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NASB | Mark 3:30 because they were saying, "He has an unclean spirit." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Mark 3:30 [Jesus said this] because the scribes and Pharisees were [attributing His miracles to Satan by] saying, "He has an unclean spirit." |
Subject: Blasphemy against Holy Spirit |
Bible Note: Norrie: It's more than likely that many of these people you speak of are, like Peter, scared too. They may be afraid of losing their job or being passed over for a promotion for confessing Christ if they work in an environment that is mildly to severely hositle toward Christians. They may be afraid of losing their friends if they move in circles that want no part of Christianity. There may be any number of other reasons or a combination of reasons why these people now claim to have renounced their faith. There is less likelihood that they have lost their way than there is that they ever truly found the Way in the first place. To some people being a skeptic is prized as a mark of high intelligence and sophistication. They love to look down their noses at believers whom they consider moronic bigots. But I suspect that the common denominator among the vast majority of self-proclaimed skeptics has little to do with genuine unbelief and a great deal to do with their pride. By that I mean their unwillingness to surrender their lives to the Lordship of Christ, to pay the cost of discipleship, to turn away from carnal desires -- lusts of the flesh, greed, humanism -- those sorts of things. They love the world too much to give up worldly things. Seeking to find a way to avoid accountabilty to God, they look around for an excuse -- Satan always has a supermarket full -- and they choose skepticism as being one they consider quite politically correct these days, as indeed it is! So, Norrie, I would take everything these people say about once being believers with a large grain of salt. They may once have been "professors" -- professing Christ with their lips but never in their hearts. ..... One last point: Regenerated Christians do not truck with feelings and experiental "evidence" concerning their salvation. They are neither awed nor troubled by what others say but by what God says in His eternal and inerrant word. I personally believe it both unwholesome and a waste of time reading or listening to the garbage of the scoffers, the skeptics, the ridiculers. It's like listening to the same record being played over and over. They all whistle the same discordant tune and put forth the same lame arguments in support of a position that denies the One who is their only hope of salvation and defies sound reasoning from beginning to end. Norrie, why not pull away from the company of these people? They do you no good, and you are unlikely to change minds that are blinded to the truth and shut tighter than a clam. Why not carry the message of the gospel to someone who is willing to listen? Why not share your knowledge and insight as a believer with other believers who are eager to learn more about Jesus and His word? Why not share your faith with young Christians and lend them your hand to help them walk and grow and mature in their new-found faith? Finally, Norrie, "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right , whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence, and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things." (Philippians 4:8). --Hank |