"Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. 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. 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. Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."
In today's quote, after being called a devil by the Pharisees, Jesus explained that no person can serve to masters and that that person must devote him/herself wholly to one or the other.
I believe Jesus herein, being wholly devoted to the work of His Father, was making reference to the comparison between the open and easy new law of grace through faith and the limitless restrictions of the old Hebrew laws. Jesus was making the point that, upon the completion of His sacrifice, the old law would be done away and replaced by His new law of faith, therefore requiring total repentance, (stepping away) from the old and total devotion to the new.
There is another valuable lesson that can be taken from what Jesus taught in today's quote. There are still those today who teach that the ritual of water baptism is as requisite part of the means by which eternal life is to be achieved. To those I ask, is your ultimate faith in Jesus Christ for the remission of sin, or is your faith in the ritual of water baptism?~
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