I need help with a so-called contradiction

[A]

"But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things
are possible.

[creationliberty]

?

[A]

My apologies, Mr.Johnson. I forgot about the foreign apostrophe issue and the content I copied from my word processor got cut off, the correct one is below this post.

[A]

'But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.' - Matthew 19:26, KJV
If God can do anything, can He make a rock too heavy for him to lift?
"all-powerful" means the power to do anything that power can do.
Therefore, the question is really about 'can an all-powerful being limit his power?'
If there was anything God couldn't lift, that would prove Him a being of finite strength. But a being of infinite power could create a rock of infinite size and infinite weight and still be able to move it. It is because God is infinitely powerful (i.e omnipotent) that He cannot create a rock too hard for Him to move.
The definition of omnipotence does not mean being able to do the logically impossible (to do something logically contradictory)

But we can find onward:
Matthew 12:31-32 King James Version (KJV)
31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.

32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

Can all sins be forgiven (Acts 13:39; Titus 2:14; 1 John 1:9) or not (Matthew 12:31; Mark 3:29; Luke 12:10)?

[TheChickenWhisperer]

Maybe I am not reading your post correctly.  Please forgive me if I am not.  But, I don't see how that is a contradiction.  Am I missing something?

[A]

Well, first of all, God can do anything that is logically possible. That's a fact.

However, when we read on,
Acts 13:39; Titus 2:14; 1 John 1:9; all say that God can forgive all sins.

But we find that in Matthew 12:31; Mark 3:29; Luke 12:10; as shown below,
31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

So, the bible scoffer may come along and claim that this means some things are impossible for God to do/God contradicts himself and therefore the Bible is false/etc.

Practically, in the end I asked, is there such a thing as an unforgivable sin? Perhaps that would clear up the whole issue.

[Kenneth Winslow]

'But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.' - Matthew 19:26, KJV
If God can do anything, can He make a rock too heavy for him to lift?
"all-powerful" means the power to do anything that power can do.
Therefore, the question is really about 'can an all-powerful being limit his power?'
If there was anything God couldn't lift, that would prove Him a being of finite strength. But a being of infinite power could create a rock of infinite size and infinite weight and still be able to move it. It is because God is infinitely powerful (i.e omnipotent) that He cannot create a rock too hard for Him to move.

I too don't understand the contradiction that is supposed between those two passages.
However, this "rock too big" analogy is flawed. The main flaw that I see is that it assumes the God (the creator of all physical laws) is subject to physical laws. The Christian God of the Bible is not subject to gravity. He created gravity and is currently causing gravity to function. To assume that the creator and maintainer of gravity is limited by it would be a logical contradiction.
I've also heard this same logical fallacy presented as, "If God is all powerful can he create a burrito SO HOT that he himself can eat it?".

When I'm presented with this kind of nonsense I sometimes take the position that Job took:
Job 21:3 KJV  Suffer me that I may speak; and after that I have spoken, mock on.
 

[A]

My apologies Mr. Winslow. I simply included that "foreword" to show that God is capable of anything logically possible.

These verses say God can forgive all sins:
Acts 13:39; Titus 2:14; 1 John 1:9; all say that God can forgive all sins.

In Matthew 12:31; Mark 3:29; Luke 12:10; as shown below,
31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

We have Bible verses showing an apparent "contradiction" that there are sins that cannot be forgiven(God can't lie)? That's where I am confused on this issue.

[creationliberty]

The reason they are not seeing the contradictions you're pointing out is because you're not reading and studying the Bible in the same way that we are. You are looking at these from the perspective of unbelievers, not from the perspective of how God has commanded that we read and study Scripture.

Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:
-Isa 28:9-10

Precept upon precept means that we take all commandments in correlation with each other, line upon line means that we read the Bible in its context, and here a little and there a little means that the fullness of a doctrine is not in one verse alone. What you are doing here is adopting atheistic thinking, in which you are taking one verse and saying that it contradicts another verse, typically in respect to the use of the word 'all'.

For example, the Bible says that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phl 4:13), but that does not mean that I can be transformed into an armadillo if I pray hard enough. Our will must be aligned with the will of God, if we be children of God, and it is not his will that we become armadillos.

God forgives all sin... WITHIN the context of all sins that are forgivable. (i.e. There is only one that is not.) If I pray for anything, it will be done... WITHIN the bounds of the will of God. Even 1Ti 4:10 says that Christ is the saviour of all men, but that does not mean that all men will be saved; rather, in context, taking here a little and there a little, we know that he died for the sake of all, being the saviour of all men, but only those who come to repentance and faith will be born again and gain salvation.

I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
-Luke 13:3

Atheists commonly do this in use of the word 'all', meaning "all" in it's context. For example, they will say, "I've been working ALL day," but they took time to brush their teeth, take bathroom breaks, eat lunch, etc. So they didn't really work all day, did they? Actually, yes, it can be said that they were working all day within the context of that which is considered work, bearing in mind the needs they must fulfill.

These are very simple concepts of language that we use everyday, but unbelievers (hilariously, in their own embarrassment) throw them out the window as soon as they crack open the Bible.

[A]

I see, so what is the one sin that is not forgivable? Is it simply calling the Holy Spirit of the Devil?

I saw this:
God forgives all sin... WITHIN the context of all sins that are forgivable. (i.e. There is only one that is not.)

[Jeanne]

You have to remember that God created ALL laws, both physical and spiritual and the one thing that God CANNOT do is go against His own nature. I don't know why He set things up the way He did and He's not obligated to explain Himself to us, His creation. Since God is spirit, He is not bound by the physical laws He created, but He is bound by His spiritual laws because He chooses to be.

Why can't sin be forgiven or washed away without the shedding of blood? Because that's the way God set it up. Could He have done it another way? I'm sure He could, but He didn't. That's why two animals had to be killed to clothe Adam and Eve after they sinned in the Garden of Eden.

Hebrews 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: 25 nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; 26 for then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 28 so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

Why is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit unforgiveable? Because God said so. He didn't tell us why. Maybe because it's impossible for anyone who believes the works of the Holy Spirit to be of the devil to come to repentance; I don't know. If that is the case, I suspect that anyone who is truly worried about committing that sin won't. Those who would would be those who don't care whether they offend God or not because they don't believe He even exists.

[creationliberty]

When someone would know the grace of God, having understood his mercy and kindness, the healing and blessing from the Holy Spirit, and call that of the Devil, condemning the Holy Ghost in malice, God has said that person is so far gone, they will never be saved. I don't fully understand it, but I trust Him.

[A]

I see, thanks for clearing this up.
So, as a summary:
 - God can do all things that are logically possible.
 - God can forgive all sins, except for one: Calling the Holy Spirit of the Devil.

Well, this rather brings up something about the Charismatics I was once part of. Does this mean that they could be in serious trouble since no one can understand their "language", or are they still with an "open window" since they are simply saying unintelligible sounds? What appears to be so?(I've honestly never participated in their tongue-speaking. Though, I've only imitated them once as part of a question I asked)

[Jeanne]

Since we have a few people in here that have come out of charismatic churches and did 'speak in tongues', I would say that it is still possible for them to repent.

[TheChickenWhisperer]

Since we have a few people in here that have come out of charismatic churches and did 'speak in tongues', I would say that it is still possible for them to repent.

I agree with that.  I am open to correction if this is wrong, but I once heard a message, even though from a leavened preacher, that people who blaspheme the Holy Spirit ARE unrepentant, and that is why they cannot be forgiven. Those that have grief and Godly sorrow of sin will be forgiven.

[Beholy]

My apologies Mr. Winslow. I simply included that "foreword" to show that God is capable of anything logically possible.

These verses say God can forgive all sins:
Acts 13:39; Titus 2:14; 1 John 1:9; all say that God can forgive all sins.

In Matthew 12:31; Mark 3:29; Luke 12:10; as shown below,
31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

We have Bible verses showing an apparent "contradiction" that there are sins that cannot be forgiven(God can't lie)? That's where I am confused on this issue.

Hello,

Let me please clear things up a bit.

Yes Lord God can do all He pleases just as the Holy Scripture tells us.
In the verses you provided it is said "shall not be forgiven", which does not imply that God can't forgive, it simply means that God chooses not to forgive those because it is pointless, and not that He literally is not able to do that if He pleases.

Imagine a man that doesn't want to live, he kills himself, then God brings him back to live and the man goes back again and commits suicide, and so on....what is the point of giving him life?
Same with those that blaspheme against the Holy Ghost, they forsake life itself.

It all starts in the beginning, You see God gave us choice (ex: Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:)
So we are warned of God about the consequence of any choice we make.
A gardener has to base his choices on research and experience when choosing the best plants to grow, but God knows everything, and He doesn't need to worry about making a wrong move, so He is playing an open game with us, and will we be so stupid to refuse everlasting life?

As for questions like:
- Is God able to make another God just like Him?
- Can God make a thing He himself won't be able to carry?
- If the Holy Scripture say's God can't lie (Titus 1:2), does't that contradict his omnipotence (Revelation 19:6)?
Let's notice that the word CANNOT in some instances does not imply that someone is not able to do something but rather that he choses firmly not to do so. For example if we are being proposed to hit a stranger with a rock, we can say " No, I cannot do that". Now does it mean we are not physically able to lift a rock of the ground and hit a person with it? Yes, in most instances a person is able to accomplish that physically, but his moral principles do not go inline with those actions.
Same with Lord God. He will not lie to us because He is Holy Holy Holy (Isaiah 6:3), though He is omnipotent too.

And questions like:
- Can God make a stone He himself can not lift?
is just like asking:
- Can an omnipotent (all powerful) God prove He is not omnipotent (all powerful)?
These are rather useless questions, although seem tricky and catchy, and they imply limited reality to fit an infinite being imho.

As for now it is way more important to us to choose life and act upon it, cuz' if we are on a burning side of a river, and we say we believe the bridge can take us to the other safe side, yet we refuse to use it, well then I smell barbecue James 2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

[creationliberty]

Same with those that blaspheme against the Holy Ghost, they forsake life itself.

I know this was from some months ago, but I did not see it until today. This response is redundant, meaning that whatever this "Beholy" man (i.e. Stanislav) is trying to explain is nonsense that he is trying to to portray as wisdom and understanding. It's been over two months since he has logged back in, so I doubt he will read this, but I want to make sure it is answered so no one else walks away with a misunderstanding.

He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
-1Jo 5:12

If what Stanislav said was true, then all men are guilty of blaspheming the Holy Spirit at some time in their life, because at one point, they did not believe in the Son of God, but had to be converted later. If forsaking life results in a sin that cannot be saved, then that means all who initially reject the Gospel, but are converted later, would have to be false converts. That is simply not true, and so I don't want others walking away thinking that is a proper answer to the matter. Essentially, if what Stanislav said was true, no atheist could be saved, but we know that is not the case.