Ask Your Preacher - Archives
Find A New Habit Pt. 2
Tuesday, October 31, 2017Under the question marked "Find a New Habit", do you think there is any hope for this person? And what if he doesn't tell anybody?
Sincerely, Looking For Hope
Dear Looking For Hope,
There is always hope as long as someone is still alive (Eccl 9:4). Until you die, you can still repent and turn to God. It is only when someone dies without turning to God that any chance of redemption vanishes (Pr 11:7). People who love God enough can find a way to break addiction and keep His commandments (Jhn 14:15), even if that means exposing their sin and enduring the humiliation and shame.
Now, the second part of your question deals with what happens if the person won’t tell anybody about that sin. We can’t tell you what exactly will happen if someone doesn’t use the Bible’s cure for addictions and entrenched sin. Some people may succeed in beating an addiction without seeking help – but we don’t know of any cases. God didn’t intend for people to struggle through this life without help from others. The church was specifically designed by God to build people up and strengthen them during their weakest hours (Heb 10:23-25, Eph 4:12-16). If we want to grow, we need to use the tools God has given us to grow – that includes other faithful people (Pr 27:17).
The Sin Unto Death
Monday, October 30, 2017The scripture 1 Jhn 5:16-17: what sins are we not forgiven for? If you are a christian and use the Lord's name in vain, can you be forgiven? The way I read it in the Bible, you can't be; please help me understand all this.Sincerely,
Looking For The Line
Dear Looking For The Line,
John says that there is a sin that leads to death – that sin is the sin against the Holy Spirit (Mk 3:29). Any sin can be repented of and forgiven (1 Jn 1:9)… except for the sin against the Holy Spirit. Now, let’s explain what that sin is.
When Jesus says that any sin will be forgiven except for someone blaspheming the Holy Spirit (Mk 3:28-30), He said it to the crowd that accused Him of casting out demons by the power of Satan (Mk 3:23). That crowd could have been forgiven of any sin, but instead they rejected the miracles that testified that Jesus was from God. Contrast that crowd’s attitude with Nicodemus’ attitude. Nicodemus understood that the only way that someone could perform a miracle was if God was with him (Jhn 3:2). When that crowd rejected the evidence that the Holy Spirit provided (in this case, the miracles), they rejected any chance to receive the forgiveness found in Jesus’ teachings. When we reject the truth of God (the Bible), we reject the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit’s primary job is to bring the truth of the gospel to mankind (see the post “What the Holy Spirit Does” for more details). Someone blasphemes the Holy Spirit by rejecting the truth that the Holy Spirit sent us in the Bible. Any sin can be forgiven if we will turn to God’s Word and obey it (Rom 10:17, Heb 5:9), but there is absolutely no hope for someone if he or she will not accept the Holy Spirit’s Bible.