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THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY SEARCHER VOLUME 1, NUMBER 5, MARCH 4, 2001 BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT
In Matthew 12, Mark 3, and Luke 12, we read about the blasphemy against
the Holy Spirit. It is a subject
about which there is a great deal of misunderstanding and even apprehension.
I have had many people express to me the fear that they had somehow
committed the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and were worried that there was
no hope for them. The very fear that
they were expressing was evidence of the fact that they had not committed that
offense.
In Matthew 12, Jesus had performed a notable miracle in the presence of
many witnesses. A man both blind and
dumb, afflictions evidently brought about in his case because he was possessed
by a demon, was healed by Jesus. The
context tells us, “so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.”
Most of the witnesses were convinced.
They cried out, “Could this be the Son of David?”
Didn’t the prophecies depict him as a miracle worker?
Who could dispute that the Spirit of God was with Jesus?
Who could dispute that He was the Anointed One, the Messiah, the
Christ of God?
The Pharisees disputed. Against
the clearest of evidence, they refused to accept what they had seen.
To defend their opinion of the Lord and retain some credibility in the
eyes of the people, they invented the ludicrous charge that Jesus was casting
out demons through the prince of the demons.
Thus, they were blasphemously attributing
the work of
the Spirit
of God to some diabolical agency. What
had they done? They had
rejected the clearest of evidence, the work of the Spirit through Jesus.
It is my conviction that the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the
final rejection of the clearest of evidence produced by the Spirit through Jesus
– the miracles that our Lord worked. Obviously,
an individual who rejects the miracles will reject Jesus as well.
That there is no forgiveness for such a sin, as long as the sinner
remains involved in it, is also clear.
Jesus spoke of the significance of His miracles in John 10:37 & 38.
He said, “If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me;
but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you
may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.”
I am reminded of the conclusion that Nicodemus drew because of the
miracles he had seen Jesus perform. In
John 3:2, Nicodemus said to Jesus, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher
come from God: for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with
him.”
Can blasphemy against the Holy Spirit be committed today?
I believe that it can be if a person attributes the miracles of Jesus to
Satan and/or rejects the clearest of evidence. We have the same evidence today
that they had in the first century, and it has been preserved and presented to
us for the same reason. “And
truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not
written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is
the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”
(John
If a person reads of the wondrous works of the Holy Spirit through Jesus
in the Spirit-revealed Word and fails to believe, what other line of evidence is
there to produce faith? Even
Jesus said, “the very works that I do –bear witness of Me, that the
Father has sent Me.” (John 5:36)
and “though you do not believe Me, believe the works” (John
THIS IS WHAT GOD MEANT!
A while back I had the opportunity to sit down and talk to an older
sister in Christ who had been married for 68 years.
She’s a quilter, and she makes some beautiful ones, but no quilt she
has made is as beautiful as the tapestry of their life together that she and her
husband have made. Each stitch in
that tapestry has been lovingly sewn. It
is a picture of two godly people walking hand in hand with each other and with
the Lord through the sometimes turbulent waters of life.
It is a picture complete with mountains and valleys, pleasant sun-filled
meadows and dark times of sorrow. The
background of this tapestry is love; love for God and love for each other.
There were just a few more stitches to be sewn and the tapestry would be
completed. As we talked, it was
apparent that her companion of 68 years would soon be going home.
It would not be the earthly home that they had shared together, but it
would be to that home that they had spent a lifetime preparing to enter.
It would be one prepared by the Lord for those that love Him.
Tears streamed down her face and everyone of them had a story to tell.
One tear told the story of their time of courting, another of their early
years as husband and wife during the days of the depression and how their first
house had been a converted chicken coop.
Another told of the birth of their children, while yet another told of an
anxious night waiting for her beloved husband to come home from school during
the great flood.
I wish you could have been there. Those
tears told the story of countless biscuits baked in the wood-burning stove and
of the laughter and wave as he would come home from teaching school each day.
They told of the absolute trust that they had of each other.
There were many trips to the barn and the chicken pens for feedings in
those tears as well as cold evenings spent around the fire quilting and studying
God’s Word. As I sat
and talked to her, I could almost
see the whole family bustling about on Sunday morning getting ready to go
worship the Lord together. There are
four children and they are all faithful members of the body of Christ.
All should have had the opportunity to witness the care and help that
those children gave to their mother and father in these difficult times.
They have been living examples of what Paul meant when he said, “Honor
your father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise)”.
That kind of love and respect does not come about by accident.
It is a testimony to just how seriously those two beloved older
Christians took the admonition to bring their children up “in the nurture
and admonition of the Lord.”
This dear sister and friend looked at me and said, “He’s my pal.”
After 68 years he is still her best friend.
This particular brother and sister in Christ started life together so
long ago with little more than each other and the Lord.
A little over 68 years later now, one has gone home to be with the Lord
and the other can’t wait to join him. When
she crosses over the whole world will be poorer for it, but their legacy will
live on and on.
Yes, there are problems in the world and there are problems in the
church. Yes, some brethren don’t
live as they should and that is a shame. There
are brothers and sisters in Christ who do not keep the vows that they made to
one another and to God when they were joined in marriage.
But the truth is that most brethren do.
Most brethren serve the Lord together, raise their families together, and
grow old together. Sometimes the bad takes so much of our energy and attention that we can overlook and fail to appreciate the good, but the good is there. I
held your hand before the preacher when we both said we would I
held your hand in the delivery room when you said you could I
held your hand at ballgames, emergency rooms and plays If
the Lord wills, I’ll hold your hand throughout our golden days When
the time comes to cross over and leave this old land I
pray to God we’ll be together and I’ll be there to hold your hand. g.l.
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