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Holy Spirit:
We Hardly Know You—But We Know We Should
Sins Against
The Spirit
Matthew
12:22-32; 1 John 5:16-17
Introduction: Can I Be Forgiven?
An
acquaintance makes a special effort to seek you out. At first
there is some small talk that leaves you wondering what your
friend wants. Finally, it comes out in a rush of confession.
There is serious sin that has taken place. Attempts have been
made at seeking forgiveness, but there has been little assurance
that it has been received. The purpose of the contact now
becomes obvious as your friend wonders, “Can
I be forgiven? What if my sin is unpardonable?”
What kind of counsel would you give?
This
morning we are going to examine two
great sins that are specifically singled out in Scripture.
One is what we identify
as the unpardonable sin or blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
The second is the sin unto death. Both are sins against
the Holy Spirit. Both are sins committed against better knowledge.
Both involve rebellion against the leading of God through
the Holy Spirit. There are, however, some very distinct differences
that we will see.
Here
is a starting point for our study: God
never takes sin lightly. Are we all agreed on that point?
Sin breaks fellowship with God. Sin results in death—both
physical and spiritual death. Sin damages our relationships with one another.
Any and all sin is destructive. There are, however, two sins
that are singled out for severe punishment.
The Unpardonable Sin
The Investigation of the Sin
What did Jesus
do that caused the people to call Him the Son of David?
Then
they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute,
and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see.
All the people were astonished and said, "Could this
be the Son of David?" Matthew 12:22-23 NIV
Jesus
heals a man who has many problems. He is haunted by demons.
He is blind and unable to talk. Through this encounter with
Christ he can now both talk and see. The people wonder if
Jesus is the Son of David—a reference to the long-awaited
Messiah who ushers in the much-anticipated kingdom of God.
Why would this
prompt them to ask if Jesus is the Son of David?
The
answer to this question is contained in Old Testament prophecy.
Say
to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, and do not fear, for
your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming
to save you.” And when he comes, he will open the eyes of
the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf. The lame will
leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing
for joy! Isaiah 35:4-6a NLT
The
credentials of the coming King had just been demonstrated.
They had seen it with their own eyes. Could this really be
the One they had been waiting for?
How did the
Pharisees respond?
The
Pharisees, the religious rulers, refused to admit what the
people already knew.
But
when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "It is only
by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives
out demons." Matthew 12:24 NIV
This
was a deliberate choice. To them, Christ was taking away their
place of privilege and prestige. For this reason, they denied
the evidence that was right in front of them. They not only
denied the evidence, they twisted it and made it evil. They
accused Jesus of being in partnership with the prince of demons.
They tried to convince the people this was the only way Jesus
was able to do something this incredible.
What truth was
being rejected by the Pharisees?
As
Jesus takes them on in front of the amazed crowd, He exposes
their error. He challenges them to consider the gross inconsistency
in their lack of logic. He asks them for what reason Satan
would ever want to work against himself because a house divided
against itself makes no sense. He confronts them with the
truth they have to face.
But
if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom
of God has come upon you.
Matthew 12:28 NIV
They
were rejecting the very hope to which they had dedicated their
lives. Jesus identifies this as blasphemy against the Holy
Spirit.
How serious
is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit?
Jesus
explains just how serious this is.
And
so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men,
but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.
Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven,
but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be
forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. Matthew 12:31-32 NIV
It is the unpardonable sin.
The Commission of the Sin
The
question remaining to be answered is, “Why
is this the unpardonable sin?” The actual commission of
the sin takes place when a person attributes God’s miracle
working power to Satan. As twisted and perverted as this is
it is just the start. In doing this the valid offer of the
kingdom of God is rejected.
This
leads to a crucial point. Because the offer of the kingdom
comes only through the Savior, it means that only those who
aren’t Christians can commit this sin.
The Nature of the Sin
This
becomes clear when we understand the nature of the sin. The
Pharisees willfully rejected the offer of the Kingdom. In
John 9 we read about the healing of another man—this one who
had been born blind. After this man was healed the Pharisees
conducted a thorough investigation of the healing. When they
couldn’t overturn the evidence that healing had really occurred,
they insulted the healed man, called him names and threw him
out of the meeting place.
Jesus
finds the man, helps him understand what has happened and
leads him to belief. At this point some Pharisees ask Jesus
if He is accusing them of being blind. Listen to Jesus’ answer.
Jesus
said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of
sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.
John 9:41 NIV
Jesus
says ignorance can be forgiven. The apostle Paul knew that.
I
thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that
he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. Even
though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent
man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.
1 Timothy 1:12-13 NIV
Paul
blasphemed Jesus and persecuted His followers, but he did
it out of ignorance. When he was confronted by the grace-filled
truth contained in Jesus, Paul believed and was forgiven.
The Extent of the Sin
So,
why is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit unforgiveable? For the person
considering the claims of Christ the point of no return can
be reached in rejecting Him. It comes at that point when despite
all the evidence the truth is rejected. With the truth of
Jesus as Savior belittled and rejected, salvation is no longer
possible.
How do you know when the point of no return is reached?
When one has made a deliberate choice to reject truth and
then try to persuade others to do the same, that person is
at the point of never being forgiven because there is no way
the truth will ever be considered. Is there anyone who might be in that place? I
see several popular personalities in the media who slanderously
attack Christianity and wonder if they have reached the point
of no return.
The Sin Unto Death
The Commission of the Sin
The
sin unto death receives its name from a puzzling passage at
the end of John’s first letter.
If
anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to
death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer
to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin
that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about
that. All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not
lead to death. 1 John 5:16-17 NIV
We
learn here that
·
All wrongdoing is sin
·
Some sin does not lead to death for which
prayer should be offered
·
Some sin does lead to death for which prayer
does not need to be offered
·
Both types of sin are committed by a fellow
Christian
The
fact that this sin is committed by Christians, is verified
by the purpose of John’s letter stated just a few verses earlier.
I
write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son
of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 1 John 5:13 NIV
The
letter is written to believers and the specific instruction
is written to believers who see a fellow Christian sin.
The Consequences of the Sin
When
we look at some specific examples we will see there are two
consequences. The first consequence is physical death
that follows soon after the sin is committed. The second consequence is that the person
may not die but the results of the sin remain with the believer
until death. Neither outcome is good!
The Identification of the Sin
This
is a presumptuous
sin. The Christian knows what God desires and sins
willfully in spite of that knowledge. The writer of Hebrews
provides insight.
Dear
friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have
received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice
that will cover these sins. Hebrews
10:26 NLT
When
the deliberate choice is made to ignore and even violate the
only effective remedy for sin, there is no other place to
turn.
This
is also a premeditated
sin. The extent and the results of the sin have
been considered and the choice has been made to proceed—no
matter what. Scripture distinguishes between errors and willful sin. David wrote
about it in the Psalms.
How
can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?
Cleanse me from these
hidden faults.
Keep your servant from deliberate sins!
Don’t let them control
me.
Then I will be free of guilt
and innocent of great
sin. Psalm 19:12-13 NLT
David not only wrote about the difference between hidden
faults and deliberate sins. He demonstrated it.
Some Examples of the Sin
David
David
experienced the reality of the sin that leads to death. David
is noted as being a man after God’s own heart. Nevertheless,
his life had its dark moments. David’s sin of adultery with
Bathsheba is widely known. It happened while he should have
been with the army on the battlefield. He had stayed in Jerusalem.
One night David got up from his bed and went for a walk on
the roof of the palace. From his vantage point he saw a woman
bathing. She was beautiful. He desired her. Because he was
king he could and he did—and she became pregnant.
This was not the sin that leads to death. It was horrible, but it was the result of some hidden
and very destructive flaws that lurked in David’s heart. You
probably know the story and that the worst is yet to come.
With
the now pregnant Bathsheba having been seen in the palace
while her husband is away with the army, there is a scandal
threatening to explode. You need to know her husband is not
just any soldier. She is the wife of Uriah who is one of David’s
33 Mighty Men. These were the finest and most loyal soldiers
in the army. They would literally give their lives for the
King—the very same King who has stolen the affection of this
cherished wife.
Uriah
is recalled from battle and various ploys are used trying
to make sure that he will think he is the father of any child
to be born. When, out of empathy for his fellow soldiers still
engaged in battle he refuses to enjoy the comforts of home,
the now desperate king willfully and deliberately plans his
murder. He sends orders back with Uriah for the commander
to place Uriah in the most dangerous battle zone and then
to order the withdrawal of the other soldiers—knowing that
Uriah will fight to the death. Once news is received that
he is dead, David takes Bathsheba to be his wife. Problem
solved! Wrong! We read these frightening words.
But the thing David had done displeased the
Lord. 2
Samuel 11:27b NIV
God
expressed His displeasure through the prophet Nathan. You
can read about it in 2 Samuel 12. God had given David everything
and would have given him even more. That’s what makes the
rebuke so stinging.
Why
did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil
in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword
and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the
sword of the Ammonites. Now, therefore, the sword will never
depart from your house, because you despised me and took the
wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.
2 Samuel 12:9-10 NIV
While
David didn’t die, his son born by Bathsheba did. His son Absalom
became a murderer and a rebel who defiled his father’s house.
Because David’s life was marked by battle, God wouldn’t allow
him to build the temple. He
experienced the results of his sin until the day he died.
Was he forgiven? Yes. Did forgiveness remove the results of
his sin? No. And, no amount of prayer was ever going to
fix it.
Ananias and
Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11)
Now a man named Ananias,
together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property.
With his wife's full knowledge he kept back part of the money
for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles'
feet. Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan
has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit
and have kept for yourself some of the money you received
for the land? Didn't it belong to you before it was sold?
And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal?
What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied
to men but to God." When Ananias heard this, he fell
down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had
happened. Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his
body, and carried him out and buried him. About three hours
later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter
asked her, "Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias
got for the land?" "Yes," she said, "that
is the price." Peter said to her, "How could you
agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the
men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will
carry you out also." At that moment she fell down at
his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding
her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about
these events.
Ananias
and Sapphira conspired to willfully deceive the church in
Jerusalem by holding back a part of the sale price for a piece
of land they owned. They wanted to make themselves appear
more generous than they were. By doing this they lied to the
Holy Spirit. They died on the spot. For them, the sin unto
death was immediate.
The Immoral
Man (1 Corinthians 5:1-5; 2 Corinthians 2:4-11)
Expel the
Immoral Brother!
It is
actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you,
and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man
has his father's wife. And you are proud! Shouldn't you rather
have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship
the man who did this? Even though I am not physically present,
I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment
on the one who did this, just as if I were present. When you
are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with
you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present,
hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may
be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord. 1
Corinthians 5:1-5
For
I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and
with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the
depth of my love for you.
Forgiveness for the Sinner
If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he
has grieved all of you, to some extent—not to put it too severely.
The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient
for him. Now instead, you ought to forgive
and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive
sorrow. I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. The reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test
and be obedient in everything. If you
forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven—if
there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight
of Christ for your sake, in order that
Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes. 2 Corinthians
2:4-11
The
church at Corinth refused to deal with sexual immorality in
the church. They even bragged about a man who was having sex
with his stepmother. Paul instructed the church to hand him
over to Satan to experience the results of his sin, by premature
death if necessary, with the hope that he would confess. He
did confess and was restored to the church.
Those Abusing The Lord’s Supper (1
Corinthians 11:28-32)
A
man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and
drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of
the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That
is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you
have fallen asleep. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment.
When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that
we will not be condemned with the world.
It
is again the church at Corinth where believers were abusing
communion by celebrating the finished work of Christ while
clinging to their sinful practices. Because of this, many
of them were weak and sick and some had died.
The Seriousness of the Sin
We
learn from this that God takes sin seriously and wants us
to do so as well. The sin unto death involves Christians who
continue to sin willfully even while celebrating the grace
of the Father poured out in Christ and made real by the Holy
Spirit. The writer of Hebrews issues the warning about the
coming judgment for sin.
If
we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the
knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but
only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire
that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected
the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two
or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a
man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God
under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of
the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the
Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, "It is mine
to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will
judge his people." It is a dreadful thing to fall into
the hands of the living God.
Hebrews 10:26-31 NIV
There
is no sacrifice for sin beyond the death and resurrection
of Jesus. The only thing that remains is a fearful expectation
of judgment. While believers won’t be judged about whether
we will spend eternity in heaven or hell, there is still a
judgment that waits for us. When we stand before the judgment
seat of Christ for His evaluation, you
need to know it isn’t going to be like Christmas where
the people who have been on the naughty side receive a few
less presents.
The
writer of Hebrews says that it is a dreadful thing to fall
into the hands of the living God. There will be judgment and
where it needs to be severe you can count on the fact that
it will be. Dr. William Pettingill
who preached in the first half of the 20th Century
summed it up well. He said,
I would personally rather go through the
horrors of the Great Tribulation than to go through what some
Christians are going to have to go through at the Judgment
Seat of Christ.
A Comparative Summary
Let
me give you a comparative summary of these two sins against
the Holy Spirit and then finish by explaining why this is
important for you and me.
Similarities
Between The Two Sins
·
Both are committed against the Holy Spirit
·
Both are committed by rebellious people
·
Both are committed against better knowledge
·
Both are presumptuous and premeditated
Differences Between The Two Sins
Unpardonable Sin
Sin Unto Death
1.
Committed By Non-Christians 1.
Committed By Christians
2.
Unforgiveable
2. Forgivable
3.
Credits Satan for the work 3. Follows Satan into temptation by
of the Holy Spirit
despising the Holy Spirit
Conclusion: Why This Is Important
We have arrived at the concluding point for the morning:
God never takes sin lightly.
This is important because sin is a serious matter. We began
today with a hypothetical scenario of a friend seeking your
advice about serious sin. There is some solid advice you can
give.
Some
People Place Themselves Beyond God’s Grace
There
are some people who have so embraced the life of Satan and
have hardened their resistance toward God that they will never
consider the wonderful grace of God expressed through Jesus.
They have literally placed themselves beyond God’s grace.
But, a person who is asking about sin is not in that place.
That’s always important to remember.
Some People Presume Upon God’s Grace
Sin should never be trivialized. When we sin we are told to confess our sin and God will
forgive. There is a great danger in presuming upon God to
forgive while willfully pursuing sinful behavior. Christians
should never expect to presume upon God’s grace by doing what
we want because when we finally do decide to seek forgiveness,
God has to grant it. That is a very dangerous place to be.
I
share this with you today because there have been several
times during the course of ministry when I have had to confront
people rushing toward destruction. One man told me his decision
was to choose the darkness of sin over the light of following
God. Others said they were going to do what they were going
to do. After they had done it, they would ask God to forgive
them and everything would be all right. There is a problem.
I’m not aware if any of them ever truly sought forgiveness
and restoration. Many have experienced the results of their
sin with broken families and disillusioned children. What
they thought was their dream turned into a nightmare. And
then they wonder why.
My purpose this morning is to warn you about the deadly
serious nature of willful, premeditated sin. I would rather warn you now than be accused before Christ
of never telling you how dangerous it is to trifle with God.
That’s why it is important for me to ask you, “Is
there any sin you taking too lightly?” If there is, take
care of it now. For God’s sake—and for yours—take care of
it now!
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