Feel my wrath Christmas Shoes!

I have already become weary of Christmas music. The Christian radio station I listen to has shifted to all Christmas music all the time (at least it seems that way). I would be more OK with it if they played a greater variety of songs. I know it is an exaggeration, but it seems like they play Charlie Brown Christmas, some synthesized/techno Christmas song and my nemesis Christmas Shoes over and over and over.

I am sure Christmas Shoes is a sweet and touching song, but I am 100% annoyed with it. I am not sure if it is just the poster song for over-repetition of songs, but here are my primary complaints against it:

First, who would want to risk being in line at Payless Shoes at the moment a loved one passed from this life?

Second, having been around many people in their last moments of life, I have yet to see anyone wearing attire that would lend itself to fine footwear.

Finally, would you really need the boy to explain the entire situation before "laying your money down". It says he "counted pennies for what seemed like years", don't you think you would cough up some money, even if only to get the line moving?

I like lots of Christmas music, but I am partial to songs about Jesus. Much Christmas music I hear fails to give any information on what Jesus was born to do! 

Matt. 1:21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.” (NKJV)

The sweetest of sentimental lyrics and the most sacrificial good works won't accomplish what Jesus came to accomplish - it takes the blood of Jesus Christ to atone for our sin so we can enter heaven - fine footwear is nice, but optional!

"Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."

Nominal Christians and the Diagnostic Power of the Word

By "nominal" (name only) Christians, I am referring to those who call themselves Christians or are outwardly associated with Christianity by church participation, but in reality are not followers of Jesus Christ. I also must admit I cannot be absolutely sure who these people are. However, the word of God offers some diagnostic help. I still may not know the deffinite salvation status of others, but at least the word gives me great encouragement when under attack by these seemingly "nominal" Christians.

John 15:18 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. 21 But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. (NKJV)

I have had several instances when alleged Christians have opposed changes in the church even when clearly supported by the scriptures. When asked to give a reason for thier fighting against the changes and church leadership the answer is typically something like, "I just don't think it is right". To this the appropriate response is, "can we sit down and see what the scriptures say about it". To my surprise the answer is almost always something like, "no, I just don't think it is right".

If someone is not interested in going to the word of God for answers or doesn't see their thinking as needing to be adjusted by God's word, is their any reason to think they any more than a "nominal" Christian? I have typically given people the benefit of the doubt and assumed they were simply immature, but the more I understand the connection between receiving the word and being truly saved, I am much more inclined to see these people as lost. I also can take comfort in the fact that they are not simply rejecting me and my words, but as long as the teaching is sound they are really rejecting the words of God.

I pray they come to know Jesus Christ and love His word. I also thank God that I was once blind and now see and that purely by His gracious choice!

"Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."

Make a religion that suits you!

I found this quote on a Buddhism promoting website - http://www.bffct.net/id71.html

"Imagine a religion without original sin, judgment, a wrathful God, a multitude of gods and saints, an eternal hell, Satan, a sense of guilt, a personality cult, idolizing a book, a blood sacrifice for atonement, a rejection of personal experience, holy wars, hypocritical rules, sexism, a cultish mindset, and money and power obsessions. Luckily, a religion without all of this negative core baggage does exist and it is called Shin Buddhism." 

For comparison -

Imagine a place without absolute truth or morals. A place without laws, police, jails or justice. Imagine a place where everyone did whatever they wanted and they never felt any guilt or paid any consequences, even if they hurt others. Imagine their was no one powerful enough to save us from such a place. If such a place did exist, I assume it would be called Hell! Are we lucky if we find it?

Christ centered preaching?

I have great concern for those who are seeking "christian" ministry/teaching from those whom focus on health, prosperity and self-esteem. I want to speak with some knowledge of what these folks are preaching so I listened to another message by Joel Osteen this morning. I was mostly wondering how a prosperity preacher preaches on Thanksgiving, because their whole message requires being less than completely satisfied. Although not a Thanksgiving message, I found the following message on the website this week.

The Power of I AM

Link to the message  - http://www.joelosteen.com/Broadcast/Pages/ThisWeeksMessage.aspx

Foolish me, I would assume a message on the power of I AM would be about the unlimited power of God, who refers to Himself as "I Am" (Exod. 3:14, John 8:58). I can't help but think how worthy of our worship God is when I consider His totally independent existence as expressed in this name for Him! All of us now are, but once were not, God was and is and is to come! To be the all powerful creator is so much more important and worthy of our attention and praise than anything He has created!

Yet the message was not about God at all, He was mentioned as a means to an end a couple times, but the message was about us! It focused on how when we use "I am" words - "I am rich", "I am beautiful" and "I am young" and we can actually attract those things to us or create them in our lives with our words.

I would challenge anyone to look up the couple scriptures mentioned in the message and find that any were used in their right context to communicate the intended message. The worst offender had to be a bizarre account of the life of Sarah. It went something like this - In order for God to give Sarah a child in her old age, He first had to change her attitude about herself. To do this God changed her name to Sarah, which means princess. As Joel tells it, as she heard people call her princess over and over, her self-image changed and it was that change which enabled God's promise to come to pass. Her "I am" changed and brought God's blessing upon her.

Not only is this completely speculative, as the word never says anything about Sarah's self-esteem improving before she gave birth. The great and dangerous error is it puts the focus on Sarah's words/power and not God's words and power! God is the I  AM, when He makes a promise, He does not need the cooperation of anyone to bring it to pass. If we read the story, the message we will get is that God did this great miracle, not in recognition of Abraham and Sarah's positive attitudes and actions, but in spite of them - to show His power, for His glory! Sarah thought it laughable that she would conceive in her old age, but the Lord says to her - "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" (Gen. 18:12-14).

As natural idolaters, it takes very little prodding to get us to listen to encouraging words that are all about us and tell us we have great value and power. Unfortunately, when this is done, the creator, the one due all our focus, worship, respect and even fear, is reduced to second place and as we miss His greatness we fool ourselves into thinking we are the "i am" that makes things happen! It just is not true and a lie, no matter how good it feels, is still a lie!

Oh Glorious Day!

Simple, but profound lyrics from Casting Crowns - 

Living He loved me, dying He saved me
And buried He carried my sins far away
Rising He justified freely forever
One day He's coming, oh, glorious day, oh, glorious day

How to love Jesus much!

Luke 7:36 Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. 37 And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, 38 and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.

39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.” 40 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” So he said, “Teacher, say it.”

41 “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.” And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.”

44 Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. 45 You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. 46 You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. 47 Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”

48 Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

49 And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” 50 Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

Until we realize we are sinners needing a savior we are lost and still under the punishment due a debt we cannot pay. However, even as believers it is easy to minimize our sin, act like we are pretty good or focus primarily on the sins of others. In doing so we are doing ourselves and others a great disservice. Just as Jesus teaches in this narrative, our love for Him will be directly proportionate to how much we understand the size of our sin debt and our need for a savior. We don't need to commit more sin of course, but simply be willing to see our sinful thoughts and actions in light of God's word in the power of the Holy Spirit. When we do this, rather than feeling like a victim of other sinners or feeling sorry for ourselves for not getting what we deserve, we will be thankfully loving and serving our savior. Then when we have contact with other sinners, as we constantly do, rather than being annoyed by them, we can tell them about the one who graciously forgave such a big time sinner as us!

 "Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved." (NKJV)

Not a fan of Joel, but credit where credit is due!

I have been very open in my evaluation/opinion of Joel Osteen's messages. I believe they often promote a form of idolatry with Jesus tacked on as an afterthought.

Link to a blog on this topic - http://5solas4claytongarner.blogspot.com/2011/10/replacing-holy-spirit-with-health-and.html

However, I must say he did at least an OK job of standing against great pressure form Piers Morgan to change his stance on homosexuality. Joel taking the biblical high ground is pretty surprising to me, but listen to who Piers compares Joel to when he will not adjust the Bible to the times (3:05 in the video)!

This is a glimpse of what is coming for those who dare believe the Bible is true and authoritative.

The “Unpardonable Sin” - Conclusion

Last post I suggested the following statements were true -

A. Blasphemy is an “unpardonable sin" according to OT Mosaic law.
B. No sin, of any kind, is forgivable except by grace through faith in Jesus Christ!                      

C. The Holy Spirit is the initiator and guarantor of our salvation.

D. All scripture, including the teaching on the “unpardonable sin”, is written primarily for the instruction of born again believers in Jesus Christ.

E. It is at least reasonable to assume that the “unpardonable sin" teaching is meant to be a source of assurance/comfort for believers.

F. Since a house divided against itself cannot stand, it follows that the recognition of Jesus as Lord and the desire to be saved by Him are evidence of the presence of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and demonstrate that an “unpardonable sin” - blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, has not occurred.

I would now like to give an example of what I believe to be "unpardonable sin" in the post Pentecost New Testament, as well as an example of the amazing pardonability of sin in Jesus Christ.

First, consider the fact that the Holy Spirit had yet to "come" in the full sense when Jesus rebuked the scribes and warned them about speaking against or blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. If this is true it could be that they did not even commit this sin at the time, but had spoken in such a way that Jesus felt it appropriate to use it as a teaching opportunity for the future when the Holy Spirit would be fully manifest. This would be especially relevant for the family or "people" of Jesus who said He was crazy right before this teaching and I assume are still in the audience (Mark 3:21).

When Jesus speaks of the coming of the Spirit in John 16, we read the following regarding His role: 

John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. ⁸ And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: ⁹ of sin, because they do not believe in Me; ¹⁰ of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; ¹¹ of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. (NKJV)

Surely this is a description of the Spirit's work in the unbeliever (v. 9). It follows that the one who is exposed to the Spirit's convicting work and is not converted is lost and judged.

Now as we read a little further we see the work of  the Spirit in those who are converted: 

John 16:12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ¹³ However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵ All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you. (NKJV)

For this group the Holy Spirit's work is quite different, as they are guided and taught by Him for the goal of glorifying Jesus. 

In these two works of the Holy Spirit, I propose we see a work of convicting/judging leading to eternally irreversible state - "unpardonable sin". In contrast, by the same Spirit, those who are converted are guided/empowered to glorify Jesus and can't be guilty of or capable of the "unpardonable sin".

Example of unpardonable sin -

Heb. 6:4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, ⁵ and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, ⁶ if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame. (NKJV)

As I have already established that the Holy Spirit's work in saving God's people is irreversible (Eph.1:13-14), this must be a person who was never actually born again. The text suggests that the person was a partaker of the Spirit and yet has now turned from the truth in an irreversible way. Whatever work of the Spirit they were to have, they have had and  it did not result in salvation, but rather judgement! Is this not then an example of "unpardonable sin"?

Some might think this is a picture of a backslidden believer, but if compared to John 2:19, regarding those who went out from the church/"us", that "it might be made manifest that none of them were of us" and consider the language just three verses later in Heb. 6:9, regarding those who are truly saved, my point seems quite valid.

Heb. 6:9 But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. (NKJV)

Clearly the work of the Holy Spirit is the issue here - in the first case bringing judgement to those who had the Spirit's testimony of Jesus and chose to reject it, leading to being beyond repentance/salvation = "unpardonable sin". In the second group, the ones who's salvation is held with confidence, it is because it is a work of the Spirit unto salvation!

A example of the amazing pardonability of sin in Jesus Christ -

1 Tim. 1:12And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, ¹³ although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. ¹⁴ And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. ¹⁶ However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life. ¹⁷ Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise,be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. (NKJV)

Paul's blasphemy was in "ignorance and unbelief" , but he is now fully pardoned - what happened? The amazing grace of God, working through the Holy Spirit brought conviction, conversion, and belief upon Jesus Christ into Paul's formerly blasphemous heart. He was called by God/Holy Spirit, saved through the blood of Christ - all for the glory of God in Jesus Christ!

Even Paul, the chief of sinners, is pardonable by the work of God through the sacrifice of Christ and regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.

The natural man, unless born again, will find his sin unpardonable if the conviction of the Spirit does not lead to being born again into faith in Jesus Christ! For the believer in Jesus' work - praise the Lord that the Holy Spirit's house (us), will not be plundered and our sin is forever pardoned to God's glory in Christ!

So, is this teaching about the "unpardonable sin" meant to let the scribes no just how hopeless they are? Is it to keep Christians forever guessing if they will miss salvation because they had committed this sin? Or is it a source of hope and assurance for those who believe and are sealed with the Holy Spirit for redemption!

This is a fantastic truth - Jesus' family who said He was crazy (part of the audience of the original "unpardonable sin" teaching, Mark 3:21), Peter who denied Him three times, the crowds who yelled crucify Him, Paul who persecuted Him, and I who once did not believe in Him and still falls very short as a follower of Him, can believe and rejoice in the amazing pardonability of sin available in Jesus Christ!

Yes, I know pardonability is not an actual word!

"Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."

The “Unpardonable Sin” Part 5

Part four was a short reading assignment, I had ended part three with the assumption that I had demonstrated the following conclusions from scripture -

A. Blasphemy is an “unpardonable sin" according to OT Mosaic law.

B. No sin, of any kind, is forgivable except by grace through faith in Jesus Christ!                      

C. The Holy Spirit is the initiator and guarantor of our salvation.

D. All scripture, including the teaching on the “unpardonable sin”, is written primarily for the instruction of born again believers in Jesus Christ.

E. It is at least reasonable to assume that the “unpardonable sin" teaching is meant to be a source of assurance/comfort for believers.

Now I will try to show how specifically this assurance is found -

I can’t say I am 100% sure what would qualify as “the unpardonable sin” today. Many say it was only possible for those who were walking the earth at the time of Jesus and related to the specific acts He did then and the scribes response to it. Others would say this sin is still possible and could be committed by anyone who attributed the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan or a demon. An example could be God healing someone through the prayer of a believer and someone saying “God doesn’t work that way, so it must be of the devil”.
Another popular understanding is that rejecting the saving work of the Holy Spirit, conviction unto salvation, would be the “unpardonable sin”. I will not say either of the first two are wrong and I would be very careful about attributing things done in Jesus’ or Holy Spirit’s name to the Devil.  However, I believe the last view has some merit, at least as it relates to who needs to be concerned about having committed or committing this sin.

It is my belief that the “unpardonable sin” can’t be something any current believer in Jesus Christ could have done in the past or could do in the future. No matter how anti-God the Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit we may have been, we can have absolute assurance that it won’t keep us from experiencing the redemption we are promised in Jesus if we continue to believe upon Him and His work. The reformed doctrine, generally called “perseverance of the saints”, would likely support this belief, but I think there is a specific reason to take comfort from this teaching in particular.

Here is how I arrive at this point -

When Jesus teaches/rebukes the scribes for their accusation against Him, He uses simple logic – “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand and if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand” (Mark 3:24-25, Matt. 12:25 parallel).  Just as Jesus teaches that Satan’s work in the demon possessed won’t be undone by Satan, we can know that God’s work in us won’t be undone by God!

Believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit in a similar way to how the man Jesus exorcised was indwelt by a demon. The demons won’t work against Satan or vice versa, because they are of the same house and kingdom. These evil powers will be forever working together under Satan’s authority unless they are overcome by a stronger power (Mark 3:27).  Jesus and the Holy Spirit prove to be the stronger power in the narrative as Satan, the “strong man,” is bound and his goods/house are plundered (Mark 3:27).  We can know for sure that within the Trinity - God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are fully unified/one in all things and more powerful than Satan and any other things they have created.

Now consider the born-again believer who is indwelt and sealed by the Holy Spirit for salvation (Eph. 1:13-14). The Holy Spirit who dwells in us will “guide us in all truth”; “He will glorify Him”/Jesus (John 16:13-15); He will ensure our continuation in the faith (1 John 2:19-23); He alone is the reason we can/do confess that Jesus is the Son of God (1 Cor. 12:31); and it is the rejecting of Jesus as Lord that proves one was never of God’s house and kingdom at all (1 John 4:12-16).

With this understanding in mind, will the Holy Spirit in us ever be party to us rejecting Jesus? Can Satan, us, or anyone else bind up the Holy Spirit and undo His work? Never! Will the Holy Spirit in us be divided against Himself and the rest of the Trinity and allow us to blaspheme to the point of lost salvation?  No!

With that said, the only ones who are concerned about missing salvation, while acknowledging and wanting Jesus as Lord, are those with the Holy Spirit. Only those indwelt with the Spirit and part of God’s kingdom and household, are concerned about finding salvation through Jesus or would likely to be concerned about having committed an “unpardonable sin”. It is this very concern, in the case of a believer, that almost certainly assures they have not committed the “unpardonable sin”

So we can add this to our list of truths -

A. Blasphemy is an “unpardonable sin" according to OT Mosaic law.

B. No sin, of any kind, is forgivable except by grace through faith in Jesus Christ!                      

C. The Holy Spirit is the initiator and guarantor of our salvation.

D. All scripture, including the teaching on the “unpardonable sin”, is written primarily for the instruction of born again believers in Jesus Christ.

E. It is at least reasonable to assume that the “unpardonable sin" teaching is meant to be a source of assurance/comfort for believers.

F. Since a house divided against itself cannot stand, it follows that the recognition of Jesus as Lord and the desire to be saved by Him are evidence of the presence of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and demonstrate that an “unpardonable sin” - blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, has not occurred.

 Next - I will present what I believe to be a biblical case of post Pentecost, New Testament "unpardonable sin" and an example of the amazing pardonability of sin in Jesus Christ!

The “Unpardonable Sin” Part 4

I have been very busy and I am not yet quite ready to post the next piece in this series. In order to help understand where I am going, please take a look at the passages preceding the "unpardonable sin" teachings - Mark 3:23-27 and Matt 12:25-30. Consider the concepts of a divided house not standing and what it takes to plunder a house, but rather than thinking in terms of those inhabited by Satan/demons consider it in light of those inhabited by Christ through the Holy Spirit?

I should get the next part up over the weekend!

The “Unpardonable Sin” Part 3

So far I have hoped to established the following from scripture:

A. Blasphemy is an “unpardonable” sin according to OT Mosaic law.

B. No sin, of any kind, is forgivable except by grace through faith in Jesus Christ!

C. The Holy Spirit is the initiator and guarantor of our salvation.

Now we must consider the intended audience of the teaching on the "unpardonable sin". 

Clearly Jesus’ words are directed toward His immediate audience as recorded in the narrative. His audience includes “the multitude” (Mark 3:20), Jesus’ family/people (Mark 3:21) and the scribes (Mark 3:22). However, like other narratives about Jesus and teachings from Jesus found in the gospels, the ability of people to fully grasp Jesus’ identity and message is minimal at best and often non-existent. Clearly it takes the hindsight of looking back after the resurrection to fully get who Jesus is and what He accomplished. This is evidenced by the teaching Jesus did about Himself to the disciples between His resurrection and ascension (Luke 24:13-27, 44-49, Acts 1:1-3). Even post resurrection, having good information about Jesus is not enough to bring understanding or belief. In fact the Scriptures tell us that without the Holy Spirit in us, it is impossible to understand or accept the things of God (John 3:3-5, 16:13-14, Rom. 8:5-9, 1 Cor. 1:22-24, 2:12-14, 1 John 2:19-21). If that is true, then it follows that this passage and any other is primarily for future born-again believers in Jesus Christ to learn about Him and His will for them (2 Tim. 3:16, Heb. 4:12, Rev. 2:7). 

So we see –

A. Blasphemy is an “unpardonable sin" according to OT Mosaic law.

B. No sin, of any kind, is forgivable except by grace through faith in Jesus Christ!                      

C. The Holy Spirit is the initiator and guarantor of our salvation.

D. All scripture, including the teaching on the “unpardonable sin”, is written primarily for the instruction of born again believers in Jesus Christ.

These truths now can be brought back and considered in relation to Jesus’ immediate audience in the narrative. In Mark’s account we have a mention of Jesus’ own “people” or family (in some versions) coming to take Jesus away saying He is “out of His mind” (3:21). Now we will assume Jesus’ family meant well and acted out of ignorance and unbelief in Jesus’ Messianic identity. We also have the scribes who accuse Jesus of having a demon and driving out demons by Beelzebub (Mark 3:22). Jesus’ true identity was not grasped well by the people, but it had been made known in several ways prior to this event including: by John the Baptist (John 1:29-34), by the Father (Mark 1:11), by Himself (Mark 2:10-11, Luke 4:18-21), by the demons (Mark 3:11), not to mention the witness of His miracles and various teachings that pointed to His identity as the promised Messiah. Neither those following or those opposing Jesus could plead complete ignorance of His identity, even if it was an excuse for blasphemy, and we know it is not (Rom. 1:18-20).

Mark’s gospel says Jesus’ teaching on the “unpardonable sin" is in response to the charge the scribes made that Jesus had “an unclean spirit” (Mark 3:30). This would be blaspheming against God under OT Mosaic law and they are justly condemned, even eternally, for attributing the Holy Spirit (God's) work to the Devil. However, this does not necessarily mean the scribes were the target audience of Jesus’ teaching regarding these statements. 

What would be the more shocking truth, the one that needed an explanation/teaching for future believers – the fact that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (God) was unforgivable and deserving eternal condemnation or the fact that blasphemy against Jesus (God) can be forgiven?

Now, if we put ourselves in the place of these family members that suggested Jesus was crazy, add the three-time denial of Him by Peter, consider the shouts of the people to crucify Him before Pilate, and finally consider Saul/Paul the persecutor of the church who is asked by the resurrected Jesus, “Why are you persecuting Me”! We must ask - who would look back on this story and wonder if they had crossed a line that made them un-savable? 

Did God have this recorded for the sake of the scribes so they could look back and know for sure they were condemned? Did He want believers to be forever wondering if they had committed this sin and doubting their salvation? Or, is it a source of assurance for future born-again believers who would look back on their own blasphemous, pre-salvation lives and their less-than-perfect following of Jesus and struggle to believe God could/would forgive such sinners as they! 

Based on what we have seen so far, all of the following points are validated - 

A. Blasphemy is an “unpardonable sin" according to OT Mosaic law.

B. No sin, of any kind, is forgivable except by grace through faith in Jesus Christ!                      

C. The Holy Spirit is the initiator and guarantor of our salvation.

D. All scripture, including the teaching on the “unpardonable sin”, is written primarily for the instruction of born again believers in Jesus Christ.

E. It is at least reasonable to assume that the “unpardonable sin" teaching is meant to be a source of assurance/comfort for believers.

Next I will attempt to demonstrate how we get assurance/comfort from this teaching specifically?

Remember, as I stated in part 1, I am working toward seeing this passage as a lesson about “The Amazing Pardonability of Sin in Jesus Christ”