"It will be forgiven... it will not be forgiven"

Luke 12:8-34 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

⁸ “And I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will confess him also before the angels of God; ⁹ but he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God. ¹⁰ And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him. ¹¹ When they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say; ¹² for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

¹³ Someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” ¹⁴ But He said to him, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?” ¹⁵ Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.” ¹⁶ And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. ¹⁷ And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ ²¹ So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

²² And He said to His disciples, “For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. ²³ For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ²⁴ Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! ²⁵ And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span? ²⁶ If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? ²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. ²⁸ But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith! ²⁹ And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. ³⁰ For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. ³¹ But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. ³² Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.

³³ “Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. ³⁴ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

In today’s text Jesus says: “And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him.”  Jesus, the Son of Man, was the very embodiment of God’s love, His grace and mercy.     God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16)  On the cross, Jesus said: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34) Whoever believes in Him are them who are forgiven. As Jesus said even those who spoke against Him could be forgiven. On the cross Jesus died for the sins of all mankind, once for all. Romans 6:10 says: For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all…       Jesus, the Son of Man, the Son of God,  is love, is grace, is mercy and is forgiveness. If we would be like Christ, if we would be His followers, we too must embody love, grace, mercy and forgiveness to the world.

But, what of the other part of that statement, “but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him?” The role of the Holy Spirit is different, even though God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit are One and are equally holy, they are also separate, they have separate roles in the lives of people.  While Jesus came to demonstrate God’s love, Romans 5:8 says: God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, that is not the role of the Holy Spirit. In John 16:7-11 Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit: I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. ⁸ And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: ⁹ of sin, because they do not believe in Me; ¹⁰ of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; ¹¹ of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.  In John 14:26 Jesus also speaks of the role of the Holy Spirit saying:  But the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will help you remember everything that I have told you.(Amplified)  Because the Holy Spirit teaches us what is true and what is right, what Jesus told us and He also convicts us of sin, righteousness and of judgment, when we blaspheme Him, when we treat His guidance and His conviction as unholy, when we disregard His action and role in our lives we risk unforgiveness. It’s not that the cross of Christ and Christ Himself is not enough, it is that the cross, Jesus sacrifice and His life was given so that:  “whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”  If we disregard the teaching, the guidance and the conviction of the Holy Spirit, we also disregard the cross and the forgiveness of Christ.   

Later in today’s text Jesus says: “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed.”   Greed is defined as: a selfish desire to have more of something. We often associate greed with money or power and indeed Jesus frequently spoke about greed in those things. But in truth, the root of the problem of greed is desire. It is a desire to have more of anything than God. Greed is rooted in self centered, self satisfying attitudes and behavior. Jesus says we should be on our guard against every form of greed. That includes our desire to fulfill our own wants and lusts, whether money, power, food, or any other self indulgent behavior, anything which goes against what Jesus told us, what the Holy Spirit convicts us of.   

At the end of the text Jesus says: And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. ³⁰ For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. ³¹ But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. ³² Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.    In Matthew 6:33, Jesus also speaks of seeking the kingdom, in the Amplified version it says:  But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also.     None of us are without sin and indeed Jesus came to forgive all the sin of every person. But we cannot have the fullness of the kingdom, we cannot walk in the fullness of His grace, mercy and forgiveness if we are not seeking, aiming, striving after  His kingdom and His righteousness His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God.      If we are greedy, to fulfill our own desires rather than God’s we risk missing the conviction of the Holy Spirit. In Psalm 37, the psalmist says: Trust in the Lord and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. ⁴ Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart. ⁵ Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. ⁶ He will bring forth your righteousness as the light And your judgment as the noonday.    In today’s text Jesus says:  “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; Holy Spirit, Three in One, thank You for Your love, Your mercy, Your grace and forgiveness which was demonstrated on the cross and through the life of Jesus, my redeemer. Thank You also for Your conviction, Your guidance and teaching which shows me the way to Your kingdom. I do trust in You, I delight in You, I choose to cultivate my faithfulness to You, I choose to: aim at, strive after Your  kingdom and Your righteousness Your way of doing and being right—Your attitude and character, laying aside all my greed and self indulgent attitudes and behaviors. I treasure You, Holy Spirit help me to walk in the fullness of the kingdom.   Amen.