Knowing The Word in Luke 12:8-12

Acknowledge Christ Before Men

12:8 “And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, 9 but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. 10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 11 And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

Comments

Jesus leaves us with no doubt. Our attitude toward him determines our eternal issues and destiny. Our attitude also leads us into evangelism because we will care, as Jesus does, about each person’s destiny. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit denotes the conscious rejection of the saving power of God and his grace extended to each person, which is in a totally different category of stupid things people say and do. People who reject God cannot repent of their sins and believe in Jesus. But for those who do believe, the Spirit is our ever-ready helper.

Application

Have you ever denied your faith in Jesus before someone else? What did that feel like? Do you believe that you should keep your faith to yourself? Jesus did not keep his faith to himself. If he had, we all would perish. Should we not be looking to Jesus to know how to share this faith with others? Sharing faith simply means that. It is the work of the Spirit to bring people to faith, and he is always ready to help you in the spur of the moment.

Prayer

Jesus, put people in my path today to share my faith in you with them, and help me to get out of the way and trust that your Spirit will do the work of bringing them to faith in you.