The Sin Against The Spirit

Tonight we're on lesson number seven, and we're looking at the sin against the Spirit. That title can seem misleading because we're not going to be talking about just one sin, okay? We're going to talk about what it means to actually sin against the Holy Spirit.

In week one we looked at the person of the Holy Spirit. We said the Holy Spirit is not a power, He's not a thing, He's not merely an image of God, but He's a person — a person that's knowable, a person that you can relate to, just as you are a person made in the personal image of God. So you can sin against a person, right? Just as you can sin and you hurt someone that you love, you can sin against the Spirit. And week number two we looked at the divinity of the Holy Spirit — that He's not just a mere person like you and me, but He's a divine person. He's God of God, right? He is God. And so to sin against God takes on an entirely different significance, right? Because all sin, even the sin that we may commit against a brother or sisters, is ultimately against God, right? Whose image that brother or sister is made in. And week number three we looked at the names of the Holy Spirit, and we talked about how the names describe His work, and chief among His names is He's called the Holy Spirit, right? He is there to teach us, to show us, and to manifest and uphold the holiness of God. All those come into contemplation when we discuss what it means to sin against the Spirit.

So let's start with Bible point number one. This is gonna be a little bit familiar to you, Bible point number one, because I'm reaching back to when we did our study on the doctrine of sin, or what we call hamartiology here. So quick little review. Sin is a lack of conformity to God's holy character. When we talk about the moral law of God, that's just a transcript of His character, right? We say don't lie, because why? God is a God of truth, right? We say don't hate because God is a God of love, right? All of the laws are bound up in His character. So sin is a lack of conformity to God's holy character, either in act, disposition, or state.

Remember we talked about sin — that sin can be an act, an action. You know, you say a curse word or you injure someone with the intent of injuring them, that's an action. But sin is more than that. It's also a disposition, right? It's an attitude of rebellion. You can harbor hatred or bitterness in your heart without acting on that. And is that sinful? Yes, it is. And it's not only an act and it's not only a state, but it's also a condition. It's a condition of nonconformity to God. It's a condition that we say we are wicked or that we are unholy, that we are unlike His character.

Our sinful deeds are described as lawlessness, transgression, and missing the mark. When we do an evil act, a sinful deed, we are missing the mark. We're falling short of the glory of God. So mark is the first blank. Our sinful dispositions are expressed as unbelief. It is the second blank. Unbelief is a sin. In fact, it's the chief of sins, right? It's the very first sin that we see there in the garden. Adam and Eve fell inwardly before they ever bit the apple there in the garden. They disbelieved God's commandments and they chose to heed Satan rather than God. These dispositions are also expressed as rebellion, treachery, and separation. Our sinful state is called ungodliness, evil. Evil is the third blank. Wickedness and iniquity.

As the Holy Spirit is a divine person, and all sin is implicit or explicit hostility against God — it's us shaking our fist at God saying, "I'm going to do it my way, not Yours" — then all sin is therefore treason. Treason is the fourth blank. Treason against the Holy Spirit.

Look in Acts 5:3–4. We've read this already. This speaks of a sin against the Holy Spirit that's also called a sin against God. It says in verse 3, "But Peter said, 'Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit?'" Is lying to the Holy Spirit a sin? Yes. He's a divine person, so it is going against His truth, His character. It says, "And keep back part of the price of the land for yourself. While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not your own in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God." So all sin against the Holy Spirit is a sin against God.

Flip over on the back. Look at the Holy Spirit's part of His work — and I would actually say one of the main parts of His work, which we'll be discussing in depth when we discuss soteriology, which is our next unit. It's the work of the Holy Spirit applied to believers in converting them. John 16:8–11, "And when He has come," speaking of the Holy Spirit — these are Jesus' words — "He will convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment." It's the chief part of His work is to convict us of sin, of righteousness and judgment. "Of sin, because they do not believe in Me." It's the chief sin — it's lack of belief. "Of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more, and of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged, and if Satan is judged, all men will be judged as well."

Look at Acts chapter 7. This is Stephen's great sermon, and in this sermon he extols the righteousness of God and our falling short of it, and our rebellion is thus against the Holy Spirit is what he says. He says, "You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart" — he's speaking to the religious leaders of this day, the Jews, the Pharisees, and the scribes — "You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears. You always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you." When we discuss soteriology we'll discuss: can you resist God? And sometimes we get narrow with that, because here we see the Holy Spirit is being resisted. Because isn't all sin resisting the Holy Spirit? It's resisting the holiness of God, rejecting Him. He says, "Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become betrayers and murderers." Saying, "You've murdered the Messiah, the Just One, the very Righteous One of God." Verse 53, "Who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it?" The law was said to be delivered to Moses by angels in Scripture. He says, "You have all this benefit and you have rejected it."

Verse 54, "When they heard these things they were cut to the heart and they gnashed at him with their teeth." When you come underneath conviction you don't like to be told that you've resisted the Holy Spirit, that you have crucified afresh the Holy One of God.

But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God and said, "Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him in one accord — madness. They wanted to do away with this voice of conviction, this voice of the Holy Spirit in front of them in the person of Stephen, right? And they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." And when he said this he fell asleep.

Stephen was a holy man yielded to the Holy Spirit. And when he preached about sin and called people to conviction he said, "You have resisted the Holy Spirit." So when we sin it's against the holiness of God. And the Holy Spirit is our point of contact — the One who pricks our hearts in conviction of sin, righteousness, and judgment.

The application for number one: what does God delight in? That's the blank — delight in. And I have as a reference Psalm 51:16–17. That's the penitential prayer of David. Remember after he had sinned, he's saying, "Create in me a clean heart, O God." What does he say? He says, "You don't desire sacrifice or take delight in that, or require burnt offerings. But what do You want? The sacrifices of the Lord are a broken and" — what? — "a contrite spirit." That's what God wants from us, right? A heart that's sensitive to sin, that's sensitive to our holy Lord. He does not want us ever to be found grieving the Holy Spirit.

Bible point number two: when believers sin against one another, we are said to grieve the Holy Spirit. We're going to stop right there. Grieve is the first blank. What does grieve mean? Have you ever heard of someone saying that person is grieving — maybe the loss of a loved one, right? It's to be sorrowful, right? To be distraught. And when we sin against our fellow brother and sister in Christ, it grieves the Holy Spirit.

Look how this word is used in the Old Testament. Flip over on the back. Psalm 78:40. "This is how often they provoked Him in the wilderness, and grieved Him in the desert." The rebellion of Israel against God grieved God. It saddened Him, right? Because that's a way of expressing that the same sin that you're doing against God would cause great hurt and dismay in any normal person, right? And God is a divine person. Look at Isaiah 63:10. "But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit." This is in the Old Testament. And so He turned Himself against them as an enemy, and He fought against them.

Flip back over on the front. When believers sin against one another, we are said to grieve the Holy Spirit. This language is used to show us that when we sin, we cause affliction, sorrow — that's the second blank — sorrow, and pain to others who are indwelt by the Spirit.

We should treat our brothers and sisters in Christ better than we treat anybody else, right? They're indwelt by the very Spirit of God. They are spiritually bone of your bone and flesh of your flesh, right? So we're to strive for unity with one another, to strive to be at peace with one another. If we can't exhibit the fruit of the Spirit towards one another, how can we ever do that to the world, right? So this is home. This is where the rubber meets the road. The way that we treat one another — the Bible exclusively talks about grieving the Holy Spirit. The only time it talks about that in verb form is in the context of how we treat one another within the church.

Believers are sealed by the Spirit and are thus united in one as brothers and sisters in Christ. There is one church, one body, because there's one Spirit, right? We talked about this when we talked about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and how in Pentecost we saw the fullness of incorporation — how God created a body for the Lord Jesus Christ, a spiritual body called the church, and He combined us into that body. All believers, right? That was the work of the Holy Spirit. That's the work of Christ in pouring out His Holy Spirit to create the church, right?

And as the church, we should be of one mind, of one spirit, of one attitude. We should think of others and esteem others better than we esteem ourselves. Think of others' needs more than our own, right? Think not just "What am I going to get when I come to church?" but "What can I give? How can I serve? How can I be a blessing to my brothers and my sisters, to the young children in the church, to our seniors in the church, everywhere in between?" And because that unity is so precious — because the Holy Spirit is the one who gave birth to the church, so to speak — He says that to grieve the Spirit is to actually do violence to members of the church.

Ephesians 4:30 says, "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." Flip over on the back, and I want you to get the whole context of Ephesians 4 there. Ephesians 4:30 says, "Don't grieve the Spirit by whom you are sealed until the day of redemption," but look at the verses immediately before that and immediately after. If we miss the context, we may say, "Well, grieving the Holy Spirit is chewing bubble gum in church and not acting with proper decorum." That's not what it's about. It's again about injuring the body of Christ.

Look at verse 25, "Therefore, put away lying." Can't lying break apart a church? It destroys trust, right? "Therefore, put away lying. Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another." We're all part of the same body. Again, some of us may be a finger, some of us may be a nose or an ear, but we're all members of one another. "Be angry and do not sin and do not let the sun go down on your wrath." Again, this is speaking in the context of the church. "Nor give place to the devil." Don't act like the devil. Don't bring worldliness into the church, right? "Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands that which is good, that he may have something to give him who is in need." So you come to church to contribute, right?

Verse 29, "Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification" — that means to build up others — "that it may impart grace to the hearers." How can I impart grace to my brothers and sisters in Christ? Then verse 30, "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit." And "and" is kai in Greek, and it's tying it to everything that's been said before. So the communication that comes from our mouth — whether we're lying, whether we're giving place to the devil, whether we're edifying, whether we're building up — if we're not doing those things, we are grieving the Holy Spirit. Let us not do that.

Then he goes on to verses 31–32, "Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." Those that you love the most will hurt you the next. When we sin against one another — which happens because we're but flesh — it hurts, because these are people that we're invested in. These are people that we've trusted, and now they've told us a lie. These are people that we've shown love, and now they haven't reciprocated. And so we're hurt by that. But when that hurt comes, what are we supposed to do? We're supposed to forgive, even as Christ has forgiven you.

Flip back over on the front. The application is: why should we readily forgive? Forgive is the blank — each other. What's the basis? Why should I have to forgive someone who has sinned against me?

Exactly. Does any of our kids know Ephesians 4:32?

Maybe he used to sing that. Ephesians 4:32, "Be kind one to another, tenderhearted, even as God in Christ has forgiven you." I learned that in VBS 50 years ago.

Hide God's word in your heart. It reminds you: we forgive others because Christ has forgiven us.

Bible point number three: Jesus taught that every sin, every sin, and blasphemy can be forgiven. Forgiven is the blank. But blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is unpardonable. What is blasphemy, by the way? That's a big word. We don't use it all the time.

Yeah, we often think of blasphemy as maybe taking God's name in vain, you know, when we stub our toe or something, but it's more than that. It's stealing God's glory. It's mischaracterizing God's greatness and ascribing that to something else — maybe yourself, or to the world, or to luck, right? How many times we say, "Oh, I was lucky," rather than, "God blessed me," right? We want to make sure that we're always giving God the glory due to His name.

Jesus taught that blasphemy can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is unpardonable. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is knowing. Let me unpack this as we read this, okay? It's knowing. It's people who are doing this in an informed way. They understand who God is. They can't claim ignorance. What did Jesus say on the cross? "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." They didn't have full understanding that they were crucifying the Lord and Savior. They were doing it, but they didn't have full understanding until after His resurrection, right? Then Peter, when he preaches on the day of Pentecost, said, "You with wicked hands have slain the Messiah, right? This was foreordained, but you did it." And so they were fully guilty, but they didn't have full understanding at that time, right.

It's got to be willing also. It's knowing, willful — which means that it's something that you are intent on doing. It's purposeful. Persistent.

It's not — blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not a one-time act, okay? This goes more to — we talked about sin being an act, but it's also a disposition, and it's also a state. It's more of a disposition, an attitude of antagonism towards God, and a state of unholiness and total rebellion against God.

Just about a year or two ago, sadly, there was a movement on YouTube and TikTok and media where some celebrities — and then everybody was parroting these celebrities — were publicly detransitioning from their faith. They were saying, "I'm no longer a Christian." And some of them, on their TikTok videos, would actually blaspheme the Trinitarian name of God, each person of the Trinity, as a way of trying to say, "Look, I have totally cut myself off from that." Most of these kids who did that were ignorant, and if you know someone who has done that, there's still hope for them, okay? Blaspheming against the Spirit is not a one-time thing. It's not because you took the Lord's name in vain. It's not because you said something wrong. In fact, many godly men from church history struggled with blasphemous thoughts that would run through their mind. They couldn't explain that. They'd say, "It just comes into my mind." They'd explain it as perhaps their sin nature, but when those thoughts would come across their mind, they would repent and say, "Jesus, that's not me. That's my old man, right?" Among them was Martin Luther — he struggled with that. One of the greatest ones who struggled with that and wrote about it was Bunyan, who wrote Pilgrim's Progress. He would have these blasphemous thoughts that would run through his mind, taking God's name in vain, and he would rebuke that as soon as it would come into his mind. He couldn't explain where it came from — whether that's demonic assault or just his own sin nature being hyperactive — but it wasn't willful in the sense that when it came across his mind, he confessed it. It wasn't persistent in his life.

It's scornful. Scornful blasphemy against the Holy Spirit means that you have a disdain and a contempt for the Lord God Almighty. It's malignant.

Malignant means leading to death. If you have a little bit of skin cancer, hopefully it's benign and not malignant. But what I'm getting at is blasphemy will lead you away from life — from the One who is the way, the truth, and the life — and will lead you to Satan. Malignant spurning of divine truth and grace. Truth is the second blank. Grace is the third blank.

As manifested to the soul by His — the Spirit's — convincing and illuminating power. The Holy Spirit is the One who convicts us of sin and righteousness and judgment, right? We've already seen that the Holy Spirit can be resisted, right? That's what Stephen said. Why do you resist the Holy Spirit? If you continually resist the Spirit, if you never repent, if you never believe the gospel that's been presented to you, you're in danger of dying a blasphemer — one who has blasphemed against the Holy Spirit.

Look in Mark 3. Jesus said, "Assuredly I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter, but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation." Because — look at verse 30 — they said He has an unclean spirit. This helps us understand this a little bit. He said this because they — the Jews, the Pharisees — said Christ has an unclean spirit.

Let's look over on the back to see the context from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 12.

"Then one was brought to Him" — to Jesus — "who was demon-possessed, blind and mute." Now this, according to the rabbinical tradition, would have been impossible to cast this demon out. And the reason why — this is not Scripture, this is a rabbinical tradition — the Jews believed that if you could trick a demon into giving up his name, then you would have a handle on him to be able to yank him out of the person. And that's a long tradition. Remember when Jacob wrestled with the angel of the Lord, he asked — Jacob was a heel grabber. He was trying to usurp God and win at any cost. Even then he figured he'd get the upper hand if he could get this angel of the Lord's name. But if a person is mute and demon-possessed, then they figured there's no way we could ever cast this demon out. And in the Greek, the word translated "mute" means both deaf and dumb. So likely he didn't have hearing and he couldn't speak. So this was an impossible case — a man who was demon-possessed, and no rabbi could cast out this demon because he was deaf and mute, blind and mute. And He healed him. No problem for Jesus, because Jesus wasn't a regular man, was He? He was the God-man, right? All authority. So that the blind and mute man both heard and saw.

And all the multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?" Everyone who witnessed this — the multitudes — this was probably at the apex of His ministry when He had the most crowds around Him. They all recognized this and they knew that this had to be the Messiah. That's what "Son of David" means — Son of David is a messianic term. And this is coming from Isaiah 35:5, which says, speaking of the new kingdom of God that Messiah would usher in, that the deaf would be able to hear, the mute would speak, the blind would be able to see, right? And so they were quick. They associated that. They knew that this was something that only the Messiah could do. And so all the people were saying, "Christ is the Messiah. Look at this glorious work, this miracle that He has done. Praise the Lord." So they were worshiping Him as God. They were giving Him the glory — the people were.

Were the Pharisees going to have any of that? No. Look what it says here. Verse 24, "Now, when the Pharisees heard it" — what did they hear? They heard the people saying, "Could this be the Son of David?" Right? They said, "This fellow" — this isn't the Messiah, this isn't God — "this fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of demons." They were taking the divine work of God — where God had set this man free, gloriously free from his demonic possession, had given him sight and opened up his ears and opened up his mouth — this incredible deliverance. And they were saying, "It's satanic."

But Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. And every city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man?" He's bound Satan. "And then he will plunder his house. He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad. Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men. But blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come."

What Christ is doing is He's linking this all together. The ones who are in danger of committing blasphemy against the Holy Spirit — and He's saying that these Pharisees are right there on the edge — if they don't repent, they're going to die as blasphemers. They are taking the holy name of God and calling it demonic. They're taking the glorious works of God — instead of crediting God for delivering people, they're ascribing it to Satan. This is malicious. This isn't a slip. This is persistent in the blasphemer. This is someone who is doing this maliciously against God in rebellion. And if you don't repent of that, you die as a rebel, right? You die as a blasphemer with no forgiveness for you.

Flip back on the front. The application is this: did Jesus forgive those who blasphemed Him? And I have the reference there of Luke 23:34. This is Jesus on the cross. Remember, He's being crucified and they're mocking Him. They blindfold Him, hit Him — "Prophesy, who hit You?" "If You're the Son of God, come down off the cross and save Yourself." "If You're a king, let's put royal garb of purple on You and put four-inch-spiked thorns into Your brow for Your crown." They were doing nothing but blaspheme Him. But what did Jesus do? Like Stephen — Stephen followed Jesus's example. What did Jesus say? "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Exactly right.

Bible point number four: blasphemy against the Spirit is not the unpardonable sin because the Spirit is in some way greater than the Father and the Son. So "greater" is the first point. Think about that. To blaspheme against God the Father is not the unpardonable sin. To blaspheme against the Son is not the unpardonable sin. So does that mean that the Holy Spirit is somehow greater or more worthy of a higher place of honor than the Father and the Son? No. The Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit are equal in glory, right? They're equal in power, they're equal in all their attributes, they're equally God.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father and the Spirit of the Son. He's described as both in Scripture. He connects us to Christ in the regeneration of our souls and as the firstfruits of heavenly fellowship within us. The Holy Spirit is the One who regenerates our hearts, right? The Holy Spirit is the One who unites us to Christ, who mediates the presence of the Father and the Son — because He's the Spirit of the Father and the Spirit of the Son within us.

As the Father originates — that's our redemption. The Father originates our redemption. Because doesn't it say that "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son"? We know from eternity past God gave His Son a people, right? To redeem. We see that in John 17. So all three are our redeemers, but the Father is the One who originates our redemption. The Son mediates our redemption. The Son mediates — that's the third blank. It was the Son that was on the cross, not the Spirit and not the Father, right? It was the Son who came to us and took on flesh in a state of humiliation, lived 33 years of perfect life so He could die in our place as our substitute. So whoever believes in Him would not perish but would have everlasting life, right? That's the Son who mediates our redemption. So the Spirit completes — completes is the fourth blank — perfects and fulfills our redemption. We have to be born again, born from above, born of the Spirit, right? It's the Spirit who takes our heart of stone and gives us a heart of flesh. It's the Spirit who circumcises our heart, right? It's the Spirit who takes the finished work of Christ and applies it to believers.

So blasphemy against the Spirit is the unpardonable sin because it is rejecting your point of contact with God the Father and God the Son. Your heart will never be regenerated. It can never taste and see the goodness of God in His fullness apart from the Spirit indwelling and coming in to live within you, right?

The unpardonable sin has sometimes been called like suicide, or maybe it's been called adultery because of David and Bathsheba — maybe that was what it was. But we have right here the place where Jesus teaches it, and He's teaching it simply. It's ascribing to Satan the work of God. It's taking the glory of God and denigrating it purposely to hide His glory and truth from others, to reject it and to cast aspersions on His holy character, and instead to exalt Satan — that is what it is.

Look in Ephesians 1:11–14, and we can see the triune work of God here. It says, "In Him" — speaking of Christ — "also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him" — the Father — "who works all things according to the counsel of His will." Here we see the Father originating our redemption, right? "That we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory." We see Christ as the mediator of our redemption. It's through simply trusting in Christ, putting our full faith in His finished work and His righteousness, that we stand before God, right? Just as we sang this past Sunday, "Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling." We come empty-handed, poor, indebted with nothing to offer God, but we say, "Christ, I receive Your free gift. I receive Your righteousness," right?

Verse 13, "In Him you also trusted after you heard the word of truth" — faith comes by hearing, right? — "the gospel of your salvation, in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise." That's the completion, right? That's where the Holy Spirit seals our heart for God, right? And He comes to indwell us. "Who is the guarantee" — who is the down payment, who is the seal, who is the foretaste of heaven, who is the down payment and the guarantee of our inheritance "until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory." He's going to make sure that we make it to heaven, right? Because He forever lives within us.

The application for number four is this: do you trust that the Spirit will complete His work in you? Complete is the blank. Do you trust that He who has begun a good work in you will perform it to the day of Jesus Christ? Psalm 127:1 says, "Unless the Lord builds the house, we labor in vain." Exactly right. Salvation is first and last the work of the Holy Spirit in your heart, right? Of regenerating your heart.

Bible point number five: the unpardonable sin therefore involves callousing. You know what callousing is? No, Pastor does. He used to run a lawn service, right? Yeah, he can show those calluses. The ladies who work on dishes, mow the grass in the yard — anything to do with your hands, you get calluses, rough hard spots, right? You can callus your heart, right? This is the unpardonable sin. Therefore it involves callousing your heart and dishonest reasoning to justify your denial of Christ's kingship. We'll say anything about Him to get out from underneath His divine claim, right? This denial — that's the first blank —

is a vain attempt to reject the Lord Jesus Christ's reign over us. It is His divine claim over all creation. That's what the Pharisees were doing when Jesus healed this man who was blind, who was deaf, who was mute, who was demon-possessed. When Christ healed that, He was making His kingdom evident. He actually says, "The kingdom of God is now among you. It's here." Right? It was the display of His sovereign rule over this universe. And to try to get out from under that, they said, "He's doing this by Beelzebub. He's doing this by the power of Satan, not by the power of God."

This denial is a vain attempt to reject the Lord Jesus Christ's reign over us. We must warn those who have heard the gospel — that although they have been beneficiaries of the Spirit's work, anyone who's heard the gospel has been a beneficiary of the Spirit's work. They have heard the very Word of God, right? And the Spirit is the One who inspired holy men of old, right? And spoke through the prophets. The Spirit is the One who spoke through the apostles to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, to convict the world of sin, of righteousness and judgment. We must warn those who have heard the gospel that although they have been beneficiaries of the Spirit's work, graciously enlightened, they've heard the good news and have tasted His good word. Because isn't the gospel nothing but good news, right? It's good news that's meant for all people. They have tasted His good word — they must still turn and take Christ. Turn is the second blank. Take is the third blank. Turning is simply turning away from sin, yourself, and the devil and the world. That's what we call repentance. And taking Christ is receiving Him. We're turning away from the world and turning to Christ. When you hear the gospel, though you've been blessed by hearing the sweet words of consolation, of reconciliation — that there is hope if you'll only believe — that's not enough. It's not enough just to taste God's word. You have to take and receive it, right? You have to turn and take Christ.

Those who have heard the gospel have a duty to repent and believe, as they currently stand rejected, cursed, and destined for hell. Hell is the fourth blank. People don't like to talk about hell these days, right? They like to talk about, "Hey, live your best life now," right? But hell is part and parcel with the gospel. What else is Christ saving you from, right?

Look at Hebrews 6:4–8. This tracks with what we just read. "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened" — as we've heard the gospel — "and have tasted the heavenly gift" — oh, to come under the Spirit's influence, to hear as if it were Christ pleading through men to you, to come to Him, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" — "and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit." You've been blessed to be under His ministry and influence. "And have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come." You know that the Holy Spirit is a foretaste, and this gospel is just the very beginning, right? He saves us in this life, but what's going to be in the next life is even better, right? Because the salvation will be full, manifest, and complete.

Verse 6, "For if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame." They don't turn and take Christ. They get so close. They're drawn to the light, they're drawn to those gracious words, but they don't turn to Christ, they don't take Him.

You're running very close to damning yourself at this point. "Those who have heard the gospel have the duty to repent and believe, as they stand rejected, cursed, and destined for hell." Look in verse 7 — actually, let me finish reading verse 6 — "since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame." They're rejecting the Savior.

"For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and briars, it is rejected, and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned." In other words, when you are being watered, so to speak, by the Spirit — you're coming under His influence — if you take and receive Christ, you're going to bear forth fruit, right? Fruit worthy of repentance is what John the Baptist called on the religious leaders to bring forth, right? But if you reject Him, then you're bringing forth not good fruit, but what does it say? "Rejected, near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned." You're just pushing up thorns and thistles.

So preaching the gospel is a serious thing. When we preach it, let's never be blasé or nonchalant and say, "Hey, take it or leave it. You'll get another chance later on if someone else will preach the gospel to you." No, present it to them as life and death, right? Because that's what the gospel is. They can receive life in Christ, or they'll stand cursed and ready for the fire.

Flip over on the back. Hebrews 3:7–14 says, "Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says" — and now he quotes from the Old Testament, from Psalm 95 — "Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness, when your fathers tested Me and tried Me, and they saw My works forty years. Therefore, I was angry with that generation and said, 'They always go astray in their heart, and have not known My ways.'" They never knew God. They never put their trust in God. "So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest.'"

"Beware, brethren, lest there be any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God." In every church, we assume that everybody in church is a Christian. We assume that we are all believers, but in every congregation there are people who have not yielded their knee to the Lord Jesus Christ.

"But exhort one another daily, while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end." When we put our trust in Christ at the very beginning, we become partakers of Christ, and we will hold that to the very end. But those who never put their trust in Christ never become partakers of Christ, right? That's an awful thing to consider.

Flip back over on the front. The application is simply this: "Have you trusted, have you trusted" — that's the blank — "in Christ's righteousness?" Have you put your faith in Christ? That His righteousness is sufficient? That your deeds will never measure up. Your deeds cannot wipe away your sins. You cannot undo your wrongs. You cannot find fulfillment or satisfaction in any way outside of Christ.

Bible point number six: Christians who fear they have committed the unpardonable sin demonstrate by their very concern that they have not — not is the blank — not done so. There are always in every congregation people with sensitive hearts, like, "Have I committed the unpardonable sin? You know, because I keep doing the same sin over and over again, like a dog returning to its vomit. Maybe I have pushed aside the Lord. Maybe I've committed the unpardonable sin." If you're concerned about that, your very concern shows that you have not committed the unpardonable sin, which is persistent, malevolent rebellion against the Lord, right? A heart that's not repentant, a heart that doesn't believe, a heart that despises God.

It says, "The unpardonable sin does not belong to the broken and contrite heart." When you sin, you confess that sin, and you weep over your sinfulness, and you throw yourself on the mercy of Christ — that right there shows you have not committed the unpardonable sin. It does not belong to the poor in spirit. The unpardonable sin does not belong to the poor — poor is the second blank — to the poor in spirit. The poor in spirit are those who recognize that they have no righteousness and they have nothing. They cling to Christ with their all.

But the unpardonable sin does belong to the proud and insolent of heart who have no fear of God. Those who have rejected Christ have no remorse. They have never repented. Repented is the third blank, which makes their forgiveness impossible. There is no forgiveness apart from faith and repentance.

If someone has never repented from their sins, they've never received the forgiveness of Christ. Those who have rejected Christ have no faith. Faith is the fourth blank. So if you're struggling and you're thinking, "Maybe I've committed the unpardonable sin" — the very fact that you're struggling with that, the very fact that you're questioning that, shows that you have a heart that's yielded to the Lord, a heart that's sensitive to Him, and a heart that wants to please Him, a heart that yearns to be right with Him.

Look at Hebrews 6:9–12. This comes right after those stern words that we just read a few minutes ago in verses 4 through 8. "But beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you." He's talking to the church here. He's saying, "You don't have to worry about burning. You don't have to worry about pushing up thorns and thistles. You don't have to worry about falling away." He says, "But beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation." It's as if you have placed your trust in Christ, therefore you are partakers of Him. So you are saved. "Though we speak in this manner, for God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love, which you have shown towards His name" — someone who doesn't want to denigrate His name — "in that you have ministered to the saints and do minister. And we desire that each of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises." If you believe in the Lord Jesus's promise, then you've inherited eternal life. He lives within you. You have not committed the unpardonable sin.

The application is this: who — that's the blank — who is the ground of your assurance? It's not your faith necessarily, and it's certainly not you, but it's who you trust in, right? It's Christ who is the ground of your assurance. If Ken is the ground of his faith — Ken's got problems. If your wealth is the ground of your faith, you've got problems. You can't ransom yourself, right? If your general goodness is the ground of your assurance, you've got problems. But if Christ is the ground of your assurance — the omnipotent Lord Jesus Christ — you have no worries.

Look here in John 10:27–30. This is a passage I know that many of you love. Jesus says, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one." It doesn't get any better than that. We have the Creator of the universe — the One who says, "Let there be light." He has given us into the hand of His Son. No one can take us from the Father's hand or the Son's hand. We are smack-dab in the hand of the Almighty. No devil, no sinful act that you can do, can pry you from the hand of God.

Bible point number seven: Christians must be careful — though we don't have to worry about the unpardonable sin, though we know that we have the righteousness of God and the favor of God, and we're firmly in the hand of God — we still have to be concerned about not sinning against the Spirit. Christians must be careful not to quench the Spirit's work in the midst of their family and local church congregation. What does quench mean? To snuff it out? To blow it out? To pour water on it? Right? It's to inhibit, to slow down. Exactly. And Christians, we must be concerned that we do not quench the Spirit in our family — which is the first institution that God made — and also in the church, because they are our spiritual family.

Believers who fail to correct the unruly — if you fail to discipline your kids, you know you're in danger of quenching the Spirit? How can the Spirit work in their life and sanctify them if they're not taught right from wrong? In the church, if we allow sin to be winked at and permitted, if there are permissive attitudes about it, that's going to quench the Spirit.

Believers who fail to correct the unruly, who fail to encourage the faint — when you do not speak words of encouragement, of edification, but instead you tear down — do you know that you're quenching the Spirit? You're inhibiting His work in the body, right? We're all members of one another. There's one body and one Spirit. The same Spirit who dwells in me dwells in you, right?

When you fail to help the weak, do you know that you're quenching the Spirit? God has given you strength. He's given you talents, and it's not for you to serve yourself, right? It's for you to build up others. Everywhere in Scripture you see God caring for the widow. You see Him helping the fatherless, looking after the oppressed, caring for the stranger, right? Within our church we have some that are strong in faith, we have others that are weak. We have some that are strong emotionally, others that may be weak emotionally. We have some that are strong physically, others that may be weak physically. There are all different dimensions to this, but wherever there's weakness, we have to uphold that and strengthen that, and if we don't, you're quenching the Spirit. You're not doing the work of the body.

We quench the Spirit when we fail to show patience to all, right? Because isn't that part of the fruit of the Spirit? It's longsuffering. Look over on the back here. This comes, by the way, from 1 Thessalonians 5:14–19. Let's look at verse 14. "Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all." Look at verse 15. "See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourself and for all."

Look back on the front here. When we do not show patience to all, we dampen the Spirit's work in the body of Christ. Body is the first blank. Believers who repay evil for evil will not fan the flames of revival. We just read that in 1 Thessalonians 5:15. We don't repay evil for evil, but we seek the good for all. Do you think that God is going to send revival in your midst when you're concerned about getting tit for tat and getting even with people — especially in the church? When you have that kind of spirit of pride, that quenches the Spirit, right?

Believers who yield to gloom — this is 1 Thessalonians 5:16. Let's flip over on the back. Verse 16 says, "Rejoice always." Is that optional? That's a command. That's an imperative. So when you give way to gloom, when you think gloomy thoughts and you focus on gloom rather than on things that rejoice your heart — the truths of God — do you know that you're quenching the Spirit?

We often think of quenching the Spirit as things that may be actions — by not upholding the weak, or backbiting, or something like that — but by failing to rejoice in the Lord. "Rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say rejoice." By failing to embrace joy, you are purposely embracing gloom. In doing so, you are quenching the Spirit. Verse 17, "Pray without ceasing." Do you know that when you fail to pray always, at all times, you can be quenching the Spirit?

So many times — and I'm guilty of this too — maybe a brother or sister shares something with you, maybe, "Hey, I'm going to the doctor's tomorrow," or "I've had this tragedy in my life." How often we say, "You know what? Let's pray right now." Let's pray without ceasing. Sometimes we'll say, "I'll pray." Hopefully we'll remember that later on or the next day, right? But take advantage of praying with your brother and sister when they have needs, right then and there. When you fail to do that, you might be guilty of quenching the Spirit, right?

Look at verse 18, "In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." When you fail to give God thanks in everything, what you're doing is actually speaking ill of His providence, right? We rejoice like — hopefully like Job said, right? "The Lord gives, the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." Whatever providence He has sent our way, we must be thankful for that. And when we're ungrateful for that, we're quenching the Spirit of God.

And then look at verse 19, "Do not quench the Spirit." Oh, that's a capstone to all of that, right? We quench the Spirit when we render evil for evil, when we fail to seek the good of others, when we fail to rejoice and we embrace gloom. We quench the Spirit when we fail to pray, when we question the goodness of God and reject His providence and want something different, want it on our own terms.

The application is this: how can you kindle afresh the gift in you? Kindle is the blank, and this comes from 2 Timothy 1:6. Just as "quench the Spirit" means to put out, right? To dampen — to kindle means to stir up. And remember what Paul told Timothy? It says, "Kindle afresh the gift that is within you." The Spirit has given you a gift. He's given us all a gift, right? In this case, He gave Timothy the gift to preach and proclaim the Word of God, and He wants you to use that gift.

Oh, I'm sorry — the last blank: withholding their hearts from the Spirit's purifying fire. When we have dissatisfaction with God's providence, when we fail to give Him thanks in all things, when we don't pray, when we embrace gloom and we fail to give Him thanks — we're withholding our hearts from the Spirit's purifying fire. So we need to kindle afresh the gift that is within you.

And how do you kindle afresh the good gift that God has given you? How do we do that?

Fan the flames. And how do we fan the flames? Encourage them to read the Word and stay in prayer. Amen. Isn't that what we do on Wednesday nights? Isn't that what we do on Sunday when we go to Sunday school? I love getting hugs from folks, people coming up on Sunday mornings saying, "Hey, love you, David. Praying for you. Hope you had a good week. How are the grandkids?" That doesn't feel bad, right? That's encouraging. That's uplifting. When we come here on Sunday morning, when we've sung the hymns and the praises of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, when we hear God's word proclaimed from the pulpit, right? When we embrace the Lord's table — all these are ways of edification, of fanning those flames of the gifts that are within us. So we do not quench the Spirit, but we actually fan those flames so we can burn bright for Jesus. That's what it's all about.