Question Mark 3:28-30

[meowmix]

"Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter, but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation" -- because they said, "He has an unclean spirit."

Hello, I'm sure this has probably been brought up before but I had a couple of questions. I started questioning it because someone I know who got drunk started talking bad about God. Now when it says blasphemy against the Holy Spirit what exactly does it mean? Is it including saying that you don't believe in the Holy Spirit? Is it making fun of gifts like talking in tongues? And since it says "they said, "He has an unclean spirit." is it meaning just saying that it is evil? And yes i know what blaspheme is, i looked it up lol....but im just wondering what exactly one would have to say to be unforgiven, im concerned because of my brother. Thank you.:):

[monavale]

"Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter, but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation" -- because they said, "He has an unclean spirit."

Hello, I'm sure this has probably been brought up before but I had a couple of questions. I started questioning it because someone I know who got drunk started talking bad about God. Now when it says blasphemy against the Holy Spirit what exactly does it mean? Is it including saying that you don't believe in the Holy Spirit? Is it making fun of gifts like talking in tongues? And since it says "they said, "He has an unclean spirit." is it meaning just saying that it is evil? And yes i know what blaspheme is, i looked it up lol....but im just wondering what exactly one would have to say to be unforgiven, im concerned because of my brother. Thank you.:):
These teachers of the law were blaspheming because they were saying Jesus has an unclean spirit.

Is the person born again? Theologian Francis Schaeffer was quoted as saying " do not judge the unsaved as they do not have the Holy Spirit to convict them". It's certainly an issue if he's "saved"!

Does anyone of us have a memory of some frightful thing we may have said before we were saved? I remember some awful things I said, and I wasn't drunk!!!

We have a beautiful new christian in our home bible study and my goodness, was he a naughty boy. And what a work in progress he is now!

[Raggsokk81]

What I like to do when I have questions like that is to listen to a sermon about it on blueletterbible.com

Also Iam listening to a study on Exodus by Mike MacIntosh and on the commadment Do not take the Lords name in vain, he said that if you worried in your hearth that you might have done it you have not, and the people that don't care at all when you read that verse have done it.

Hope that was a little help, :P

[zhan]

When I was about 19 and very angry, I looked up at heaven and said GD all of them. The conviction on my heart was pretty much instant and heavy, but at that point it head already been said. I wasn't referring to the HS specifically, but that hasn't changed the fact that the enemy has had a great deal of fun in reminding me of these verses and my failure. All I could/can do is ask for forgiveness and leave it at the foot of the cross, which I have done.

The Lord is righteous and just. If He forgives me, then praise God for it. However, if it's His will that I burn for eternity for it, then it's still a Good Thing.

[Mom2Three]

I heard my pastor say at one time that if you are worried about blaspheming the Holy Spirit, there is a good chance that you never have and you never will. If you have the fear of the Lord (a healthy fear, mind you!) then you are not going to do anything unforgivable in His eyes.

I believe that blaspheming the Holy Spirit is denying His power and His abilities, and attributing His works to Satan.

A healthy fear of the Lord is not looking for God to strike you down every time you think you have done something unforgivable. Rather, a healthy fear is knowing the power of God, knowing His sovereignty and respecting His will for our lives. He knows what is good for us and what isn't. It has more to do with showing God the proper respect He deserves.

Someone correct me if I am wrong????:thumb

[TSH1]

Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is when someone deliberately rejects Christ after knowing the truth of forgiveness; it is considered blasphemy because it is treating Christ's cleansing blood as common and unhallowed and it insults and outrages the Holy Spirit who brings mercy to God's people...



Hbr 10:26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,

Hbr 10:27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

Hbr 10:28 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:

Hbr 10:29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

Hbr 10:30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance [belongeth] unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.

Hbr 10:31 [It is] a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
---

This is the translation from my Bible;
Hebrews 10: 26-31

If anyone sins deliberately by rejecting the Savior after knowing the truth of forgiveness, this sin is not covered by Christ's death; there is no way to get rid of it. There will be nothing to look forward to but the terrible punishment of God's awful anger which will consume all his enemies. A man who refused to obey the laws of Moses was killed without mercy if there were two or three witnesses to his sin. Think how much more terrible the punishment will be for those who have trampled underfoot the Son of God and treated his cleansing blood as though it were common and unhallowed, and insulted and outraged the Holy Spirit who brings God's mercy to his people.

[Mom2Three]

Good post, TSH1! Thanks! :):

[AnyDayNow]

...but im just wondering what exactly one would have to say to be unforgiven, im concerned because of my brother. Thank you.:):

I have always taken this passage to mean that anyone who claims Jesus cast out demons by satan's power and not God's would not have that sin forgiven. Actually, the only sin that is unforgivable is unbelief (denial), and isn't that was caused them to make their statement?

[AnyDayNow]

...If anyone sins deliberately by rejecting the Savior after knowing the truth of forgiveness, this sin is not covered by Christ's death; there is no way to get rid of it...

You would have to define "rejecting the Savior" here more in detail before anyone could accept what you are saying. Jesus covered ALL sins for ALL people at the Cross. At Judgment, there are really only two types of people, those who are/have been/are going to be Known by Jesus and those He will have NEVER known.

Matthew 7: 21. "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven {will enter.} 22. "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' 23. "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'

Jesus said NEVER knew. Not "I knew you once and then you sinned", nor does He say, "I knew you, you sinned, then I knew you again, then you sinned again, and I didn't know you". He said NEVER.

No one has yet explained to me how one sin we commit "deliberately" differs from another sin we commit without premeditation. Are undeliberate (and exactly WHAT is one?) sins "better" than other sins? Jesus died for them ALL.

[antsinmypants]

In 1st Century Judaic thought, there are a couple of kinds of blasphemy..

One- is saying the name of G-d (YHVH) and not being a Levite on the day of Yom Kippur. (This is proven by what Paul says in Acts about making the believers in Y'shua "Blaspheme")

Another would be TRUE blasphemy.... (aka what was explained in above posts)

And another kind of blasphemy is teaching the bible improperly. (i.e. teaching against the very principles taught in a passage-- also known as twisting the words of G-d).

And calling Messiah equal with G-d (which He is.... but some people still don't quite "get" that from scripture)...



Contrary to the tradition of some in Israel in the 1st Century, it is not blasphemy or wrong for any individual to call on or swear by the name of YHVH as He has asked all of us who believe in Him to do... as even the patriarchs called on His name.

One of the things that early believers were arrested for was calling on the name of YHVH, and calling Y'shua Messiah and saying that he was sitting at the right hand of the Father.

Even to this day in the Hebrew community, to many, it is considered blasphemy to call G-d by any name other than the trans-locuted names such as "Elokeem" or the name "HaShem" (which means - the name) or "Ad-nai"... or in English "the L-rd" or "G-d"....

While one should endeavor to not offend anyone, I don't think that means discontinued use of G-d's name in personal prayer or in reading of scripture where it occurs.

[meowmix]

thank you all for your info :hug , helped alot

[Jacob]

"Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter, but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation" -- because they said, "He has an unclean spirit."

Hello, I'm sure this has probably been brought up before but I had a couple of questions. I started questioning it because someone I know who got drunk started talking bad about God. Now when it says blasphemy against the Holy Spirit what exactly does it mean? Is it including saying that you don't believe in the Holy Spirit? Is it making fun of gifts like talking in tongues? And since it says "they said, "He has an unclean spirit." is it meaning just saying that it is evil? And yes i know what blaspheme is, i looked it up lol....but im just wondering what exactly one would have to say to be unforgiven, im concerned because of my brother. Thank you.:):

The Pharisees told Jesus, in essence, that He had the authority to cast out demons by accusing Him of having the power of Satan, or the chief demon.

One thing that I always keep in perspective here is that this is not the first time that they accused Jesus of this, or of being demon possessed. Secondly, this incident occurred after several months or more of their continual, adamant rejection of Him. They knew the Scriptures about their Messiah. They witnessed His miracles. Yet, they persisted in unbelief - and used their religious authority to initimidate others to reject the Lord too.

It is dangerous to reject the Lord's offer of salvation - even once. Nobody is guaranteed another chance. Jesus said that nobody can come to Him unless the Father draws them to Him. I do believe that a person can reject the Lord only so long before God gives that person up. We don't know when that would be. However, I personally think that such a person will not be aware or concerned about it, because the work of the Holy Spirit is to convict the world of sin.

[TSH1]

You would have to define "rejecting the Savior" here more in detail before anyone could accept what you are saying. Jesus covered ALL sins for ALL people at the Cross. At Judgment, there are really only two types of people, those who are/have been/are going to be Known by Jesus and those He will have NEVER known.


Jesus, Himself, said that blasphemy of the Holy Spirit would never be forgiven;


Mat 12:25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:

Mat 12:26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?

Mat 12:27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast [them] out? therefore they shall be your judges.

Mat 12:28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.

Mat 12:29 Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.

Mat 12:30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.


Mat 12:31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy [against] the [Holy] Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.

Mat 12:32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the [world] to come.
----

Also, King Agrippa might possibly fall into the category of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit because he heard the complete truth but rejected the savior;


Act 26:26 For the king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner.

Act 26:27 King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest.

Act 26:28 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.

[meowmix]

My question is....say someone does that.....and then say years later becomes Christian. Is it no use for him to become Christian if it is unforgivable? :confused

[My Abba's Child]

My question is....say someone does that.....and then say years later becomes Christian. Is it no use for him to become Christian if it is unforgivable? :confused

If you have come to the point where you are committing blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, then you've come to the point where you will NEVER choose to accept Christ, thus NEVER become a Christian.

In His love,

[TEXASGRANDMA]

I knew of some one who was raised in Church and knew the truth but rejected Jesus. One night he called his grandmother and bragged how he could speak in tongues with out the Holy Spirit and then began to speak like he was speaking in tongues. Less than a week later he was dead. Whether he commited the unpardonable sin or not, I don't know, but I do believe he crossed the line and God punished him.

[Mom2Three]

I agree with My Abba's Child. If someone commits blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, I doubt very much whether they will accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

And if they do accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, then they probably did not commit blasphemy. :thumb

[AnyDayNow]

Jesus, Himself, said that blasphemy of the Holy Spirit would never be forgiven;...

If someone never repents and then dies, ALL sins remain unforgiven. I believe that Jesus Atoned for every sin at the Cross. That doesn't mean all will repent. I don't know how much it means here, but in the OT, Scripture makes it clear that God "overlooked" sins. Now that the Sacrifice which can actually take away sins has Come, there is no excuse.

As I said before, if you believe this sin is unforgivable, don't forget to add unbelief to your list.

[buzzardhut]

The Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is not getting saved.

[TSH1]

Jesus said NEVER knew. Not "I knew you once and then you sinned", nor does He say, "I knew you, you sinned, then I knew you again, then you sinned again, and I didn't know you". He said NEVER.


Let me clarify my understanding of scripture for you.

When a person is given the Word of God and fully understands and believes that it is true, as King Agrippa possibly did BUT STILL rejects Christ's saving grace then they have commited blasphemy of the Holy Spirit because they knew the complete truth but decided to reject Christ anyway.
I don't believe that anyone who hears the Word of God, understands and believes and ACCEPTS Christ's saving grace can EVER commit blasphemy of the Holy Spirit because immediately upon accepting Christ the Holy Spirit seals the believer...


Eph 1:13 In whom ye also [trusted], after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

Eph 1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.


So, finally I believe that blasphemy of the Holy Spirit can only be commited by those who hear the Word of God, believe it's true but choose to reject Christ anyway and there is no more forgiveness available to them after that.

Does that explain my position better?

Tami

[TSH1]

As I said before, if you believe this sin is unforgivable, don't forget to add unbelief to your list.

I disagree. A person who commits blasphemy of the Holy Spirit has been given the Word of God, BELIEVES what he has been given but chooses to reject Christ anyway.
A person who is still in unbelief has not yet been convinced that the Gospel is true and has not necessarily denied Christ and could possibly still be convinced of the truth of the Word at a later date.


Act 26:26 For the king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner.

Act 26:27 King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest.

Act 26:28 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.

[AnyDayNow]

...So, finally I believe that blasphemy of the Holy Spirit can only be commited by those who hear the Word of God, believe it's true but choose to reject Christ anyway and there is no more forgiveness available to them after that.

Does that explain my position better?

Tami

Somewhat. Here is my problem. I have seen people take the "blasphemy" statement from the Gospels and (wonder if to, or) apply it elsewhere. In context (which is the proper way to view Scripture) the "unforgivable" sin which occured there was saying that Jesus cast out demons by satan's power and not the Spirit's. I agree it was blasphemy and I agree that it is unforgivable. But I don't agree with applying it to other situations in the Scripture where the same sin did not occured, nor do I believe it can be applied as a "blanket" truth that applies to any old sin. It specifically applies to someone who says Jesus (did)cast out demons by the power of satan. I don't see it applying to any other sin. Period.

The crux of the issue remains. ANYONE who dies without Belief in Jesus Christ has NO sins forgiven. We do not have the luxury of saying who these people are (or were) right now, so all we can do is pray for their Salvation.

[Jacob]

My question is....say someone does that.....and then say years later becomes Christian. Is it no use for him to become Christian if it is unforgivable? :confused
In theory, such a person would not chose to become a Christian.

Jesus said, "All that the Father gives to Me will come to Me. And the one who comes to Me I will in no way cast out." (John 6:37). In other words, it is impossible to come the Lord in faith and have Him reject you. He promised that those who come to Him will not be cast away.

Jesus also said in the same context that "no one can come to Me unless My Father draws them." In other words, we just don't choose to come to Jesus. God must do the work in our lives to bring us to Him. If God does not do it, we won't do it on our own.

[Jacob]

... In context...I don't agree with applying it to other situations in the Scripture where the same sin did not occured, nor do I believe it can be applied as a "blanket" truth that applies to any old sin. It specifically applies to someone who says Jesus (did)cast out demons by the power of satan. I don't see it applying to any other sin. Period. The crux of the issue remains. ANYONE who dies without Belief in Jesus Christ has NO sins forgiven. We do not have the luxury of saying who these people are (or were) right now, so all we can do is pray for their Salvation.

I agree!

The gospels record only this one event whereby the Lord charged a limited group of people with the unpardonable sin. I believe that the unbelief that these particular pharisees had was quite exceptional.

People who were demon possessed were later saved. Even Judas, whom the Lord called the Son of Perdition, was offered a chance to repent at the Last Supper (when Jesus offered Judas the "sop" - that was a symbolic gesture of love that was usually done toward the guest of honor.).

The Lord's brothers did not believe in Him (John ch. 7). Imgaine growing up in the same home with Jesus. I am sure they heard the story of Mary being visited by the angel Gabriel, the trip to Bethlehem, the birth in the manger, the shepherds, the Magi, the escape to Egypt, King Herod, etc. In addition, they have an older brother who never does any wrong and does not get into trouble! (That would be a miracle in itself!) Yet, in the epistles, James, the Lord's brother, was part of the early church. They apparently did not believe until after His death & resurrection.

Paul wrote that he was a "blasphemer" and that he persecuted the chrisitians. I imagine being the very zealous pharisee that he was, he did not have any good words to say about Jesus before his conversion.

There are some bible scholars who believe that the unpardonable sin technically cannot be committed today; because it cannot be exactly reproduced. Jesus is not physically present performing the same miracles that He did when on earth, and He is not here in person to personally tell them that they have gone beyond God's grace and that there is no hope.

Like you said, the message to the world simply boils down to "He who has the Son of God has eternal life. He who does not have the Son does not have the life." (1 John 5:11-12).

The gospel is open to "whosoever will..." Anyone who wants to come to the Lord by faith, on His terms, and receive Him into their lives, has not gone beyond hope, and, we do not know when anyone has gone beyond God's grace - since He does not tell us when He stops working in an individual's life. Even the thief on the cross who repented initially cursed and ridiculed Jesus intitally after being crucified. (Matthew 27:44).

[TSH1]

I agree!

The gospels record only this one event whereby the Lord charged a limited group of people with the unpardonable sin. I believe that the unbelief that these particular pharisees had was quite exceptional.

The pharisees were not in unbelief. Christ charged them with blasphemy of the Holy Spirit because they KNEW He was speaking truth and still rejected Him by accusing Him of having an unclean spirit. Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is KNOWING and/or BELIEVING the truth and rejecting it anyway.

People who were demon possessed were later saved. Even Judas, whom the Lord called the Son of Perdition, was offered a chance to repent at the Last Supper (when Jesus offered Judas the "sop" - that was a symbolic gesture of love that was usually done toward the guest of honor.).

Judas had been offered a chance to repent because he had not yet betrayed Christ. After he realized he had betrayed an innocent man he then realized he was CONDEMNED and repented his sin to the pharisees but he knew he was eternally condemned because he never asked Christ for forgiveness and he commited suicide.


Mat 27:3 Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,

Mat 27:4 Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What [is that] to us? see thou [to that].

Mat 27:5 And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.


The Lord's brothers did not believe in Him (John ch. 7). Imgaine growing up in the same home with Jesus. I am sure they heard the story of Mary being visited by the angel Gabriel, the trip to Bethlehem, the birth in the manger, the shepherds, the Magi, the escape to Egypt, King Herod, etc. In addition, they have an older brother who never does any wrong and does not get into trouble! (That would be a miracle in itself!) Yet, in the epistles, James, the Lord's brother, was part of the early church. They apparently did not believe until after His death & resurrection.

His brethren had not yet been fully convinced that He was the Christ. They had not BELIEVED and rejected him. And if my brother (if I had one) was resurrected from the dead in the manner of Christ, I think that would be the deciding factor for me to completely believe.:nod

Jhn 7:5 For neither did his brethren believe in him.

pisteuo {pist-yoo'-o}

TDNT Reference Root Word
TDNT - 6:174,849 from 4102
Part of Speech
v
Outline of Biblical Usage
1) to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in

a) of the thing believed

1) to credit, have confidence

b) in a moral or religious reference

1) used in the NT of the conviction and trust to which a man is impelled by a certain inner and higher prerogative and law of soul

2) to trust in Jesus or God as able to aid either in obtaining or in doing something: saving faith

3) mere acknowledgment of some fact or event: intellectual faith

2) to entrust a thing to one, i.e. his fidelity

a) to be intrusted with a thing



Paul wrote that he was a "blasphemer" and that he persecuted the chrisitians. I imagine being the very zealous pharisee that he was, he did not have any good words to say about Jesus before his conversion.

Paul was a blaphemer of man, not a blasphemer of the Holy Spirit. Christ said a blasphemer of any other thing would be forgiven EXCEPT blasphemy of the Holy Spirit;

Mat 12:31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy [against] the [Holy] Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.


Mat 12:32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the [world] to come.

There are some bible scholars who believe that the unpardonable sin technically cannot be committed today; because it cannot be exactly reproduced. Jesus is not physically present performing the same miracles that He did when on earth, and He is not here in person to personally tell them that they have gone beyond God's grace and that there is no hope.

That is the reason God sent the Holy Spirit after Christ's resurrection;


Jhn 14:24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.

Jhn 14:25 These things have I spoken unto you, being [yet] present with you.

Jhn 14:26 But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.



Like you said, the message to the world simply boils down to "He who has the Son of God has eternal life. He who does not have the Son does not have the life." (1 John 5:11-12).

Totally agree!

The gospel is open to "whosoever will..." Anyone who wants to come to the Lord by faith, on His terms, and receive Him into their lives, has not gone beyond hope, and, we do not know when anyone has gone beyond God's grace - since He does not tell us when He stops working in an individual's life. Even the thief on the cross who repented initially cursed and ridiculed Jesus intitally after being crucified. (Matthew 27:44).

He ridiculed Christ, but did not commit blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Christ said that blasphemy against Him can be forgiven but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit cannot;

Mat 12:32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the [world] to come.

[AnyDayNow]

... His brethren had not yet been fully convinced that He was the Christ. They had not BELIEVED and rejected him. And if my brother (if I had one) was resurrected from the dead in the manner of Christ, I think that would be the deciding factor for me to completely believe...

That's quite an assumption considering this:

Luke 16:27-31... 27. "And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father's house-- 28. for I have five brothers--in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.' 29. "But Abraham *said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.' 30. "But he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!' 31. "But he said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.' "

Ironically Jesus addressed the VERY situation you wrote about in your post. This was not a parable. Jesus shared it to show that even a miraculous resurrection of a brother could not persuade someone to repent. For the kind of people (Pharisees and Scribes) that Jesus dealt with, what else could He say? I think you're still underestimating the degree of their unbelief:

Matthew 23:27-33... 27. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. 28. "So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. 29. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30. and say, 'If we had been {living} in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in {shedding} the blood of the prophets.' 31. "So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32. "Fill up, then, the measure {of the guilt} of your fathers. 33. "You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?

Jesus didn't think much of them. For the record, John the Baptist called them vipers also. If Jesus talked abut the "unforgivable" sin to them, He was certainly talking to the right people!

[AnyDayNow]

...There are some bible scholars who believe that the unpardonable sin technically cannot be committed today; because it cannot be exactly reproduced...

I agree with them.

[TSH1]

[QUOTE=AnyDayNow]That's quite an assumption considering this:



Ironically Jesus addressed the VERY situation you wrote about in your post. This was not a parable. Jesus shared it to show that even a miraculous resurrection of a brother could not persuade someone to repent. For the kind of people (Pharisees and Scribes) that Jesus dealt with, what else could He say? I think you're still underestimating the degree of their unbelief:

You are absolutely correct on this issue, I completely failed to remember that!:doh Thanks for the correction!:thumb However, obviously, as you stated in your earlier post, something had to occur that finally convinced them that their brother was the Messiah.

As far as the degrees of unbelief, there are three definitions in the New Testament for unbelief with two being from the same root word. I believe that those who have not yet been convinced of the truth (Christ's brothers) fall into the first category and the those who are convinced of the truth but reject it fall into the final two categories (Pharisees, Judas, King Agrippa);

unbelief/belief
apistia {ap-is-tee'-ah}

TDNT - 6:174,849 from 4102
Part of Speech
v
Outline of Biblical Usage
1) to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in

a) of the thing believed

1) to credit, have confidence

b) in a moral or religious reference

1) used in the NT of the conviction and trust to which a man is impelled by a certain inner and higher prerogative and law of soul

2) to trust in Jesus or God as able to aid either in obtaining or in doing something: saving faith

3) mere acknowledgment of some fact or event: intellectual faith

2) to entrust a thing to one, i.e. his fidelity

a) to be intrusted with a thing
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unbelief
apeitheo {ap-i-theh'-o}

TDNT - 6:10,818 from 545
Part of Speech
v
Outline of Biblical Usage
1) not to allow one's self to be persuaded

a) to refuse or withhold belief

b) to refuse belief and obedience

2) not to comply with
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unbelief
apeitheia {ap-i'-thi-ah}

TDNT - 6:11,818 from 545
Part of Speech
n f
Outline of Biblical Usage
1) obstinacy, obstinate opposition to the divine will
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Jesus didn't think much of them. For the record, John the Baptist called them vipers also. If Jesus talked abut the "unforgivable" sin to them, He was certainly talking to the right people!


Jesus confronts the Pharisees showing that He is aware that they KNOW the truth but reject it;

Jhn 9:39 And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.

Jhn 9:40 And [some] of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?

Jhn 9:41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

[AnyDayNow]

[QUOTE=AnyDayNow]...Jhn 9:41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth...

What Jesus says here applies to the Law. Paul makes it even clearer:


Romans 7:9 I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; 10 and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; 11 for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.

The Law could never take away sins, it could show sinfulness and the need for Jesus:

Hebrews 9: 15 For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were {committed} under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

Their sin remained, as Jesus said, because they knew the Law yet didn't Believe on Him.

[AnyDayNow]

<double posted...deleted>

[Seamaster]

[COLOR=blue]There are some bible scholars who believe that the unpardonable sin technically cannot be committed today; because it cannot be exactly reproduced. Jesus is not physically present performing the same miracles that He did when on earth, and He is not here in person to personally tell them that they have gone beyond God's grace and that there is no hope.

This is what I've been taught and what I believe. It was a one deal happening. This was a judgement on the ones whom he spoke to. There was NO forgiveness to them because of it. They knew the truth because of the Old Test. of him who was to come.

[TSH1]

[QUOTE=TSH1]

What Jesus says here applies to the Law. Paul makes it even clearer:




The Law could never take away sins, it could show sinfulness and the need for Jesus:



Their sin remained, as Jesus said, because they knew the Law yet didn't Believe on Him.
That is exactly my point! And you almost quoted me verbatum;

"Jesus confronts the Pharisees showing that He is aware that they KNOW the truth but reject it;"

The Law directs people to the truth, the "Truth" is Christ. The Pharisees KNEW that Christ was the "Truth" but still rejected Him and Christ called them on it.