WHEREFORE I SAY UNTO YOU, ALL MANNER OF SIN AND BLASPHEMY SHALL BE FORGIVEN UNTO MEN, BUT THE BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT SHALL NOT BE FORGIVEN UNTO MEN.
JESUS SPOKE THESE WORDS IN MATTHEW 12: 31.
Let me start this study by first giving you part of an excellent old article by David Antion. I had the pleasure of attending a Feast of Tabernacles long long time ago, where David Antion was one of the speakers.
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Blasphemy is dangerous. And it ought to be considered so
because one form of blasphemy is the UNPARDONABLE sin. Let us
understand this.
The case of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is shown in
Matthew 12:22-32. "Then was brought unto Him one possessed with a
demon, 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." Then Jesus said in verse 31, "Wherefore I say unto you, All
manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men ... "
Notice in this statement that Jesus said there were different
manners or kinds of blasphemy just as there were different kinds
of sin. All the other types of blasphemy can be forgiven. The
Apostle Paul was one who was forgiven of blasphemy that he had
done in ignorance. See I Timothy 1:13.
"But," Jesus went on in verse 31 and 32, "the blasphemy
against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven unto men. And ...
whosoever speaketh against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be
forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to
come."
What did the Pharisees do or say against the Holy Spirit
that Christ should say this to them? Let us notice.
In verse 23, after the people saw the miracle, "And all the
people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?" The
people let the work performed by the Holy Spirit in this miracle
prick their hearts. They were ready to acknowledge that God was
working through His Son Jesus Christ. And that Jesus was not just
an ordinary man but that He truly was the Messiah who was
prophesied to come. They let the manifested power of the Holy
Spirit convict them, and begin to bring them to repentance.
But the Pharisees, who saw the same miracle, who saw the
blind and dumb man speak and see, did not allow the work of the
Holy Spirit to convict them. They hardened their hearts. They
probably had a feeling that they should give God glory. They knew
that what Jesus did was an act of God - that it was good and
right. But instead of allowing this wonderful work to soften
their hearts and bring them to repentance, they hardened
themselves and spoke against the miracle done by the Holy Spirit.
They said, "This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by
Beelzebub the prince of the devils [or demons]." This was
blasphemy! They called a work done by the Holy Spirit - a work
done to bring them to repentance - the work of Satan the Devil.
Instead of repenting, they struck back at God's Holy Spirit -
which is the power that brings us to repentance. They spoke
against and blasphemed the only power that could make them
repent. They therefore seared their consciences and hardened
their hearts to the point they could never repent. Therefore they
could never be forgiven.
If we get into a habit of blaspheming God, His Word, His
doctrine by our words and misdeeds, we are only a step away from
blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. We are walking the cliff, so to
speak. It is a dangerous walk, for one slip could mean our
eternal end.
Let us put away all forms of blasphemy…….
And above all, let us never attribute work done by and through the
power of God's Holy Spirit as being the work of Satan the Devil.
For if we harden our hearts to this extent we shall have
committed the sin of which Jesus Christ said, "... it shall not
be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to
come."
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Did you get the truth of the "unpardonable sin" in the last part of this study? ALL sins can be forgiven UPON REPENTANCE. The sin that cannot be forgiven is the sin of NOT repenting! When God, uses His spirit to bring a person to the knowledge of the truth, to salvation knowledge, and that person will NOT give his/her mind to REPENTING and moving forth to accepting Christ Jesus as Savior, willing to now live by every word of God (Mat.4:4) and build a personal relationship with the Father and His Son Jesus, then THAT SIN of NOT repenting cannot be forgiven. The person has committed the unpardonable sin. The person has blasphemed the Holy Spirit, the power the Father uses to bring people to the knowledge of the truth and to repentance.
We as Christians are not perfect, we are still in the flesh while in this physical body. We do sometimes sin; though our mind-set is to serve God, to obey His way of life, His commandments. Our weakness of the flesh, the pressures of the sinful world, Satan and his demon helpers, all still pull at us, and at times, though we do not want to, we find that we fall, we miss the mark, we sin. This is all explained in 1 John and the first few chapters.
Read it in a modern translation, and you will see what John was inspired to tell us, about our life as a Christian. Then also we have the apostle Paul being inspired to write Romans chapter 7. The Christian may find themselves in exactly the mind of Paul in Romans 7. None of that is the unpardonable sin.
The blasphemy of the unpardonable sin is when you KNOW THE TRUTH, and you coldly, with a clear mind, say to God's Holy Spirit, which He is using to lead you into truth, "I want no part of this. I will NOT serve, I will not OBEY, I will NOT walk with you
God."
With such an attitude of mind, God CANNOT forgive or have mercy on that person. They have sinned against the Holy Spirit; they have sinned against God, and the Holy One can only show mercy through Christ Jesus to someone who will REPENT of sin.
It is a one, two, three, movement that God has decreed, set down as to how any person can have salvation. God uses His Spirit to take away spiritual blindness from the mind of a person. The person must be willing to acknowledge truth and sin, be willing to repent of sin, change the mind-set to obey God, and then FORGIVENESS is given to that person. If the person will not acknowledge sin and repent of practicing sin as a way of life, then they have REJECTED the Holy Spirit - blasphemed against the Holy Spirit, and hence CANNOT be forgiven in this life, and cannot have eternal life in the future.
If you have not done so, make sure you study my study called "Saved by Grace" and you should then be clear in your mind (if you are not at present) what the unpardonable sin is - what the sin is against the Holy Spirit that cannot be forgiven in this life nor in the life to come.
THIS IS THE ULTIMATE BLASPHEMY AGAINST GOD'S HOLY SPIRIT
THERE ARE OTHER FORMS OF BLASPHEMY [TIME SPENT WITH SAY STRONG'S CONCORDANCE OF THE BIBLE, UNDER THE WORD "BLASPHEMY" WILL GIVE YOU ALL PLACES WHERE THE WORD IS USED IN THE KING JAMES BIBLE; OR A BOOK LIKE "NAVE'S TOPICAL BIBLE" WILL GUIDE YOU IN STUDYING THIS WORD "BLASPHEMY."
A type of blasphemy is found in Acts 6 where Ananas and Sapphira his wife LIED to the Holy Spirit [to God] about the money they got from selling some land possession. They were making out they got "such and such" money and gave it all to the apostles for God's work. You will notice verse 4 shows it was always theirs - to do with it as they desired. They could have given some of it and kept some of it. They could do whatever they wanted with it per se. But they had to make out they were giving the total amount to the apostles - it was a deliberate lie.
In this case God took severe action, they both died!
This is not saying that God will use such dramatic power on every Christian that lies. It is simply showing God knows the truth and the heart of persons, and could, can, if He so decides, take pretty powerful action, even to death.
DAVID ANTION brings out the meaning of the context in Matthew 12 and blaspheming against the Holy Spirit.
IT IS THE SET-IN-STONE MINDSET OF ATTRIBUTING SOMETHING THAT GOD IS DOING THROUGH A PERSON, TO BE THE WORK OF THE DEVIL, TO PUT IT BLUNTLY!!
I DO HAVE AN EXAMPLE THAT WAS VERY PERSONAL TO ME, AND THE POWERFUL WAY GOD DECIDED TO ANSWER IT.
My wife at the time and I were in Florida for the winter months, having sold up in B.C. and on our way to New Brunswick [on the other side of the country] via some winter months in Florida [where my wife's mother went for the winter]. We walked into a Sabbath service of the CGI [Church of God, International]. Wow, after the regular service, this deacon and his wife stood up and they were throwing out accusations of this and that, when the minister was with them [he had just recently been transferred via his secular job to another town in another State]. It was very plain to see this congregation was divided down the middle with supporters of this deacon and his wife, and those opposed to them. It was quite the open mess, the anger from this deacon backed by his wife was unreal, just unreal. I finally had to stand up and say something. I told them I was an ordained minister, who years before had had a working connection with the CGI. I told them this was not the way to solve problems in the church. Well I was [with my wife] enemy number two. They thought I was infiltrating their congregation, and it would seem, to take it away from this deacon now in charge since the minister was no longer there. Within one week I was accused of this and that, especially to break up or take over this congregation.
Ron Dart [one of the leading ministers of the CGI at the time] sent the minister back to this Florida congregation within about three weeks of my arrival, to see if things could be solved. He came, gave his sermon, then it was open forum mayhem once more. This deacon and his wife tearing into this minister. He left and went home with no result of the problem being solved.
Again, after this episode, I was being attacked, maligned, as someone with sinister motives. Now about half the congregation was cold and suspicious towards my wife and I, the other half warm and friendly.
I did what Matthew 18 tells us to do…… go to your brother privately and try to solve the problem. My meeting with the deacon and his wife was very cold from them, very blunt words of unkindness from them. They saw things a certain way, and had already put us in the basket of the "bad" apples part of the congregation that was not quite following them.
Over a period of about three months with this cold hostile atmosphere in this local CGI church, I wrote a few times telling Ron Dart the situation. And the hostility from this deacon and his wife, and the cold split that hung over the congregation.
Another CGI minster from across the other side of Florida was sent about every 2 or 3 weeks, to try and heal the wound taking place. He and I got along just fine; some of the "not so sure" people [from the influence of this deacon] began to warm up to us. But this trouble was far from over, the unrest and confusion was still simmering. As we got closer to Passover some more were seeing I was not harming them at all, just the opposite.
Ron Dart decided to come and lead the Passover and feast part of Unleavened Bread service. After the UB service I spent a little time talking to Ron. We had more people, one couple I remember specifically, came up to my wife and myself after services and said, "We got off to a bad start, we are sorry."
Sadly the problem with this deacon and his wife did not go away. I had tried in different ways to break the ice with them. The friction in the congregation did not heal. There was trouble in the air, in the atmosphere of this local church.
We were now getting ready to leave Florida. I wrote to Ron saying so, and I told him I was leaving this problem in his hands, as I had gone out of me way to try and break this cold ice with this deacon.
Away we went to New Brunswick. And there I found work in my trade of Orthopedic Shoemaking.
For the holiday break in December we decided to return and enjoy a few weeks back in Florida. I thought well we have not been there for 6 or more months, so hopefully by now they knew we were not there to bring trouble to them, as this deacon and this wife wanted to believe. We got out of the car and walked to the entrance of the building where services were held. The first man to greet us was not the most friendliest person towards us from before, BUT NOW he had a big smile, warmest handshake….."Did you hear?" he asked me,
"Hear what?" I replied.
"Well I guess you did not hear then. Within two or three weeks after you went up to Canada, the deacon was struck with cancer from head to feet. He was dead within a few weeks!"
I was shocked; I know I had said to God, that I have to leave it in His hands, this trouble with this deacon and his wife, who just wanted to believe I was evil, and up to no good. I HAD NOT THE SLIGHTEST THOUGHT THAT THE ETERNAL GOD IN HEAVEN WOULD ANSWER THIS WAY - SWIFT AND SO POWERFULLY!!
I WAS STUNNED……. TO REALIZE HOW THE LORD SOMETIMES WHEN HIS GOOD IS CALLED EVIL BY SOMEONE, HOW HE ANSWERS…..I WAS SHOCKED TO THINK THAT AN ACTS 5 HE WOULD STILL USE. I'D NEVER SEEN, HEARD, OR EXPERIENCED ANYTHING CLOSE TO THIS IN MY LIFE, AND THEN IN MY MINISTRY OF ONLY ABOUT 9 YEARS.
THE DEACON'S WIFE…… YOU WOULD NEVER HAVE KNOWN HER, SHE HAD BEEN HUMBLED; NOT THE SAME WOMAN AT ALL, QUIET AS COULD BE, JUST A 180 DEGREE TURN-ABOUT.
THE CONGREGATION WELCOMED US WITH OPEN ARMS….. EVERYONE TOGETHER AS ONE, SERVING AND REJOICING IN THE LORD.
DOES THIS SOUND WAY OUT TO YOU? DOES IT SOUND LIKE I'M WRITING SOME KIND OF FICTION STORY WITH DRAMATIC EFFECTS FOR BETTER REALISM?
WHAT I'VE TOLD YOU REALLY HAPPENED. THAT CGI CONGREGATION WAS IN CLEARWATER, FLORIDA, IF STILL THERE, WITH STILL SOME OF THE SAME PEOPLE, THEY WILL TELL YOU WHAT I'VE RELATED IS ABSOLUTELY TRUE!!!
GOD AND JESUS HIS SON, ARE ALIVE, THEY ARE THERE IN HEAVEN ABOVE, AND IF YOU STEP OVER THE LINE LONG ENOUGH, WITH AMPLE TIME TO SEE AND REPENT, AND YOU CALL WHAT GOD'S SPIRIT IS DOING, EVIL, AND FROM, THE DEVIL….. BOTH THE FATHER AND THE SON CAN STILL DO AN ACTS 5 IF THEY SO WILL.
PENTECOST IS ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT AND ITS WORKING POWER, BE CAREFUL……AS JESUS ONCE SAID, JUDGE RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT!
THEN GO FORWARD BOLDLY, IN THE POWER AND MIGHT OF THAT SPIRIT, DOING THE WORK OF GOD, AS YOU CAN, IN THE CALLING WORK HE HAS GIVEN YOU TO DO.
AS PAUL TAUGHT THE CORINTHIANS WE ARE ALL CALLED TO FUNCTION DIFFERENTLY, BUT WE ARE ALL ONE BODY OF CHRIST, ALL PART OF HIM, ALL THEN NIT TOGETHER GOING FORTH TO SPREAD THE GOSPEL NEAR AND FAR, BY AND THROUGH THE HELP AND POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
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