The Pharisees said, "This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons" (Matthew 12:24).
Pharisees speak rude and hurtful words about others carelessly and pass judgement on others in their speech. Imagine calling the Son of God, the "head of the demons"!
How did Jesus respond to that evil criticism by the Pharisees? Jesus replied saying,
You have spoken against me, an ordinary man. You are forgiven. But make sure you don't speak against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:32).
Jesus forgave those Pharisees (as a Man). But God in heaven did not forgive them.
When we sin against anyone, there are two elements to such a sin -
a horizontal element - against the other person; and
a vertical element - against God.
That person must forgive you; and God must also forgive you, if your sin is to be blotted out. But before God forgives anyone, that person has to repent first. So even if a human being forgives you the horizontal element of your sin, you will still face the judgement of God for the vertical element, until you repent and ask for His forgiveness. If one of those Pharisees had gone to Jesus later and said, "Lord I am sorry for calling you Beelzebul. Please forgive me", and then asked God to forgive him, then only would his sin have been blotted out, not otherwise. Jesus warned us that we would be condemned by the words we spoke, at the final judgement (Matthew 12:37).
Do you have a sickness that is not being healed, despite all your prayers and medical treatment? Is it possible that you have disobeyed God's command in Psalm 105:15 "Do not touch my anointed, and don't do any harm to my prophets?" Have you spoken something carelessly about a godly brother? Maybe that is why your sickness is not being healed. Perhaps you have carelessly judged men who are ten thousand times holier than you are and who have done ten thousand times more for God than you have done. Repentance and an apology to that person alone will bring your healing.
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Zac Poonen ( - Present)
God called brother Zac Poonen to a new work early on in his Christian experience. The movement is now called Christian Fellowship Churches where the New Covenant of New Testament Christianity is clearly preached.Brother Zac Poonen has written 25 books most of them being on the deeper Christian life. Many of these have been translated into a number of languages and have been circulated widely around the world. He clearly and passionately shares the narrow way of Christian discipleship that is neglected by so many modern preachers.
Recommends these books by Zac Poonen:
Through The Bible by Zac Poonen
The Final Triumph-A verse by verse study of the book of Revelation by Zac Poonen
Beauty for Ashes by Zac Poonen
Zac Poonen is a former Indian Naval Officer who has been in full time ministry in India for nearly 50 years as a Bible teacher and preacher. He holds responsibility for a number of churches in India and abroad. He currently pastors the Christian Fellowship Church in Bangalore, Karnataka.
He has written more than 25 books and numerous articles in English - which have been translated into many Indian and foreign languages. His messages are available on audio and video format.
Like the other elders in his church, Zac Poonen also supports himself and his family through what he describes as "tent-making" and does not receive any salary for his services. He does not receive any royalties for any of his books, CDs or DVDs, that are published by Christian Fellowship Centre, Bangalore.