Unity and Blasphemy

Unity and Blasphemy

SCRIPTURE:

Then Jesus went home. Again such a large crowd gathered that Jesus and his disciples had no time to eat. When his family heard about it, they set out to take charge of him, because people were saying, “He's gone mad!” Some teachers of the Law who had come from Jerusalem were saying, “He has Beelzebul in him! It is the chief of the demons who gives him the power to drive them out.”

So Jesus called them to him and spoke to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a country divides itself into groups which fight each other, that country will fall apart. If a family divides itself into groups which fight each other, that family will fall apart.  So if Satan's kingdom divides into groups, it cannot last, but will fall apart and come to an end. “No one can break into a strong man's house and take away his belongings unless he first ties up the strong man; then he can plunder his house.

“I assure you that people can be forgiven all their sins and all the evil things they may say. But whoever says evil things against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, because he has committed an eternal sin.” (Jesus said this because some people were saying, “He has an evil spirit in him.”) Mark 3:20-30

OBSERVATION:

The location is the hometown of Jesus. Large crowds are gathering around Jesus and His disciples. Some of Jesus’ sayings have been so alarming that people are saying that he has gone mad. His own family are worried and come to take charge of him. Demons are being driven out. And some teachers of the law credit the Lord’s powers to having Satan inside him.

Against this backdrop, the Lord starts to reveal some very important truths. Concerning the kingdom of Satan, the Lord reveals that it is very united and does not fight each other. That is why it has been so strong and continues to rule the earth since the Fall. Within this, there is also the implicit lesson of unity for us. Many a church has been torn down and destroyed by backbiting, politics and dissensions within herself. Within the people of God, we need to strongly prioritize unity within the church. Even where there are disagreements, we need to pray together and find a way to maintain the unity in the church in love.

In His discourse, the Lord also explains His ministry of deliverance, likening it to tying up the strong man, before breaking in and taking his belongings. Here, the Lord is of course not advocating robbery by force, but is describing how He binds the evil spirit residing in a person, before setting the person free from its influence.

Thereafter, the Lord then drops a powerful bombshell by declaring that whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, because he has committed an eternal sin. We note here that this sin is a sin of the mouth, and the specific connotation was the sin of attributing the miracles of the Holy Spirit to the devil instead. The fact that the Lord singled out this particular sin as the most deadly has caused many well meaning Christians through the ages to wonder if they could have at some point committed the unpardonable sin, and thus forfeited their salvation.

In this age, where many wrongly believe that the age of miracles has passed, the glorious miracles of the Holy Spirit in Charismatic and Pentecostal circles have even been denounced as Satanic by otherwise well-meaning Christians. Could they also have committed the unforgiveable sin by their criticism?

Comparing this teaching to the overall tone and message of Scripture, what do we find? In the book of Acts, and the Letters as well as even Revelation, there is no longer any clear reference to the unforgiveable sin. Instead, the clear emphasis of the Gospel is forgiveness of sins through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. There is no clear mention of any special sins that cannot be forgiven although John does indicate “a sin that leads to death” which is not elaborated. However, in many places, it is written, that if willful, continuous sin persists even after salvation, one can lose his place in the kingdom of God.

Nevertheless, looking at overall tone of Scripture, it does not seem Scriptural to say that a person who repents and turns back to God after blaspheming the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. Perhaps then, the answer lies in the Greek tense of the word “blasphemes” or “says evil things against” which signifies a continuous action. Therefore, if someone persistently continues in his unbelief and speak evil of the Holy Spirit, he cannot be forgiven.

However, if he repents and turns to God in humility, he should then be able to forgiven again. Elsewhere, Jesus said that it is the Holy Spirit who convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. Therefore, it is the Holy Spirit who leads people to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. As long as one keeps speaking evil of the Holy Spirit’s work, he is not repenting, not trusting in Jesus, and thus, cannot find forgiveness.

What about those Christians who refuse to recognize the Holy Spirit’s miracles in our midst today and instead attribute it to the devil? Based on this Scripture, it would certainly appear they may be standing on dangerous ground… so it would be better to be humble and not pass judgment on miracles…..

APPLICATION:-

The blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is one of the most difficult topics in the Bible. However, from a practical approach, let’s make sure that we are careful not to condemn any miracle as being done by the devil instead of the Holy Spirit. How do we know, since the devil can also perform miracles? We are called to test the spirits. If the miracle worker says that Jesus is Lord, and that He comes in the flesh (that Jesus is fully man just as He is fully God”, we should never insinuate that the miracle is of the devil. Nevertheless, we should not just accept any manner of doctrine preached by someone just because he has done miracles in Jesus name and given God the glory. Even great ministers of God can be deceived in some areas, and we need to be sure in our own convictions in regard to the Word of God.

What if we have committed this sin of unbelief before and condemned a miracle of the Holy Spirit? Do we have to be fearful that we have lost our salvation forever?

No! The fact that we have opened our eyes and treat the Lord’s Word seriously shows that we have not sinned beyond the point of forgiveness. Simply come back to God and trust in Jesus for our forgiveness. Remember that it is the persistent and continuous denial of the Holy Spirit that can lead to that situation, and if we have repented, we know we have not reached that point when we are no longer able to repent.

Again, in regard to unity, remember to pray for unity in the church, in our cell groups, in our ministries. In the Lord’s last prayer before the Crucifixion He prayed that His church would be one, just as He and the Father are one.

In regard to the Holy Spirit, honor Him deeply, praying that we may never speak ill of Him. We must remember what special honor the Lord gives to the Holy Spirit.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, precious Lord Jesus, we thank You for Your beautiful words, and Your rich teachings. Thank You, Lord, for Your precious Holy Spirit, who continues to move actively and work wonderful miracles in our midst today. Help us not have unbelieving hearts, but learn to rejoice at the great works that You do in Your church in diverse places. For those of us who are fearful, who wonder if we might have committed the unforgiveable sin, reassure us again, O Lord, that we might have again the joy of Your salvation.

We pray O Lord that You help us, even where we are immature and quarrel over silly things in Your church. Help us always strive for the Unity of Love in You, which You desire for us. Pour out Your Holy Spirit more and more into us and over us. Help us learn to honor and host Your Holy Spirit ever increasingly.  Thank You and praise You, precious Lord! In Jesus name, Amen!