Mark taught us “How To Read A Gospel” on Sunday. Here’s how: look for the glory of Christ! Mark showed us from Mark 3:7-25 how Jesus is glorious in his authority, summons, and forgiveness. And something else he didn’t have time for.

I thought his explanation about the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit was incredibly helpful. If you are concerned that you’ve committed it, you haven’t. You know that because your conscience is still working. People blaspheme against the Holy Spirit when they allow themselves to fall into sustained, resolute hatred of Christ and the Spirit of Christ, and they actively attribute Christ’s work to Satan’s himself. This isn’t something you can do in one sentence or through a fleeting thought. It’s not synonymous with atheism. It is active and intentional hatred of the Savior.

But the really important thing Mark helped us see in this message was the forgiveness that is in Christ. The motherlode is in verse 28:

“Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter…”

What an amazing statement. Mark gave us this wonderful quotation from J. C. Ryle:

“These words fall lightly on the ears of many people. They see no particular beauty in them. But to the person who is alive to his own sinfulness and is deeply aware of his need of mercy, these words are sweet and precious. “All sins will be forgiven.” The sins of youth and age—the sins of head, hand, tongue and imagination—the sins against all God’s commandments—the sins of persecutors, like Saul—the sins of idolaters, like Manasseh—the sins of open enemies of Christ, like [those] who crucified him—the sins of backsliders from Christ, like Peter—all may be forgiven. The blood of Christ can cleanse all away. The righteousness of Christ can cover all, and hide all from God’s eyes.” –J. C. Ryle, Mark, p. 40.

Here are a couple questions parents and teens can use to discuss this message together:

• Have you ever wondered is you’ve committed the unforgivable sin–blasphemy against the Holy Spirit?
• What do you learn about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit from these verses?
• Are you more aware of your sins or of God’s forgiveness in Christ?
• When was the last time you confessed sin to God? What did you confess?
• How does verse 28 bring help and comfort to a guilty conscience?

Categories: Monday Matters, five15 blog