1 Timothy 2:1 in a specific sequence that reflects the order of spiritual maturity, and the place in which he mentions thanksgiving in that sequence just might motivate you to include more thanksgiving in your prayers.

He mentions “supplications” first because when a believer is first saved, his prayers mostly consist of asking God for things. But as he matures in the Lord, he begins to “pray” more, just praising God and talking to Him about what is on his heart. Then, more and more, the focus of his prayers moves away from himself to others, and he begins to make “intercessions” for them.

In fact, our text directs that all four of these different types of prayers “be made for all men.” You yourself are part of “all men,” of course, so there is certainly nothing wrong with praying for yourself. But the more Christ-like you become, the more the focus of your prayers will shift away from yourself and settle on others.

Finally, since Paul mentions the “giving of thanks” last in this list of prayers that reflects the order of spiritual maturity, I believe it to be the highest form of prayer you can pray to God. That’s why Paul almost always began his epistles by thanking God—most of the time for the saints to whom he was writing (Rom. 1:8; 1 Cor. 1:4; Eph. 1:16; Phil. 1:3; Col. 1:3; 1 Thes. 1:2; 2 Thes. 1:3; 1 Tim. 1:12; 2 Tim. 1:3; Philemon 1:4).

If you’re already following Paul as he followed Christ in every other area of your life (1 Cor. 11:1), why not consider following him in making thanksgiving your top priority in prayer? It’s high spiritual ground, but if you mean it when you sing “Lord plant my feet on higher ground,” then it’s an upgrade in your prayer life that you’ll sincerely
wish to make

“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy…” (I Tim. 1:12,13).

As “a blasphemer,” the Apostle Paul had good reason to be thankful that he had obtained mercy! Don’t forget, just a couple years before Paul was saved, the Lord Jesus Christ had said,

“…All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.

“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” (Matthew 12:31,32).

In light of these words, how could God have mercy on a blasphemer like Paul? If you’re thinking that perhaps he blasphemed a member of the Trinity other than the Spirit, think again. As a Jew who followed the Law of Moses scrupulously (Phil. 3:6) he would never have broken the Law by blaspheming God the Father (Lev. 24:16). And there is no concrete evidence he ever even met God the Son. No, it wasn’t until the twelve were “filled with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:4) that Saul showed up, and led the blasphemous persecution against them (Acts 7:57—8:3).

So when the Lord said that those who blasphemed the Spirit couldn’t be forgiven, “neither in this world, neither in the world to come,” this is one of the many proofs we have that with the salvation of Paul, God introduced a whole new world, a world called “the dispensation of the grace of God” (Eph. 3:1,2).

We see further proof of this when Paul called himself “a persecutor.” As Saul of Tarsus, he “persecuted the church” (Gal. 1:13). But in persecuting the Lords people, he was persecuting the Lord (Acts 9:1,4,5). And to be saved in the Lord’s world you had to be one of His followers, not one of His persecutors (Mt. 19:16,21; Lu. 18:28-30; John 10:27,28). This will also be true in the world to come (Rev. 14:1,4).

When Paul further admitted he had been “injurious,” this too rendered him beyond the pale of redemption in the Lord’s world. When He vowed that judgment would fall on any who would “offend one of these little ones which believe in Me” (Mt. 18:6), He was using the child He had “set in the midst of them” (v. 2) as an object lesson of the “little children” of the disciples who believed in Him (John 13:33). You know, the disciples whom Saul later offended (Acts 8:3). And offending God’s little ones in Israel will be just as unforgivable in the world to come (Rev. 16:5,6).

There’s just no getting around it, beloved. The Apostle Paul couldn’t have been saved under the kingdom program that the Lord taught the Jews when He was here on earth (Mt.4:17; 15:24). That means when God saved Saul, He ushered in a whole new world and a whole new world order, an “order” in which men receive Christ by grace through faith alone, and then walk in Him the same way (Col. 2:5,6).

“…All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men… neither in this world, neither in the world to come” (Matthew 12:31,32).

As a pastor, I often hear from people who are afraid they’ve committed the unpardonable sin. They cite these verses, and then proceed to tell me what they said or did that has caused them to believe they blasphemed the Spirit.

When this happens, I remind these dear troubled souls that before he was saved the Apostle Paul was “a blasphemer” (I Tim. 1:13), and it was unquestionably the Spirit whom he blasphemed. As a Jew who followed the Law of Moses scrupulously (Phil. 3:6), he would not have blasphemed God the Father, and there is no concrete evidence that he ever even met God the Son. It wasn’t until the twelve were “filled with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:4) that Saul showed up and led the blasphemous persecution against them (Acts 7:57—8:3).

So when the Lord said that those who blasphemed the Spirit couldn’t be forgiven “neither in this world, neither in the world to come,” we have to conclude that with the saving of Saul, God introduced a whole new world. A world called “the dispensation of the grace of God” (Eph. 3:2). A world in which grace reigns:

“That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 5:21).

How thoroughly does grace reign? Notice Paul says grace reigns unto life as sin reigned unto death. And sin reigned unto death with absolute sway over men. The prophet declared, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezek. 18:4), and there have never been any exceptions! So when Paul says “that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign” to eternal life, you have to conclude that “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom. 10:13), with no exceptions. This is because whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord is “made the righteousness of God in Him” (II Cor. 5:21), allowing grace to reign “through righteousness unto eternal life” (Rom. 5:21).

So if you are among the many who have agonized over the Lord’s words in Matthew 12:31,32, agonize no more. No matter who you are, no matter what you’ve said or done, you cannot commit a sin that God’s grace cannot forgive. You have His Word on it.