A gracEmail subscriber asks about the sin which will never be forgiven, mentioned in Matthew 12:31-32 and Mark 3:28-30. What is the "unpardonable sin?" Can someone commit it today? * * * This is the only time the Bible specifically states that a sin will never be forgiven. The situation involved unbelieving religious leaders who accused Jesus of performing miracles by the power of the devil, when in truth Jesus was empowered by the Spirit of God. The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews refers to a similar condition, in the case of one who permanently rejects Christ after encountering him … [Read more...]

A gracEmail subscriber asks: "What is the sin mentioned in Matthew 12:31-32 which Jesus says will never be forgiven?" * * * This warning statement follows Jesus' exorcism/healing of a man who had been both blind and mute (Matt. 12:32). Since the Pharisees reject Jesus' authority as a teacher, they cannot afford to acknowledge the divine source that empowers his works. Yet they cannot deny the superhuman work Jesus has just performed. Caught in this dilemma, the Pharisees charge that Jesus is working as an agent of Satan (v. 34). Jesus responds that it makes no sense for Satan to fight … [Read more...]

A gracEmail subscriber asks: "What role does the Law of God given through Moses play in our sanctification? Should the believer continually revisit the Law in order to remain convicted of sin? Or is that out of place for one who has been liberated from the penalty of the Law?" * * * Galatians 5 tells us that Christ has freed us from law as a governing (and always condemning) principle. Instead we are to live by the Spirit and "walk" by the Spirit. The chapter ends by describing what a person who lives by the Spirit will not do ("works of the flesh") and the traits that such a life will … [Read more...]

Do you remember the story of the adulterous woman whom Jesus forgave and gave a second chance? Although the story is not in the oldest and best Greek manuscripts, we still love it, for it sounds like something that we imagine the Savior doing and saying. It also illustrates Jesus' two-part remedy for sin referred to by the beloved hymn "Rock of Ages" in the lines: "Be of sin the double cure; cleanse me from its guilt and power." Whether or not Jesus personally spoke the words, "Go and sin no more," they express his message, and the message of the New Testament Scriptures as a whole. … [Read more...]

Those who write enduring hymns and spiritual songs usually reflect their highest ideals and their moments of deepest intimacy with God. For that reason, we sometimes find ourselves singing words that overstate our own true commitment, challenge our actual spiritual state and convict us of our present laziness and mediocrity. Anglican clergyman Augustus M. Toplady (1740-1778) expressed just such sentiments in his well-known hymn, "Rock of Ages," when he requested that Jesus Christ who is that refuge: "Be of sin the double cure; save from wrath and make me pure." Because the meaning of … [Read more...]

"How can I overcome temptation to sin?" a gracEmail reader wonders. "No matter how hard I try to resist, I still do what is wrong." * * * Every conscientious Christian asks the same question at some time. The only key to victory over sin is the supernatural power of God, available to us because of Jesus our representative and accessed by faith. Remember that Satan's power over humankind flows from human sin and it ends at the tomb. Jesus never came under Satan's power because he did not sin. When Jesus died, he entered Satan's stronghold as a conquering invader rather than as a bound victim. … [Read more...]

We Christians need to know that Jesus brings life, not condemnation (John 3:17). We already know that we are sinners. Many of us live in condemnation much of the time. Deep inside we know our private addictions and secret compulsions, whether to pride, self-centeredness, sexual lust, alcohol or other drugs, rage, power, money, possessions, or whatever. We know by experience that we cannot break these bonds in our own strength. By ourselves, we can only grit our teeth, make new resolutions, maintain public appearances and respect, calculate that we are not as bad as we might be, rationalize … [Read more...]

The previous gracEmail suggested a sample prayer for use when facing temptation. The prayer is not some simplistic formula for overcoming sin. Its recitation is not magical. Its precise wording is not important. Although the gracEmail did not list numerous Scripture citations, its simple language was the practical application of solid biblical theology. Our problem, you see, is that a part of us (which the Bible refers to as "the flesh," our "sinful nature" or the "old self") enjoys sinning and wants to do so at every opportunity. Those who belong to Christ also have a new nature which … [Read more...]

A minister writes that he has struggled many years to overcome a particular sin. "I have read, prayed, confessed, wept bitterly, and even shared it with a close brother," he writes -- "all to no avail." Finally, he resigned his pulpit and found other employment. Can I offer any encouragement? * * * Jesus died for sinners. That makes me both glad and grateful, because I am one of those sinners. Because my sin grieves Jesus my Savior, I would like to avoid it and rise above it. Yet I have found it quite impossible to conquer sin by my own strength. Like quicksand, sin seems to increase its … [Read more...]

It is the second specific healing story in Mark's Gospel (Mark 1:40-45). A leper falls before Jesus, expressing faith that Jesus can restore him. Moved with compassion, Jesus does so with a touch and a word: "Be cleansed." Jesus then directs the cured man to show himself to the priest and to make an offering as Moses commanded. Jesus was referring to the ritual prescribed in Leviticus 14:1-32, an elaborate ceremony by which a healed leper was certified to be cleansed -- both from the disease and from the stigma that had isolated him from the covenant community. What a thrill it must have been … [Read more...]