Day 16 - BIOY

Hey, sorry this is late, I'll try to be better from now on! (Still dating it for the 16th just for archive reasons)

Things I found interesting...

Jacob wrestling with God reflects of how he wrestled his whole life with leaning on God and not on his own wits. In the passages we've read recently you can see where Jacob has been deceitful or manipulative in order to come out on top, rather than totally relying on God.

Can anyone explain why Jesus said “Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be fogriven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”?

This was something I was also curious about, I've just taken this answer directly (with some added paragraphing) because I thought it was really good.

At Momentum this year me and my pals found this verse and were confused by a seemingly un-Jesus thing to say, when all the way through He was saying about grace and forgiveness, no sin is to great for God if we give Jesus our lives, and then comes the “unforgivable sin” – how can that be?

We spoke to some more mature christians and discussed together, from what we studied it seemed that the verse is not a condemnation from Jesus but a warning of how we can curse ourselves. If we look at the context of saying this, Jesus has just cast out demons but the pharisees all around are disbelieving and in their hearts believe the power is coming from demons, not from God’s holy spirit. From what I understood Jesus is warning that they can blaspheme against him, but anyone who curses the Holy Spirit actually curses himself. So if these pharisees will not let the Holy Spirit do it’s work and do not allow God to work in them then they are effectively stopping themselves from having God in them, and thus will never be able to be forgiven because they are not allowing God in.

I know a lot of people struggle with this verse and it can cause anxiety that what if we have done this once before when perhaps our faith wasn’t strong enough, does this overule the grace and forgiveness we have from Jesus? My understanding is that it is not a one off thing, it is about your heart. Those who harden their hearts and do not accept the works of the Holy Spirit and will not allow him to do the work in their lives throughout their life are cursing the holy spirit and not letting God in. I do not think that these pharisees who Jesus was talking to where then never forgiven, if they had later accepted the Holy Spirit and allowed him into their hearts i believe they still would be forgiven. Look at saul/paul, I imagine you could accuse him of cursing against the Holy Spirit before he let him into his heart.

Also, here is a bible notes answer someone posted that was really useful:

“The Pharisees had blasphemed against the Holy Spirit by attributing the power by which Christ did miracles to Satan instead of the Spirit. The unpardonable sin is the deliberate refusal to acknowledge God’s power in Christ. It indicates a deliberate and irreversible hardness of heart. Sometimes believers worry that they have accidentally committed this unforgivable sin but only those who have turned their backs on God and rejected all faith have any need to worry. Jesus said they can’t be forgiven not because their sin is worse than any other but because they will never ask for forgiveness. Whoever rejects the prompting of the Holy Spirit removes him/herself from the only force that can lead him/her to repentance and restoration to God.” (NIV Life Application Study Bible)

A great verse: Matthew 12:35

"The good man brings good things, out of the good stored up in him."

Proverbs 2:1-11 (I loved the passage, so am just posting it!)

Moral Benefits of Wisdom

¹ My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,

² turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding,

³ and if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,

⁴ and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,

⁵ then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God.

⁶ For the LORD gives wisdom,
and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

⁷ He holds victory in store for the upright,
he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,

⁸ for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.

⁹ Then you will understand what is right and just
and fair—every good path.

¹⁰ For wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.

¹¹ Discretion will protect you,
and understanding will guard you.