Author: Tim Hayes

Christ says blasphemy against the Holy Ghost will never be forgiven. (Mt 12:31) What kind of sin is this? How do we know if we’ve committed it?

Christ is responding to the Pharisees’ claim that He Himself, as He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, cleansed the lepers, raised the dead, cast out devils, and preached good news to the poor, was in league with and empowered by Satan. (Mt 12:24) They found no evidence of evil in Him, but despised Him for denouncing their hypocrisy and wickedness.

Rather than acknowledge Christ’s godly power and turn to God, the Pharisees chose to sin grossly against plain fact, and publicly accuse Christ of being insane and demon possessed. (Jn 10:20) This kind of blatant disregard for truth, this level of aggravated insult to the divine being, a deliberate choosing of deception and lies in the face of miraculous, divine revelation, is what Christ is describing. (Jn 15:24) It’s in this specific context that Christ recognizes the unforgivable sin. (Mk 3:29-30)

As a person continues to give themselves over to this level of deception and wickedness, they’re giving themselves over to darkness, to Satan himself, to be captured and ensnared by him. (2Ti 2:26) There comes a point of no return, at some level, from which no one will ever recover, where one’s conscience is seared with a hot iron, such that distinguishing between good and evil is no longer possible. (1Ti 4:2)

This isn’t the kind of sin a child of God can commit. (1Jn 3:9) A person who’s committed to this level of wickedness isn’t going to be worried about it; they’ll scoff at the idea that they’re in danger of hell fire. There will be no fear of God in them, no desire to repent and cease from their pride and wickedness (Mk 15:31); God will have given them up, turned them over to their own way (Pr 1:31), and abandoned them in their sin. (Pr 1:28-29)

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Who, in your opinion, is likely the worst person, the most wicked, the most evil person who has ever lived?

This isn’t merely academic. We instinctively rank others in moral goodness, invariably finding someone worse than ourselves.

However, arguably the greatest Christian ever, writing more books of the Bible than any other, answered this question: “Me.”

The apostle Paul thought of himself as less than the least of God’s elect (Ep 3:8), the chief of sinners, the worst who ever lived. (1Ti 1:15)

How can this be? And is this a coincidence? Is this true humility? Or insanity?

Well, how do you know you aren’t the worst person who’s ever lived? What evidence do you have that the moral choices you’ve been making, based on the raw material you have to work with in your upbringing and experiences, won’t put you last on Judgement Day?

The answer is simple. You don’t. For all you know, you actually might be the worst person who has ever lived. (Ga 6:3)

This changes everything.

Nothing in my hands I bring. Simply to His cross I cling. He died for me.

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Man is unique among the creatures; we live as if good and evil exist, as if we all have an obligation or duty to do the right thing. We call it moral law, and I find it fascinating.

When we think of good and evil we’re evaluating human behavior: animals can’t murder, lie, cheat or steal.

And what we call good or evil has little to do with the action itself; it’s largely based on motive: killing by accident or in self-defense isn’t murder.

In short, we believe in a real moral standard, an expectation for human behavior that’s independent of opinion or culture, and it isn’t optional or evolving: we expect it to be timeless.

However, we rarely agree on exactly what this standard is, and we never keep it perfectly ourselves, so we often feel guilt, and find ourselves accusing and judging others, experiencing offences, injustices, bitterness, contempt, indignation, shame, mercy and forgiveness. These emotions imply a perception of transcendent metaphysical reality, one above and beyond Nature which we didn’t invent or create; we act as if it’s been revealed to us.

And though we seldom agree on the standard itself, we never argue that there isn’t one. Essentially, we’re continually acting as if there’s a timeless, intelligent, supernatural Being, a numen … a God, benevolently and impartially requiring goodness of us. We know we’ll have to give account for our behavior (Ro 14:12), and that we aren’t perfect. (Ro 3:19)

Yet even in our brokenness and imperfection, as gods we impose our own version of right behavior upon others, thinking we know what good and evil are all on our own, calling for justice, seeking revenge, dimly reflecting God’s own moral nature within us. Every single human being lives like this, every single day; no one can live otherwise.

This doesn’t scientifically prove God exists, but that’s irrelevant; our goal in science is to convince ourselves of the nature of reality, yet we’re all already instinctively aware of this particular Reality.

It’s as if we live in a broken relationship with God, bearing His likeness, made in His image (Ge 1:27), yet alienated and estranged from Him (Ep 4:18), both longing for justice and hoping for mercy. Rebelling against Him while, in the end, expecting Him to win.

The invisible things of God are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that we’re all without excuse. (Ro 1:20) Instead of debating God’s existence, we should be seeking Him out, so we can find Him and be aligned with Him. (Ac 17:27)

It’s only by God’s own benevolent design in us that we’re even aware of Him, so it only makes sense that He wants us to find Him and be reconciled with Him. (Je 29:13) He wouldn’t make us like we are for any other reason.

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Birds don’t worry. Every morning they’re out chirping and singing, even though most of them must eat half their body weight before nightfall. They’ve no way to store food and don’t know exactly where to find it, so they’re always on the hunt. Yet they thrive all around us without a care, raising families through sunshine and rain, a constant reminder that God loves us, cares for us (1Pe 5:7), and that He’ll never leave us nor forsake us. (He 13:5-6)

God feeds the birds, but He doesn’t drop it into their nests; He’s given them instincts to care for themselves, and that’s part of how He cares for them. They know how to keep out of harm’s way and find what they need. They aren’t lazy, they work hard all day long, and it works out well enough to ensure the survival of their species. It’s God’s design, and it’s beautiful.

So beautiful, in fact, that God calls us to be bird-watchers, telling us to study His design in them, to understand how they live and how He cares for them as an example for our own lives. (Mt 6:26) They’re diligent (Pr 22:29) but not anxious (Php 4:6), displaying a balanced model of common sense wisdom and trust.

Worrying about the future is accusing God of being unfaithful without giving Him a chance; it’s denying His name. Let’s give the God of hope the benefit of the doubt, and leverage the opportunities He’s given us to help ourselves. He’s good, faithful, and He knows what He’s doing.

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The ease with which some dismiss God’s commands is breathtaking. I just watched a well-known televangelist toss the Sabbath based on the oft abused, “let no man judge you,” of Colossians 2. (Col 2:16) How does one get from resisting judgmental opinion to free to sin? His confidence in error was impressive, almost admirable.

Yet Almighty God will tread down, trample underfoot, all who err from His statutes: He says it like it’s already done. (Ps 119:118) He’s already out there in eternity, destroying His enemies. (Is 63:3) For those committed to breaking God’s law, there’s no escaping Him.

Confidence and boldness is merely presumption, unless we’ve humbly allowed others to test our views with their strongest arguments, and searched the Word for any hint that we’re missing something. Let’s be especially careful when we want to believe something, when the alternative inconveniences or displeases us. We must be loving the truth, no matter what it is.

Perhaps we live in a generation as prophesied in Proverbs: “There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.” (Pr 30:12) Souls who claim to be washed in the blood of Christ, who have no fear of God, who live lives of open rebellion against His ways, have no ground for hope that grace will cover them. Let no one deceive us: children of disobedience (Eph 5:6) are of the devil. (1Jn 3:7-8) 

As God washes He also sanctifies (1Co 6:11), working His righteousness within unto obedience. (1Pe 1:2) His children obey Him, as well as they know how. (1Jn 3:10)

There are those who break God’s laws ignorantly, in unbelief. Paul was such an one, yet he obtained mercy of God because of his ignorance. (1Ti 1:13)

But those who live in willful, open contempt for God’s Law have no grounds for confidence that they’re safe in Messiah’s atonement (Mt 7:22-23); even their prayer is an abomination to God. (Pr 28:9) The Lord knows those who are His; let all who name His name depart from iniquity and lawlessness. (2Ti 2:19)

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God has set aside the seventh day of each week for us to rest; He calls it the Sabbath, tells us to remember it and not do any work on it. (Ex 20:8-10) To walk with God here we must get the day right: He was very specific about the seventh day. So, which day is that?

The Jews, to whom God originally gave the commandments, have been keeping Sabbath on Saturday since before the time of Christ. Christ and the Apostles, who were also Jewish, kept Sabbath the same way; they’ve never been confused about it. If they had it wrong, Christ wouldn’t have agreed with them on it; but He did. (Jn 7:23)

And if we accept Sunday as the first day of the week, the day Christ rose from the dead, then the day before Sunday, Saturday, must be the seventh day. If Saturday isn’t Sabbath, then Jesus didn’t rise from the dead on Sunday.

Since scripture never mentions God changing the Sabbath, why do so many think it’s Sunday? A quick study reveals long-winded arguments based on two irrelevant facts. On Sunday: [1] Christ rose from the dead (Mk 16:9), and [2] the early Christians often met together. (Ac 20:7) It doesn’t take a Ph.D in theology to see this doesn’t imply any change in the Sabbath.

People believe in a Sunday Sabbath because that’s what they’re taught; it’s what the Church has claimed for as long as anyone can remember. It’s in her catechisms and liturgies, woven into the fabric of Christianity for nearly two millennia. We might presume the early Church fathers had a good reason for teaching this. Not so.

This started way back in the 1^st century with the Fiscus Judaicus: anyone acting like a Jew had to pay a hefty annual Roman tax. It wasn’t long before the early Church began distancing herself from anything and everything that looked Jewish: the Sabbath and biblical feasts, eating clean, circumcision, it all had to go … or pay the tax. Eventually, she rejected her foundation in Torah and invented an entirely new religion.

Persecution: that’s how the Church lost Sabbath. Now, I can’t say I’d have done any better back then, but from the safety of religious liberty, it’s clear we took a wrong turn. The good news is that now, after all this time, we get to re-discover Sabbath, and what a treasure it is!

Yet some might argue that this isn’t so important, which day we actually rest, that as long as we rest one day a week we’re keeping the spirit of the command, but God doesn’t say this. Thinking Christ isn’t at all concerned about this is to invent another Jesus; Christ was clear about His concern that we keep all of God’s commands. (Mt 5:19)

The sabbath day, the Lord’s Day, is Saturday, not Sunday. Deliberately and stubbornly picking a different day really is to disobey the command entirely. If you and I don’t have the right to change the day (and we don’t), then who does? Nobody. Whoever did this initially was wrong, and those who follow this longstanding tradition are also wrong. Once we know better, yet persist in breaking Sabbath, we’re in rebellion. It’s so simple; there really isn’t any excuse: every mouth will be stopped. (Ro 3:19)

God made Sabbath for us (Mk 2:27), and it’s a blessing to be able to keep it. God Himself rested on the first one (Ge 2:2), reminding us of His creative power (Ex 20:11), and I’ve no reason to think He isn’t still keeping it, rhythmically inviting us to rest with Him and in Him every Shabbat, reminding us of the gospel, that He’s our eternal rest. (He 4:10)

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God calls us to grow up in our understanding (1Co 14:20); He’s concerned for our hearts and minds, what we’re thinking and how we’re feeling. (Ep 3:16-19) He’s more about the why than the what (Ro 2:6-8), more about who we are than what we do, more about our motives than our actions. (1Co 3:13)

As children we tend to major on the minor, we’re easily frustrated and upset, and we’re focused on pleasing ourselves. We’re impatient, ignorant, foolish, unthankful, undisciplined, lacking self-control. We tend to give up too easily, depend on others to take care of us, not taking responsibility for ourselves or our actions. We’re quick to accuse and blame, and to use force to get our way. We value things above people, and care little about truth. But as adults we don’t blame kids for being kids; we all start out this way and need to grow up.

The key to maturity lies in our character, our thought patterns, attitudes and perspectives (1Co 13:11), which reflect our mind and heart. (Lk 6:45) As we grow in wisdom and become more stable in our thinking and beliefs (Ep 4:14), learning to speak truth in love (Ep 4:29), we mature more and more into the likeness of Christ. (Ep 4:15)

We learn to value truth above relationships, and relationships above material things. Circumstances tend less and less to impact our joy; we worry less (Php 4:6) and give thanks more consistently; we’re not offended as easily and we have more peace. (Php 4:7) We have more strength, self-control, discipline, and we don’t give up as easily. (1Co 16:13) We’re more others-centered (Php 2:4), less judgmental, and more humble (1Pe 5:5), merciful, benevolent, gentle, kind. (Col 2:7) We learn to honor others regardless of their behavior, to love our enemies, and to esteem all others better than ourselves.

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Why has God ordained government? (Ro 13:1) What is its purpose and role?

Asked another way, if all people were basically good, everyone loving one another as themselves, what need would there be for a State, rulers forcing us to comply with its laws? In such a world, what could government do more effectively than charities and businesses?

But we aren’t there yet, not even close, so God commissions rulers to punish evildoers. (Ro 13:4) This requires officials to use force, to have an army and police. which costs money, so we must pay them for what they do.  (Mt 22:21)

Government’s right to take our money by force implies a duty to limit its scope to the tasks God’s given it, and to divide and balance its power to deter corruption. Excessive, unchecked government invariably abuses this authority, usurping the people’s right to do with their own resources as they wish, placing a privileged few in control and presuming they know better, which they seldom do.

But the fact that a few always have much more than they need while others are struggling, tempts us to legalize Robin Hood, stealing from the rich to help the poor. Call it Communism, Socialism or whatever we like, entitling people to healthcare and welfare, comfort and security, apart from their own labor and industry is problematic since it rewards laziness (2Th 3:10) and foolishness. (Pr 13:23) There’s a basic natural law at work here, violated at our own peril: God feeds the birds (Mt 6:26), but He doesn’t drop it into their nests. Enabling and/or rewarding irresponsible behavior isn’t love. (2Jn 1:6)

The purpose of government is to protect its citizens, punish evildoers, and praise those who do well (1Pe 2:14), while enforcing laws which are consistent with God’s Law. Torah enables the poor to help themselves to the resources of others only in an extremely limited context (De 23:24-25), but it exhorts us all to voluntarily help each other out when in need. (De 15:7-8) There’s eternal wisdom here which we do well to heed.

Healthy government focuses on the role God’s given it, and divides and balances its power to mitigate abuse. Let people cooperate voluntarily in meeting the remaining needs of society as they see fit. The closer to this model we can get, the better off we’ll all be.

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God speaks of the laying on of hands as a first principle of His revelation, a foundation of our faith. (He 6:2) Given its importance, perhaps we ought to be diligent in understanding and obeying it.

Throughout Torah, in purifying their flesh from the defilement of sin (He 9:13), God’s people would lay hands on the heads of animal sacrifices: for national sins of ignorance (Le 4:14-15), sanctifying priests (Le 8:14, Nu 8:12), and in transferring sins onto the scapegoat on the day of Atonement. (Le 16:21) In a unique instance, God instructed Moses to lay his hand on Joshua to commission him as a leader and put some of Moses’ honor upon him (Nu 27:18-20); Moses obeyed, laying his hands on Joshua (Nu 27:22-23), filling Joshua with the spirit of wisdom. (De 34:9)

Throughout the New Testament, we see laying on of hands as people are healed, dedicated for service, and given spiritual gifts: a father asks Christ to lay hands on His daughter and heal her (Mk 5:23) and Christ lays hands on others as He heals them (Mk 6:5, Lk 4:40, 13:13), expecting His followers to do the same. (Mk 16:18, Ac 28:8) The Apostles lay their hands on newly selected deacons after praying for them (Ac 6:6), and on new believers after praying for them and they’re filled with the Holy Spirit. (Ac 8:17, 19:6) The church in Antioch laid hands on Paul and Barnabas in dedicating them for mission work (Ac 13:3), and Timothy was given a spiritual gift through prophecy and the laying on of the hands of the local bishops. (1Ti 4:14)

As every single biblical context of laying on of hands involves prayer of some kind, and as our hands are the only physical part of us that we can use to firmly connect ourselves with others (by grabbing hold of them), it appears that this is how we express our spiritual connection with others in the presence of God, to identify with them in what we’re praying, and act out the reality of our spiritual connection with each other before God. Whether it be a sin offering which is taking our place on God’s altar, or souls we’re lifting up to God for help, who we’re connected with in a greater metaphysical organism (be it the Body of Christ or humanity itself), the laying on of hands is evidently the natural, organic way for us to express, illustrate and complete this interconnectivity with others before God.

In calling this concept foundational to our faith, it seems God would have us recognize that we’re not merely isolated individuals, but to be continually aware that we’re each an intrinsic part of a greater whole, and to honor this whole in our loving, benevolent, sacrificial behavior.

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