What's New at Cross Reference Library?

Something Worth Doing - In 1853, Abigail Scott was a nineteen-year-old school teacher in Oregon Territory when she married Ben Duniway. Marriage meant giving up on teaching, but Abigail always believed she was meant to be more than a good wife and mother. When Abigail becomes the primary breadwinner for her growing family, what she sees as a working woman appalls her--and prompts her to devote her life to fighting for the rights of women, including the right to vote. Based on a true story, Something Worth Doing will resonate with modern women who still grapple with the pull between career and family, finding their place in the public sphere, and dealing with frustrations and prejudices when competing in male-dominated spaces. 

To Hell With The Hustle - Modern life increasingly makes us feel more wired, chaotic, and burned out. To Hell With The Hustle fights back. Jefferson Bethke shows you how to: quit the cycle of more, more, more; question the noise all around us; set boundaries and cultivate discipline; and so much more. If you are weary of the pressure to be more, do more, have more, you have permission to opt out. To Hell With The Hustle is your necessary guide to resisting our culture’s frantic madness and embracing the pace of Jesus. 

A Dance in Donegal - All her life, Boston-born Moira Doherty has relished her mother’s descriptions of the Emerald Isle. When her mother dies unexpectedly in the summer of 1920, Moira is compelled to fulfill her dying wish--that she become the teacher in Ballymann, the beloved village in Donegal, Ireland, she’s heard so much about. After an arduous voyage, Moira begins a challenging new job in an unfamiliar and ancient country. Though a few locals offer a warm welcome, others are distanced by superstition and suspicion. Rumors about Moira’s mother are unspoken in her presence but threaten to derail everything she’s journeyed to Ballymann to do. Moira must rely on the kindness of a handful of friends--and the strength of Sean, an unsettlingly handsome thatcher who keeps popping up unannounced--as she seeks to navigate a life she’d never dreamed of...but perhaps was meant to live.

Should Christians Support The Death Penalty? - Ask The Pastor

You can listen to Ask The Pastor every weekday at 9:00am MST on 97.1FM Hope Radio KCMI! You can also listen and subscribe to Ask The Pastor in your favorite podcast feed. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music and most other podcast services.

This edition of Ask the Pastor features Pastors Mike Clement and David Clement.

Mike Clement

The question was asked: There's been a lot of discussion on the death penalty. It appears that the Bible supports the death penalty, but Christians seem that seem to differ on their opinions of it. So the best thing that we can do is go back to God's Word and find out what God's Word has to say about it. I'm gonna turn to Genesis 9 beginning with verse 5. And this is where God is speaking to Noah after flood is over and Noah and his family are coming out of the Ark. It says, "Then surely the blood of your lives will I require, at the hand of every beast will I require it. At the hand of man, at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth man's blood by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God made He man." And so here we've got the foundational text that is used by believers to support the concept of the death penalty. It's an Old Testament teaching, but just because it's in the Old Testament doesn't mean that it's of no value. Jesus oftentimes referred to the law (the Old Testament) and we believe today that we're not under the bondage of the law as believers. But we are underneath all of scripture, since scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. So here's this raging debate. And oftentimes people that raise the issue of the death penalty are professed to be Christians, and they don't believe in it, Dave. What are some of the things that you've heard?

David Clement

I've heard many times over the years the statement that is found in The Ten Commandments and that is "Thou shalt not kill". You hear people say that when they're picketing the death penalty or a death sentence, oftentimes there's a sign that states "Thou shalt not kill". And what that's referring to murder, and again as Genesis pointed out, we are created in the image of God. And that's why there's the death penalty for a person that took another person's life, they committed murder, so their life was required of them. And that's what God stated. We see specifically when we go back to the beginning of creation where God created a man and female, and He created them in the image of Himself. And so that's the uniqueness there. We are totally unique to all the other beings that are here on Earth because the animals and the fish and the birds, they were not created in the image of God, but we human beings are. And so to strike out and murder somebody, as that passage says, is to strike out against the image of God.

Mike Clement

Okay, so what do we do with other things like war, what's the difference? Is there a difference between the death penalty from the government and somebody taking the life of another person and committing murder?

David Clement

The passage that you read there in Genesis, those six or nine verses, that was before government was established. That was right after the flood. It wasn't until later on that governments were established, that God Himself established them. And so He gave the governments rights and authorities in different areas to govern and to protect people, to make sure things were run properly. And one of the authorities that He gave them was the death penalty, and to be able to judge and to cast those things upon them. But police officers, soldiers, military, those all have the backing of the authority of the government behind them. That doesn't mean they can abuse it in any way, and there are definitely those that do, but they do have the authority of the government. And so they have that authority backing them as when they are carrying out those duties - if that's necessary to take another person's life, they're doing it under the authority of the government.

Mike Clement

I'd like to just share a couple of other verses. Now we're talking about the New Testament, Acts 25. This is where the Paul has been arrested, and actually he was arrested because he was falsely accused and he spent a fair amount of time in prison and eventually ended up in Rome itself. Paul is giving his defense, he says in verse 10 "Then said Paul, I stand at Caesar's judgement seat where I ought to be judged to the Jews. Have I done no wrong, as they're very well know us. For if I be an offender or have committed anything worthy of death, I refuse not to die, but if there be none of these things where have these accused me, no man may deliver me unto them I appeal unto Caesar. So you've got a number of things here. The apostle Paul actually had a number of confrontations with those that were his accusers. They couldn't really prove anything. And in fact, in one place they were plotting to have him transferred to another venue and then murder him along the way. So if his enemies were confident that he had done something worthy of death, then they could have just gone through the court procedure, but they wouldn't do that. They were going to kill him, they were going to murder him. And finally the apostle Paul, having gone through all these things and jumping through all these hoops, he says, "I appeal to Caesar." And what he did was he used his right as a Roman citizen. And Dave, you and I both are well aware that we live in a day and age where all kinds of people talk about their rights, but they don't talk about the responsibilities. And here the apostle Paul has both. He says, "If I'm guilty of something worthy of death, then so be it. I won't appeal that. But if I'm innocent, then I should have a trial and I should be found innocent." So here you've got submitting to authority and yet at the same time acknowledging that government has the right to do that.

I'd like to read another passage in Romans 13. It talks about being subject to higher powers, and certainly government is involved in this. And I'm going to begin reading with verse 1 but then go down to verse 4, it says, "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers, for there is no power but of God, the powers that be are ordained of God, whosoever therefore resisteth the power of government resisteth the ordinance of God, and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation, for rulers are not a terror to good works but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power, do that which is good. And thou shall have praise of the same, for he has a minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid, for ye beareth not the sword in vain, for he is a minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that do with evil." So this passage talks about the Christian's responsibility to be underneath the authority of the government and to submit to that authority. And in that passage, there's a number of places where it refers to those that are in authority as ministers of God. In verse 1 it talks about them being ordained, in verse 4 twice it refers to them as being a minister of God. And in that context it says to be afraid if you've done evil, for he bears not the sword in vain. And that reference to the sword is punishment up to and including the death penalty. So what you said there, David, there are certain responsibilities that are given to people and there are other responsibilities that are given to governments and they don't necessarily overlap.

Now we live in a fairness age, and that's not the way that we operated. We didn't have favorites, but you know at different stages of our family life we were able to do different things. And likewise in the ministry of our church and in all churches, there are duties and responsibilities of leadership, there are duties and responsibilities of members, and there are duties and responsibilities of anybody who walks through the door. Anybody who walks through the door needs to behave themselves. If they don't they're going to get escorted out. In many churches today, because we've got all these horrible things that have taken place where children have been abused, many churches and ours included have a protection policy, whereby if somebody wants to work with children in our church, they have to be a member. So they've submitted themselves to the authority of our church, and we do a background check, we find out if there's something in their background that would make it unwise to use them. And part of this we do because of what the government requires. So there's this whole area of submitting to the government, and the government has the authority to be able to execute people. In fact, there's even a duty or responsibility there - it's nice to say, well, you know, we're just going to be merciful and we're going to put somebody in prison for the rest of their life. The fact of the matter is they end up getting released, and a great number of times they end up being repeat offenders and take the life of somebody else. And that could have been taken care of if the death penalty was actually carried out.

David Clement

One other thing, too, along those lines. Sometimes we think of the death penalty as something that's only used if somebody has done the worst murder imaginable. But if we look, that's not exactly what we see in scripture. I mean, the Lord had much more lenient standards for sins that could be punishable by the death penalty. Murder was not the only thing that was punishable by death. The bottom line is the scripture does teach the death penalty. And it's not simply just for murderers. Most people in the country would admit that if somebody has taken somebody else's life, that they've forfeited their rights. That's even being argued in the courts right now and in some circles as well, but the fact of the matter is God in His word said not only someone who murdered, but in many other instances, God had the death penalty in placed for other sins and crimes that were committed there.

What's New at Cross Reference Library? Where to look when we are lost.

When Faith is Forbidden - Grab your passport and come along on a 40-day journey into hostile and restricted nations, where we’ll meet brothers and sisters who refuse to deny Christ despite being beaten, imprisoned, or even killed for their faith. When Faith is Forbidden will introduce you to a Chinese Christian woman who called six months in prison “a wonderful time.” We’ll go through armed checkpoints to meet an Iraqi pastor praising God just eight days after assassins’ bullets ripped into his flesh. And we’ll sit down for a cup of tea with others from our Christian family in Iran, Eritrea, Turkey, Jordan, and other nations. Each stop on this 40-day journey will provide inspiration and encouragement through the story of a persecuted believer. You’ll also find space for reflection and a suggested prayer as you grow to understand the realities of living under persecution--and learn from the faithful examples of these courageous believers on the frontlines of faith. 

If We Make It Home - When four college friends graduated from the University of Northwest Oregon, their lives stretched before them, full of promise and vows to stay connected. Now they haven’t spoken in twenty-five years, but three of them find themselves in the same place--back at their alma mater. When they discover their fourth friend, Hope, has died, Jenna, Ireland, and Vicky decide to embark on a hiking adventure to honor her memory--and for reasons of their own. They never bargained for the dangers they face in an unforgiving wilderness. Now they’ll have to work together if they hope to make it home alive. And the exposure of their secrets may be even more dangerous than their exposure to the elements. While the three women fight to survive in this rugged land, their toughest battles may be with themselves. 

Thirsty for More - We’ve all been there: “dry seasons” when God feels distant and far away. But did you know that during the first three centuries of the church, many men and women purposefully moved into actual desserts to seek God? They understood something that we have missed: the desert is not a place of vast nothingness but a place where we can truly experience God’s provision, restoration, and intimacy. Through Scripture and personal stories of her own times of waiting and struggle, Allison Allen offers a fresh perspective for those who long to see God in their dry seasons. She shows how God can use these times in our lives to reveal himself to us, to give us rest, to get our attention, to show us our strength, to help us experience his blessings, and more. 

It is said, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” which is why for this week’s blog I decided to judge these books by their intriguing titles. In my free time, I enjoy reading books and watching movies that involve lots of heart, adventure, and a well-written plot. So when I was deciding on which new items to write about, I was quickly drawn to the words: Forbidden, If we make it, and Thirsty. As weird as that makes me sound, looking at the most depressing words in the title first, I wanted to know one thing. How do the people in these books overcome the obstacles placed before them? Skimming through the stories between the covers, the answer to that question became obvious. Their trust in Jesus Christ never ceased. Even when all hope seemed lost, they still believed that God would take care of them. So I stated what I got from the adventurous side of the titles, but where is the heart? In When Faith is Forbidden, I could see right away that it was the Faith of the persecuted Christians that got them through. If We Make It Home contains one of the most welcoming words in the English language; Home. I’m sure that by the end of that story, Vicky, Ireland, and Jenna knew that “Home is where the Heart is.” And finally, in Thirsty for More, I knew that there was More information in store for me in Allison Allen’s walk through the desert. So if you are feeling lost or alone right now, I recommend these three books to come check out here at the Cross Reference Library.

New Music Monday - Casting Crowns, Jordan Smith and more

new to our rotation

Scars in Heaven - Casting Crowns

“The only scars in heaven
They won't belong to me and you
There'll be no such thing as broken
And all the old will be made new
And the thought that makes me smile now
Even as the tears fall down
Is that the only scars in heaven
Are on the hands that hold you now”

Great You Are - Jordan Smith

“I won't let the rocks cry out
I'll shout it from the mountaintops
Let everything I am reveal
The glory of how great You are
I won't let a breath go by
And miss the chance to lift You high
Let everything I am declare
The story of how great You are”

the 180remix countdown - saturdays at 9:00pm

Sunday Morning Feeling - Apollo LTD ft. Ryan Stevenson

“It's just inside me
Got that Sunday morning feeling
And I can't hide it
Counting blessings to the ceiling
I believe that you are working everything for good
No denying
Your love is shining
That Sunday morning feeling”

Joyful - Dante Bowe

This is the day
That the Lord has made
And I ain’t gonna let it slip away
I’m gonna be Joyful
Yes I am, yes I am
I’m gonna be Joyful

What is the Unforgivable Sin?

Matthew 12:31-32 (ESV) And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

These two verses have made thousands of people anxious. Many are terrified they will accidentally commit the unforgivable sin. There are lots of theories about what it might be: Some think it’s using the Lord’s name in vain. Some apply whatever the most popular (or unpopular) sin of the day is to it. Some think blasphemy against any Biblical truth is Blasphemy against the Spirit. The ideas and possibilities are pretty much as endless as the number of different churches there are in the world. 

When one thinks too hard about the words, “Blasphemy against the Spirit” the idea starts to feel a bit vague and ethereal. So, what’s the point? How are we supposed to figure out what the unforgivable sin is?

Well the answer is frustratingly simple and is the same answer I give with any Biblical question. We find out what the Bible means by reading the Bible.  

Context is Key. Matthew 12:31-32 wasn’t meant to be plucked out of the Bible and read on its own. It is part of a larger story, and the larger story is the key to understanding what these verses mean.

Historical context also matters. Each book of the Bible was written at a specific time in History, with a specific purpose in mind, and to a specific group of people. The rest of us learn about God and how He works in the world by understanding the lessons He was trying to teach these historical people and applying them in logical ways to our own lives. To truly understand the lesson, we have to understand what was going on historically with the original audience of each book of the Bible.

So, let’s take a look:

The Old Testament is full of prophecies proclaiming the coming of a Messiah who will be a King from the line of David and will sit on His throne forever. The nation of Israel is always searching for this Messiah. (David’s story can be found in 1 Samuel 16:1- 1 Kings 2:10)

Isaiah 9:6-7 (ESV) For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

The book of Matthew was written to convince the nation of Israel that Jesus is the King of the Jews--the Messiah they had been waiting for.

In order for people to know who the Messiah was when He came, God also gave prophecies which describe stuff this King will do including what are called the ”miracles of healing” which would prove His identity.

Isaiah 35:5-6a (ESV) Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.

Isaiah 26:19a (ESV) Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!

Isaiah 29:18 (ESV) In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see.

Isaiah 61:1 (ESV) The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor

It was also widely known amongst Jewish tradition that the Messiah would be the first to heal a Jew of leprosy:

The book of Leviticus contains an entire chapter (Leviticus 14) devoted to how a Jew healed of leprosy must respond to the healing. After centuries, the rabbis noticed that the rituals required by Leviticus 14 had never been used in all the history of Israel because no Jew had ever been healed of leprosy. This caused the rabbis to assume (correctly) that this miracle could only be done by the Messiah when He arrived. So the healing of a leper was a mark of the Messiah.

- Pastor Armstrong at versebyverseministry.org: How was Jesus healing the leper a Messianic miracle?

In other words, the entire Jewish nation knew that if a man shows up who fulfills all the prophecies--including these miracles of healing--he is the Messiah they have been waiting for. Jesus did exactly that.

Furthermore, when John the Baptist questions if Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus even states, Himself, that He has fulfilled these miracles, using them as proof that He is the Messiah.

Luke 7:22 (NIV) So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.

---

The fulfillment of each of these miracles of healing are outlined in the book of Matthew leading up to chapter 12 where the “Blasphemy of the Spirit” happens.

Healing the blind:

Matthew 9:27-30 (ESV) As Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” And their eyes were opened.

Healing the lame:

Matthew 9:1-8 (ESV) Getting into a boat he [Jesus] crossed over and came to his own city. And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

Cleansing a leper 

Matthew 8:2-4 (ESV) A leper came to him [Jesus] and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”

Healing the deaf (the same Greek word can mean “deaf” or “mute,” and both were often found together.):

Matthew 9:32-33 (ESV) As they were going away, behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to him [Jesus]. And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.”

Raising the dead:

Matthew 9:18-19, 23-26 (ESV) While he [Jesus] was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples…. And when Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. And the report of this went through all that district.

Preaching good news to the poor:

Matthew 9:35-36 (ESV) Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

These are just a few examples of the many miracles Jesus performed. By fulfilling each of these miracles, Jesus was proving He was the Messiah they had been waiting for. And people were taking notice. Many had open hearts and minds and began to follow Jesus, but others--specifically the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders of the day--feared losing their power more than they cared about discovering the truth.

---

That brings us to the infamous section of Scripture which contains the unforgivable sin: 

Matthew 12:22-37 (ESV) 22 Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. 23 And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” 

24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” 

25 Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 

29 Or how can someone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house. 

30 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 31 Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

---

Let’s look at this section piece by piece:

The first thing that happens in this situation is Jesus casts a demon out of a blind and mute man. This action causes people to ask, “Can this be the Son of David?” 

It’s important to understand what they are asking here:

As we discussed earlier, the nation of Israel has a promise via prophecy that the Messiah will be from the line of King David and He will sit on David’s throne forever (Isaiah 9:6-7 ESV). So, they weren’t asking who Jesus’ literal direct father was (Joseph), they were saying, “Can this be the Messiah we have been waiting for? Is this our prophesied King?”

This was a defining moment in history and for the nation of Israel. They had been shown the signs and wonders they needed to see in order to know Jesus was the Messiah. And now all they had to do was follow Him.

Many people of the nation of Israel were ready and excited to welcome Jesus with open arms, to celebrate the arrival of their King. They had kept their eyes and hearts open, watching and waiting for God to fulfill his promises and prophecies. 

But the Pharisees--Jewish religious leaders of that time--had a different agenda. Instead of acknowledging the fact that Jesus was the Messiah, they decided to try claiming Jesus got His powers from the Devil (Matthew 12:24). 

Of course Jesus responded to this claim with logic and reasoning, explaining why it would be ridiculous to think someone who was harming the Devil’s work would be working for the Devil. 

It is during this explanation where Jesus mentions the unforgivable sin (Matthew 12:25-32).

Jesus tells them it’s a choice--either they believe His power comes from the Spirit of God or from Beelzebul:

Matthew 12:27-28 (ESV) And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 

The Pharisees witnessed irrefutable evidence that Jesus’s power came from the Holy Spirit, but they still decided to claim it was from the Devil. They were not ignorant of the truth, they knew the Messianic Prophecies were being fulfilled. They stood in front of God Himself as He offered up every possible bit of evidence they needed. They knew the time for the Kingdom of God—the promised King, the Messiah—had come. But they chose to turn a blind eye to the truth and slander the Spirit by claiming Jesus came from the Devil instead of from God.

And in that moment, because the Pharisees were in a position of power, they influenced millions of Israelites throughout history to turn away from God’s truth and from the Messiah.

Furthermore, when the Gospel of Mark talks about this same event in Mark 3:22-30 a little explanatory caveat is offered at the end:

Mark 3:28-30 (NIV) “...I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.” He said this because they were saying, “He has an evil spirit.”

Instead of proclaiming Jesus to be God, they claimed He was evil. 

This was the unforgivable sin: to witness Jesus Himself--in the flesh--perform miracles, fulfilling Messianic prophecies, and accuse Him of being an agent of the Devil. Jesus was using the Power of God--the Power of the Holy Spirit--to perform the miracles, and the Pharisees Blasphemed the Spirit by proclaiming His power came from Satan. 

Good news for us is, the unforgivable sin can’t be duplicated by anyone today because it was unique to that moment in history--the moment when Jesus walked among mankind, fulfilling the prophecies of the Messiah. 

As gotquestions.org says:

The blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, specific as it was to the Pharisees’ situation, cannot be duplicated today. Jesus Christ is not on earth, and no one can personally see Jesus perform a miracle and then attribute that power to Satan instead of the Spirit. The only unpardonable sin today is that of continued unbelief. There is no pardon for a person who dies in his rejection of Christ. The Holy Spirit is at work in the world, convicting the unsaved of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8). If a person resists that conviction and remains unrepentant, then he is choosing hell over heaven. “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6), and the object of faith is Jesus (Acts 16:31). There is no forgiveness for someone who dies without faith in Christ.

God has provided for our salvation in His Son (John 3:16). Forgiveness is found exclusively in Jesus (John 14:6). To reject the only Savior is to be left with no means of salvation; to reject the only pardon is, obviously, unpardonable.

---

This series of blog posts titled, “Holding on to Reason”, is named after Amanda’s favorite C.S. Lewis quote: “Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.”

Click here for more things written by Amanda Hovseth.

How Do We Handle Conflict Biblically? - Ask The Pastor

You can listen to Ask The Pastor every weekday at 9:00am MST on 97.1FM Hope Radio KCMI! You can also listen and subscribe to Ask The Pastor in your favorite podcast feed. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music and most other podcast services.

This edition of Ask the Pastor features Pastors Tyson Lambertson, John Mulholland, Jon Simpson, and Kiley Callaway.

Tyson Lambertson

We've been discussing this idea of conflict, and we know that conflict is healthy but conflict also can create some problems. So we want to look at a biblical view of what it takes to manage healthy conflict and walk through conflict, because so often I know that I haven't dealt well with conflict. So let's look at what the Bible says about conflict.

John Mulholland

Yeah, so this is a Ephesians 4:25-32. "So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth for we are all parts of the same body and don't let sin and don't sin by letting anger control you. Don't let the sun go down while you were still angry for anger gives a foothold to the devil. If you're a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say, be good and helpful so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. And do not bring sorrow to God's holy spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of you will behavior. Instead be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you."

Tyson Lambertson

So conflict is something that we all deal with as individuals, as human beings, and conflict can be healthy, but it can also be very, very divisive. And that's what Satan wants - he wants to create conflict that separates relationships. Why do we struggle with it so bad? Why do we not handle conflict well?

John Mulholland

I think the primary reason is that we don't know what good healthy conflict looks like. I don't know how any of you guys grew up in your homes, but I did not really see conflict modeled well by my parents. I saw arguing, I saw those kinds of things taking place. So I did not have a model for how husbands and wives were supposed to talk to one another, or any kind of healthy model of conflict. I just didn't see that when I was growing up.

Jon Simpson

Yeah, I think that plays into it. One of the things that I have seen and had to work through is that we all have things that we tell ourselves, sort of storylines that we live by. And one of them is that I've kind of uncovered in my life was the idea that conflict is bad. So if you believe that it comes from somewhere, like you said, either the way we were raised, or maybe it was getting into fights in junior high, or a conflict that would lead to a physical altercation, right? So somewhere in there is, I don't want to say a fear, but a belief that it's not going to go somewhere good. And so that can make us avoid it, or it can make us overreact and say, "I've gotta win every one of these". Whatever it is, I think some of it is just the belief that conflict equals destruction in some way. And we have reason to believe that, I've certainly seen that, but that's not what we see in the scriptures. I think it's one of those examples where we have to believe a different storyline. You know, we have to believe God's storyline.

Tyson Lambertson

And I think some of this comes to personalities as well. For me, my harmony button is as string finder of mine. I love harmony. And so when there's conflict, there's times when I will just do everything to avoid it and just hope that it goes away understanding that it's not going to go away, but wanting it to go away. And there's this tension of moving and not having a good model of saying, "How do you deal with conflict in a healthy way?" Because our natural tendency is to slander, to get people on our side, to get the coup, so to speak, and get them together so that we can, we can push our own agenda. And yeah, my conflict is better than my ways better than your way. And so conflict is, is part of our sinful nature. We need to learn how to deal with that better, what do you think Kiley?

Kiley Callaway

That's what I was going to say. As far as different personalities, some retreat, some want to just rile it up, some just want to talk it out. And I think with different personalities, it may sound like they're arguing but really they're just verbalizing their internal emotions and want to talk it out with you when some will receive that. Especially for me, like if I'm in something, I want to talk it out, I want to just vomit my emotions out there. And even in that, sometimes they think that maybe it's against them or it's meant to be hurtful towards them, when I'm just trying to share my heart and hash out what's going on inside of me so that the other person can understand where I'm coming from. Definitely the core is sin mixed in with our different personalities, and then peppered in there with how we were raised. So I think it's all of that - just kind of a crazy mixture of why we can't handle it.

Tyson Lambertson

Yeah. And I think 2 Timothy 2:24ish, dealing with false teachers, it says "Be gracious, be gentle, be kind." And that is so hard to do because usually in conflict somebody is being attacked, or the past comes up, or the age-old argument comes roaring back. And the main thing that you were in conflict about now is compiled with past hurts. So navigating conflict is not easy, and then as Christians we're called to deal with it in a biblical manner. And I think we see that in Matthew 18.

John Mulholland

And before we switch to that, you talked about things that have happened in the past. A lot of that is just unresolved issues. And I think we talked about that one of the very first series that we did for Ask The Pastor - whatever happened in the past among the churches in Scottsbluff, there's a pretty good chance that no one actually knows whatever that thing was that happened thirty, forty, fifty plus years ago between our churches or between the ways we believe, or doctrinal distinctives. By this point in history, all our people know is "I'm not supposed to like those Northfield people", or "I don't know what The Rock Church did fifteen or twenty years ago to deserve the break in their relationship. But I just know that when I hear The Rock, or I hear Mitchell Berean, or I hear Northfield, or you guys hear Westway, I just know that they're my enemy. And I couldn't tell you why I think that way. I know that I've held onto that even in my relationship with my wife, you know, when we bring up things that happened 15 years ago, because that was never actually resolved.

Tyson Lambertson

I think it does present some emotional baggage and some emotional underlying issues in us. I also think there's a cultural dynamic that we have to deal with in our own area, in that Scottsbluff was founded by Hiram Scott who was abandoned by his friends. And so this idea of abandonment comes in, where they're just like "We're not going to deal with the conflict. We're just going to leave it alone and walk away." I think there's some spiritual and cultural undertones that we deal with day in and day out that play into it. So it's not only relational, not only emotional, there's probably some culture there too.

Jon Simpson

I think one of the things that Berean Fellowship has looked at is family of origin issues related to how we handle things, because there are connections that we're not always aware of that play into things. What we're talking about here is kind of a generational thing or something that's sort of in the DNA or fabric of our culture, which I believe is real. And then I think our families have those kinds of things that get passed on. And sometimes that can be great stuff to our advantage, but there are issues in there that can also be a disadvantage to successfully navigating what we're supposed to do. We can have a tendency to handle things differently than, than what God says to do. I think it's good to understand ourselves and our region and our community, so as we attack this we have an adult view of it, an educated view of it. But to me, honestly, it comes down to, "What does God say we're supposed to do?" We were pulled out of a lifestyle that was pagan and godless and self-directed. And Paul is talking to the Ephesians about that, he starts off in Ephesians 4. "As a prisoner for the Lord, then I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you've received." He's going, "Guys, I'm pleading with you. You've been saved. You been redeemed, you're different people, you belong to Jesus. So live a life worthy of that." And I think there's areas of our life, and conflict's just one of them, where we have to kind of look in the mirror say, "Am I living a life worthy of the calling I received? Or am I living the way I want to?"

Tyson Lambertson

Yeah. And I think you're in that process of looking at the call. We know that God tells us to love him and to love our neighbors as ourselves. And sometimes we don't do that well, so there's unhealthy conflict, there's healthy conflict, and then there's church conflict that we all have to deal with and navigate. So Kylie, what's your thoughts on the conflict genealogy or the conflict direction? This is something that you've studied and understand.

Kiley Callaway

I don't know if I've studied it in the depth that you're saying, but I like what everybody's saying. I think what we're finding in the church, what we're finding in America, what we're finding with Christians is that it goes back to what you're originally said - we're supposed to be changed. I think in the church of America we have a lot of children by blood, but we have a lot of prodigal children, so we still have the habits of the hogs. And when we read this, it's talking about all of the habits of the hogs that we should be getting rid of that leads to conflict. Things like bitterness, things like anger, things like rage and slander and malice. I think if we look at the genealogy, it's all the spiritual issues that we never get up under the blood, so we still hang onto the habits of the hogs. We may be blood children, by blood adopted in, but he's pleading with us that we shouldn't be in conflict. We shouldn't be acting like this because we should be different people. And I think that's really where all conflict is birthed from - yes, it's family, it's cultural, but at the end of the day it's all spiritual.

Jon Simpson

So really specific, because you said that pretty quick, I just want to process that. You said the prodigal son went off to a distant land, he lived in rebellion and he ended up with the hogs. So you're saying he picked up habits there that were a result of his decision to rebel and to live in sin. And he was still a son, but you're saying that the kind of life he lived has consequences, or it has baggage to it that can be then brought into my Christian life. So what do you do? What's the answer to that?

Kiley Callaway

So if we look at Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and we see a lineage of the family - one son, one grandson, etc. But one thing about Abraham is he was a man of the altar, and I think that's where we as Christians have gotten away is death at the alter, something in us has to die. And I think even when we're with people and even if it's different personalities, I think what we have to do is listen, because like you said, I keep hearing the word, I've heard it three times now, attack, attack, attack. Anytime there's conflict we feel like it's attack, and our natural flesh tendency is to be defensive. And if we'll just learn how to let ourselves die in that moment and really listen to the person, I think we can have healthy resolution.

Tyson Lambertson

Right, it comes to our heart. And if we're lashing out and responding in negative ways or slandering, there's something wrong here. And I know that I've dealt with that, and I continue to deal with that. It's a daily surrender. It's a walk with the Lord.

What's New at Cross Reference Library? A New Series by Misty M. Beller

Hope’s Highest Mountain - When Ingrid Chastain agreed to accompany her father to deliver vaccines to a mining town in the Montana Territory, she never could have anticipated a terrible accident would leave her alone and badly injured in the wilderness. Rescue comes in the form of a mysterious mountain man who tends her injuries, but she’s hesitant to put her trust in this man who seems to have wounds of his own. After tragedy struck his family, Micah Bradley left his work as a doctor and escaped to the wilds of Montana. But his self-imposed solitude is broken when finds Ingrid in desperate need of medical attention, and he’s forced to call on his doctoring skills once again. Micah can’t help but admire Ingrid’s tenacity despite the severity of her injuries, until he learns the crate she brought contains smallpox vaccines to help quell a nearby outbreak. With Ingrid dead set on delivering the medicine--with or without his help--he has no choice but to accompany her. As they set off through the treacherous, snow-covered Rocky Mountains against all odds, the journey ahead will change their lives more than they could have known. 

Love’s Mountain Quest - After losing her husband in the Rocky Mountain wilderness, young widow Joanna Watson is struggling to make a new home for her five-year-old son, Samuel, in the little mountain town of Settler’s Fort. When she returns home from work to find Samuel and the woman watching him missing--and the sheriff dead--she enlists a man she prays has enough experience in this rugged country to help. Isaac Bowen wants nothing more than a quiet, invisible life in these mountains, far away from the bad decisions of his past. But he has a strong suspicion of who’s behind the kidnapping and murder, and if he’s right, he knows all too well the evil they’re chasing. As they press on against the elements, Joanna fights to hold on to hope, while Isaac knows a reckoning is coming. They find encouragement in the tentative trust that grows between them, but whether it can withstand the danger and coming confrontation is far from certain in this wild, unpredictable land. 

Faith’s Mountain Home - Nate Long has always watched over his identical twin brother, Aaron, even when it put him on the wrong side of the law. When Aaron is wounded in a shootout, the brothers are taken to Settler’s Fort to recover. As Nate works to make reparations for their past, he marvels at the care Aaron receives from a woman with all the reason in the world to resent him. Laura Hannon knows what it is to start over, and she knows Nate’s newfound faith is real. What she can’t look past is how far he allowed himself to be led astray by his brother’s weaknesses. But when memories of her own brothers’ tragic end come back to haunt her, she vows to do whatever she can to keep Aaron alive. As a fledgling trust grows between Nate and Laura, they stumble upon a mysterious cave in the mountains that may not be as uninhabited as it seems. While working together to unravel the secrets surrounding the cave, will the new lives they seek for themselves include love, or does too much stand between them?

What’s New at Cross Reference Library?

Helpful Knowledge on Worship and Leadership

Worship Without Limits - In truth, worship is not Christianized entertainment, a religious ritual, or zealous demonstration. The biblical picture of worship is an intimate encounter with the infinite God that spreads into every part of your daily life. Growing up on the frontlines of the Russian mission field, Phil Renner’s heart burns with a passion for sharing this amazing truth. Under Phil’s leadership, Renner Worship has played a significant role in bringing a worship movement to churches and youth across Russia and neighboring countries. Whether you’re on the mission field, or in the boardroom, Phil’s powerful testimonies, biblical teaching, practical application, and prayers of activation will help you access a lifestyle of encounter in God’s Presence. 

Discipled Leader - Are you a successful business leader but struggle to live out your Christian faith in the workplace? The first step isn’t adjusting your leadership style. Instead, who you are needs to change before what you do changes - and that means letting God work that change internally. Likewise, before you can model discipleship to your team, you must first be discipled by the Spirit. Join Preston Poore, a veteran with decades of experience at Fortune 500 companies, as he demonstrates how exceptional leadership ties in with the day-to-day practice of being a disciple of Jesus Christ...and how you too can encounter and engage with that connection.

New Music Monday - Matthew West and Cochren & Co.

new to our rotation

What If - Matthew West

“What if today's the only day I got?
I don't wanna waste it if it's my last shot
No regrets, in the end
I wanna know I got no what ifs
I'm running till the road runs out
I'm lighting it up right here right now
No regrets, in the end
I wanna know I got no what ifs”

Grave - Cochren & Co.

“If there hadn't been a grave
If there hadn't been a cross
My heart would still be buried
And my soul would still be lost
If there hadn't been a Savior
Who died to make a way
I'd still be a dead man
If there hadn't been a grave”

I Don't Feel Welcomed in Church, Why Should I Go?

When asked this question my dad used to always tell a story about when he first became a Christian. I’ll share it with you, but first we need a little background information:

My dad was in his early twenties when he first accepted Jesus as his Savior. He was an alcoholic. He was addicted to gambling. He had two young kids. My mom was pregnant with a third, and she was on the verge of divorcing him. Needless to say, his life was a bit of a mess. But God had reached into that mess and brought my dad to his knees at the foot of the cross of Christ. 

My father was a new believer, on fire for the Lord--gobbling up everything he could learn about God and the Bible. He was determined to save his marriage, stop drinking, stop gambling, and rebuild our lives. Unfortunately, becoming a Christian is one thing, while being accepted by other Christians is entirely different. 

My dad drove coal trains for the railroad so his schedule was unpredictable. More often than not he would come rushing in late to church or Bible-study--right after working a thirty-six hour run--in old worn-out sweats which were covered in oil and grease. Some people would view this as dedication; others as disrespectful. He was also very outspoken, if he had a question--he asked it. If he disagreed--he’d argue his point until someone could prove him wrong. To say in short--whether good or bad--he was a disruptive force and constantly, inadvertently, made people feel uncomfortable in the “boxes” they were living in.

Now I need you to understand that there were some amazing Christians who loved my dad just as he was, and did their best to bring our family into the fold--especially the pastor of our church (who was the man who led my father to the Lord in the first place) and the youth pastor (who is now the current pastor at Grace Chapel in Scottsbluff). I will always be incredibly grateful to them. 

However, there were others at our church who looked at my dad like he was a dangerous bomb, ready to explode his sinful life all over their nice clean picture-perfect existences. And as anyone can tell you, all it takes is one sideways glance and a few poorly timed whispers, to make a person feel out of place and unwanted. Needless to say, he started struggling with feeling like he belonged and that brings us to our story.

I’m telling this story, not from my memory (because I was very young) but from memories of my dad telling it. We were on a short family vacation somewhere in South Dakota. Since we were there over a Sunday, my dad found a local church for us to attend. When we walked in the door a nice young lady realized we were new, so she came over to welcome us to their church. My dad’s not the type to just shake hands and move on, so he struck up a conversation. He ended up telling her that he often felt like a fish out of water in his home church, so he was considering not going there anymore. 

That’s when she told him her story. A few years earlier she had been addicted to drugs, living on the streets, and working as a prostitute. When she accepted Jesus as her Savior, she worked hard to turn her life around. But, like my dad, she had found herself in a tough position with some church members. She felt unwelcome; like a dark stain on their perfect congregation. She had also been about to stop attending church, and to write off all other Christians as judgmental hypocrites.

Then, the following Sunday, as she sat in the church service, she saw a face she recognized. It was another woman who had worked the streets with her. Right after the service she rushed over to say “hello”. This other woman ended up accepting Jesus as her Savior as well.

The lady finished her story by saying this to my dad:

“If I stopped going to church, and if you stopped going to church, who will be here for the next person like us that comes through those doors?”

Needless to say, my dad did not stop going to church, and countless people, including me, are all the better for it.

As Christians, each and every one of us is “the church”. We can’t control the actions of others, we can only decide what to do with ourselves. It is as much my responsibility to make sure people feel welcomed as it is anyone else's. 

Keep going to church. Reach out to other people who may be feeling like outsiders as well; welcome them as you wish you had been welcomed. Spread God’s love.

Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near (ESV).

1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing (ESV).

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This series of blog posts titled, “Holding on to Reason”, is named after Amanda’s favorite C.S. Lewis quote: “Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.”

Click here for more things written by Amanda Hovseth.