It's been a while since I posted something here. So, I thought I'll just post some of my thoughts as I was meditating on the scripture passages in Mark 3:22-30 and Matthew 12:24-32.
Here is where we see Jesus talk about the "sin against the Holy Spirit" or "blasphemy against the Holy Ghost", something which theologians and bible scholars wrestled with for centuries since the time of the early church.
So, I thought that I will add my name to this illustrious list of eminent men and women by posting my own thoughts on the matter. :-) But lest I make the list no more a list of eminent men and women by adding my own name to it, I thought I'd add my thoughts to my own blog. :-) So here we go.
Q) What was the essence of the scribes' or the Pharisees' sin?
A) They saw the miracles Jesus was doing and they attributed those miracles to the devil.
Taking it a level deeper, they saw the work God was doing, but attributed it to the devil.
They saw and knew the truth, but were so caught up in their own sins (legalism, self-righteousness, pride, envy, lust for power) that they willingly blinded themselves to the truth and were willfully rejecting the truth.
Q) But what made their sin different from the sin of the other people who also rejected Jesus and His teachings? What made the Pharisees' sin one that was categorically branded as the sin against the Holy Ghost?
A) There were surely a lot of people who did reject Jesus as the messiah, but stopped at that. They did not so brazenly and defiantly rise up against the Almighty God Himself as did Lucifer and the one third of the fallen angels when the first great fall happened in the heavens. These scribes and Pharisees were not only rejecting Jesus as the messiah, but not content with that, they also willfully and actively turned against God and started making charges (yes, here's where blasphemy comes into the picture) saying that the whole thing was the work of the devil. In short they called the Holy Spirit of God....I will not even dare to write this.
Q) How do you know that they did indeed recognize it (though they weren't acknowledging it) as the work of the Holy Spirit?
A) When Jesus asked them the question in Matthew 12:27 "And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out?", He asked it because He knew that they knew where the power to cast out demons comes from. In essence, He was exposing not just their foolishness, but much more their sin (with a high hand).
Just thinking about the whole thing shakes me up and fills me with fear. Wasn't this attitude and behavior of the Pharisees the very essence of something that can never be forgiven? Remember, not all sins are the same. There are degrees to sin and there are different kinds of sin. Yes, every sin is worthy of eternal condemnation, but what sets each sin apart from the others is the brazenness and the defiance with which it is committed against God, which is why Jesus didn't say that murder was the unpardonable sin or rape was the unpardonable sin, as heinous as these may be. It's not so much the act itself as it is the willful and active rebellion in the heart against Almighty God Himself.
Salvation is at it's very deepest level not deliverance from the eternal fires of hell and neither is it deliverance even from sin. At it's root, salvation is deliverance from the Almighty God Himself. Why? Because it is deliverance from the fierce wrath and fury of the Almighty God which is poured out upon the unrepentant wicked (like the Pharisees in this passage) which is what makes hell, hell. So, when one goes up against the very God who's supposed to save Him, what is he doing, but literally running headlong into the wrath and fury of the Almighty God, which is nothing but eternal condemnation?
So friends, if you are saved already by the grace and the mercy of God, thank God with me for saving us and giving us such a beautiful salvation. But, if you are not saved by the blood of Jesus, please repent of the sins in your life, cast them away at once and put your faith in the Savior who died for you taking your sins upon Himself on the cross so that you could have eternal life.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" - John 3:16,17
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2 comments:
This makes me wonder if the opposite would also be true. In other words, would attributing the acts of Satan to God, be the same thing. It seems like something to seek God about to me.
http://thedailysacrifice.blogspot.com/
Have a great day in Jesus
Randy
I think it happens all the time Randy. People ascribing the works of Satan to God, and that is pretty sad. I don't want to go into deep theology here, but would want to highlight some key points here though. God does permit evil, but He is NOT the author of it. Evil cannot flow out of pure good, for Jesus Himself says that there is none good but God (to the rich young ruler). So, obviously Satan who is the father of all lies and has been a murderer from the beginning and deceiver is the author of evil we see in this world. But God does permit evil for the better revelation of Himself and His own glory in the ultimate scheme of things, for when is God most perfectly glorified than when ALL of His attributes, not just love, grace and mercy, but also his holy wrath and anger with sin and evil are perfectly manifested? And how can this be unless He first does permit evil, for a time though it may be.
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