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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
“When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, 'Son, your sins are forgiven you.' And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, 'Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?' (Mark 2.5-8). Today we look at the 2nd lesson from this biblical 4X4, False Reasoning.
False Reasoning
The ability to reason is one prominent God-given attribute that sets man apart from animals. Certainly it is not wrong to exercise this gift; in fact, it is wrong not to in as much as we have the ability. Yet Jesus chided the scribes in today's text for the reasoning that was going on in their hearts. It was only natural that they would focus on the statement that Jesus made when He verbally assured the paralyzed man that his sins were forgiven. Surely they would wonder about the statement and whether or not it was legitimate or not. Surely they would weigh the evidence and decide based on the facts that were laid before them. Surely they would... BUT THEY DIDN'T! That is why Jesus reprimanded them!
It was not reasoning that was wrong; it was the kind of reasoning that was going on. Jesus rebuked them for reasoning “thus” in their hearts, i.e. in this manner or of this sort. The question as to whether or not Jesus had the power to forgive sins was a legitimate question and it deserved legitimate investigation and conclusions. But, the evidence that was needed to arrive at a valid conclusion was not in the hearts of the scribes; it was external to their hearts and in the very Man whom they concluded to be guilty of blasphemy. All the evidence in the world was of no value as long as they “reasoned in themselves” and failed to take into consideration the facts that could have been presented to either discredit or corroborate the claims of Jesus. They were guilty of reasoning falsely!
We need to give the devil his due; they had the major premise right: “Only God has the power to forgive sins.” Had they continued with correct reasoning from that premise, they could have reached a right conclusion about Jesus and even embraced Him as Messiah. However, they did not continue on this path; they merely jumped to a conclusion in spite of the evidence that existed as to whether He was a blasphemer or not, or whether He truly could forgive sins (and implicitly ought to be recognized as God). Their God-given faculties of right thinking were short-circuited for reasons known, they thought, only to themselves. But the very fact that Jesus read their minds (as we would say) should have been enough to give them pause, even to rethink their conclusions.
The point just here is this: God expects right thinking! It is not an option if we are to be pleasing to Him. The talents of the mind are the first to be assessed in as much as they determine what our actions will be. Within the mind (or heart as it is called in this text) we determine whether or not we will accept the good and refuse the evil. It is here that sin is conceived and plans are made to give it birth. It is here that the devil himself focuses in order to ensnare and bring to destruction. The scribes obviously failed the “thinking test” to which they were subjected while in the presence of Jesus.
Here is what ought to give us pause: “And there is no creature hidden from His [God's] sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4.13). Not only does He know our thoughts, we are also destined to give account to Him for our thoughts! False reasoning is a sin that will damn the soul of those who have the ability to do better!
Questions:
1. From whence came the ability to reason? Was it wrong for these men to reason?
2. Was it wrong for these men to reason within themselves? Why or why not?
3. Could adequate evidence have been presented in order for a person to have known whether or not Jesus had the ability to forgive sins (and by implication, was God)?
4. What will it mean to “give account” for our thoughts and deeds (using a Strong's Concordance look this word up; it may surprise you what it means in the original)?
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