(remember, these are unedited/draft show notes, not a transcript — listening is always better…and if you listen AND follow along below, you’ll see how)
Focus Question:
Could you commit the unforgivable sin?
Intro:
Could you commit the unforgivable sin of blasphemy? After all, such a sin would mean eternal separation from God, and that’s reeeeally sobering if we pause to contemplate it.
New Testament segment:
Passage: Matthew 12
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 50
Words: ~1057
12:31–32 Blasphemy against the Spirit means consciously rejecting his incontrovertible testimony to the truth of the gospel …This is not something Jesus addressed to the disciples or the crowds but to one small group of Jewish leaders who had already demonstrated their implacable opposition to him. There is no biblical evidence that a genuine Christian can commit this sin. Fear that one has done so is probably a good sign that one hasn’t, for full-fledged apostasy is a defiant rejection of everything Christian and lacks the tender conscience that would be worried about such an action.(1)
A few factoids about Hosea:
Lived, prophesied during the reign of Jeroboam II, the son of Joash, not Nebat; early 700s BC, during the most turbulent time in the history of Israel prior to being conquered by the Assyrians in 722BC.
Prophet to northern kingdom of Israel; uses “Ephraim” to mean Israel 35X. Remember that Ephraim was the younger son of Joseph who received Jacob’s blessing over his older brother Manasseh.
“Hosea’s major concern was the worship of Baal—an apostasy that he understood to be the reason for Israel’s dilemma. …one major aspect of Baalism touches on this prophet’s message: the religion’s appeal to human sexuality (cf. Isa. 57:3–10)….Hosea understands the strength of Baalism’s appeal to the sex drive by way of ritual prostitution.”(1)
One of the main images he uses is that of sacred marriage…or the violation thereof…as an image of what Israel/Ephraim had done with God.
Old Testament segment:
Passage: Hosea 1-3
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 39
Words: ~983
Wisdom segment:
Passage: Proverbs 12:7-11
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 5
Words: ~79
The bottom line:
Hosea depicts Israel’s unfaithfulness with a number of images from family and nature. Israel is like: a promiscuous wife, an indifferent mother, an illegitimate child, an ungrateful son, a stubborn heifer, a silly dove, a luxuriant vine, and grapes in the wilderness. Yet Israel’s unfaithfulness and obstinacy are not enough to exhaust God’s redeeming love that outstrips the human capacity to comprehend.(2)
…not unlike the idea of the unpardonable sin. As you’ve heard me say, clearly there are souls in the Bible who go to their grave never repenting and therefore face some unsavory eternal consequences.
Isn’t Ephraim a precious son to me,
a delightful child?
Whenever I speak against him,
I certainly still think about him.
Therefore, my inner being yearns for him;
I will truly have compassion on him.
This is the Lord’s declaration. (Je 31:20, CSB)
And that’s what he wants for you, too. The invitation is always open for you to come home.
Love you!
Roger
ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.
Sources and resources:
(1) Alan Hultberg, “Matthew,” in CSB Apologetics Study Bible, ed. Ted Cabal (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 1189.
(2) Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 1619.
(3) Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 1619.