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BLASPHEMY
Seldom is the word blasphemy used today.
To claim to be God or to speak ill of Him is blasphemy. Paul confessed that
prior to being born again he was a
blasphemer. But he obtained mercy saying,
“because I did it ignorantly in unbelief,”
(1 Timothy 1:13). In Matthew 7:23 the Lord Jesus identified blasphemy as one
of several “evil things
[which] come
from within, and defile the man.”
Blasphemy, then, is a sin with serious consequences.
Would any believer slander God or speak
ill of Him? Would any professing Christian belittle Him or say anything to
make Him appear weak or powerless? Sad to say, but a great many professing
Christians do such things quite regularly. How many times have you heard
someone tell a lost person the following: “God loves you and wants to save
you if you will let Him.” Or, perhaps, “won't you let Jesus come into your
heart and save you?” Let God? Where did anyone ever read anything in the
Bible about God needing permission or needing to be allowed to do anything?
The Bible refutes such a blasphemous idea
many places. Consider: “But our God is in
the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased,”
(Psalm 115:3). Also:
“And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed
as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and
among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto
him, What doest thou?” (Daniel 4:35). God
has the ability to work within men causing them both to want to do what He
wants and to do what He wants. Paul wrote,
“For it is God which worketh in you both to will
and to do of his good pleasure,”
(Philippians 2:13). Again we read: “Ah
Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power
and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee,”
(Jeremiah 32:17). In verse 27 of that chapter are these words:
“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is
there any thing too hard for me?”
How dare anyone slander God by making Him
subject to the whims and will of His creatures? Is it not logical to
understand that the things created must of necessity be subject to the
Creator? If God has power to create, does He also not have power to control
what He has created? “Hath not the potter
power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and
another unto dishonour?” (Romans 9:21).
God made each person for His purpose and will get glory from His actions
both in the vessels of honor and the vessels of dishonor. Let us not speak
ill of God and His power by telling people they need to “let God” do this or
that? How dare we say what nobody in the Bible ever said? We need to say
what the Bible says!
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