KDs are designed/developed/inspired/mused/auto-suggested/indigested to make folks think; an especially uncommon experience among Democrats, Republicans, and jingoistic mainline denominationalists who continue to discourage dissent with their ever-threatening thought police.
(A
Brief/Incomplete Guide to Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit)
Jesus said every sin will/can be forgiven except
one:“Listen to this carefully.
I’m warning you. There’s nothing
done or said that can’t be forgiven. But
if you persist in your slanders against God’s Holy Spirit, you are repudiating
the very One who forgives, sawing off the branch on which you’re sitting,
severing by your own perversity all connections with the One who forgives.”
The Holy Spirit’s primary witness is to Jesus
as Lord and Savior; meaning a blasphemous rejection of the Holy Spirit is the
only unforgivable sin because it is a rejection of Jesus as Lord and Savior: “I
am the way, and the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Albert Truesdale: “The unpardonable sin is a
sin that cannot be forgiven. The phrase
refers to blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
It is to refuse to accept the fact that Jesus is the Christ. The person who rejects Christ rejects the
word of the Holy Spirit. A person cannot
be forgiven as long as he rejects Christ.”
Simply, the only one who can keep anyone out
of heaven is anyone who chooses not to accept Jesus as Lord of all and
forgiving Savior of souls (cf. Matthew 12:22-37, Mark 3:20-30, and Luke 12:8-10
to John 3:16-21 and Hebrews 10).
That’s unforgivable.
While I don’t pretend to know everything
about, uh, anything as I’m just scratching
the surface of my relationship with Jesus, I know
this judgment has caused lots of distress and debate.
Indeed, I’ve often caught myself wondering,
especially after I’ve said or done something contradicting Christian
confession/conduct/countenance as personified in Jesus and prescribed in Holy
Scripture, if I’ve committed this unforgivable sin.
Like everybody else who knows a day is coming
when everybody will return from the cemetery but…, I really, really, really
wanna go to heaven after my last breath in time.
Sooooooo I’ve
spent lots of time scratching and
digging and dropping to my knees to understand it and how I can avoid its
verdict.
Here’s what I’ve discovered/discerned:
ÿ
- Blasphemy is slandering God by ascribing things to Him that are not
confirming and consistent with what we know about Him as enfleshed in Jesus and
explained in Holy Scripture; hence, it is grotesque irreverence, disrespect,
defiance, hostility, and evil-speaking directed at God. It is anti-Christ. It is rejection of God as Source, Starter,
Sovereign, and Savior.
ÿ
- Specifically, within the context of the Gospelers’ reporting of our Lord’s
judgment, His enemies accused Him of healing a demon-oppressed man by sorcery
(viz., exercising powers enabled by unholy communion with Satan); saying,
essentially, “The devil made him do it!”
Heinous! Evil! Unforgivable!
ÿ-
John Calvin observed, “They sin against the Holy Spirit who, with evil
intention, resist God’s truth, although by its brightness they are so touched
that they cannot claim ignorance. Such
resistance along constitutes this sin.”
That’s why he said people who are authentic rather than posing
Christians show the “signs” of salvation/Christianity; or as Luther noted,
“Good works don’t make a person good; but a good person does good works.” No, that’s not “works” righteousness; or
working one’s way into heaven. Yes, it
means “righteous works” indicate holy communion with Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit. That’s what we mean by the
fruit/evidence/proof of being in holy communion with Him (see Galatians
5:16-26). With no apologies to the grammar
police, Christians are “more better” than “more worse” and praying and laboring
to incarnate intimacy with Jesus. While
no one will never not need Jesus as Savior to fill in the gap between human sin
and divine holiness, people who are getting closer to Jesus are moving farther
away from confession/conduct/countenance contradicting communion with Him. Read James!
Shaking some salt, we can see anti-Christianity in behaviors
dominated by selfishness, schism, segregation, separation, control needs, greed,
inability to serve unless leading, irascibility, irregularity, and
irreconcilability that leave little room for Christlike traits like
selflessness, unconditional favor, mercy, reconcilable intentions/incarnations,
redemptive passions, forgiveness, and other, again, Christlike traits.
ÿ-
Anyone who’s ever worried about committing this sin probably hasn’t; or as Alan
Richardson encouraged, “People who are distressed in their souls for fear that
they have committed the sin against the Holy Ghost should in most cases be told
that their distress is proof that they have not committed that sin.”
People who are not committing this sin are
less and less and less rejecting Him as Lord and Savior of their lives!
People who receive not reject Him
can’t get enough of Him, hunger and thirst to worship Him and work for Him and
witness to Him, don’t divorce themselves from Him and His, and resist the dark
temptations to separate, segregate, slander, gossip, malign, bite, bark,
bruise, beat, batter, or butcher.
People who receive not reject Him
remember, “As you do it to/for others…[positively or pejoratively]…you do it
to/for Me!”
A favorite story comes to mind.
A man asked a missionary, “How can I be
saved?”
Answer: “Too late! He’s already done that for you!”
To reject that/His good news or to
talk/act consistently-more-than-less like you reject that/His good news is
absolutely…unforgivable.
My first field
education experience in seminary was with Jim Powl in Woodbury Heights, New
Jersey.
I'll never forget
one of his sermons that has stayed with me for 40 years.
He put a big
rocking chair in the middle of the chancel area right in front of the communion
table.
Then he just
started rocking and rocking and...for what seemed like...forever.
Then he said,
"I've been in your homes. They are very, very, very nice. You
have the best of everything. You have spared no expense to make your
homes so beautiful as a tribute to yourselves. I find it rather sad that
you've spent so little on making this house of God as beautiful as your homes
as a tribute to your Lord who gave so much to you in this life with the promise
of eternal life."
Ouch.
Haggai comes to
mind.
God uses him to
tell His people that they spend too much time and energy and money on their
homes instead of His; and the big point is trickles don't turn into rivers of
living water - blessings from Him - until we reverse that priority.
God said build: "Go up to the
mountains, and bring down trees to make lumber and build My house. Do
this so I may take pleasure in it and be honored by it."
God is always in
the business of expansion and improving!
God isn't a
standard number 2 lead pencil!
God is the best
of...everything!
God is all about
building upon the best of the past for a better future!
Truth is a basic
axiom of organizational life is we get better or worse.
We don't stay the
same.
Unfortunately,
too many people and even churches that should know better long for the way
things never were or maybe were but are no more which is sin (viz., a rejection
of God's will to get better and improve because
there's always room for improvement).
Listen to the
people's excuse and God's response: "These people living in Jerusalem say
it's not yet the right time for them to rebuild the temple...Do you think the
time is right for you to live in secure and lavishly covered homes when My
house still lies in a heap of rubble?"
Then God reveals
the connection between blessing/honoring Him and being blessed/honored by Him:
"Think very carefully about your choices. You have planted a large
crop, but your harvest is small...You earn a salary, but the money runs out
quickly, as if there are holes in your pocket. Think very carefully about
your choices...You expected to be well rewarded for all your hard work.
But as you see, you are getting back almost nothing..."
Then God hammers
home the big point: "My house has remained in ruins while each of you has
been chasing after your own concerns. This is why heaven above you has
held back the dew and the earth has refused to produce crops."
Samuel's
distinguishing of David from Saul comes to mind: "God honors people who
honor Him...God wants people after His own heart."
Again, as Jesus
said, "Seek first God's
Kingdom...and then God will take care of everything else!"
I've heard about
companies that have "continuous improvement" programs.
They want their
companies to get better and better and better; building upon the best of the
past for an even better future.
That was Haggai's
message.
The old Temple
was great: "Are any of you still living who saw how glorious My first
house was?"
God expects the
renewed, reconstructed, redeveloped, reborn Temple to be even greater:
"You will stand by and watch as the magnificence of this new house will
eclipse the magnificence of My first house."
And here's the
punch line: "And in this new house, I will give you peace!"
There's no
staying the same as a child of God.
We grow better or
decline worse.
We move closer to
Him or farther away from Him.
We build upon the
best of the past for a better future or we go to...waste.
It's like He said
through Moses, "Choose life!"
Specifically,
"I've given you two choices today: you can have life with all the good
things it brings, or death and all the bad things it brings. If you do
what I've commanded you today and love the Eternal your God; if you live as He
wants you to,...then you'll live!...Choose life!"
If we're really excited
about Jesus as Lord and Savior, we're compelled to worship Him as often as we
can with excessively effervescent praise and thanks for His saving graces from
here to eternity along with
ever-increasing passion to obey Him because He deserves our obedience and it's
the only way to tap into His best graces.
Sadly, there are
too many people pretending kinship to Him who aren't really that excited about
Him and it shows by
their deadly expressionless worship services and lives that are mere winks than
robustly regular witnesses; or as Gwen Shaw noted as confirmation of
conversion, "You must live the manner of life that reveals to the world
that you have an intimate relationship with...[God]..."
From everything
that can be seen, our
world, nation, and too many churches don't really believe in God as Source,
Starter, Sovereign, and Savior; for if they/we did, they/we would surely order
our lives much differently with Him as the focus and filter of everything said
and done.
If God is really to
be believed, there are consequences to behaviors honoring Him and dishonoring
Him.
That, of course,
is an undeniable thread weaving through the entire fabric of Holy Scripture.
Zephaniah is no
exception.
Essentially, he
says two things.
First, the day is
coming when God will separate the sheep from the goats just like Jesus said in
Matthew 25.
Second, anyone
can avoid being on the wrong side of His judgment by getting back to Him before
that day arrives.
Getting back to
the first point, the day of judgment is coming.
Jesus said no one
knows when that day is coming; but
that day is coming and we don't want to be caught with our pants down when it
comes!
Zephaniah issues
the strong warning about not being on the right side of judgment: "I will
wipe away...When I cut off...I will remove...I will use My power against...I
will punish...You will hear cries...Sounds of destruction...Everything they
value will be taken away...I'm warning you, this day of judgment is right
around the corner...Here it comes!...It will be very bitter...You will see what
happens when God is furious...You will be overwhelmed with all the trouble and
pain - total destruction...I will bring distress on all humanity...Because they
have sinned time and again...Don't think any amount of money can save them from
the terrible anger of God when that day arrives...He will consume the whole
earth in His fiery jealousy, for He is going to expedite the annihilation of
every living thing on the earth."
Let's ask
ourselves, "Who really believes that? What does the world's,
America's, churches', and our behaviors say about what we believe about
that/Him?
Zephaniah urged
for those who still believe enough to alter their behaviors and escape being
burned, "You shameless bunch of people, gather together now and
pray. Do it while there is still time, before all these terrible things
happen. I'm warning you they are beginning to happen..."
Then he announces
the good news that it is still possible to get back to Him before it's too
late: "Seek God...Only He can save you...Call out to Him...Pursue what is
just...Chase after true humility...Maybe God will hide and protect you from
what will happen on that terrible day when His anger is unleashed."
I think of the
fellow who says to his buddy while eating breakfast in a local diner, "I
am Napoleon!" His friend asks, "How do you know?" He
replies, "God told me!" And as the waitress pours their coffee,
she chimes in, "I did not!"
Our world,
America, too many churches, and maybe even...must sound like that to God; for
all of the below often act as
if all of the above is not watching.
To such a world,
such a country, such churches, and maybe even..., the prophet's voice echoes,
"Roll the dice!"
Buuuuuuut make no mistake
about it/Him, the best book revealing our Source, Starter, Sovereign, and
Savior says, summarily, "trust and obey...for there's no other way...to
be happy...but to trust and obey..."
Listen to
Zephaniah's good news for those who behave like they believe in Him: "God
is standing right here among you...He is the champion who will rescue you...He
will joyfully celebrate over you...He says, 'Don't be sad anymore...On that
day, I will gather all of you together for one big homecoming...Right before
your eyes, I will restore to you all that you have lost, and your lives will be
full again.'"
Praise the Lord!
Yes, praise the Lord!
It's/He's the
only way not to be left behind when that day comes.
It was about 600
years before Jesus showed up and Habakkuk looked around and saw a nation that
was supposed to be dedicated to God that was corrupt and filled with all kinds
of injustices: bad leaders, bad citizens, and bad behaviors.
Habakkuk was
bewildered and befuddled by what theology calls the theodicy or "justice
of God" question (viz., "How can a just God allow so many injustices,
insults to His holiness, and injuries to His people?"): "How long
must I cry for help and You don't seem to listen or care? There's so much
violence and You don't save us from it. Why do I have to see so much bad
stuff? Why do You tolerate so much evil? It's getting worse all the
time. Justice is perverted! There is no justice!"
Sounds familiar.
Making matters
worse, God tells Habakkuk that it's gonna get worse: "I am rousing the
Chaldeans...They are fierce and terrifying...They are determined to wipe you
out."
We can almost
hear the prophet, "Sorry I asked."
The nation is
riddled by idolatry, injustice, and violence; and now they're about to be
terrorized by the Chaldeans/Babylonians.
In other words, Habakkuk
saw how awful everything had become and complained about it to God; and then
God tells him that it's gonna get worse!
So Habakkuk
shouts, "Why? Why do You persecute people who are trying? Why
do You persecute people who are more than less on Your side? What's up
with that?"
Anyone relating
yet?
Bullies.
Bad economy.
Bad guys at the
borders.
Bad behaviors.
Bad leadership.
Bad citizenship.
Lots of baaaaaaad stuff!
How can God let
this happen?
Why does God let this
happen?
Doesn't He care?
I've felt that
way.
Have you?
That's why we can
relate so well to Habakkuk and why Habakkuk can relate so well to us; because
he had the same questions over 2600 years ago.
For all of us, he
complained about it and demanded an answer from God: "I will wait and
watch to see what He says about my complaint!"
Gutsy.
Honest.
Not very
religious.
But very
relational; as in child to
parent.
God answered:
"The vision awaits it's time...Wait for it...It will come...In the
meantime, the righteous will live by faith.'
Notice God does
not answer the why question:
"Why do bad things happen to people who are trying to honor God?'
Surely, He
follows up with woes or
watch outs to
the bad guys who He promises will catch it sooner or later and definitely in
the end.
Again, He does
not answer the why question.
He tells us how to live in the
meantime.
Faith: "The
righteous shall live by faith."
Trust.
Confidence.
I'm not talking
about two-feet-planted-firmly-in-the-air superstition or golly-gee-really-hope-He-comes-throughism.
Absolutely not!
I'm talking about
the kind of faith that says with the Psalmist, "I was young. Now I
am older. And in all of my time from younger to older, I have never seen
God abandon His people. He has always come through for us sooner or
later, usually sooner than later, and definitely in the end."
That's faith!
Faith built on
facts!
We can trust God
because God has proven He can be trusted!
Too many people
are sooooooo cranky,
contentious, combative, cruel, and other pejorative traits beginning with the
same letter.
Sooooooo whenever I'm
around 'em, I'm gonna listen a while and then say, "Make Love Not
War!"
@#$%
@#$%
You're right.
I didn't come up
with that.
While one of the
two Beatles with a socially responsible brain made it popular with Mind Games in 1973, it
goes back to the 60s and was used often by those opposed to what proved to be a
very senseless and wasteful use of American lives in Vietnam.
Parenthetically,
I often wonder if history is repeating itself with the new fools in D.C. when it
comes to...
Anyway, proving
some good things come out of Chicago, "Make Love Not War" buttons
were popularized in the windy city as they were distributed by the thousands
for the Mother's Day Peace March in 1965.
I think that's
when it became really, uh, maybe, for some, popular; or, minimally, recognized.
Essentially, it
kinda meant sex is better than fighting and peace is better than war.
I agree.
Or as Benjamin
Button would say, "Absolutely!"
@#$%
@#$%
I'll never forget
the redneck in WSNC who came up to me after worship in the mid-80s and
complained, "You preach too much about love and Jesus."
Response: "I
didn't know I was supposed to preach about anything else."
While some can say I'm wrong while
America clings to its decreasing liberties, that's how I've always preached and
will preach until death or assassination.
Make no mistake
about it, I'm all for the original meaning of the phrase.
Sex within its
Biblical boundaries is, uh, great!
O.K., for you
heathens, it's not bad outside of...
It's certainly
better than those c words above.
Yet, I've decided
to use the phrase in a slightly more spiritual way.
Again, while
being all for the original meaning, I'm more and more and more into the really original meaning of love
through the eyes of Jesus: praying
and working for the highest good for others regardless of who, what, where,
when, or even why without the need or expectation for response, regard, or
reward.
Agape.
Tozer: "The
church's mightiest influence is felt when she is different from the world in
which she lives."
In other words,
I'm gonna start saying "Make Love Not War" whenever the witting or
unwitting accomplices of darkness start behaving in concert with those c words
more than Christ.
@#$%
@#$%
I don't expect
everyone to get it/Him.
Obviously, too
many people remain frigidly polemical.
Read that again.
Selah.
I have no
illusions about waging a successful "Make Love Not War" campaign in
society or even church where folks should know/act better.
.
It's gonna take a
lot more than some pseudo-pandering-to-selfishness-masquerading-as-Christianity
mantra like the power of
positive thinking, possibility thinking, name-it-and-claim-it-and-declare-it drooling
nonsense.
It's gonna
take...Jesus.
It's gonna take
His kinda love: invitational, socio-economically inclusive, welcoming,
merciful, forgiving, restoring, selfless, sacrificial, compassionate, caring,
and...
Catch the drift?
If not, open your
Bible and start reading the red letters.
How do you know what it means to believe in Him and behave like you believe in Him?
That’s simple.
Read the red letters in the Bible – the words of Jesus Himself.
Where should I start?
That’s simple.
Read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
What’s the difference between those gospelers or good-news-reporters?
That’s simple.
Not much.
They complement but never contradict each other.
Lots of details in Matthew and Luke. John goes deeper. I like how Mark gets to the point(s) so quickly; especially when it comes to what it means to behave like you believein Jesus: “…immediately…they followed Him.”
Is Jesus difficult to understand?
That’s simple.
Jesus is difficult to understand for people who have “ears that don’t hear” and “eyes that don’t see.”
But, no, Jesus is not difficult to understand unless you’re dense by design or decide to shut your eyes and close your ears.
The report: “When Jesus finished speaking, the crowds were astonished…for He was teaching them as one who had authority…”
What does that mean?
That’s simple.
Question: “Who does He think He is…God?”
Answer: “Absolutely!”
What kind of authority does He have?
That’s simple.
Jesus, as God, is the gatekeeper of heaven.
The good news is, as He said so many times and Paul told Timothy as His purpose, “God wants everybody to be saved.”
What does it mean to be saved?
That’s simple.
He said, “I have come so that you may have life and have it abundantly…Anyone who believes in Me will never die.”
How can I be saved?
That’s simple.
“Believe in Jesus and you will be saved.”
Does being saved make any difference?
That’s simple.
He said, “If you love Me…[another way of saying that is, ‘If you’re saved’…]…you will do what I’ve told you to do.”
Paul explained, essentially, if we are saved, we show signs/proof/evidence like those character traits listed in Galatians 5:22-23.
Again, Jesus: “If you love Me, you will love like Me.”
What am I expected to do with what I know about Him as Lord and Savior?
That’s simple.
He said, “Go everywhere and tell everyone about Me!”
Now go deeper by reading what comes before and after those red letters.
Are you still looking for a different way to do church?
Are you tired of the SOSO RELIGION?
Are you put off by posers in pews, politics, and pulpits?
Are you searching for something/Someone
real, honest, timely, and true to…?
Try our family of faith on the corner of Lincoln and Main!
