The book of Hebrews refers to sin as something that so easily entangles us. Have you ever noticed how easy it is to sin? Maybe it is a lustful thought that you act on, or saying something that is profane or combative toward another person. Being that all of humanity is born into a sinful condition, sin really does easily entangle us.
Have you ever wondered if you have gone too far with your sin? In other words, have you wondered if your sin is so great that God might never forgive you?
According to Jesus, all sin can and will be forgiven if a person repents of their sin and turns to God … except for one sin in particular. What is this sin? What sin could be so grievous that our Heavenly Father, who by His nature is so forgiving, would not forgive us of that sin? To see that answer, we have to look no further than Matthew chapter 12 in the Scripture.
In Matthew 12, Jesus healed a man who was possessed by a demon. This demon caused the man blindness, and kept him from being able to speak. Upon this man being brought to Jesus, Matthew tells us that Jesus cast the demon out of the man, and the man was then able to see and speak. What a miracle! What a sign from Jesus that the power of God’s Holy Spirit was at work through Him!
The Pharisees heard the people asking the question as to whether or not Jesus was the Promised Messiah. And while every sign pointed to that being the case, the Pharisees exclaimed out loud that the only reason Jesus could cast out demons was because He must be working for Satan (Matthew 12:24). The Pharisees had all the evidence they needed that Jesus was the Messiah ... but they were resistant to the Holy Spirits evidence and work. Their hearts were so hardened, that they resisted giving Jesus His rightful glory.
Upon knowing what the Pharisees were thinking and saying, Jesus says if “Satan is casting out Satan, his kingdom will not stand." Jesus makes it clear to them that He is not working for Satan, but rather that He has power over Satan. And if indeed He is casting out demons, and it is not Satan’s work, then the Kingdom of God is upon them (Matthew 12:26-28). And then, Jesus says this to them:
“And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”
Matthew 12:32
So Jesus gives the Pharisees a warning, and says the only sin so grievous to never be forgiven is that sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit of God. When we talk about blasphemy, we are talking about something that is insulting to an outrageous degree. The word which blasphemy comes from is the word blasphēmia - the act or offense of speaking sacrilegiously about God or sacred things, synonymous with irreverence and disrespect of God. In Matthew 12, our Lord says that there is a kind of speech against the Holy Spirit that will not be forgiven in this age or the one to come. Words that are dismissive of the Holy Spirit, insult the Holy Spirit, and that mock Him. How scary is that? How terrifying to think you never be forgiven by God!
To reject the Holy Spirit’s work and contribute His work to Satan is quite a tragedy. A lot of Christians wonder if they have committed this sin. They live with a state of fear or dread that maybe they have. The reality is that if you know Christ personally by repenting of your sin and turning your life over to Him, you have not committed this sin, and you need to stand secure in your salvation. In Jesus, there is no shame or condemnation according to Scripture. So if you have invited the Lord into your life, you can rest assured that you are forgiven of all your sin.
And while we, as Christians, will not commit the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul tells us that we need to be careful not to quench or grieve the Holy Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 5:19; Ephesians 4:30) To quench the Holy Spirit is like throwing water on a fire causing it to burn less brightly and hot.To grieve the Holy Spirit is to cause Him sadness and sorrow. How do we quench and grieve the Holy Spirit? We quench/grieve the Spirit when we do not obey His promptings. We quench/grieve the Spirit when we do not hold to what is good. We quench/grieve Spirit when we do nt take the way out He provides when we are tempted to sin. We quench/grieve the Spirit when we love the things of the world more than we love God.
This is why Paul tells us to stay in stride with the Spirit. We stay in stride by not resisting His promptings. We stay in stride when we do not resist the truth. We stay in stride when we do not resist bringing darkness to the light. If we are going to resist anything as Christ followers, we need to resist Satan and his temptations that causes us to sin. Fan the flame of the Holy Spirit by staying in stride with His promptings in your life. Pray and ask Him to have His way, to produce His fruit in you.
God is gracious, and God is very forgiving. His Spirit is always leading people gently into repentance of sin. And the good news is ... as long as you have breathe in you, you can come to repentance. You can turn from sin and turn to God, and He will cleanse you of all unrighteousness. What a gift!
-Pastor Robert