Expert: Brenda Martin - 7/5/2011

Question
QUESTION: Dear Ms Martin,

I am a 16 year old Christian and I have recently been very afraid that I have committed blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. I read about blasphemy of the Holy Spirit in the Bible, and when I came to the part 'because they said, "He has an unclean spirit."', I don't know why, a thought just suddenly came into my mind that began with "Jesus has..." I think after the 'has', I said 'not' before the thought continued with "an unclean spirit." I am really worried that I have committed blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Even if I did not say 'not', have I committed blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. I definitely do not mean what I blurted out that day now. If I could help it, I certainly would not have made such a statement and I feel absolutely horrible about it. I don't know why, but after I read about blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, I started asking questions in my head about who God was, and I tried to convince myself using the scripture that God is not in any way, related to Satan and that he cannot have an unclean spirit, and I am fully convinced now that he is God, and He is good, and He is loving. However, I am afraid that by saying what I have said before, and having those questions and doubts, I have committed the unforgivable sin. Have I committed that sin?

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my question!

ANSWER: Hi Yixian, First let me assure you, you have NOT sinned against the holy spirit, now let me explain what it means to sin against the spirit & who was/is guilty of it.

We are warned: “If we PRACTICE SIN willfully after having received the accurate knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice for sins left, but there is a certain fearful expectation of judgment.” (Hebrews 10:26, 27)

Notice a person has to be practicing sin, not just making a mistake, also this practice of sin has to be done AFTER a person has been taught the accurate knowledge contained in the bible.

You do not fit into that category, you are not PRACTICING SIN & you have not yet been taught the accurate knowledge from the scriptures.

thirdly (Psalm 51:11) if we are deeply grieved over a sin we have committed, it is very likely that we are truly repentant, those who sin against the spirit are NOT repentant or sorry.
---

First-century Jewish religious leaders who maliciously opposed Jesus Christ were sinning against the holy spirit. They saw God’s spirit at work in Jesus as he performed miracles that honored Jehovah. Yet, these enemies of Christ attributed this power to Satan the Devil. According to Jesus, those who thus blasphemed against God’s holy spirit were thereby committing a sin that would not be forgiven in the present “system of things nor in that to come.”—Matthew 12:22-32.

Consider also the case of Judas Iscariot. He pursued a dishonest course, stealing from the money box entrusted to his care. (John 12:5, 6) Judas later went to the Jewish rulers and arranged to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Yes, Judas felt remorse after the betrayal, but he never repented of his deliberate sin. Consequently, Judas is not worthy of a resurrection. Jesus therefore called him “the son of destruction.”—John 17:12; Matthew 26:14-16.

I hope this has put your mind at rest :¬) you are 16 & you thought something wrong, God is a "God of Love" 1John 4;8 & does not keep account of our daily errors, he merely looks to see how we feel about them.

If you would like to learn the "accurate knowledge" of the bible mentioned earlier, I would be happy to answer any questions you may have about God & his word the bible.

all the best
Brenda





---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Dear Ms Martin,

Thank you so much for answering my question so thoroughly! I feel very relieved after reading your answer! Could you share with me more about the "accurate knowledge" of the Bible? Thank you very much!

I'm so sorry to bother you again, I just recalled something that I did - actually, I'm not even sure if I did such a thing, and it has been bothering me for quite a while.  I was taking an exam and I was being bothered by the enemy and I was feeling uncomfortable all over. Initially, I was able to ignore the enemy's lies and focus on what I was doing, but I don't know why, suddenly I was thinking about a prophet that I met and I was thinking about all the wonderful things he could do by the power of God and then I don't know why, suddenly, I was thinking, those things that he did were too amazing to be true, and then I had a horrible, horrible thought, thinking that maybe those were done by the power of Satan. I really regret thinking that and I am not even sure if I was the one who thought those thoughts or if they were planted in my head by the enemy. What I did, was it the same as what the pharisees did to Jesus? What I did, it wasn't blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, was it? Was it also because I didn't know what the "accurate knowledge" of the bible was?

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my question!

ANSWER: No that is not sinning against the spirit :¬) you are only 16 you are bound to have all sorts of stuff popping into your head, God understands so stop worrying :¬)

Now as for "accurate knowledge" where would you like to start? here are some topics the bible discusses--

1. what is God's purpose for the earth?

2. where are the dead?

3. why does God allow suffering?

4. what is God's Kingdom?

5. Worship that God approves

6. God, who is he?

Take your pick of one of these or pick a subject you would like to discuss & we will see what the bible says on the subject, thats called "accurate knowledge" (john 17;3)

Brenda





---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Dear Ms Martin,

Thank you very much! Can we start by discussing question 3?
Thanks so much!

Answer
"Why does God allow suffering?

If Jehovah God is all-powerful, loving, wise, and just, why is the world so full of hatred and injustice? Have you ever wondered about these things yourself?

3 Is it wrong to ask why God allows suffering? Some worry that asking such a question means that they do not have enough faith or that they are showing disrespect for God. When reading the Bible, however, you will find that faithful, God-fearing people had similar questions. For example, the prophet Habakkuk asked Jehovah: “Why is it that you make me see what is hurtful, and you keep looking upon mere trouble? And why are despoiling and violence in front of me, and why does quarreling occur, and why is strife carried?”—Habakkuk 1:3.

4 Did Jehovah scold the faithful prophet Habakkuk for asking such questions? No. Instead, God included Habakkuk’s sincere words in the inspired Bible record. God also helped him to get a clearer understanding of matters and to gain greater faith. Jehovah wants to do the same for you. Remember, the Bible teaches that “he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7) God hates wickedness and the suffering it causes far more than any human does. (Isaiah 55:8, 9) Why, then, is there so much suffering in the world?

WHY SO MUCH SUFFERING?

5 People of various religions have gone to their religious leaders and teachers to ask why there is so much suffering. Often, the response is that suffering is God’s will and that he long ago determined everything that would ever happen, including tragic events. Many are told that God’s ways are mysterious or that he brings death upon people—even children—so that he can have them in heaven with him. As you have learned, though, Jehovah God never causes what is bad. The Bible says: “Far be it from the true God to act wickedly, and the Almighty to act unjustly!”—Job 34:10.

6 Do you know why people make the mistake of blaming God for all the suffering in the world? In many cases, they blame Almighty God because they think that he is the real ruler of this world. They do not know a simple but important truth that the Bible teaches. You learned that truth in Chapter 3 of this book. The real ruler of this world is Satan the Devil.

7 The Bible clearly states: “The whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one.” (1 John 5:19) When you think about it, does that not make sense? This world reflects the personality of the invisible spirit creature who is “misleading the entire inhabited earth.” (Revelation 12:9) Satan is hateful, deceptive, and cruel. So the world, under his influence, is full of hatred, deceit, and cruelty. That is one reason why there is so much suffering.

8 A second reason why there is so much suffering is that, as discussed in Chapter 3, mankind has been imperfect and sinful ever since the rebellion in the garden of Eden. Sinful humans tend to struggle for dominance, and this results in wars, oppression, and suffering. (Ecclesiastes 4:1; 8:9) A third reason for suffering is “time and unforeseen occurrence.” (Ecclesiastes 9:11) In a world without Jehovah as a protective Ruler, people may suffer because they happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

9 It is comforting for us to know that God does not cause suffering. He is not responsible for the wars, the crimes, the oppression, or even the natural disasters that cause people to suffer. Still, we need to know, Why does Jehovah allow all this suffering? If he is the Almighty, he has the power to stop it. Why, then, does he hold back? The loving God that we have come to know must have a good reason.—1 John 4:8.

A VITAL ISSUE IS RAISED

10 To find out why God allows suffering, we need to think back to the time when suffering began. When Satan led Adam and Eve into disobeying Jehovah, an important question was raised. Satan did not call into question Jehovah’s power. Even Satan knows that there is no limit to Jehovah’s power. Rather, Satan questioned Jehovah’s right to rule. By calling God a liar who withholds good from his subjects, Satan charged that Jehovah is a bad ruler. (Genesis 3:2-5) Satan implied that mankind would be better off without God’s rulership. This was an attack on Jehovah’s sovereignty, his right to rule.

11 Adam and Eve rebelled against Jehovah. In effect, they said: “We do not need Jehovah as our Ruler. We can decide for ourselves what is right and what is wrong.” How could Jehovah settle that issue? How could he teach all intelligent creatures that the rebels were wrong and that his way truly is best? Someone might say that God should simply have destroyed the rebels and made a fresh start. But Jehovah had stated his purpose to fill the earth with the offspring of Adam and Eve, and he wanted them to live in an earthly paradise. (Genesis 1:28) Jehovah always fulfills his purposes. (Isaiah 55:10, 11) Besides that, getting rid of the rebels in Eden would not have answered the question that had been raised regarding Jehovah’s right to rule.

12 Let us consider an illustration. Imagine that a teacher is telling his students how to solve a difficult problem. A clever but rebellious student claims that the teacher’s way of solving the problem is wrong. Implying that the teacher is not capable, this rebel insists that he knows a much better way to solve the problem. Some students think that he is right, and they also become rebellious. What should the teacher do? If he throws the rebels out of the class, what will be the effect on the other students? Will they not believe that their fellow student and those who joined him are right? All the other students in the class might lose respect for the teacher, thinking that he is afraid of being proved wrong. But suppose that the teacher allows the rebel to show the class how he would solve the problem.

13 Jehovah has done something similar to what the teacher does. Remember that the rebels in Eden were not the only ones involved. Millions of angels were watching. (Job 38:7; Daniel 7:10) How Jehovah handled the rebellion would greatly affect all those angels and eventually all intelligent creation. So, what has Jehovah done? He has allowed Satan to show how he would rule mankind. God has also allowed humans to govern themselves under Satan’s guidance.

14 The teacher in our illustration knows that the rebel and the students on his side are wrong. But he also knows that allowing them the opportunity to try to prove their point will benefit the whole class. When the rebels fail, all honest students will see that the teacher is the only one qualified to lead the class. They will understand why the teacher thereafter removes any rebels from the class. Similarly, Jehovah knows that all honesthearted humans and angels will benefit from seeing that Satan and his fellow rebels have failed and that humans cannot govern themselves. Like Jeremiah of old, they will learn this vital truth: “I well know, O Jehovah, that to earthling man his way does not belong. It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step.”—Jeremiah 10:23.

WHY SO LONG?

15 Why, though, has Jehovah allowed suffering to go on for so long? And why does he not prevent bad things from happening? Well, consider two things that the teacher in our illustration would not do. First, he would not stop the rebel student from presenting his case. Second, the teacher would not help the rebel to make his case. Similarly, consider two things that Jehovah has determined not to do. First, he has not stopped Satan and those who side with him from trying to prove that they are right. Allowing time to pass has thus been necessary. In the thousands of years of human history, mankind has been able to try every form of self-rule, or human government. Mankind has made some advances in science and other fields, but injustice, poverty, crime, and war have grown ever worse. Human rule has now been shown to be a failure.

16 Second, Jehovah has not helped Satan to rule this world. If God were to prevent horrible crimes, for instance, would he not, in effect, be supporting the case of the rebels? Would God not be making people think that perhaps humans can govern themselves without disastrous results? If Jehovah were to act in that way, he would become party to a lie. However, “it is impossible for God to lie.”—Hebrews 6:18.

17 What, though, about all the harm that has been done during the long rebellion against God? We do well to remember that Jehovah is almighty. Therefore, he can and will undo the effects of mankind’s suffering. As we have already learned, the ruining of our planet will be undone by the turning of the earth into Paradise. The effects of sin will be removed through faith in Jesus’ ransom sacrifice, and the effects of death will be reversed by means of the resurrection. God will thus use Jesus “to break up the works of the Devil.” (1 John 3:8) Jehovah will bring all of this about at just the right time. We can be glad that he has not acted sooner, for his patience has given us the opportunity to learn the truth and to serve him. (2 Peter 3:9, 10) Meanwhile, God has been actively seeking sincere worshipers and helping them to endure any suffering that may come upon them in this troubled world.—John 4:23; 1 Corinthians 10:13.

18 Some might wonder, Could all this suffering have been prevented if God had created Adam and Eve in such a way that they could not rebel? To answer that question, you need to remember a precious gift that Jehovah has given you.

HOW WILL YOU USE THE GIFT FROM GOD?

As was noted in Chapter 5, humans were created with free will. Do you realize what a precious gt that is? God has made countless animals, and these are driven largely by instinct. (Proverbs 30:24) Man has made some robots that can be programmed to follow every command. Would we be happy if God had made us like that? No, we are glad to have the freedom to make choices about what kind of person to become, what course of life to pursue, what friendships to form, and so on. We love to have a measure of freedom, and that is what God wants us to enjoy.

20 Jehovah is not interested in service performed under compulsion. (2 Corinthians 9:7) To illustrate: What would please a parent more—a child’s saying “I love you” because he is told to say it or his saying it freely from the heart? So the question is, How will you use the free will that Jehovah has given you? Satan, Adam, and Eve made the worst possible use of free will. They rejected Jehovah God. What will you do?

21 You have the opportunity to put the marvelous gift of free will to the best possible use. You can join the millions who have taken a stand on Jehovah’s side. They make God rejoice because they take an active part in proving Satan a liar and a miserable failure as a ruler. (Proverbs 27:11) You too can do that by choosing the right course of life. This will be explained in the next chapter."

After you have had a read you can get back to me with any questions ok :¬)

all the best
Brenda