S
Sailor_Kenshin
Guest
Forgive him, Father, for he knows not what he does.
- Status
T
Thankful10
Guest
Can you show me where that verse says what you think it says?
C
Cristian_B
Guest
I will not quote any verse, but I will explain you what I meant. We all agree that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is unforgivable, yes? And that blasphemy against the Spirit is His rejection. What I meant was that is he keeps sinning willingly and in his life he doesn’t repent and neither seeks repentance, he can’t be saved. But if you sin willingly, but then repent, you are forgiven. There will be punishment, but not from God. The authorities of the Earth will likely punish you, but in God’s eyes you are forgiven and your sin is forgotten. That is what I meant.
S
Sailor_Kenshin
Guest
Can you answer my question without cherry-picking Scripture, but in your own words?
Y
yoopersenior
Guest
I’ve been thinking, since I started this thread…maybe I meant to ask about grieving the Holy Spirit.
L
Lightofthewords
Guest
“Willful sinning” in this passage carries the idea of consciously and deliberately rejecting Christ. To know God’s way, to hear it preached, to study it, to count oneself among the faithful, and then to turn away is to become apostate. Sinning willfully carries with it the idea of sinning continually and deliberately. Such a person does not sin because of ignorance, nor is he carried away by momentary temptations he is too weak to resist. The willful sinner sins because of an established way of thinking and acting which he has no desire to give up. The true believer, on the other hand, is one who lapses into sin and loses temporary fellowship with God. But he will eventually come back to God in repentance because his heavenly Father will continually woo and convict him until he can’t stay away any longer. The true apostate will continue to sin, deliberately, willingly and with abandon. John tells us that “No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him and he cannot sin, because he is born of God” (1 John 3:9).
L
Lightofthewords
Guest
more about Purgatory itself. Purgatory is a cleansing grace. It is like the Flame of our Mother’s Heart–Holy Love. Though it is painful, it cleanses the soul of all that is holding it back from a purer love. These are all venial sins. Or perhaps as in some cases, the soul has led a seriously sinful life, but at the last moment repents, and turning to God’s mercy, is saved. Still, all that he has done needs to be atoned for. So then, Purgatory appeases the Heart of Divine Love for all the wounds afflicted upon it in this world."
“Even the one who sincerely attempts to lead a righteous life may have attitudes that he needs to atone for. Perhaps he is judgmental or unforgiving. He may adopt a negative attitude which does not account for God’s grace. He may have deep-seated anger, which lays blame on others for his own faults. What I am saying is that no soul should consider himself exempt from working to overcome his own shortcomings. If you do not work on them here, you will have to work on them in Purgatory. Everyone should look into their own hearts then, and ask for the grace to see their faults as God sees them. This is humility.”
“God alone should make excuses for your faults. Learn to recognize Satan’s lies, and do not fall victim to them. You will be given the grace you need to improve–always.”
S
sidbrown
Guest
Is the fire of purgatory similar to the fire of hell?
L
Lightofthewords
Guest
No its the fire jesus said you will walk through and not be burned.
L
Lightofthewords
Guest
That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:<< 1 Peter 1:7 >>
From heaven he made you hear his voice to discipline you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire. << Deuteronomy 4:36 >>
For our God is a consuming fire.<< Hebrews 12:29 >>
"I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!<< Luke 12:49 >>
Because everyone will be salted with fire, and every sacrifice will be salted with salt.<< Mark 9:49 >>
different fires
From heaven he made you hear his voice to discipline you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire. << Deuteronomy 4:36 >>
For our God is a consuming fire.<< Hebrews 12:29 >>
"I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!<< Luke 12:49 >>
Because everyone will be salted with fire, and every sacrifice will be salted with salt.<< Mark 9:49 >>
different fires
P
peary1
Guest
I believe it is apostasy.
C
char1963
Guest
Thankful, I am Catholic and have some questions about my faith , but even I fail to understand your logic. I am thinking perhaps your interperation of a sin is not the same as ours? My interpretation is that not following the 2 simple commandements Jesus gave us (Love God and Love your neigbor) , are sins which seperate us from God. We are told faith without works is dead and that we will know the tree by its fruit.
M
Monte1945
Guest
This lies in one of those positions that is very difficult to understand with reading
the scriptures as there are a number of conflicting scriptures regarding it.
Certainly we have a list of negative commands which tell us what NOT to do.
such as the ten commandments which were for the Jewish people the correct
path to the true “will of God” for their lives.
Then we have the positive commendments of Jesus who told us what we SHOULD be
doing… feed the hungry, clothe the naked etc…
and each of us has to try and "be as perfect as our father is perfect in Heaven’
thus we have the leading of the Holy Spirit to help us to know what our sins are.
“I shall send you the comforter who will lead you into truth and tell you of your sins”
It is certainly a real christian challenge for each of us, as we are taught to do what we can for our witness and reward later… with the gifts the Holy Spirit gives to us as individuals and this is our personal challenge… But through all of it, I find I have certainly devloped many of the christian traits in my personal life… and believe me, some of this self change is quite a leap in my witness as to who I was and who I am now… but there is one
scripture which has always kind of kept me humble and in deep meditation to the Lord
and not so much to myself… and it certainly puts my life in perspective.
James 4:17 (King James Version)
17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
How can any of us, actually say… we are doing all of the good that we can?
What is good? and how does that work for us as individuals?
The bible saids… “what is it that we have that was not GIVEN” and “to those who were given much, much is required”
We can not therefore sit and say… well if you don’t give as much as me, than you are in sin etc… we each have to go to the lord and seek out that which we could and should do.
In my first year of bible study conducted by an very elderly Bro. Monk many years ago…
(and I regret that I don’t have my notes) He had listed the letters of St. Paul from the
New Testement according to the times St. Paul wrote them. And the way his letters
are listed in the New Testement is NOT in the order he wrote them. Some of his letters
were written years before the Gospels were written. And in he began to read the
beginnings of the letters in their order…
The oldest letter began… “I Paul an Apostle of Christ…
the next letter began " I Paul an Apostle but the least apostle of them all”.
the next letter said. " I Paul a sinner "
the next, near his death… " I Paul the worst sinner who ever lived"…
It seemed that as he, walked closer to the lord, the more the lords light showed his
personal fault or cracks…
I remember a lady who was a convert to the faith during her middle age and who came to seek spiritual advice from the spritual director of the Monastery I was living in who said…
" I am far better than I was, but far less than what I am going to be"…
We are all on our own spiritual journey… and I pray that you will see the light as He
gives you the light to walk by…
some food for thought…
L
Lightofthewords
Guest
Luke 18:9-14
[9] To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: [10] "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. [11] The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men – robbers, evildoers, adulterers – or even like this tax collector. [12] I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
[13] "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
[14] “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Regardless of whether you think yourself forgivable, the holy Lord sees you as forgivable because Jesus, the Innocent One, willingly took all the blame upon himself for every unholy thing that has ever occurred in your life, from the most horrific, down to the tiniest moral slips. He swapped places with you so that he could suffer for your guilt and you could be honored with his innocence.
All that is needed is to admit to yourself and to God that you need Jesus’ cleansing and to put all the faith you can muster in what Jesus achieved on the cross by taking your full punishment. Then, like a bride decked in an exquisite, literally out-of-this-world gown, you are clothed with the flawless perfection of the Lord Jesus, irrespective of your past.
For your loving Lord to make it easy for you to believe that you are forgiven, would be to rob you of a reward greater than we could ever imagine.
John 3:15 that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. (16) For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.
John 5:24 I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.
John 6:40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Romans 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:11 As the Scripture says, ‘Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.’
1 Timothy 1:15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst. (16) But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.
It is normal for Christians to find themselves strongly tempted to think that they are beyond God’s forgiveness. This is so common because we all have the same spiritual enemy. Relative to the God who dwells in us, our enemy is such a weakling that he can do little else but tell us cunning lies in the hope of tricking us.
Somehow he has to convince you that Jesus is no longer devoted to you. If you believe that lie you will wrongly imagine that prayer and staying close to Christ are pointless. You might therefore gradually drift from the only Person who can foil the Evil One’s plans to destroy you. If he can fool you into not calling upon the devil-crushing power of Christ when Satan attacks, he can turn you into his plaything.
So the Accuser of the brethren feverishly tries his old con job on you, just like he does with every other Christian, hoping to trick you into thinking the loving Lord has rejected you. If this diabolical trickster could succeed in fooling you, he could twist you around his little finger, like someone ordering people around because they do not realize that what looks threatening is nothing but a toy gun. If you see through the devil’s trick, however, he is a goner. He’ll have to run for his life.
No one on this planet deserves divine forgiveness. God offers forgiveness, not because of what you have or haven’t done, but because of what Jesus has done. In his extravagant love God wants to treat everyone as if he/she were sinless. What Justice requires is that you make it legal for him to pardon you. This happens when through faith you identify with Christ, believing that he died for every sin you have ever committed. A divine exchange then takes place whereby Christ receives your sin (that’s what killed him) and you receive his sinlessness (that’s what gives you spiritual life).
Remember that when Jesus was tempted, the devil quoted from the Bible. Jesus exposed the devil’s lies, proving that the devil had distorted God’s Word, by quoting Scripture back at him. That is what I have done in this webpage and in the next, and indeed in this whole series of pages. Don’t let the Deceiver mess with your mind by quoting certain Scriptures as if the rest of the Bible were non-existent. Instead, resist the Evil One’s powerfully persuasive brainwashing by continually immersing yourself in the truth of these webpages. Don’t dwell on his lies, thereby giving him license to deceive.
For effective medical treatment one must take identical pills day after day. Likewise, you need to absorb these truths by reading them over and over. Jesus overcame the devil’s lies by quoting Scripture from memory. And he was so conversant with the full teaching of Scripture and with the heart of God that despite the deceiver’s powerful intellect, Jesus saw through every cunning attempt to distort God’s Word.
[9] To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: [10] "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. [11] The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men – robbers, evildoers, adulterers – or even like this tax collector. [12] I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
[13] "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
[14] “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Regardless of whether you think yourself forgivable, the holy Lord sees you as forgivable because Jesus, the Innocent One, willingly took all the blame upon himself for every unholy thing that has ever occurred in your life, from the most horrific, down to the tiniest moral slips. He swapped places with you so that he could suffer for your guilt and you could be honored with his innocence.
All that is needed is to admit to yourself and to God that you need Jesus’ cleansing and to put all the faith you can muster in what Jesus achieved on the cross by taking your full punishment. Then, like a bride decked in an exquisite, literally out-of-this-world gown, you are clothed with the flawless perfection of the Lord Jesus, irrespective of your past.
For your loving Lord to make it easy for you to believe that you are forgiven, would be to rob you of a reward greater than we could ever imagine.
John 3:15 that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. (16) For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.
John 5:24 I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.
John 6:40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Romans 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:11 As the Scripture says, ‘Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.’
1 Timothy 1:15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst. (16) But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.
It is normal for Christians to find themselves strongly tempted to think that they are beyond God’s forgiveness. This is so common because we all have the same spiritual enemy. Relative to the God who dwells in us, our enemy is such a weakling that he can do little else but tell us cunning lies in the hope of tricking us.
Somehow he has to convince you that Jesus is no longer devoted to you. If you believe that lie you will wrongly imagine that prayer and staying close to Christ are pointless. You might therefore gradually drift from the only Person who can foil the Evil One’s plans to destroy you. If he can fool you into not calling upon the devil-crushing power of Christ when Satan attacks, he can turn you into his plaything.
So the Accuser of the brethren feverishly tries his old con job on you, just like he does with every other Christian, hoping to trick you into thinking the loving Lord has rejected you. If this diabolical trickster could succeed in fooling you, he could twist you around his little finger, like someone ordering people around because they do not realize that what looks threatening is nothing but a toy gun. If you see through the devil’s trick, however, he is a goner. He’ll have to run for his life.
No one on this planet deserves divine forgiveness. God offers forgiveness, not because of what you have or haven’t done, but because of what Jesus has done. In his extravagant love God wants to treat everyone as if he/she were sinless. What Justice requires is that you make it legal for him to pardon you. This happens when through faith you identify with Christ, believing that he died for every sin you have ever committed. A divine exchange then takes place whereby Christ receives your sin (that’s what killed him) and you receive his sinlessness (that’s what gives you spiritual life).
Remember that when Jesus was tempted, the devil quoted from the Bible. Jesus exposed the devil’s lies, proving that the devil had distorted God’s Word, by quoting Scripture back at him. That is what I have done in this webpage and in the next, and indeed in this whole series of pages. Don’t let the Deceiver mess with your mind by quoting certain Scriptures as if the rest of the Bible were non-existent. Instead, resist the Evil One’s powerfully persuasive brainwashing by continually immersing yourself in the truth of these webpages. Don’t dwell on his lies, thereby giving him license to deceive.
For effective medical treatment one must take identical pills day after day. Likewise, you need to absorb these truths by reading them over and over. Jesus overcame the devil’s lies by quoting Scripture from memory. And he was so conversant with the full teaching of Scripture and with the heart of God that despite the deceiver’s powerful intellect, Jesus saw through every cunning attempt to distort God’s Word.
L
Lightofthewords
Guest
net-burst.net/guilty/unforgivable_sin.htm This website will reveal the Truth to you. it is HUGE. I would like to call anyone who needs the truth to go there.
net-burst.net/guilty/ God bless
When the devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness by quoting Scripture, Jesus did not search the Internet for the opinions of Rev. Dr. Tom, Dick and Harry on that Scripture. Did you know that pornography is the driving force behind the growth and popularity of the Internet? That’s how much the Evil One is behind the Internet. Do you really think the deceiver, the enemy of truth, has decided to let biblical material into his domain without trying his utmost to bring confusion by flooding the Internet with “Bible-based Christian sites” he has inspired? You just have to consider Jesus having to tell his close friend and chosen apostle, Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!” to realize how the Evil One can speak even though sincere Christians. In whose interest is it for you to think yourself unforgivable? God’s? Even if our loving Lord were the heartless beast the devil would like you to think he is, what would God gain by terrorizing you now? He has all eternity to torment you if that’s what he wants. No, it is only the devil who gains by making people think Jesus will not forgive them. By this malicious lie he seeks to nullify our crucified Lord’s victory over the devil. He cannot stop God from loving us and from having provided for our forgiveness. He can only try to trick us into robbing ourselves by not availing ourselves of the forgiveness that cost Christ so much to make available to us.
Neither did Jesus consult all the theologians and Bible scholars of his day about the verse the devil was quoting. Instead, Jesus frequently told these Bible “experts,” such things as, “You nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition,” (Matthew 15:2) and “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God” (Matthew 22:29).
Neither did Jesus say, “Well, devil, if you look at the historical context of that verse . . . And the ancient Hebrew means . . .” Jesus didn’t in the slightest analyze or argue about the Scripture the devil quoted. He merely quoted another Scripture that was indisputable and contrary to what the devil was implying. That was it, as far as Jesus was concerned. Case closed. No need for further argument.
This is what I have sought to do in this webpage. No need to argue with the devil about some obscure Scripture. One indisputable Scripture is enough. (In actual fact, John 3:16 is supported by an enormous number of Scriptures, such as those listed in A Sample of the Scriptural Proof and Rock Solid Bible Truth.) Then we need to act on the revealed will of God, refusing to be like those who are “always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7). Stop dithering and start believing. Stop going from website to website. Stop endlessly considering arguments and counter-arguments, trying to match wits with the devil – who is our intellectual superior and our spiritual inferior – and put your faith in Jesus.
Put your faith not in man, but in God. He alone is trustworthy. He wants everyone to be saved. If it were possible and consistent with love, he would save everyone, but salvation is possible only through faith in Jesus, and love is possible only where people have the freedom to choose. Since, as the Word of God insists, God is so loving, there is no way he would deny forgiveness to anyone sincerely seeking it through the means God has provided – faith in the saving power of Jesus’ sacrifice.
I recently overheard a woman saying, “If you do that, I’ll kill you!” Terrifying words? Not to me. I did not have to analyze her words. I know her. She is not a murderer. I therefore know she was seeking to give a stern warning; nothing more.
To be sure you have correctly understood what a person means, it is not enough just to know the words used; you must know the person uttering those words. And that’s the only way anyone will understand the Bible. You must know the Author.
I know God. I know his loving heart and his passion to save/forgive everyone who lets him by merely regretting his/her sin and looking to Jesus, God’s only Savior, for forgiveness.
Do you really think God put his Son through all that agony, putting upon him the sins of the entire world, only to waste it by refusing to forgive anyone who desperately wants forgiveness?
Some of us dare entertain the bizarre thought that God is less forgiving of sins committed and repented of after we are saved. If God forgave you when you were his enemy, do you really think he would abandon you after you have become his friend and long to continue the friendship? What maters is not what you did yesterday or ten years ago, but whether you will let God remove your sin today.
net-burst.net/guilty/ God bless
When the devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness by quoting Scripture, Jesus did not search the Internet for the opinions of Rev. Dr. Tom, Dick and Harry on that Scripture. Did you know that pornography is the driving force behind the growth and popularity of the Internet? That’s how much the Evil One is behind the Internet. Do you really think the deceiver, the enemy of truth, has decided to let biblical material into his domain without trying his utmost to bring confusion by flooding the Internet with “Bible-based Christian sites” he has inspired? You just have to consider Jesus having to tell his close friend and chosen apostle, Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!” to realize how the Evil One can speak even though sincere Christians. In whose interest is it for you to think yourself unforgivable? God’s? Even if our loving Lord were the heartless beast the devil would like you to think he is, what would God gain by terrorizing you now? He has all eternity to torment you if that’s what he wants. No, it is only the devil who gains by making people think Jesus will not forgive them. By this malicious lie he seeks to nullify our crucified Lord’s victory over the devil. He cannot stop God from loving us and from having provided for our forgiveness. He can only try to trick us into robbing ourselves by not availing ourselves of the forgiveness that cost Christ so much to make available to us.
Neither did Jesus consult all the theologians and Bible scholars of his day about the verse the devil was quoting. Instead, Jesus frequently told these Bible “experts,” such things as, “You nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition,” (Matthew 15:2) and “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God” (Matthew 22:29).
Neither did Jesus say, “Well, devil, if you look at the historical context of that verse . . . And the ancient Hebrew means . . .” Jesus didn’t in the slightest analyze or argue about the Scripture the devil quoted. He merely quoted another Scripture that was indisputable and contrary to what the devil was implying. That was it, as far as Jesus was concerned. Case closed. No need for further argument.
This is what I have sought to do in this webpage. No need to argue with the devil about some obscure Scripture. One indisputable Scripture is enough. (In actual fact, John 3:16 is supported by an enormous number of Scriptures, such as those listed in A Sample of the Scriptural Proof and Rock Solid Bible Truth.) Then we need to act on the revealed will of God, refusing to be like those who are “always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7). Stop dithering and start believing. Stop going from website to website. Stop endlessly considering arguments and counter-arguments, trying to match wits with the devil – who is our intellectual superior and our spiritual inferior – and put your faith in Jesus.
Put your faith not in man, but in God. He alone is trustworthy. He wants everyone to be saved. If it were possible and consistent with love, he would save everyone, but salvation is possible only through faith in Jesus, and love is possible only where people have the freedom to choose. Since, as the Word of God insists, God is so loving, there is no way he would deny forgiveness to anyone sincerely seeking it through the means God has provided – faith in the saving power of Jesus’ sacrifice.
I recently overheard a woman saying, “If you do that, I’ll kill you!” Terrifying words? Not to me. I did not have to analyze her words. I know her. She is not a murderer. I therefore know she was seeking to give a stern warning; nothing more.
To be sure you have correctly understood what a person means, it is not enough just to know the words used; you must know the person uttering those words. And that’s the only way anyone will understand the Bible. You must know the Author.
I know God. I know his loving heart and his passion to save/forgive everyone who lets him by merely regretting his/her sin and looking to Jesus, God’s only Savior, for forgiveness.
Code:
Romans 8:32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
Code:
Romans 5:10 For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
L
Lightofthewords
Guest
Saved by Faith
To ask more than once for forgiveness of the same sin shows a serious lack of faith in the forgiving power of Jesus’ sacrifice. We have heard that we are saved by grace through faith, but have we truly understood it?
We receive salvation (full forgiveness) not through begging but through faith in the saving power of Jesus. Either Jesus died for the forgiveness of your every sin or Jesus is a fake. You must decide what you will choose to believe. No one – not even God – can have faith for you. Faith is a decision, not a feeling. You must decide that you will believe in the power of Jesus’ sacrifice, and keep believing, no matter what feelings and doubts surge through you. Faith is about holding on, even when all the hordes in hell mock you and claim that you are unforgivable.
If you give in to doubting your salvation, you might as well paint a target on yourself and tell all of hell to use you for target practice. Demonic hordes will keep treating you as a punching bag until you prove to them by your continual resistance that you will never fall for their lie that Jesus is unable to save those who come to him. Attacks may last for many weeks but they will gradually fade once your spiritual enemies become convinced that nothing can shake your faith in the saving power of Jesus.
Conclusion
I regularly have people writing to me asking if I know of anyone who has been forgiven after deliberately and repeatedly cursing the Holy Spirit (which I do) or committing some other specific sin. Let me put it this way: how many murderers or rapists do I have to know before I believe that Jesus will forgive murder or rape? Over and over and over, the Bible says that Jesus forgives all sin. That has to include any sin you or anyone else has ever managed to dream up and before death repented and sought forgiveness through faith in Jesus. Everyone seems to fear that he is she is an exception, but God in his Word allows no room for exceptions.
Study this Bible truth:
If you studied that verse, you will know that the deciding factor as to whether your sin can be forgiven has nothing to do with how gross or repeated the sin – God promises in his Word to “purify us from all unrighteousness.” This Scripture (and many others) reveals that whether your sins are unforgivable hinges not on the nature of your sin, but on this on thing: whether God “is faithful and just.” All that is required is that “we confess our sins” and put our faith in the One who died in our place. Take your eyes off the greatness of your sin and fix your gaze on the greatness and moral integrity of you Savior.
Christ defeated the devil’s attempt to twist Scripture, not by examining every theological argument about the disputed Scripture, but simply by holding on to another Scripture whose meaning was clear. Seeing that Jesus was resolute in holding on to Scripture, the devil left him, “him for a season,” or as the NIV puts it, “until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13). You can expect no more than Jesus received. If you are resolute in holding on to Scripture’s affirmation that forgiveness and eternal life are available to everyone who seeks it through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, the devil might eventually leave you – but only for a while. When you least expect it, wham! he’ll be back again, pouring on all the doubt and guilt and condemnation and emptiness and feelings that God has abandoned you – every powerfully convincing, deceptive feeling he can possibly muster. Salvation is through faith and this is your opportunity to shine, by proving that your faith is in Jesus and not in deceptively powerful feelings that are inconsistent with the Word of God and the heart of God. The devil is a loser because every time he attacks and you resist, your faith grows stronger. And faith is of infinite and eternal value.
God is love. He wants no one to perish but for all to come to repentance and put their faith in Jesus so that he can give them eternal life. Any argument to the contrary, whether supposedly based on Scripture or anything else, must be false, no matter how deceptively persuasive it may seem to you and no matter how strong your feelings of guilt and rejection from God.
What matters most to God is not how disgusting or atrocious or frequent your sins are, but whether you keep honoring God by believing in Christ’s power to forgive you.
I have much more to share, but please don’t just skim this page. It is the very foundation of the Christian faith. If we don’t get this right, the rest of our spiritual lives will crumble. Please prayerfully read this page over and over until you fully accept the reality of God’s forgiveness of your every sin and the truth sinks deep into your spirit.
To ask more than once for forgiveness of the same sin shows a serious lack of faith in the forgiving power of Jesus’ sacrifice. We have heard that we are saved by grace through faith, but have we truly understood it?
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Romans 3:22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. . . .
Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Galatians 2:16 know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.
Philippians 3:9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ— the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.
(Emphasis mine)
Many more such ScripturesIf you give in to doubting your salvation, you might as well paint a target on yourself and tell all of hell to use you for target practice. Demonic hordes will keep treating you as a punching bag until you prove to them by your continual resistance that you will never fall for their lie that Jesus is unable to save those who come to him. Attacks may last for many weeks but they will gradually fade once your spiritual enemies become convinced that nothing can shake your faith in the saving power of Jesus.
Conclusion
I regularly have people writing to me asking if I know of anyone who has been forgiven after deliberately and repeatedly cursing the Holy Spirit (which I do) or committing some other specific sin. Let me put it this way: how many murderers or rapists do I have to know before I believe that Jesus will forgive murder or rape? Over and over and over, the Bible says that Jesus forgives all sin. That has to include any sin you or anyone else has ever managed to dream up and before death repented and sought forgiveness through faith in Jesus. Everyone seems to fear that he is she is an exception, but God in his Word allows no room for exceptions.
Study this Bible truth:
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1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
(Emphasis mine)Christ defeated the devil’s attempt to twist Scripture, not by examining every theological argument about the disputed Scripture, but simply by holding on to another Scripture whose meaning was clear. Seeing that Jesus was resolute in holding on to Scripture, the devil left him, “him for a season,” or as the NIV puts it, “until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13). You can expect no more than Jesus received. If you are resolute in holding on to Scripture’s affirmation that forgiveness and eternal life are available to everyone who seeks it through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, the devil might eventually leave you – but only for a while. When you least expect it, wham! he’ll be back again, pouring on all the doubt and guilt and condemnation and emptiness and feelings that God has abandoned you – every powerfully convincing, deceptive feeling he can possibly muster. Salvation is through faith and this is your opportunity to shine, by proving that your faith is in Jesus and not in deceptively powerful feelings that are inconsistent with the Word of God and the heart of God. The devil is a loser because every time he attacks and you resist, your faith grows stronger. And faith is of infinite and eternal value.
God is love. He wants no one to perish but for all to come to repentance and put their faith in Jesus so that he can give them eternal life. Any argument to the contrary, whether supposedly based on Scripture or anything else, must be false, no matter how deceptively persuasive it may seem to you and no matter how strong your feelings of guilt and rejection from God.
What matters most to God is not how disgusting or atrocious or frequent your sins are, but whether you keep honoring God by believing in Christ’s power to forgive you.
I have much more to share, but please don’t just skim this page. It is the very foundation of the Christian faith. If we don’t get this right, the rest of our spiritual lives will crumble. Please prayerfully read this page over and over until you fully accept the reality of God’s forgiveness of your every sin and the truth sinks deep into your spirit.
H
hansard
Guest
Now that the thread is back on track, I wonder if I might be excused for re-posting this idea (the thread was hijacked immediately after I posted it the first time, so I still don’t know if it has any merit. If I’m *way *off, then I’ll happily drop the matter
)
***Could it be (just humour me a little) that the Trinity was not a widely held (or at least not widely understood) concept at the time Jesus said this, and that Jesus was deliberately asserting the authority of the Spirit in order to therefore assert the oneness of the trinity?
It would make sense: the Spirit had just been grossly disrespected by the Jewish teachers, and Jesus had to drive home his point very quickly and firmly. The very next verse explains why he said those words about blasphemy against the Spirit:
Mark 3:30 He said this because they were saying, “He has an evil spirit.”
Does that seem reasonable? ***
)***Could it be (just humour me a little) that the Trinity was not a widely held (or at least not widely understood) concept at the time Jesus said this, and that Jesus was deliberately asserting the authority of the Spirit in order to therefore assert the oneness of the trinity?
It would make sense: the Spirit had just been grossly disrespected by the Jewish teachers, and Jesus had to drive home his point very quickly and firmly. The very next verse explains why he said those words about blasphemy against the Spirit:
Mark 3:30 He said this because they were saying, “He has an evil spirit.”
Does that seem reasonable? ***
L
Lightofthewords
Guest
What must one do to blaspheme the Spirit?Now that the thread is back on track, I wonder if I might be excused for re-posting this idea (the thread was hijacked immediately after I posted it the first time, so I still don’t know if it has any merit. If I’m *way *off, then I’ll happily drop the matter
***Could it be (just humour me a little) that the Trinity was not a widely held (or at least not widely understood) concept at the time Jesus said this, and that Jesus was deliberately asserting the authority of the Spirit in order to therefore assert the oneness of the trinity?
It would make sense: the Spirit had just been grossly disrespected by the Jewish teachers, and Jesus had to drive home his point very quickly and firmly. The very next verse explains why he said those words about blasphemy against the Spirit:
Mark 3:30 He said this because they were saying, “He has an evil spirit.”
Does that seem reasonable? ***
The Bible was not even originally written in English, so – as any Bible scholar will insist – to understand what the Bible means by blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, it is pointless consulting an English dictionary for the definition of “blasphemy”. Instead of jumping to our own presumptions in panic-stricken horror, we need to calmly and prayerfully delve deep into God’s Word. Let’s see what the Bible says Jesus was referring to:
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Mark 3:22-30 And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, ‘He is possessed by Beelzebub! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.’ So Jesus . . . spoke to them . . . ‘I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.’ He said this because they were saying, ‘He has an evil spirit.’ (Emphasis mine)Whatever Jesus meant by the unpardonable sin, he was not referring to the use of foul language against the Holy Spirit when he warned these people. They were not even seeking to target the Holy Spirit. Jesus was the focus of their attack. Jesus, the Holy Spirit, was the one they sought to insult and discredit. It just turned out that, as would be expected, insulting one member of the Trinity insults all three. The doctrine of the Trinity renders ridiculous any notion that the Holy Spirit might be more holy or more sensitive or less forgiving than the Son of God.
Their salvation (eternal forgiveness) was at stake not because they were disapproving of some aspect of Jesus’ humanity – his fashion sense, table manners, or whatever – but because they were disapproving of something fundamental to Jesus’ spiritual role as humanity’s only Savior. They were not merely insulting the Holy Spirit; they were blasting any possibility of Jesus being the Savior of the world.
If, in speaking of blaspheming the Holy Spirit, Jesus was not referring to specifically targeting the Holy Spirit rather than another member of the Holy Trinity, neither could he be referring to a fleeting thought or a persistent unwanted thought. Let’s see why.
Suppose it were taught in Christian circles that thinking of blue giraffes is an unforgivable sin. ‘Think once of a blue giraffe and you’re eternally dammed.’ Every Christian exposed to this teaching would end up thinking of a blue giraffe, since it is a fact of life that the harder anyone tries not to think of something, the more that person will think of it. This is not sinfulness; it is simply how the human mind works.
Do you suppose our Maker doesn’t know this? Do you think he’s set everyone up to be eternally dammed? That’s what you would have to think if you suppose that God treats as unforgivable unwanted thoughts buzzing around in our minds.
So let’s look closer at Jesus’ statement to see what he meant.
Mark 3:30 He said this because they were saying, ‘He has an evil spirit.’
L
Lightofthewords
Guest
This makes it crystal clear: it was specifically because these Bible scholars genuinely believed that Jesus had a demon that Jesus issued them this warning. Imagine knowing the Scriptures inside out and yet being so willfully blind as to be convinced that Jesus’ miracles were evil and that the Savior of the world – the Holy Lamb of God upon whom their eternal destiny hinges – is demon possessed!
These theologians were not merely resisting the Holy Spirit’s powerful testimony that Jesus is from God; they actually chose to believe that the Savior of the world was so anti-God as to be in league with the prince of demons. This was not some fleeting or unwanted thoughts, as hits many true believers; they were so certain that their hideous belief about Jesus was right that they strived to convince everyone else to spurn Jesus, their only hope of salvation. Christ did not say that even these people could not repent and find forgiveness, but in his love he saw them as needing to be warned.
To understand what renders unforgivable the sin Jesus was referring to, we must ask ourselves what is it that makes any sin forgivable. We know that God’s forgiveness – his ability to be committed to justice and yet overlook sin that deserves to be punished – is possible only because the Holy Son of God was sent to earth on a divine mission to bear the sins of the world. He suffered for each and every sin that any human has ever committed.
Christ could do this only because he was utterly pure and sinless. As we know from Adam’s sin, the final wages of just one sin is death. Had Jesus the slightest trace of evil in him he would have been dying not for our sin but for his own sin. His death would then have had no more saving power than anyone else’s death. Moreover, had Christ been of the devil, as these theologians stubbornly asserted, his sacrifice would have been utterly unacceptable to the Holy God.
Anyone blaspheming the Spirit in the sense that Jesus used the term, genuinely believes that the Spirit through whom Jesus ministered was evil. We know that there is salvation only through Jesus and that no one can find God’s forgiveness while he/she is actively rejecting Jesus as Savior. We can get many things wrong about Jesus and the way he won our salvation – no one has perfect theology – but believing Jesus is working for the devil is just too fundamental an error. Anyone believing this about our Lord will refuse to accept that Jesus offers divine forgiveness. No matter how compassionate God is, no one believing that Jesus was acting on behalf of the devil could be forgiven in this life, nor in the next, because such a person is rejecting his or her only means of salvation.
Should, however, anyone stop believing that blasphemy and start believing that Jesus is God’s sinless sacrifice for the sins of the world, that person is no longer blaspheming the Spirit by which Jesus operated, and can now find forgiveness through Jesus.
We all know that people who for a period in their lives have rejected Jesus as Savior can find forgiveness if they change their beliefs about Jesus. Likewise, forgiveness is available to every former blasphemer of the Holy Spirit who reverses his or her beliefs about the Spirit who indwelt and empowered Jesus. We will carefully prove this from Scripture.
These theologians were not merely resisting the Holy Spirit’s powerful testimony that Jesus is from God; they actually chose to believe that the Savior of the world was so anti-God as to be in league with the prince of demons. This was not some fleeting or unwanted thoughts, as hits many true believers; they were so certain that their hideous belief about Jesus was right that they strived to convince everyone else to spurn Jesus, their only hope of salvation. Christ did not say that even these people could not repent and find forgiveness, but in his love he saw them as needing to be warned.
To understand what renders unforgivable the sin Jesus was referring to, we must ask ourselves what is it that makes any sin forgivable. We know that God’s forgiveness – his ability to be committed to justice and yet overlook sin that deserves to be punished – is possible only because the Holy Son of God was sent to earth on a divine mission to bear the sins of the world. He suffered for each and every sin that any human has ever committed.
Christ could do this only because he was utterly pure and sinless. As we know from Adam’s sin, the final wages of just one sin is death. Had Jesus the slightest trace of evil in him he would have been dying not for our sin but for his own sin. His death would then have had no more saving power than anyone else’s death. Moreover, had Christ been of the devil, as these theologians stubbornly asserted, his sacrifice would have been utterly unacceptable to the Holy God.
Anyone blaspheming the Spirit in the sense that Jesus used the term, genuinely believes that the Spirit through whom Jesus ministered was evil. We know that there is salvation only through Jesus and that no one can find God’s forgiveness while he/she is actively rejecting Jesus as Savior. We can get many things wrong about Jesus and the way he won our salvation – no one has perfect theology – but believing Jesus is working for the devil is just too fundamental an error. Anyone believing this about our Lord will refuse to accept that Jesus offers divine forgiveness. No matter how compassionate God is, no one believing that Jesus was acting on behalf of the devil could be forgiven in this life, nor in the next, because such a person is rejecting his or her only means of salvation.
Should, however, anyone stop believing that blasphemy and start believing that Jesus is God’s sinless sacrifice for the sins of the world, that person is no longer blaspheming the Spirit by which Jesus operated, and can now find forgiveness through Jesus.
We all know that people who for a period in their lives have rejected Jesus as Savior can find forgiveness if they change their beliefs about Jesus. Likewise, forgiveness is available to every former blasphemer of the Holy Spirit who reverses his or her beliefs about the Spirit who indwelt and empowered Jesus. We will carefully prove this from Scripture.
I
I_kilt_Gawd
Guest
You are correct, please proceed to kill yourself. Everyone else here should follow suit.
http://www.halloweenonlinemagazine.com/sfx/skeleton10-3.jpg
On the other hand, you could accept overwhelming evidence that quantum uncertainty states that the future is not set in stone, and can be affected by your observations.(ie quantum mechanics says what you do changes the future in somewhat controllable fashion). You can’t prove anything about gods, I say one must be ignorant to be anything but agnostic. But sound science says, with 99.9% certainty, now that we’re here, we determine our own fate. If you are sound of mind enough to take my advice you’ll see that you don’t have to stop believing in God, you can just start believing in things that are demonstrably true (ie science).
For any that are not so sound of mind, I suggest the following.
Just like your god fearing ancestors did to this guy:
You should try it out for yourselves.
- Status