Wow, Father, thank You for the thumb in my back! And I am totally sincere when I say that! I’ve had a major project for church that needed to get done and it is almost complete with the help of another snow day to do it. Thank You for helping me to focus.
Mark 3:28-30 (<<click to read the passage)
These verses have caused some to fear, thinking that they may have crossed the line, that in some way they may have blasphemed the Holy Spirit. If we are guilty of blaspheming the Holy Spirit, it is deemed as “a sin which is unforgivable”.
In reality, very few would fall into this category. First of all, what exactly is blasphemy? In doing a little online research I found the following, from billygraham.org, to be very helpful,
“To commit this sin one must consciously, persistently, deliberately, and maliciously reject the testimony of the Spirit to the deity and saving power of the Lord Jesus.” If a person keeps doing that until death, there is no hope of forgiveness and eternal life in heaven.
If we don’t believe in Christ and the salvation He offers then that is the sin for which we will be held accountable. Romans 6:23 states,
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”
As long as we have breath, there is the opportunity to accept this free gift – only our utter refusal to do so will bring us condemnation.
In the context of this passage, Jesus is clearly addressing the mindsets of the “teachers of religious law”. My study Bible* puts it this way,
The religious leaders accused Jesus of blasphemy, but ironically they were the guilty ones when they looked Jesus in the face and accused him of being possessed by satan.
Lord Jesus, help us, as believers, to not get sidetracked. You understand our faltering steps. You understand us better than we understand ourselves. You love us. You encourage us to keep on keeping on. Your desire is for us to victorious! May we always be about leaning on You, depending on You. Help us to consistently put the entirety of our faith in You. Amen.
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
Feb 20th, 2019, Wed, 7:40 pm
