Holy Spirit - Part 14: Sins Against the Holy Spirit

One of the most solemn themes in all of scripture concerns sins against the Holy Spirit. Both believers and unbelievers can and do sin against Him. What is the nature of these sins and what can we do to guard against them?

BLASPHEMING THE HOLY SPIRIT

(DENYING UNTIL DEATH THE DIVINITY OF JESUS CHRIST)

Of all the sins that men commit against the Holy Spirit none is worse than blaspheming Him. The reason for this is clear. This is the one sin for which there is no forgiveness. All other sins against the Holy Spirit are committed by believers. Of those, we who are His can repent of them, be forgiven, and make a new start.

This is not true of those who blaspheme the Spirit, which is called “the unpardonable sin”. It was committed by the enemies of Jesus when they accused Him of casting out devils by the power of Satan after Jesus had clearly stated that they were cast out by the power of “the Spirit of God”.

Matthew 12:31-32

“Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but  blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in the age to come”.

No one has committed this sin who continues under the convicting and drawing power of the Holy Spirit. The unpardonable sin involves the total and irrevocable rejection of Jesus Christ. This sin was exactly what Stephen was talking about just before he was stoned to death.

Acts 7:51

“You … who are stiff necked … are always resisting the Holy Spirit”.

In the OT some opposed and persecuted and ridiculed the prophets of God. Since the prophets were inspired by the Holy Spirit, these people were in fact resisting the Spirit of the Lord. Stephen's message was that these past people as well as the Pharisees of his own day were all committing that sin for which there is no forgiveness. This sin is committed only by unbelievers and it is a sin that leads directly to eternal doom.

The only way a sinner can overcome such sin is to cease resisting and embrace Jesus Christ, of whom the Spirit brings witness. As long as the sinner continues his current path, he is condemned for eternity.

John 3:18

“... he that believeth not is condemned already...”.

This sin without pardon (while remaining lost) is rejecting the truth about the Lord's Messiah, sent to save sinners. It is rejecting completely and finally the witness of the Holy Spirit, which declares that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who alone can save.

If one is saved, we know, on the basis of God's Word, that sin, whatever it is, is not unpardonable sin. It will not send us to hell, because we have been saved and delivered from such by the atoning shed blood of Jesus.

Psalm 103:12

“As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us”.

CHRISTIAN SINS AGAINST THE SPIRIT

There are indeed two sins which fully saved people can commit against the Spirit.

One is to grieve the Spirit  and the other is to quench the Spirit.

Paul warns us in Ephesians 4:30 that we  are not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom we are sealed for the day of redemption. It is important that we read this warning carefully and note that in spite of such sin, we remain sealed. Paul is speaking here of those things that we do that are inconsistent with and strike against the nature of this Holy one, thus hurting His heart, wounding Him, bringing Him pain by our actions.

Paul's warning on this serious matter continues in Ephesians 4, verses 20-32. Here Paul says that whatever is unlike Christ (in whose image we are being reformed by the Spirit) in conduct, speech, or disposition shown, brings grief to the Holy Spirit. 

We must recall that this Spirit is the Spirit of:

TRUTH (John 14:17) Anything false or deceitful grieves Him

FAITH (2 Cor 4:13) Doubt, distrust, and needless worry grieves Him.

GRACE (Heb 10:29) Being harsh, unforgiving, or unloving grieves Him.

HOLINESS (Rom 1:4) Becoming unclean or defiled grieves Him.

There is one glorious aspect to this warning, which is that to grieve the Holy Spirit does not mean we lose Him for life. He does not cease to seal us nor does He remove Himself from us. No believer can grieve Him and thereby rid himself of Him. We may backslide but we cannot fall from grace.  Once we are baptized into the body of Christ and are indwelt by the Spirit, we are forever sealed and saved. None can take us from Him and He continues to love us, even when we sin.

Paul also gives us a quick and most powerful warning concerning the second sin.

1 Thes 5:9

“Do not quench the Spirit”.

The word “grieve” implies being hurt or sorrowful, having to do with the way we bruise the relation with the Spirit in our individual life by sin. The word “quench” seems to imply putting away or putting a damper on.

When we do not stir up our souls , when we do not use the means of grace given us, when we fail to pray, when we fail to repent sincerely, when we fail to witness using the gifts of the Spirit, the fire of the Holy Spirit is diminished within us. These things are channels which God uses to constantly kindle the flame of His Spirit in us.

Willful and habitual sin can quench the Spirit. When we criticize, act unkindly, belittle others, be careless with hurtful words, flee from humility, or simply fail to show the love Jesus commanded in John 13:35 (which shows us to be His), the flame of Holiness indwelling us can be diminished for a time.

No Christian MUST sin. Yet, none has quite yet been rendered incapable of sin while we remain here in mortal life. A Christian can sin, but does not have to do so. It is possible to live our lives as His follower, with His Spirit within us, and NOT grieve or quench the Spirit. 

God would not have told us to reject evil acts if in point of fact we were not given the ability to do so. 

These warnings are serious matters. They call for our careful attention. If we find ourselves within these snares of the evil one, NOW is the time to confess and repent. Only then may we again walk in the fullness of the Holy Spirit, enjoying His guidance and leadership in our lives.