Jesus family thought he was crazy. Some thought he was possessed by demons.
This passage is rather startling. Jesus first used logic to rule out the possibility of his being demonically possessed. He took this a step further however to make one of the most frightening pronouncements in all of the Bible. “Those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven”.
These words were spoken to the religious leaders. Interesting isn’t it? Could it be that the legalistically religious are the ones furthest from God, actually the ones most prone to rejecting him in favor of the religious structures they have erected? It is of course true that if the offer of forgiveness accomplished on the cross is rejected eternally, (rejecting/blaspheming the Holy Spirit’s offer of forgiveness), then an unreceived gift is a gift not received. Forgiveness offered, if rejected, results in an unforgiven life, the destiny of which is a Godless eternity which we know by the name of hell.
Many wonder, “am I guilty of blaspheming the Holy Spirit?”. My answer is usually no. Because if you can ask the question, that means that heart is still malleable. Those guilty of this sin, on the other hand, have hearts so hardened toward God that they just don’t care. They are simply and smugly so at home in the dangerous comfort of their own self sufficient world, that the question of their relationship to this sin is simply not on their radar. Typically and sadly it is only severe pain that can break through and open them to the rescue of Jesus Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment