Stephen M. Miller – “The unforgivable
sin: what is it?” by Stephen M. Miller on Monday, 2 December 2013
Michelangelo's painting of God creating
Adam
GIVING GOD THE FINGER. With the touch of
a finger, it would seem from Michelangelo’s painting in Rome’s Sistine Chapel,
God created humanity. What if humanity returned the favor by extending one
particular finger back at God? Would that doom a soul to damnation?
IT’S THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK.
It comes from Zacarias Rivera,* who wins
a free book for taking the time to ask it.
Here’s his question:
“What is the sin of blasphemy against the
Holy Spirit?”
Brace yourself for the next paragraph.
I’ve heard pastors say this is one of the
most common questions they get from people. Folks are worried about that time
they got so angry at heaven that they:
called Jesus an SOB
told God to go to hell
Okay, I know that’s offensive. But it’s
real. Those are quotes I’ve heard people say they said in anger to the Lord.
And they’re actually kinda mild compared to some of the R-rated quotes I’ve
heard—and spoken.
Full disclosure: From time to time, I’ve
gotten majorly ticked at God.
Especially off and on during those 27
years my dad fought non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma—trying every treatment out there,
including the experimental stuff at the time. He died like a tree slowly
withering. Strong in the beginning. Bare branches in the end, with ribs looking
shrink-wrapped under the skin.
I remember telling Jesus he had nothing
on my dad when it came to suffering. Half a day on a cross, I said, would have
been a breeze compared to what I saw my dad go through during 27 years of
cancer.
So I know a thing or two about dissing
God.
That may be part of the reason why I’ve
dealt with Zacarias’ question in several of my books. Here’s how I approached
it in The Complete Visual Bible.
CUSSING GOD is not the unforgivable sin
that Jesus warned about, Bible experts say. Nor is telling the Holy Spirit to
go to hell. Or calling Jesus an SOB conceived out of wedlock.
None of these is polite. But each one is
forgivable, scholars and New Testament writers agree: “If we confess our sins
to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away” (1 John
1:9, CEV).
Yet Jesus warns a group of Pharisees
“Every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven—except blasphemy against the Holy
Spirit, which will never be forgiven” (Matthew 12:31 NLT).
Bible experts say the way to understand
what Jesus meant is to look at what provoked him to say that. He had just
healed a man triple-dipped in trouble: demon-possessed, blind, and unable to
speak. And instead of attributing this miracle to the power of God, the
Pharisees said, “No wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from
Satan, the prince of demons” (Matthew 12:23 NLT).
Scholars interpret Jesus’ warning a
variety of ways. Among the theories about what the unforgivable sin is:
Giving the devil credit for God’s work
Rejecting the work of the Holy Spirit,
who is the one who calls us to God
Talking ourselves out of believing in
Jesus
Pharisees saw the proof of God’s power
with their own eyes, but refused to believe it. God won’t forgive people who refuse
to admit their sin and repent.
For people worried that they’ve committed
the unforgivable sin, scholars say, their worry itself is evidence they haven’t
committed it. God forgives everyone who asks for forgiveness.
The Complete Visual Bible, page 321
*(Zacarias, email me and we’ll talk about
your free book. Everyone else, if you’ve got a question about the Bible or
Christianity, let me hear from you. If I pick your question for one of my
Monday Questions of the Week, you’ll get a free book, too.)
The post The unforgivable sin: what is
it? appeared first on Stephen M. Miller.
“Jochebed baby” by Stephen M. Miller
How did the mother of Moses outsmart the
king of Egypt?
Jochebed put her baby boy, Moses, in the
Nile River, obeying the Pharaoh’s command. He ordered all newborn Jewish boys
tossed in the river, for population control. Smarter than the king, Jochebed,
made sure her boy floated. See Exodus 2.
The post Jochebed baby appeared first on
Stephen M. Miller.
More to read:
A bachelor’s love song, in the Bible
What’s hell like?
Immanuel of Isaiah
-------
Our mailing address is:
Stephen M. Miller Inc
PO Box 2712
Olathe, KS 66063 United States
-------
No comments:
Post a Comment