 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
| BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE SPIRIT |
|
|
|
|
||
|
BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT Jesus is the Messiah. 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 the occasion here in Matthew 12:31-32, (Mark 3:28-29; Luke 12:10), Jesus had demonstrated His Messianic power by casting out demons (Mat 12:24-28). This was of course, done through the Holy Spirit. (Isaiah 61:1; 42:1; 11:2) When the Jews accused Him of doing it through the prince of demons they were rejecting the Spirit's ministry upon Him and therefore rejecting Him as the Messiah. This is the unpardonable sin. If they do not accept the Spirit's ministry on Jesus, they will not accept Him as the Messiah - ie, an unpardonable sin - until and unless they "repent" - change their mind about Him, which is to trust Him as the Messiah-savior. The ONLY unpardonable sin is the sin of rejecting Christ as Savior; the sin of unbelief. Matthew 12:31-32 V. 31 1. any sin and blasphemy: all and every sin can be forgiven. Accepting him as savior brings total forgiveness of all sins at that very moment of time; Ie, 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. 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. 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. 2. 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 only 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). Now, although the Holy Spirit is presently in the "convicting" business during the church age (John 16:8-11) people today cannot actually reject the Spirit's job of working through the Messiah. That could only be done while in the presence of Jesus and as a witness to His Messianic miracles. Thus blasphemy against the Spirit was limited to when Jesus was present on earth. The failure of the world to trust in Christ today, amounts to the same thing, ie, rejection of the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit, but technically, it is not the same thing. However, it does carry the same results. No forgiveness results in the perpetuation of spiritual death for all eternity in the lake of fire. | ||
|
|
|
|||
|
©Ron Wallace, http://www.biblefragrances.com.
Anyone is free to reproduce this material and distribute it, |
||||
 |
 |
|||