Bible Question:
Hank maybe you are right. What do you think Heb 6 would be referring to then? "Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ....it is impossible for those who were once elightened...to renew again unto repentance, seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God and put him to an open shame." My thoughts have always just been THAT was blasphemy of the Holy Ghost. To have known God and yet reject and deny him and his teachings openly before men. Nothing else comes to mind that one could do and not be forgiven of. What do you think blasphemy of the Holy Ghost would be? Tell me what you think. God Bless Casey |
Bible Answer: Hi, Casey. The Hebrews passage, specifically 6:4-6, is indeed a difficult passage, and many have been the interpretations and misinterpretations of it. The most satisfactory exposition of it that I've ever found, and the one that squares with the rest of Scripture and does not conflict with other scriptural teaching, is the one Charles H. Spurgeon gave in his sermon on this passage of Scripture. You may access it on line by going to www.spurgeon.org. Click on Sermons and find this one listed under Hebrews 6:4-6. Your second question concerns the definition of the blasphemy against the Spirit. Let's be sure to look at the full context of the Matthew and Mark accounts of this sin. Does not the context strongly suggest that this was a very particular kind of sin? -- that it was, in fact, "unpardonable" because it involved attributing to Satan Christ's authenticating miracles. The scene is this: Jesus healed a blind, demon-possessed man [Matt.12:22]. The crowds were amazed [v.23]. The Pharisees countered, "This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons." [v.24]. The Incarnate Christ was led by the Spirit, not by Satan and his minions [Read of the temptation of Jesus in Matt.4:1-11.] For the Pharisees to attribute Jesus' power to Satan instead of God the Holy Spirit constituted the blackest, vilest kind of blasphemy. The Messiah came by the grace of God to atone for the sins of man; He was the only hope for salvation of the Pharisees then and is our only hope now. So how could God forgive the Pharisees when they rejected the works and person of God's only Son by ascribing to the powers of Satan the very acts of Jesus that authenticated that He was indeed their long-expected Messiah. The only way to God is through Christ. So then the Pharisees abandoned their only hope for salvation when they severed a saving relationship with Him by saying He derived His power from Satan and not from God. --Hank |