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NASB | Matthew 12:32 "Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 12:32 "Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit [by attributing the miracles done by Me to Satan] will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. [Mark 3:29; Luke 12:10] |
Bible Question:
tgc, I am pleased you chose to respond! You wrote: "Good Afternoon Stultis, I am glad to see I was missed last night...LOL. In answer to your question I belive that Steve has done an excellent job in his post and the only thing I would add is especially in the Matthew passage 12:32 if you back up to verse 22 and read foward to verse 32 and consider the context that only an unbeliver will fit." Thus I will post to you the same response I provided for Steve. Steve Wrote: "On the surface that verse (Heb 10:29) is an adequate description. But it begs the question: To whom does it rightly apply? Since the context of both Matt 12:32 and Heb 10:29 are speaking of unbelievers, it must only be unbelievers that would do such a thing." Actually, Hebrews 10:29 is part of a disertation to believers promoting the idea of assembling together: Hebrews 10:23-31 "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, "VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY." And again, "THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE." It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Matthew 12:32, by direct indication, is speaking to everyone and anyone, though it is the Pharisees that prompt the rebuke: "Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come." Take notice that Christ's words declare "WHOEVER." Additionally, though based on Christ's usage of the word "whoever" it is unneccesary to do so, I would put forth that the Pharisees, while not (to use popular nomenclature) "regenerate" believers, knew good and well just who they were speaking to. I look forward to your response! Your thoughts? |
Bible Answer: Stultis, I figured this would be your reply, so I have been preparing to answer. After looking at several commentaries and reading through the passage you mention several times this is what I came up with. First of all there is a natural break in the quoted passage at verse 25. Here the author ends one discussion and starts another with verse 26, it is from 26 forward that deals with the subject which we now discuss so I will limit my comments to 26-31. The best verse for verse break down I have found is in the Nelson Complete Study System product number2885, and is found on page2093-2094 in the notes. !0:26 sin willfully: The reference here is not to an occasional act of sin( which can be confessed and forgiven ; see 1 John 1:8-9) but to a continual rejection of God. The Old Testament speaks in Num. 15:30,31 of committing willful sin. A person who sinned presumptuously was to be cut off from the people. To sin deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth is apostasy. If a person rejects God’s provision for his or her salvation there is no other remedy for sins (see Num.15:29-31), since forgiveness of sins can only be found in Christ’s perfect sacrifice. !0:27 With no hope of forgiveness all that one can expect is judgment, described here as a fiery indignation. Those who choose to disobey God become His adversaries ( see James 4:4) 10:28-29 The specific sin in the Old Testament that required two or three witnesses was idolatry ( see Deut. 17:2-7) The judgment for idolatry was death by stoning. If idolatry was punished by physical death, how much worse punishment should someone receive who treats the word of Christ with disrespect or distain? Counted the blood…a common thing means the blood of Christ is treated as no different from the blood of an ordinary man or the blood of an animal sacrifice. Insulted the Spirit of grace is a reference to the Holy Spirit the agent of God’s gracious gift of salvation. Anyone who commits these acts will be judged with a punishment worse than physical death. 10:30-31 The author quotes two passages from Deut.32 to support his claim that judgment belongs to the Lord and God’s people are not excused from God’s judgment. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God because there is no other sacrifice for sin than Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross only a fearful expectation of judgment All sin not covered by the blood of Christ will result in great loss at the judgment seat. Can a christan backslide yes and will God deal with that yes but He will deal with that person as a parent deals with a child and yes that can sometimes be quite severe up to and including physical death. But God will not cast that child away from Him for in that child He sees His Son and the righteousness that comes through Christ Jesus. Hope this speaks to your question. By the way I have not quoted word for word from the above mentioned source but the bulk of this is from said source. In The Love Of Christ, tgc |