BLASPHEMY OF THE SON & HOLY SPIRIT

BLASPHEMY OF THE SON & HOLY SPIRIT

"Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven;" Matt. 12:31

Compare with finish of the statement in vs 32. "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.” Now this infinite difference between the sin of blasphemy against the Son and that against the Spirit is not based upon any difference in the sanctity of their respective persons, but rather upon the difference between their respective ministries. The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of men, and therefore in Him any and all sin can be forgiven without limitations. But outside of Him nothing can be forgiven. Now it is the peculiar ministry of the Spirit to testify to the Son and thus bring sinners into the only place where sin can be forgiven. And such pardon for repentant sinners was basic in the Kingdom of our Lord. It follows therefore that sinful resistance to the Holy Spirit, in the exercise of this peculiar ministry, must logically belong to a category of sin which is unpardonable. It is not that God ever ceases to be a God of grace; but that it is morally impossible for God to forgive sin outside of Christ, and a hardened resistance to the witness of the Spirit will keep the sinner outside of Christ forever.

The "blasphemy against the Spirit" consisted in ascribing to Satan the work of the Holy Spirit (cp. vs. 24). Such a sin was unpardonable because of the unusual circumstances of their rejection of Christ. The Pharisees had not committed the unpardonable sin, but the fact that they were attributing Christ's power to demons was evidence that they were in danger of the ultimate rejection of Him. For this reason He uttered this solemn warning. This most serious sin of the Pharisees would be the climax of their continual denial of the obvious truth that the miracles of Jesus represented the power of God (Matt. 9:33-34), so that Jesus' message was heaven-authenticated. Anyone who is concerned about his rejection of Christ has obviously not committed this "unpardonable sin," and can still come to Christ. It is the persistent resistance to His claims that receive the attesting testimony of the Spirit that leads to the blasphemy.
            Our country is in desperate need of a Leader Who speaks truth, reasons properly, and Who is also the rightful Judge of both good and evil. One Who can properly drain the swamp.