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Bible Contradiction

murdocsvan

Member
Does the bible say: He that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness. - Mark 3:29

But does it not also say: And by him that believe are justified from all things. - Acts 13:39

Any comments?
 

EnhancedSpirit

High Priestess
A lot of the time, the confusion with the bible is caused by man trying to use words that describe this physical existance, to explain things that are beyond our understanding.

Here is another bible's version of this verse says this, maybe it will better make sense to you.

Mark3:29
But if you persist in your slanders against God's Holy Spirit, you are repudiating the very One who forgives, sawing off the branch on which you're sitting, severing by your own perversity all connection with the One who forgives."
 

Scuba Pete

Le plongeur avec attitude...
One would wonder why you even asked?

II Peter 3:14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15 Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. NIV

Just because you don't understand it, doesn't mean there is a contradiction. Not that the Bible ever claims to be perfect or infallible. It's just that we seem to blame it for our inability to fully comprehend it.
 

Squirt

Well-Known Member
murdocsvan said:
Does the bible say: He that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness. - Mark 3:29

But does it not also say: And by him that believe are justified from all things. - Acts 13:39

Any comments?
To me, there is no contradiction because I see blaspheming the Holy Ghost as meaning that you deny Christ after having been given a perfect, first-hand knowledge of Christ's divinity. This knowledge can only come through the Holy Ghost and it is given to relatively few. Christ's Apostles, for instance, were in a position to know beyond the shadow of a doubt that Jesus was who He professed to be. This knowledge goes beyond the faith that most Christians have in Christ. So, if one of the Apostles had denied that Christ was the Son of God, having the knowledge they had, they would have commited blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. They would no longer believe and so they would no longer be "justifed from all things."
 

dawny0826

Mother Heathen
To me, there is no contradiction because I see blaspheming the Holy Ghost as meaning that you deny Christ after having been given a perfect, first-hand knowledge of Christ's divinity.

I agree with Squirt's comment, here.
 

joeboonda

Well-Known Member
CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS & RESEARCH MINISTRY
www.carm.org
What is Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit?
Can A Christian Commit it?
Jesus mentions a sin that is unforgivable in Matt. 12:31-32 and calls it blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. But what exactly is this unforgivable sin? For that, we need to look at the context.
Matt. 12:22-32 says, "Then there was brought to Him a demon-possessed man who was blind and dumb, and He healed him, so that the dumb man spoke and saw. 23And all the multitudes were amazed, and began to say, "This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?" 24But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, "This man casts out demons only by Beelzebub the ruler of the demons." 25And knowing their thoughts He said to them, "Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself shall not stand. 26"And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand? 27"And if I by Beelzebub cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Consequently they shall be your judges. 28"But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29"Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. 30"He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters. 31"Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. 32"And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in the age to come," (All Scripture quotes are from the NASB).
Let me review this section briefly. In verse 22, Jesus healed a blind and dumb man. The Pharisees accuse Jesus of casting out demons by the power of "Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons" (v. 24). Jesus responds by saying that a kingdom divided will fall (vv. 25-28) and how the devil must first be bound before you can plunder his house (v. 29). In verses 31-32, He states that blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven in this age or the age to come.
By simply looking at the context it becomes apparent that blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is saying that Jesus did His miracles by the power of the devil. This is unforgivable. But why? We can find a clue by looking at when Jesus began His ministry.
Jesus stated that His baptism was to "fulfill all righteousness," (Matt. 3:15). The word "fulfill" should cause us to think of the Old Testament. Basically, Jesus was baptized because He had to fulfill the Old Testament requirements for entering into the priesthood. He was a priest after the order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4; Heb. 5:8-10; 6:20). Priests offered sacrifice to God on behalf of the people. Jesus became a sacrifice for our sin (1 Pet. 2:21; 2 Cor. 5:21) in His role as priest. According to the Old Testament, in order for a priest to be consecrated as a priest, He had to be washed with water (Lev. 8:6; Exodus 29:4, Matt. 3:15) and anointed with oil (Lev. 8:12; Exodus 29:7; Matt. 3:16). Both of these were bestowed upon Jesus at His baptism. Additionally, He may have needed to be 30 years old - (Num. 4:3).
The oil is representative of the Holy Spirit who descended upon Jesus at His baptism (Matt. 3:16). It was after His baptism that He began His ministry and started performing miracles. He did His miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit who had come upon Him at His baptism. The Pharisees - who knew that Jesus' miracles validated His words and ministry (see John 11:45-48) - were attempting to discredit Jesus' Messiahship by saying that His works were by the devil and not by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, when the Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Satan, they were blaspheming the Holy Spirit by whom Jesus performed His miracles. This is unforgivable because it struck at the very heart of the redemptive work of God in Christ. It struck at the very nature of Jesus’ ministry of redemption, testimony, and teaching. Jesus was ministering in the power of the Holy Spirit Himself, fulfilling the divine plan of God to provide a sacrifice for our sins (John 3:16; 1 John 4:10). The Pharisees were attributing this to demonic activity. This is a great blasphemy.

Can a Believer Commit the Unforgivable Sin?
No. A believer cannot commit the unforgivable sin. How can someone who has been born again (John 3:7), made a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), and received eternal life (John 10:27-28) actually commit the unforgivable sin? He cannot. Jesus Himself said that we have eternal life, not conditional life: "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand." Besides, it says in 2 Cor. 5:17 that the Christian is a new creation in Christ. We are different, no longer slaves to the old nature (Rom. 6:14). We are regenerated by the Holy Spirit.
There is no biblical support for a believer committing this sin. It just hasn’t happened. Also, if you are worried that you may have committed the sin and can’t be forgiven, then don’t be concerned. If you are worrying about it, then you haven’t committed it. If you are worried about it, then that is a sign that you have not committed it. If you had, you wouldn’t be concerned.
 

joeboonda

Well-Known Member
My above post, is one of many good answers. You can also say there is an unpardonaable sin, not exactly blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, but simply, ignoring His knock on your heart for so long, that you finaly die in your sins having rejected Christ's free gift of salvation, who paid for your sins, but you decide to pay for your own.
 

Adstar

Active Member
murdocsvan said:
Does the bible say: He that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness. - Mark 3:29

But does it not also say: And by him that believe are justified from all things. - Acts 13:39

Any comments?

Even within the scriptures that reveal the sin of Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit it says:

Mark 3
28 “Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; 29 but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation”— 30 because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.”

just because the "but" was not added to the scriptures in Acts does not mean it did not exist.

Looking at the completed verse in Acts

Acts 13
39 and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

This is only referring to the things that could not be justified by the law of Moses.

So this seeming contradiction is not really a contradiction after all.

All Praise The Ancient Of Days
 

Adstar

Active Member

Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit:


I would like you to have a look at Mark 3 22-30 because I do not feel it is possible to understand blasphemy of the Holy Spirit without understanding the verses where Jesus mentions it:

Mark 3

22And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebub," and, "By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons."
23So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: "How can Satan cast out Satan? 24If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. 27No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house. 28 "Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; 29but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation"-- 30because they said, "He has an unclean spirit."


What did the scribes do? They said that the Holy Spirit that was with Jesus was "Beelzebub" They accused the Spirit of being a demon, (like calling God satan) that act is the sin of blasphemy of the Spirit. verse 30 refers to "they" they where the scribes in verse 22.

So if one pronounces that another person has a demon and that person actually is indwelled by the Holy Spirit then one has just accused the Holy Spirit of being a demon and has committed the sin that "never has forgiveness" and they are "subject to eternal condemnation".


All Praise The Ancient Of Days
 

opuntia

Religion is Law
I am afraid you are confusing two different types of people. In the first verse, Mark 3:39, Jesus was referring to the unbelieving "scribes" (Mark 3:22). In Acts 13:39, Paul was referring to believers. True believers would never blaspheme against the Holy Ghost, the wicked would. Besides, you would have to to have the Holy Ghost with you in order to turn against it and blaspheme.
 

Scott1

Well-Known Member
murdocsvan said:
Any comments?
Some of us believe the sin in Mark 3:29 to be the doubt of a believer in God's ability to save them... to be forgiven their sins and have eternal life.

For a person to doubt God's ability to forgive it would seem reasonable to believe that this person would "never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation.(V29)

Seems pretty easy to me... hope this helps.
Scott
 
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