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BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT Let's look at the condition of the human race in the eyes of God. Romans 3:23 teaches that all have sinned and come short of God's glory - that is, they have come short of the righteousness of God. At Romans 5:6-10 there are 4 words that describe that condition. Represented by the acrostic - HUSE. The first word is helpless: Man is helpless to do anything to solve that sin problem. Psalm 49:7 "No one can by any means redeem another Or give God a ransom for him." The second word is ungodly: This word describes the basic nature of all people. It is a nature that is opposite to and reisistent to the righteousness of God. Rom. 3:10 says, "there is none righteous no not one." The third word is sinners: This describes the fact that people consistently follows their unrighteous character and act contrary to God's moral laws. Rom. 3:12 says, "there is no one who does good, no not one." The fourth word is enemies: This describes the natural antagonism between God and every person. There is actually an on-going warfare between the human race and the kingdom of God. Paul describes it at Col. 1:21, "you were previously alienated and hostile in attitude, engaged in evil deeds." He describes man's sinful condition at Eph. 2:1 as being "dead in trespasses and sins." Death refers to spiritual death, which is basically separated from God and empty of His quality of life. And because of this God's judicious wrath must fall upon all who are guilty. Rom. 2:5 tell us, "But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God." But inspite of this universal sinfulness of the human race God provided the answer. Romans 5:6-10 "For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." Jesus died for the "sins of the whole world." Heb. 2.9 says that Jesus tasted death for everyone. No matter how many or what kinds of sins a person has committed, they were all carried in His own body on the cross. 1Peter 2:24, "He Himself carried our sins in His body up on the cross." While Jesus was on the cross, all the sins of the world were placed upon Him. God the Father and God the Spirit looked upon Him and spiritually speaking - they turned away from Him. And in that moment of time, the Savior of the world experienced separation from God - He experienced spiritual death for the entire human race. At that very moment after recognizing His separation from God the Father and the Holy Spirit, He proclaimed, "my God, my God, why have you forsaken me. He then acknowedged the reason. "because You are holy." And at the very moment that the Father accepted Christ's payment for all the sins of the world, Jesus proclaimed, tetelestai - paid in full. It is finished. Redemption had now been accomplished. God was satisfied. And John tells us that Jesus is the satisfaction for the sins of the whole world. 1John 2:2. It was a universal payment: 1 Tim. 2:6, who gave Himself as a ransom for all. It IS a universal provision: Titus 2.11, "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people." 1Tim. 2:4 tells us that God "desires all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." Therefore, there is a universal invitation: Rev 22:17, "The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires, take the water of life freely, as a gift." So now, what must be done to be saved from the penalty of sin? The simple answer is stated clearly at Acts 16:31. The Philippian jailer asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" The apostles answered him, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved." That is, just trust the fact that Jesus paid for your sins. And the result is: whoever believes in Christ has everlasting life. YES - Every personal sin was paid for on the cross, both past, present and future sins. But - there is one sin that cannot be forgiven ever. It is the sin of unbelief. A person must "stop" it to reverse it. That is, they must change (repent) their attitude aboutJesus and believe in Him as their Savior. That is what repent means. It means to change the mind about God and about your belief system and to accept God's system for salvation. This is the major point of conviction as the Holy Spirit uses the gospel message to woo the unbeliever to Himself. John 16:9. The Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. He will convict concerning sin (singular) because they do not believe in Me. That is the issue. He will convict of righteousness to reveal the need for salvation; all have come short of God's righteousness. Rom. 3:23. He will convict of judgment to reveal the ultimate consequence of sin; eternal separation from God. Jesus continually rebuked the religious leaders and the people that the issue for having a relationship with God - the possession of spiritual life - was the one sin of rejecting Him as the Savior of the world. Let's look at John 8:21-24. Then He said again to them, “I am going away, and you will look for Me, and will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 So the Jews were saying, “Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” 23 And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. 24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am (that is, that I am the Messiah), you will die in your sins.” Two factors are in view in this passage. The first one is the SIN of unbelief at verse 21. The second factor is the many personal SINS that fill a person’s life, and for which Jesus died on the cross (1 Peter 2:24). Dying in SIN, refers to meeting physical death without having trusted in Christ as Savior. Dying in SINS refers to meeting physical death while still under the WEIGHT and EXPERIENCE of personal sin. Even though these sins were all carried by Jesus and paid for, the experiential EFFECTS of those sins remain with the unbeliever throughout his life, and he dies without experiencing the reality and joy of forgiveness. However, at the last judgment, it is the ONE SIN of unbelief that condemns the person to the lake of fire, and everlasting separation from God, not personal sins. Rev. 20:15 "And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." The name of every person who was ever born or will be born has their name recorded in the book of life. It is the sin of unbelief (in the singular) that will result in having one's name blotted out of the book of life. 1. Rev. 3:5, He who overcomes will be clothed in white raiment, And I will not blot his name out of the book of life. 2. Definition of the overcomer in this contest is the one who has trusted in Christ as his savior. 1 John 5:5 "Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." 3. Thus, failure to trust in Christ as savior will result in the name being blotted out of the book. But of course, since as long as there is life, there is hope, the name of the unbeliever will not be blotted out of the book until the moment of physical death. The only exception to that is for the one who takes the mark of the beast. For such a one, there is no chance of turning back. Now, at John 8:21, the Greek has hamartia in the singular, and at verse 24, it is in the plural. There are no mss variations that have it plural. There is no transcriptural reason for distinquishing between the singular and the plural. But there is a spiritual reason for making that distinction. That is why Jesus made a point of using it in the singular in verse 21 and in the plural in verse 24 He used the word SIN in the singular to indicate a SPECIFIC condition, disposition or attitude of sin - in contrast to SINS in the plural, which refers to many acts of personal sin (in all three categories - mental, verbal and overt). It's THE specific conditioin of unbelief that perpetuates man’s spiritual death into eternity in the lake of fire. The Scripture MAKES A DISTINCTION between all the sins of the world that Jesus died for - and the ONE sin that Jesus did not die for. Later at John 9.41 Jesus said to them, If you were blind, you would have no sin: but since you say, We see; therefore your sin remains. If you were blind, that is, If you were aware of your need, you would have trusted in Christ. You would have no sin: the sin of unbelief would be offset by recognizing that you are blind and by accepting the spiritual healing through faith in Christ. The overall purpose for Christ's first coming is to provide salvation and to pronounce a judgment upon those who do not accept His provision. John 9:39, For judgment I came into this world. He came to clarify the reality of divine judgment from God's wrath. He actually does not WANT to judge as He taught before at John 3:16-21, "so that they should not perish but have everlasting life." And at verse 17, "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world but that the world might be saved through Him." He came for the purpose of providing "spiritual life" for mankind throug his payment for sins. The issue with the religious people confronting Jesus, is NOT the fact that they are false teachers, but the fact that they have rejected Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus clarified this at John 5:39-40, you search the scriptures because in them you think that you have eternal life; and its these that bear witness of me. And you are unwilling to come to me that you may have "life". Jesus taught that His mission was to solve the spiritual blindess factor of the human race. In this ironic proclamation, Jesus refers to those who think they have true spiritual sight - that is, they think they are right with God - as ones who say - we see. His purpose is to expose their deficiency and bring them to the place of spiritual humility. His purpose is to bring them the knowledge that they need in order to gain true spiritual sight, so that they can believe in Him, and enter into everlasting life. In other words, they need to recognize that they are really blind - really deficient of spritual truth On the other hand, he refers to those who recognize their spiritual need as those who do not see. These are those who do not claim to have truth different from what God's system proclaims. Jesus mentioned both at verse 39. “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see; and that those who see may become blind.” Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things, and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains. His statement, “If you were blind,” refers to spiritual humility and perception that recognizes Jesus as the Messiah-Savior and would result in saving faith. However, because they INSIST that they have spiritual sight and do not trust in Christ as Savior, the sin that denies them everlasting life remains. That sin is the sin of unbelief. Jesus taught this again at John 15:22-24. “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well.” Notice that if Jesus had not given them the knowledge that He was the Messiah-Savior, they would have no sin. What sin? Jesus explained, “now they have no excuse for their sin.” They have no excuse for rejecting Him as the promised Messiah-Savior (hatred and unbelief). Obviously the sin of rejecting Him is the sin of unbelief, fed by hatred because the darkness HATES the light.. And of course, the only way to reverse that particular sin is to trust in Him. Their sin remains because they insist that they have spiritual sight and yet reject Jesus as the Messiah. Before the arrival of Jesus and His revelation of Himself as the promised Messiah-Savior, salvation was still accomplished by trust in that promise of a coming Savior. And the sin of unbelief was still the nail in the coffin to confirm one's eternal judgment. It was faith-trust in the GENERAL promise of the coming Savior that procured salvation. Now, faith must be directed to the SPECIFIC person of the promise, the Lord Jesus Christ. Again, at John 8:24, “for unless you believe that I AM, you shall die in your sins.” According to Jesus, there is ONE SIN that is unforgivable. It is called BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE SPIRIT, and refers to a rejection of the Spirit’s witness that Jesus is the Messiah-Savior This sin of rejecting Christ is the sin of unbelief. Now, lets look at Mat. 12:31-32 Jesus is the Messiah and the Savior of the world. As the Messiah, he demonstrated Messianic authority (teaching, casting out of the temple, Lord of the sabbath, etc) He also demonstrated Messianic power via miracles: (casting out demons, healings and various other miracles) On this occasion, Jesus had demonstrated His Messianic power by casting out demons. This was of course, done through the Holy Spirit. And it is this demonstration of Messianic authority that proclaims that the kingdom of God is now among them. Mat. 12:28, "but if I cast out demons by the power of the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." When the Jews accused Him of doing it through the prince of demons they were rejecting the Spirit's ministry upon Him. If they do not accept the Spirit's ministry in Jesus, they will not accept Him as the Messiah. It is the rejection of Jesus as the Messiah and the Savior of the world that is the unpardonable sin. And it is a forever sin - unless they "repent" - change their mind about Him, which is to trust Him as the Messiah-savior. Matthew 12:31-32 V. 31, Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. Accepting him as savior brings total forgiveness of all sins at that very moment of time and the penalty of spiritual death is removed. Acts 10:43, “through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.” “In Whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our sins,” (Ephesians 1:7) But if one does not trust in Jesus, there is no forgiveness. To speak against the Spirit is to reject the testimony of the Spirit that bears witness to the Messiahship of Jesus. This is a sin that can never be forgiven, either in this age or the age to come. At Mark 3:28, it is called an eternal sin; that is, a sin that is perpetuated for all eternity. The only sin that fits that category is the sin of rejecting Christ. If one rejects Jesus as Savior, there is no forgiveness. The sin of unbelief can only be undone by one thing; REVERSAL. As long as there is life, there is hope and opportunity to believe in Christ. The ONLY exception to this is when someone takes the mark of the beast during the time of his oppressive reign on the earth, (Rev. 14:9-11). Notice also, at verse 32, that Jesus said, you can say anything against the son of man (me) and I won’t hold it against you. This refers to the personal forgiveness that Jesus gives to those who sin against him. It is the same kind of pesonal forgiveness that we should express toward others. Mat. 18:21-22 Then Peter came up and said to Him, “Lord, how many times shall my brother sin against me and I still forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy-seven times. This is exactly what happened on the cross when Jesus said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do,” (Luke 23;34). This expresses the attitude of Jesus toward His personal enemies. It does not bring any kind of “salvation” forgiveness. However, Jesus also makes the point that if they reject WHO HE IS, then they are rejecting their only source of salvation. Now, although the Holy Spirit has a continuous ativity of convicting the world of sin, righteousness and judgment, people today cannot actually reject the Spirit's function of working in the life of Jesus. That could only be done while in the presence of Jesus and as a witness to His Messianic miracles. Thus THAT specific blasphemy against the Spirit was limited to when Jesus was present on earth. However, the failure of the world to trust in Christ today, amounts to the same thing. That is, rejection of the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit. Technically, it is not the same thing, but it does carry the same results. Rejection of Jesus as your Savior means no forgiveness of sins. And that results in the perpetuation of spiritual death in the lake of fire for all eternity. Summary of the unpardonable sin: REMOVAL OF THE UNPARDONABLE SIN: a. All personal sins were imputed to Christ on the cross. 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 2:2 b. Therefore everyone's name has been recorded in the book of life as an indication of God's universal grace provision. c. There is only one sin which removes the name from the book. Rev. 3:5; not overcoming as per 1 Jn. 5:4-5 d. Thus, all whose name is not in the book will go into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:15 e. The only sin that cannot be forgiven is the sin of not overcoming the world. ie, not trusting in Christ as savior. f. It is called, blasphemy against the Spirit at Matthew 12:31-32, but that term can only be applied to those who were present during Christ’s ministry and rejected Him as the Messiah, by rejecting the ministry of the Spirit in His life. At Mark 3:28, it is called an everlasting sin (aionios hamart@ma). g. But in principle, the same thing occurs after the resurrection, but it is never designated as blasphemy against the Spirit, but rather RESISTING the Spirit (Acts 7:51). h. It is the Spirit's ministry to convict the world. John 6:63; 16:8-11 i. When that conviction is ignored, it is rejecting and maligning the Spirit. j. John 9:35-41 - your sin (of unbelief) remains. k. John 8:21-24 - die in your sin (of unbelief) die in your sins (plural) refers to full participation in the experiential effects of personal sins until the day you die physically. l. So for the one who believes in Christ, there is a permanent deliverance from the finality of the unpardonable sin. m. The genuine decision to trust in Christ removes for all time the potential of being guilty of this eternal sin. | ||
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©Ron Wallace, http://www.biblefragrances.com.
Anyone is free to reproduce this material and distribute it, |
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