Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit
Introduction:
People throughout the ages have wondered about what blasphemy
against the Holy Spirit was and whether people can still be guilty
of it. Let’s see what the Bible says about it.
Text:
Luke 12:8-10
“Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of
Man also will confess before the angels of God. But he who denies
Me before men will be denied before the angels of God. And anyone
who speaks a word against the Son of Man it will be forgiven him;
but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be
forgiven.” Mark 3:22-30 “And the scribes who came
down from Jerusalem said, ‘He has Beelzebub,’ and ‘By the ruler of
the demons He casts out demons.’ So He called them to Himself and
said to them in parables: ‘How can Satan cast out Satan? If a
kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And
if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And
if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot
stand, but has an end. No one can enter a strong man’s house and
plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then
he will plunder his house. Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will
be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may
utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has
forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation’ – because they
said, ‘He has an unclean spirit.’ ” Matthew 12:22-32
“Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and
mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke
and saw. And all the multitudes were amazed and said, ‘Could this
be the Son of David?’ Now when the Pharisees heard it they said,
’This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler
of the demons.’ But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them:
‘Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and
every city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan
casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his
kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do
your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But
if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God
has come upon you. Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and
plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then
he will plunder his house. He who is not with Me is against Me, and
he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad. Therefore I say to
you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy
against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a
word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever
speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either
in this age or in the age to come.’ ”
NKJV
The Work of the Holy Spirit
·
Bears witness of Christ (John 15:26-27) “But when the Helper
comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth
who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. And you also
will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the
beginning.”
NKJV
·
Convicts the world (John 16:7-11) “Nevertheless I tell you the
truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go
away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send
Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin,
and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not
believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you
see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is
judged.”
NKJV
·
Reveals truth, the will of God (John 16:12-13) “I still have
many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However,
when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all
truth for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He
hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” (I
Corinthians 2:9-13) “But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor
ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which
God has prepared for those who love Him.’ But God has revealed them
to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes,
the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man
except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows
the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received,
not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we
might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches
but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with
spiritual.”
NKJV
·
Works through the Word, the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians
6:17) “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the
Spirit, which is the word of God;” (Hebrews 4:12) “For the
word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged
sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of
the heart.” (Romans 1:16) “For I am not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who
believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”
NKJV
The Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit
·
Making a distinction (Luke 12:10) “And anyone who speaks a
word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who
blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.”
(Mark 3:28-29) “Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven
the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who
blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is
subject to eternal condemnation” – (Matthew 12:31-32)
“Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven
men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.
Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven
him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be
forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.”
NKJV
What is blasphemy? It is slanderous, defiant speech. It is
irreverence and sacrilege. The Pharisees in our text were ascribing
the power of the Holy Spirit as seen in the works of Jesus to
Satan. They were calling the Holy Spirit an agent of Satan! So the
gospel accounts reveal that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is
calling the things of God – things that are right, good, honorable,
and sacred – to the power of Satan. This was a willful, stubborn,
and arrogant calling of good “evil.” And it was inexcusable!
As Jesus proclaims in Matthew 12:32 - “neither in this age [Jewish
dispensation] nor in the age to come [Christian dispensation].” Men
could stumble at the incarnation of the Son of God while He was on
earth – this could be forgiven. But to deny the complete testimony
of the Holy Spirit, was unforgivable. And still is!
·
So we learn that a person whose heart was so hardened that they
would attribute the miracles of the Holy Spirit to Satan could never
be led to believe. (John 12:37-40) “But although He had done
so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, that the
word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke:
‘Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the
Lord been revealed?’ Therefore they could not believe, because
Isaiah said again: ‘He has blinded their eyes and hardened their
hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should
understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’
”
NKJV Blasphemy
against the Holy Spirit was a condition of the heart which led to a
willful rejection of God’s saving power.
(Hebrews 3:7-13) “Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: ‘Today, if you
will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
In the day of trial in the wilderness, Where your fathers tested Me,
tried Me, And saw My works forty years. Therefore I was angry with
that generation,’ And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart,
And they have not known My ways.’ So I swore in My wrath, ‘They
shall not enter My rest.’ Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of
you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God’ but
exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of
you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”
NKJV
After the Holy Spirit came and gave the complete will of God, there
was no forgiveness for those who rejected it. (Hebrews
10:26-31) “For if we sin willfully after we have received the
knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for
sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery
indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has
rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or
three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will
he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot,
counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a
common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who
said, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.’ says the Lord. And again,
‘The Lord will judge His people.’ It is a fearful thing to fall
into the hands of the living God.”
NKJV
There will never be another plan of salvation offered to the world.
The Holy Spirit was the means that God revealed the gospel. When
the Holy Spirit was finished; God’s provisions for mercy were
exhausted. So to seek justification before God, through any
religious system other than the gospel of Jesus Christ is to call
evil what God has called good!
Conclusion:
God is willing to forgive even the vilest of sinners. (I Timothy
1:15-16) “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance,
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am
chief. However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first
Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who
are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.”
NKJV
The world needs to know there is only one way to have their sins
washed away – by coming in contact with the blood of Christ when one
is baptized. To reject this is to reject the only plan for saving
mankind.
Bobby Stafford
October 4, 2015
The
church of Christ
