Verse of the Day 12/18

Through the Bible - Leviticus 24-26, Mark 3

 

Good morning,

Some question why God would allow others to believe in other gods?   Reading through the Bible gives us many answers.  Some will struggle with "free will" and God's sovereignty, while both are spoken of the Bible.  Coming to grips with that one is a matter of faith and wont be resolved, in my opinion on this earth.

But what we see in the Bible, from Pharoah in Egypt, to King Herod in the New Testament, to Pilate with his flippant remark to Jesus "what is truth?", is that people hear God's word and choose not to believe, refuse to believe it. 

 

As you read through this fast paced book of Mark you will find verses like today's, (which is in today's read through the Bible plan), that make us stop and think, and question, trying to understand what exactly the writer meant. 

 

Mark 3:28 "I tell you the truth, all sin and blasphemy can be forgiven, 29 but anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. This is a sin with eternal consequences." 30 He told them this because they were saying, "He's possessed by an evil spirit."  NLT
or from the NKJV

Mark 3:28 "Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter;  29 but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation" —  30 because they said, "He has an unclean spirit."    NKJV

What we need to do more often than just surmise on our own is to search out other passages that relate to it and help us come up with the answer.  As you do so you will also find, time and time again, the disdain , rejection, and even hatred, for Jesus and His teachings and what He accomplished through His healings and other miracles.

 

John Piper writes about another significant question regarding these verses, "But why does this one particular sin, this one blasphemy, make it impossible to repent and be forgiven? What about blasphemy against the Son of God, or God the Father, or angels, or Scripture, or the church? Why do these not put us beyond repentance and forgiveness? Why only blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? I think it's because of the unique and decisive role the Holy Spirit plays in our salvation. If we look to God the Father and then turn from his glory to embrace sin, that is bad. If we look to his Son Jesus Christ whom he sent into the world and then turn away from his glory to embrace sin, that is doubly bad. But in either case there is hope. The Father has planned redemption, the Son has accomplished redemption. This wonderful redemption is outside ourselves and available to us if we repent of our sin and turn back to Christ in faith. But it is the unique and special role of the Holy Spirit to apply the Father's plan and the Son's accomplishment of it to our hearts. It is the Spirit's work to open our eyes, to grant repentance, and to make us beneficiaries of all that the Father has planned and all that Christ has done for us. If we blaspheme and reject the Father and the Son, there is still hope, for the Spirit may yet work within us to humble us and bring us to repentance. But if behind the Father and the Son we see and taste the power of the Holy Spirit and reject his work as no more precious than the work of Satan, we shut ourselves off from the only one who could ever bring us to repentance. And so we shut ourselves off from forgiveness. "

 

Reading these verses and John Piper's observations several verses came to mind.  I'll leave you with these to consider in how they relate.

 

John 16:13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.  14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.  15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.    NKJV

John 8:31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."   NIV

2 Tim 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 16 But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness.   NKJV

Read the chapter, see the opportunity that the people had to hear and see the truth but refused.  Consider how the verse above relate to each other and the passage.  Think again about the Trinity and authority and how they are shown here.

 

Reading and considering God's Word should make us hear the question "who do you say I Am"?

 

In Christ,

Mike

 

Mark 3:20-31

A House Divided Cannot Stand
(Matt 12:22-30; Luke 11:14-23)

20 Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. 21 But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, "He is out of His mind."

22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said,"He has Beelzebub," and, "By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons."

23 So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: "How can Satan cast out Satan?  24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.  26 And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.  27 No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.

The Unpardonable Sin
(Matt 12:31,32; Luke 12:10)

28 "Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter;  29 but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation" —  30 because they said, "He has an unclean spirit."

NKJV