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Sunday 13 February 2011

Matthew 12:29-32 - We are in a war

Having just pointed out that it was totally illogical for Satan to cast out demons, Jesus now goes on to say that it is totally reasonable to expect the Messiah to cast out demons. People are under the dominion of darkness, there needs to be regime change. People need to be rescued from this dominion. So there is a power struggle (admittedly a very uneven one!) So Jesus needs to bind up the enemy, then He can rescue the oppressed.
We are still in a power struggle today. The kingdom of God is advancing, that means it take territory from the enemy. So power is a crucial part of the kingdom. At the same time we need to remember that our struggle is not against people, but against principalities and powers. We use power against demons, not against people. The church has gone sadly wrong when it has seen people as the enemy.
There is no neutral ground in the battle. We are either for or against Jesus. Then we get the "unforgivable sin". Now this causes problems for some people. One of the best bits of advice I have heard on this is that if you are worrying about whether or not you have committed the unforgivable sin, then that is a pretty good sign that you have not! Look at the context. Jesus is speaking primarily against the Pharisees for accusing the work of the Spirit as being the work of the devil. Jesus is speaking about people who are working directly against the kingdom.
Notice also the high status given to the Holy Spirit. People can be forgiven for blaspheming Jesus (just as well given today' age!). This is not excusing blasphemy, but the vast majority of people who blaspheme Jesus do not have a clue what they are doing. Remember Jesus even forgave those who crucified Him. But if, knowing the Spirit, we rebel against Him, then we are knowingly rebelling against God.

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