“…Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”
This is one of the hardest passages in Scripture to understand or interpret. Piper has an excellent sermon here and Doug Wilson has an excellent post here on this subject. Although I don’t I have the enormous gift of wisdom that God has given these men, I hope to try deal with this passage in more detail later. But for now I want to concentrate on one segment of Christ’s statement:
“…Anyone who speaks a word against (blasphemes) the Son of Man will be forgiven.”
This part of the passage blows my mind. Vine’s Expository dictionary defines blaspheme as “to rail against, to injure, to revile, or to speak slanderously of”. The Pharisees spoke against Christ calling him a glutton and a drunkard (Luke 7:34), and worse (John 8:41)! Jesus even had one of his closest friends, Peter, speak against him calling down curses from heaven in front of everybody on the day of his Master’s crucifixion! On the same day all of his disciples deserted him.
Please bear with me, hopefully I can flush this out. How is it possible that Jesus can forgive such great sin against Him? Thankfully God graciously allows for our weakness and ignorance that comes from a rotten sinful heart. Some of the Pharisees could have been caught up in their zeal for the law or the temple (like Saul was in Acts). Peter was caught up in fear of being identified with a man that was being executed. How quickly our sinful hearts are to desert Christ for any reason! This should show us that were it not for God’s grace we would all be separated from Him forever because that’s where sin leads…away from Him!
Have you blasphemed Christ in a moment of weakness? Have you blasphemed him in a season of ignorance (leaning on your own understanding)? Confess it to Him, repent and believe. Some commentaries have said that forgiveness only applies if the person comitting it isn't "thinking about it". I have a hard time with that, first because that's not in the verse, and secondly, how many sins does a person commit that they don't think about or give in to some degree or another. Was Peter thinking about it by the third time he denied Christ?
A word of caution, though. If you are currently blaspheming Him and know it and are blinded by your own sense of security, repent! Don’t presume upon His grace in order to keep sinning against Him, for you may approach the point of no return that some of the Pharisees did. Rather use His grace as an opportunity to stop where you are, confess your sin, and turn to Him for mercy which He will gladly give.
“Amazing love, how can it be...?”
Showing posts with label Sin Unto Death. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sin Unto Death. Show all posts
December 7, 2007
December 6, 2007
Do not pray for them?
In I John 5:16 we read this serious passage:
"...There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. (ESV)"
This is one of the warnings John uses to conclude his first book after giving believers several tests with which to "check" their faith with. The tests he give us include following Christ's commands and not loving the world (ch. 2), not practicing sin and loving one another (ch. 3).
Earlier in the book he gives us some very encouraging promises about God's patience and forgiveness in Christ:
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (I John 1:9)"
"But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins (I John 2:1,2a)."
"I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake. (I John 2:12)"
With all of John's assurance for the forgiveness of sins, how are we supposed to view the sin in which we are not supposed to pray for, especially after he says in 5:16 "If anyone sees his brother committing a sin...he shall ask, and God will give him life." Here is where we need to apply the principle of letting scripture interpret scripture and not reading our own views into the passage. If we look back into the Old Testament book of Jeremiah, we will see a similar phrase:
"As for you, do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with me, for I will not hear you. (Jer. 7:16)"
Let's look at the situation Israel was in for a moment: They had forsaken God and His commands (1:16,6:19), they were not loving their brother or neighbor (7:5-6), they were trusting in the things of this world (2:13; 5:12), and they were unrepentant (continuing) in thier sin (2:20a,2:25;5:3).
Israel had drifted so far away from God and become so hard-hearted that instead of taking God up on His generous offer of repentance and restoration, they went as far to say "I have not sinned (Jer. 2:35)", which makes God a liar (I John 1:10).
Israel had fallen away from the Living God, all of His commandments, and had become completely apostate.
How does this tie in with the sin in I John 5:16? I think it has alot to do with I John 2:19, "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us." I believe the people John is referring to had totally alienated themselves from the Church and what they were being taught from Scripture. John Calvin states that there is no forgiveness outside the Church, and these covenant members (because they had at been part of the Church or they couldn't have left) had cut themselves off from all hope of repentance and forgiveness. What led them away from the Church? Calvin in his commentaries also states that alienation from God is a slow gradual process. It could have started with drifting in the areas John gives us (obedience, loving one another, not loving the world, not practicing sin), and grew from there into full blown apostasy (leaving the Church).
What's John's message to us today? "Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us eternal life (I John 2:24-25)." Don't drift, abide in Christ.
"...There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. (ESV)"
This is one of the warnings John uses to conclude his first book after giving believers several tests with which to "check" their faith with. The tests he give us include following Christ's commands and not loving the world (ch. 2), not practicing sin and loving one another (ch. 3).
Earlier in the book he gives us some very encouraging promises about God's patience and forgiveness in Christ:
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (I John 1:9)"
"But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins (I John 2:1,2a)."
"I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake. (I John 2:12)"
With all of John's assurance for the forgiveness of sins, how are we supposed to view the sin in which we are not supposed to pray for, especially after he says in 5:16 "If anyone sees his brother committing a sin...he shall ask, and God will give him life." Here is where we need to apply the principle of letting scripture interpret scripture and not reading our own views into the passage. If we look back into the Old Testament book of Jeremiah, we will see a similar phrase:
"As for you, do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with me, for I will not hear you. (Jer. 7:16)"
Let's look at the situation Israel was in for a moment: They had forsaken God and His commands (1:16,6:19), they were not loving their brother or neighbor (7:5-6), they were trusting in the things of this world (2:13; 5:12), and they were unrepentant (continuing) in thier sin (2:20a,2:25;5:3).
Israel had drifted so far away from God and become so hard-hearted that instead of taking God up on His generous offer of repentance and restoration, they went as far to say "I have not sinned (Jer. 2:35)", which makes God a liar (I John 1:10).
Israel had fallen away from the Living God, all of His commandments, and had become completely apostate.
How does this tie in with the sin in I John 5:16? I think it has alot to do with I John 2:19, "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us." I believe the people John is referring to had totally alienated themselves from the Church and what they were being taught from Scripture. John Calvin states that there is no forgiveness outside the Church, and these covenant members (because they had at been part of the Church or they couldn't have left) had cut themselves off from all hope of repentance and forgiveness. What led them away from the Church? Calvin in his commentaries also states that alienation from God is a slow gradual process. It could have started with drifting in the areas John gives us (obedience, loving one another, not loving the world, not practicing sin), and grew from there into full blown apostasy (leaving the Church).
What's John's message to us today? "Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us eternal life (I John 2:24-25)." Don't drift, abide in Christ.
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