July 16, 2012
The Unpardonable Sin.
I remember hearing about this as a child and being frightened by it. What if—I accidentally did this? What if—I committed the unpardonable sin? I carried that "fear" (fear is never from the Lord) in the back of my mind even into adulthood. Because of that "fear" I totally avoided even reading about it, not wanting to even hear or think about it. What foolishness.
What a difference now. Instead of trying to avoid it, I wanted to know and understand what Jesus meant when He talked about the "unpardonable sin." So, this time I read it very carefully (in three different versions) and for the first time, I understood what Jesus was actually saying in a whole new way. Amazing how the Spirit of Truth sheds light upon God's Word and how fear (that comes from the father of lies) is dispelled in the light of Truth. There is freedom in understanding Truth. The verse about the unpardonable sin is not a stand-alone verse. You must understand the context in which it was written. It starts in Mark 3:20 and goes to Mark 3:30.
Jesus was healing many people; people were following Him; and He was teaching them. He had chosen His twelve disciples and now He was returning home. Crowds gathered around Him. There were so many people around them that they couldn't even eat. Jesus' family heard what was happening and went to get Him, "Because they thought he was out of his mind." The teachers of the law (the Pharisees) thought He was controlled by an evil spirit. So, his family thought He was nuts and the "religious" leaders of the day thought He was controlled by evil spirits.
Jesus, knowing what they were thinking, did what He often did; He taught the people by telling stories. He said, "Satan will not force himself out of people. A kingdom that is divided cannot continue, and a family that is divided cannot continue. And if Satan is against himself and fights against his own people, he cannot continue; that is the end of Satan." (Mark 3:23–26) His answer made total sense. How could the Pharisees (religious unbelievers) think He was controlled by evil? Why would "evil" force out evil? How does that make any sense? The Pharisees just refused to accept truth. In order to rationalize and support their twisted thinking they had to take truth and turn it into a lie so they could make the lie they chose to believe a false truth.
Jesus went on, "No one can enter a strong person's house and steal his things unless he first ties up the strong person. Then he can steal things from the house." (Mark 3:27) Jesus has the power to rule over Satan and to use HIS power to force out demons. Satan does not have the power to control God/Jesus/Holy Spirit OR God's followers who have accepted the gift of salvation offered by Jesus and are filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus was sent by God as a sacrifice for our sins. He was filled with the Holy Spirit (Mark 1:10). He was going about His Father's business, healing and teaching people, and his own family thought He was crazy and the people who portrayed themselves as religious accused Him of having the power of the devil instead of having the power of the HOLY Spirit.
THEN Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, all sins that people do and all the things people say against God can be forgiven. But anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit (emphasis mine) will never be forgiven; he is guilty of a sin that continues forever." (Mark 3:28–29) Jesus isn't talking about accidentally saying something against who the Holy Spirit is; He is talking about people who make accusations against what the Holy Spirit does! The fruits of the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit (through Jesus) was teaching, healing, and spreading the news about God. Instead of acceptance and submission to His authority, He was ridiculed; thought crazy; and accused of being evil. And Jesus says—THAT is unforgivable!
On my! This is serious! This isn't about a "fear" from childhood that I might innocently say something against the Holy Spirit and therefore be forever damned. That isn't it at all!! As believers, we are the temple of the Holy Spirit! What is unpardonable is to accuse someone of being crazy and controlled by evil when in fact they are being led by, controlled by, used by, and inhabited by—the HOLY SPIRIT. Those who make false accusations against the innocent for the purpose of pursuing and furthering their own selfish agendas are committing a grievous and unpardonable sin.
How disturbing. I hope it is only unpardonable until they recognize and repent of their sin. I hope that with all my heart. Because, if you have been reading this journal, you know that my sister and brother-in-law have went to great lengths to try and prove me crazy, a follower of a false god, and to do whatever they could to remove me from my leadership and teaching positions.
Oh LORD, I ask you again to please show mercy and grant them additional time to repent. LORD, I pray that Truth would be revealed to them, and that the Truth would set them free. Open their eyes that they might see, and open their ears that they might hear. Amen.
Mark 3:30 - "Jesus said all this because the teachers of the law said that he had an evil spirit inside him."
Next Entry: Mark 4:1–41
Next Entry:
The Unpardonable Sin.
I remember hearing about this as a child and being frightened by it. What if—I accidentally did this? What if—I committed the unpardonable sin? I carried that "fear" (fear is never from the Lord) in the back of my mind even into adulthood. Because of that "fear" I totally avoided even reading about it, not wanting to even hear or think about it. What foolishness.
What a difference now. Instead of trying to avoid it, I wanted to know and understand what Jesus meant when He talked about the "unpardonable sin." So, this time I read it very carefully (in three different versions) and for the first time, I understood what Jesus was actually saying in a whole new way. Amazing how the Spirit of Truth sheds light upon God's Word and how fear (that comes from the father of lies) is dispelled in the light of Truth. There is freedom in understanding Truth. The verse about the unpardonable sin is not a stand-alone verse. You must understand the context in which it was written. It starts in Mark 3:20 and goes to Mark 3:30.
Jesus was healing many people; people were following Him; and He was teaching them. He had chosen His twelve disciples and now He was returning home. Crowds gathered around Him. There were so many people around them that they couldn't even eat. Jesus' family heard what was happening and went to get Him, "Because they thought he was out of his mind." The teachers of the law (the Pharisees) thought He was controlled by an evil spirit. So, his family thought He was nuts and the "religious" leaders of the day thought He was controlled by evil spirits.
Jesus, knowing what they were thinking, did what He often did; He taught the people by telling stories. He said, "Satan will not force himself out of people. A kingdom that is divided cannot continue, and a family that is divided cannot continue. And if Satan is against himself and fights against his own people, he cannot continue; that is the end of Satan." (Mark 3:23–26) His answer made total sense. How could the Pharisees (religious unbelievers) think He was controlled by evil? Why would "evil" force out evil? How does that make any sense? The Pharisees just refused to accept truth. In order to rationalize and support their twisted thinking they had to take truth and turn it into a lie so they could make the lie they chose to believe a false truth.
Jesus went on, "No one can enter a strong person's house and steal his things unless he first ties up the strong person. Then he can steal things from the house." (Mark 3:27) Jesus has the power to rule over Satan and to use HIS power to force out demons. Satan does not have the power to control God/Jesus/Holy Spirit OR God's followers who have accepted the gift of salvation offered by Jesus and are filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus was sent by God as a sacrifice for our sins. He was filled with the Holy Spirit (Mark 1:10). He was going about His Father's business, healing and teaching people, and his own family thought He was crazy and the people who portrayed themselves as religious accused Him of having the power of the devil instead of having the power of the HOLY Spirit.
THEN Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, all sins that people do and all the things people say against God can be forgiven. But anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit (emphasis mine) will never be forgiven; he is guilty of a sin that continues forever." (Mark 3:28–29) Jesus isn't talking about accidentally saying something against who the Holy Spirit is; He is talking about people who make accusations against what the Holy Spirit does! The fruits of the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit (through Jesus) was teaching, healing, and spreading the news about God. Instead of acceptance and submission to His authority, He was ridiculed; thought crazy; and accused of being evil. And Jesus says—THAT is unforgivable!
On my! This is serious! This isn't about a "fear" from childhood that I might innocently say something against the Holy Spirit and therefore be forever damned. That isn't it at all!! As believers, we are the temple of the Holy Spirit! What is unpardonable is to accuse someone of being crazy and controlled by evil when in fact they are being led by, controlled by, used by, and inhabited by—the HOLY SPIRIT. Those who make false accusations against the innocent for the purpose of pursuing and furthering their own selfish agendas are committing a grievous and unpardonable sin.
How disturbing. I hope it is only unpardonable until they recognize and repent of their sin. I hope that with all my heart. Because, if you have been reading this journal, you know that my sister and brother-in-law have went to great lengths to try and prove me crazy, a follower of a false god, and to do whatever they could to remove me from my leadership and teaching positions.
Oh LORD, I ask you again to please show mercy and grant them additional time to repent. LORD, I pray that Truth would be revealed to them, and that the Truth would set them free. Open their eyes that they might see, and open their ears that they might hear. Amen.
Mark 3:30 - "Jesus said all this because the teachers of the law said that he had an evil spirit inside him."
Next Entry: Mark 4:1–41
Next Entry:
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