Sin Against the Holy Spirit
SIN AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Unpardonable Sin
Much misunderstanding prevails concerning the "sin against the Holy Spirit." Many have concluded that this "unpardonable sin" may be committed today. Consequently the guilty persons have no hope of salvation whatsover.
What is the "sin against the Holy Spirit"? Is it an "un-pardonable sin"? May people today, in this Christian age, commit this most grevious sin? These are questions for our consideration.
What Is The Sin Against Holy Spirit? The question, "What is the sin against the Holy Spirit?" has provoked much thought and no little speculation through the years. There must be an answer in the Holy Scriptures.
There is only one specific incident, recorded in the Bible, which can truly be said to be the "sin against the Holy Spirit." The divine record of this incident is found in Matthew 12:22-32.
"Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and He healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spoke 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 into 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. Or else how can one enter into a. strongman's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? And then he will spoil his house. He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy- Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come."
Blasphemy Against Holy Spirit
There can be no doubt about it, Jesus declared these people sinned against the Holy Spirit by blasphemy (speak-ing against or speaking evil of) the Holy Spirit. Jesus had performed a great miracle and the people were amazed and exclaimed, "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 devils." Jesus replied that he cast out devils, not by Beelzebub, but "by the Spirit of God." The Holy Spirit performed the deed through Christ. The Pharisees accused the Lord of using the prince of the devils to perform the miracle, therefore , they blasphemed, spoke against, sinned against, the Holy Spirit, who performed the miracle through Christ.
Cannot Be Forgiven As a result of the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, Jesus announced that they had committed an unpardonable sin. Hear the Lord! Are you listening? "And whosoever speaketh a word against the son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come" (Matthew 12:32).
It will be observed that Christ declared: "Whosoever speaketh against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come."
First: It is concluded: "It shall not be forgiven him."
Secondly: "Neither in this world, neither in the world to come."
Now, what is meant by "neither in the world to come"? Does not this expression suggest there will be sins forgiven in "the world to come"? Surely one must know there will be no sins forgiven in eternity, the world to come. Christ was not referring to the hadean world to come, or eternity. Actually, the word, "world," in this text may be translated "age," ,rather than the word, "world." This is more en-lightening. Actually, Jesus declared to those blaspheming Pharisees, you have sinned, or blasphemed, against the Holy Spirit, who performed this miracle through me, and you shall not be forgiven in this "age," Jewish age, neither in the "age," Christian age, "to come." Therefore, it was those Pharisees, on that occasion, who committed the sin against the Holy Spirit! There was no forgiveness for them then , neither would there be forgiveness for them in the Christian "age" to come.
Do Men Sin Against Holy Spirit Today?
Many sincere people have been led to believe that one may sin against the Holy Spirit today, thereby, committing an unpardonable sin, just as the Pharisees blasphemed against the Holy Spirit on the occasion of Matthew 12:22-32. But, it must be remembered that Christ declared that there is a difference in the consequences of sinning, or blaspheming, against the Holy Spirit and sinning against Christ. He said, "Whosoever speaketh against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him . . ."(Matthew 12:32). There was to be no forgiveness for the sin against the Holy Spirit, but all sins against Christ might be forgiven. If a person could commit the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit today, there would be no forgiveness for him. His doom would be sealed and nothing he could do about it. Actually, the que-tion is, do men today sin against the Holy Spirit; or, sin against Christ? Or, we might say, are man's sins today charged against Christ or against the Holy Spirit? Further information on these questions will be presented in the course of these addresses.
Impossible To Be Saved?
Some religious teachers have referred to Hebrews 6:4-6 as evidence that man may sin against the Holy Spirit today and find it impossible to be forgiven.
The text does state it is "imposible . . if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance . . ."
This Scripture says nothing about "impossible to be forgiven." The difficulty in this case of apostasy is the fact that such a person would not repent; or, because of his circumstances and his conscience, it is "impossible" for him to repent, not that it would be impossible to obtain forgiveness if he repented; .it specifically declares the sin is against Christ, and not against the Holy Spirit: " ... seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame" (Hebrews 6:6).
Jesus declared, at the time these Pharisees committed the "unpardonable" sin of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit, that "Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world , neither in the world to come" (Matthew 12:21; Matthew 12:32). Sin, or blasphemy, against Christ may be forgiven. The sin of Hebrews 6:6 is against Christ, therefore, it is not an unpardonable sin!
It must be concluded that Hebrews 6 th chapter does not refer to the sin against the Holy Spirit, or the unpardonable sin. This sin, whatever it might be, is against Christ, not the Holy Spirit.
No More Sacrifice For Sins
Again, it has been said that Hebrews 10:26 refers to the "sin against the Holy Spirit"; or, an "unpardonable sin." The inspired writer declared: "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins." This text does not even imply the "sin against," or blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. The apostle is revealing the contrast between the sin offerings under the Old Law and the one sacrifice for sin under the New Testament law, the one and only true sacrifice for sins. "There remaineth no more sacrifice for sins." There is none other and there will be no other. God's Son only is the one perfect offering!
Sin Unto Death Is the sin against the Holy Spirit the sin referred to in 1 John 5:16-17, sometimes referred to as "the unpardonable sin"?
"If any man sees his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death" (1 John 5:16-17).
From this divine statement it is evident that one may be guilty of sin in so much that there is no need to pray for him. There is no evidence, however, that this is the sin against the Holy Spirit, about which our Lord spoke in Matthew 12:27-32.
To understand this statement by the apostle it is necessary to consider the context from which the passage is quoted. Let us observe verse 7 through 9 of 1 John , 1 st chapter.
"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have felowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
The apostle, by inspiration, declares that Christ is "faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
All unrighteousness may be forgiven! If all unrighteous-ness may be forgiven, then there is no "unpardonable sin." Of course, pardon of sins is conditional. Obviously, there-fore, if man does not meet the required conditions of pardon , then his sins are "unpardoned."
The conditions of pardon for the Christian's sins includes confession of sins, surely evidence of repentance, and prayer. In addition to the statement of John, which promises forgiveness of the Lord, if we confess our sins, James added, "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed" (James 5:16).
From these Scriptures we are forced to the inevitable con-clusions that the Lord will forgive all sins a brother con-fesses. But there is a sin unto death which the Lord will not forgive, therefore, the "sin unto death," or the "un-pardonable sin," of 1 John 5:16-17, must be the sin, or sins which a brother will not confess. If a brother is guilty of certain sins and will not repent and confess his sins, there is no need for Christians to pray for such a brother. The Lord will not answer a prayer on behalf of a child of God who is living in sin and refuses to confess his sins.
Holy Spirit Through Christ
Every sin and blasphemy committed today is accounted against Christ, the one perfect sin offering, and not against the Holy Spirit. While Jesus was on earth, performing the marvelous miracles, it was the Holy Spirit, through Him, accomplishing such great wonders. He declared that "I cast out devils by the Spirit of God" (Matthew 12:28).
The Pharisees sinned against the Holy Spirit by blaspheming, or speaking against the Holy Spirit, in that they declared that Jesus performed the miracle by Beelzebub , the prince of the devils. There was no forgiveness for them!
Christ Through Holy Spirit
Before Christ returned to the Father He chose the apos-tles, as His ambassadors, and committed unto them the word of reconciliation by which man might become recon-ciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:18-20). The apostles were informed by Christ that the Holy Spirit would be sent by Him from the Father with the message of Christ for man's salvation. The Holy Spirit was to receive the message from Christ and reveal it unto the apostles. Hear Him! I say, are you listening?
"I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father bath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you" (John 16:12-15).
Order Now Reversed The order has now been reversed. When Jesus was on earth the Holy. Spirit operated through Him, but after the Lord returned to the Father, He sent the third person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit, to the apostles and operated through the agency of the Holy Spirit in guiding them into all truth. While Jesus was on earth and the Holy Spirit performed miracles through Him, the Pharisees blasphemed the Holy Spirit by declaring the work to be that of the devil. That is when Christ declared they would not be forgiven, in that age (Jewish age), neither in the age (Chris-tian age) to come. Today the Holy Spirit no longer operates through Christ, but on the contrary, Jesus operates through the Holy Spirit (John 16:12-18). The Holy Spirit operates through the word revealed to the apostles, which was written and was confirmed by the miraculous work of the Spirit , now known as the New Testament (John 14:26; John 16:13; Hebrews 2:3; Mark 16:20).
All sins and transgressions since the death and ascension of Christ, therefore, are committed against Christ and not against the Holy Spirit. When the Lord pronounced the penalty of unforgivenes upon the Pharisees, because of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, He, furthermore, declared that "all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men," except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, and "whosoever speaketh a word against (blaspheme) the Son of man it shall be forgiven him" (Matthew 12:31-32).
But someone might suggest, "Is not the Holy Spirit in-volved with Christ when man sins against the Son of God?" Yes! So was Christ very much involved when the Holy Spirit performed the miracle through Him which brought forth the severe pronouncement of unforgiveness upon the Phari-sees. Jesus declared the sin was against the Holy Spirit and not him. An agent for a firm may have a very speci-fic relationship and responsibility to the firm, but it is the firm, or principal, to whom any credit or discredit is due when the performance of that firm is in question.
Man may commit grievious sins against Christ, the principal, and sin indirectly against the Holy Spirit, the agent, but such sins are against the Son of man and may be forgiven upon complying with the conditions certified in the gospel. If sins against Christ and the Holy Spirit were unpardonable, then it would seem the infidel and atheist would have no chance for forgiveness, even though they might desire to repent and obey the gospel.
All sins and transgressions, since the cross, have been against Christ and may be forgiven; therefore, there is no unpardonable sin today. The sin against the Holy Spirit was committed by those Pharisees who accused Jesus of performing a miracle by the power of the devil, when in reality, He had performed the miracle by the power of the Spirit. They blasphemed the Holy Spirit. As a penalty , Christ declared they would not be forgiven therefore, they committed an unpardonable sin, the only reference to such a hopeless condition of life and destiny revealed in the Bible. In the same scripture our Lord gave full assurance that every sin and blasphemy against the "Son of man" shall be forgiven him. Today the gospel of Christ is to be preached to every man on earth and any man on earth may be saved by obeying the gospel (Mark 16:15-16). Are your sins pardoned, or unpardoned?
QUESTIONS FOR MEDITATION 1. Who was said to have committed blasphemy against the Holy Spirit?
2. What was the nature of the offense?
3. Could the offenders expect forgiveness?
4. What was meant by "neither in the world to come?"
5. May all sins against Christ be forgiven?
6. Was the sin against the Holy Spirit an unpardonable sin?
7. What is the difference between the operation of the Holy Spirit when Christ performed the miracle, and charged that some blasphemed the Holy Spirit, and the operation of the Holy Spirit after His return to the Father?
8. Is it possible for man to sin against the Holy Spirit, or commit an unpardonable sin today?