There appears one place in scripture where one can set oneself towards damnation. The above mentioned Bible passage suggests that if one blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, then one is condemned of an eternal sin, suggesting a life forever to hell!

Everyone in Nazareth, his family included, thought that the Lord Jesus was on edge, or, maybe a bit over the edge. “…When His family heard of it, they went out to restrain Him, for people were saying, ‘He has gone out of His mind’…” (vs. 21)

I have thought that God was many, many things-but one thing I’ve never thought was that He was crazy, or, out of His mind. There may have been days when I felt He was distant, that He was not paying attention to my personal needs; there may have been other times that I felt He was right in my life and giving me all the advice and help that I was needing.

I am sure that I have thought not-too-flattering thoughts about God that I don’t remember. But, did I blaspheme against the Holy Spirit? And if so, then am I destined to live in fire and flames no matter what I might be able to do from here on out?

To help answer this question, let me tell you a true story from seminary. There were two students who had just attended Dr. Fred Schott’s theology class where the subject matter was “the unforgivable sin.” Both students were afraid that maybe they might have blasphemed God in the past. They felt devastated by this thought. They both went to Dr. Schott to ask him if they should start packing their things and leave seminary. He sat there for a moment, rubbing his chin, and then asked, “Are you really worried about the fact you may have done this?” “Yes!” was their obvious answer. “If you are worried about doing such a thing, then, you haven’t blasphemed. Your worry signifies that your heart is still with God, and He never leaves you!”

There are dark hearts in the world. There’s no doubt about that. God is a God of light-something that cannot be overcome by darkness. It’s a fact. It’s the truth! God cannot be defeated. He never loses a single soul that belongs to Him. His light always overcomes all darkness. True, darkness seems to win out a lot from time to time, but light-love-mercy-forgiveness-grace always wins out! Human history points this out every time.

Our job is to do everything we can to remain faithful to Him. It’s not always easy to be faithful, but our existence doesn’t depend on what we do or say, but what His Son Jesus has already said and done for us. That’s the light of the story; that’s a fact; that’s the truth.

Love. Love one another. It is the best way to show our love of God. Do this and live. Don’t worry about falling from grace; we do it all the time. And the Lord God Almighty is always there to catch us.

To God be the glory!

God loves you and so do I!

Pastor Jim