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God Forgives if there is Sincere Repentance
The narrative about King Manasseh, which has shed much blood, is the demonstration of how far God’s mercy can be applied to sincere repentance. In the biblical narrative, it is written about wickedness of King Manasseh: « Ma·nasʹseh also shed innocent blood in very great quantity until he had filled Jerusalem from one end to the other, besides his sin of causing Judah to sin by doing what was bad in the eyes of Jehovah » (2 Kings 21:16). Because of his bad deeds, God punished him: « Jehovah kept speaking to Ma·nasʹseh and his people, but they paid no attention. So Jehovah brought against them the army chiefs of the king of As·syrʹi·a, and they captured Ma·nasʹseh with hooks and bound him with two copper fetters and took him to Babylon » (2 Chronicles 33: 10,11). However, for as incredible as it may be, this king ended up sincerely repenting of his evil deeds and obtaining God’s mercy: « In his distress, he begged Jehovah his God for favor and kept humbling himself greatly before the God of his forefathers. He kept praying to Him, and He was moved by his entreaty and heard his request for favor, and He restored him to Jerusalem to his kingship. Then Ma·nasʹseh came to know that Jehovah is the true God » (2 Chronicles 33:12,13). What is the reason for this biblical example?
Many men and women have made irreversible mistakes, such as killing many humans (in the context of conflict) or taking part in abortions, sometimes even late. Many of them think that it is impossible that God would forgive them. Add to this a deep feeling of remorse and indignity. Regarding God’s immense mercy, this is what it says: « »Come, now, and let us set matters straight between us,” says Jehovah. “Though your sins are like scarlet, They will be made as white as snow; Though they are as red as crimson cloth, They will become like wool » » (Isaiah 1:18). This verse is especially addressed to those men and women who sincerely repent before God, asking for forgiveness: God forgives sincere repentance on the basis of the precious blood of Jesus Christ: « My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not commit a sin. And yet, if anyone does commit a sin, we have a helper with the Father, Jesus Christ, a righteous one. And he is a propitiatory sacrifice for our sins, yet not for ours only but also for the whole world’s » (1 John 2:1,2). Moreover, Jehovah God will resurrect the millions of dead who were victims of the many genocides (John 5:28,29). What is irreversible for man, is not for God (Matthew 19:26 « to God all things are possible »).
It is possible that even if the mercy of God applies to sincere repentance, a feeling of remorse and indignity will continue to harass them. However, they must know that God is greater than hearts: « By this we will know that we originate with the truth, and we will assure our hearts before him regarding whatever our hearts may condemn us in, because God is greater than our hearts and knows all things. Beloved ones, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have freeness of speech toward God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we are observing his commandments and doing what is pleasing in his eyes » (1 John 3:19-22).
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Sin against the holy spirit which has no forgiveness
« On this account I say to you, Every sort of sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the spirit will not be forgiven. For example, whoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the holy spirit, it will not be forgiven him, no, not in this system of things nor in that to come »
(Matthew 12:31,32)
The sin against the holy spirit is a stubborn attitude against the active force of God, and more generally against his purpose. Whoever sins against the holy spirit, practices sin stubbornly. Jesus Christ, when on earth, pointed out that some of the the Pharisees had sinned against the holy spirit: « Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you traverse sea and dry land to make one proselyte, and when he becomes one you make him a subject for Ge·henʹna twice as much so as yourselves. (…) Serpents, offspring of vipers, how are you to flee from the judgment of Gehenna? » (Matthew 23: 15,33). The Gehenna was the dumping ground, at the south of Jerusalem, outside the walls, which symbolized everlasting destruction and in the words of Christ, the death without resurrection.
How did some of these men come to sin against the holy spirit? The disciple Stephen summed up the spiritual process very well: « Obstinate men and uncircumcised in hearts and ears, you are always resisting the holy spirit; as your forefathers did, so you do. Which one of the prophets did your forefathers not persecute? Yes, they killed those who made announcement in advance concerning the coming of the righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers YOU have now become, you who received the Law as transmitted by angels but have not kept it » (Acts 7:51-53).
These religious leaders have seen the miraculous manifestations of the Holy Spirit through the many healings and resurrections performed by Jesus Christ. As an example, after the resurrection of Lazarus, it is written in the Gospel of John that the Pharisees sought to kill not only Jesus Christ, but also Lazarus (John 11:45-53 (the decision to kill Jesus); John 12:10 (The decision to kill Lazarus)). In the context of the declaration of Christ about the sin against the holy spirit, the Pharisees said that Jesus performed miracles with the spirit of the devil. It represented blasphemy against the active force of God, the holy spirit (Matthew 12:22-30). Those who sin against the Holy Spirit are completely wicked people.
How to avoid this extreme? The apostle Paul gives the answer: « Wherefore, now that you have put away falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, because we are members belonging to one another. Be wrathful, and yet do not sin; let the sun not set with you in a provoked state, neither allow place for the Devil. Let the stealer steal no more, but rather let him do hard work, doing with his hands what is good work, that he may have something to distribute to someone in need. Let a rotten saying not proceed out of your mouth, but whatever saying is good for building up as the need may be, that it may impart what is favorable to the hearers. Also, do not be grieving God’s holy spirit, with which you have been sealed for a day of releasing by ransom » (Ephesians 4:25-30).
Therefore, one should not grieve the holy spirit, that is, not engage in conduct contrary to the biblical commandments. Those who use to be engaged in this misconduct, the next step can be to « resist » the holy spirit, as the Pharisees did. Some might ask, with quite legitimate fear, whether they have sinned against the holy spirit. How to know it? We can be reassured while remaining vigilant regarding this question.
It is God who judges through his Son Jesus Christ, to know who has sinned against the holy spirit. It is interesting to re-read and think about the narrative of the prodigal son (Luke 16:11-23). Jesus Christ portrays the mercy of God in the guise of a father who patiently allows his son to follow his path, which ranges from a fundamentally evil attitude to one that leads to repentance. This illustration shows how Jehovah God is ready to detect the slightest hint of repentance in order to forgive (1 Kings 18:13 (Jehovah saw something good in the heart of the son of king Jeroboam (an evil king))). Some humans have their conscience charged by serious sins they have committed, some of them serious. The fact that the conscience reacts and condemns us for our evil deeds, causing great sadness, is an important clue that the irreversible has not been reached from the point of view of God.
Indeed, there is a sadness which leads to repentance: « Hence even if I saddened you by my letter, I do not regret it. Even if I did at first regret it, (I see that that letter saddened you, though but for a little while,) now I rejoice, not because you were just saddened, but because you were saddened into repenting; for you were saddened in a godly way, that you might suffer no damage in anything due to us. For sadness in a godly way makes for repentance to salvation that is not to be regretted; but the sadness of the world produces death. For, look! this very thing, your being saddened in a godly way, what a great earnestness it produced in you, yes, clearing of yourselves, yes, indignation, yes, fear, yes, longing, yes, zeal, yes, righting of the wrong! In every respect you demonstrated yourselves to be chaste in this matter » (2 Corinthians 7:8-11; Isaiah 1:18 « Come, now, you people, and let us set matters straight between us,” says Jehovah. “Though the sins of you people should prove to be as scarlet, they will be made white just like snow; though they should be red like crimson cloth, they will become even like wool »).
However, let us remain constantly vigilant as to the use of our language because it is with it, that this irreversible sin can be committed, according to Jesus Christ: « For by your words you will be declared righteous, and by your words you will be condemned » (Matthew 12:33-37; compare with Matthew 5:22 « Whereas whoever says, ‘You despicable fool!’ will be liable to the fiery Gehenna »). The whole of Chapter 3 of the Disciple James Letter is describing the correct and misuse of the tongue. In this chapter, James also shows that it is with the tongue that this unforgivable sin can be done: « Well, the tongue is a fire. The tongue is constituted a world of unrighteousness among our members, for it spots up all the body and sets the wheel of natural life aflame and it is set aflame by Gehenna » (James 3:6). Let us manifest wisdom from above to protect ourselves spiritually from committing the irreparable from the point of view of God and of his Son Jesus Christ, to whom he has entrusted judgment: “But the wisdom from above is first of all chaste, then peaceable, reasonable, ready to obey, full of mercy and good fruits, not making partial distinctions, not hypocritical. Moreover, the fruit of righteousness has its seed sown under peaceful conditions for those who are making peace » (James 3:17,18).
Jesus Christ is the only path to everlasting life
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