We’re there in Matthew 12. We’ve been going through a series on Sunday nights and it’s just been kind of a systematic series about the Holy Spirit. Remember we started 4 weeks ago, 5 weeks ago. And we started with the subject of the person of the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is a person. He has intellect. He has emotion. And he communicates. And he has a body. Then we talked about the Holy Spirit as God. We showed the attributes of the Holy Spirit. He’s the Creator. He’s omnipresent and omniscient. We talked about the Trinity in the Holy Spirit. Last week we talked about the work of the Holy Spirit. Tonight we will talk about the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. This idea about the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is very confusing and misunderstood by a lot of people.
What I’d like to do tonight is look at the passages that have to do with this. And clearly look at what it means to blaspheme the Holy Ghost. Now, we read Matthew 12 and I’d like you to look at verse 31. “31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. 32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.” So this is one of the places where we see this idea or the concept of the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost. And Jesus said that when somebody blasphemes the Holy Ghost, that sin will not be forgiven him. And notice it says “neither in this world, neither in the world to come”.
Now, the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost is only mentioned 3 times. And they are basically a reference to the same story. We see it in Mark 3:22-30. We’ll look at that later on in the sermon. We also see it in Luke 12:10. They all refer to this one and same event. And it’s only Jesus basically proclaiming to the Pharisees that they have blasphemed the Holy Ghost. Now what I’d like to do kind of as we get started is give you some alternate views in regards to the Holy Ghost. And some views which I believe are some incorrect views. But when you talk to different people, different church groups, different denominations and whatever you want to call them. Will have different views on how they explain the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost. The first one (and there might be more than this but these are the ones that are most common) that some people believe, that the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost is not believing on Christ when the Holy Ghost draws you.
And this is what most Independent Fundamental Baptists (what we sometimes refer to as the Old IFB) believe about the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost. This is what I was taught my whole life about the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost. They will say that it is the Holy Ghost, it is the Spirit of God that draws men to Christ and that is true. It is the Holy Spirit works in us and works through us as we present the gospel. It is the Holy Spirit that is using the Word of God to bring men to offer them and to help them receive salvation. And what they’ll say is this, when someone hears the gospel and has the Holy Spirit working in them and working in their hearts and drawing them to salvation and that individual then rejects that salvation, what they are doing is resisting the Holy Ghost. And they’ll say that this is the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost. When you look at, and we’ll look at it here in a minute, when you look at what actually happens when the Pharisees blaspheme the Holy Ghost, you cannot get that narrative from the story. You cannot get the idea that someone was preaching the gospel to someone, they chose to reject it and Jesus points to that and goes you just blasphemed the Holy Ghost.
You say well why is it that Baptists will teach that blaspheming the Holy Ghost is simply not believing on Christ. The reason for that is simple. They do not believe in the reprobate doctrine. They say that there is only 1 sin that God will not pardon which is the sin of unbelief. Unfortunately that is not what the Bible teaches. In fact we are going to look at that very clearly tonight. Look, not believing on Christ will send you to hell. Absolutely. But there are sins in the Bible that God says are unpardonable where you can cross a line with God and no longer have the option or the ability to be saved.
Here’s another kind of alternative view to blaspheming the Holy Ghost which I’ve heard. Simply cursing or speaking ill of the Holy Ghost is what blaspheming the Holy Ghost is. Somebody told me about this a while ago and I’ve not seen this or checked it out or tried to look at it and I’m not telling you to do so. But somebody told me that on Youtube there is a Youtube channel or something where young people will video record themselves cursing or cursing out the Holy Ghost. You can watch these videos where kids will go “blankety blank the Holy Ghost” or “I think the Holy Ghost this…”. And they’ll say that is blaspheming the Holy Ghost.
Here’s the thing and let me say this, I’m not saying those kids aren’t reprobate, ok. Because obviously if you are making a video on youtube where you are just saying “Blankety blank the Holy Ghost”. You’re probably reprobate or on the way down that road. So I’m not justifying that at all. But again, you don’t see that in this passage. In the passage you don’t see the Pharisees cursing out the Holy Ghost and saying “blankety blank the Holy Ghost” and Jesus saying you just blasphemed the Holy Ghost. That’s not what we see in the narrative.
And as Baptists, we are biblicists. What that means is that the Bible is the authority. And we must simply look at scripture and not read in to it. And not impose our thoughts and beliefs in to it. Just let the Bible speak for itself. And when you allow the Bible to speak for itself, you cannot walk away with believing that the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost is simply rejecting the gospel presentation. And that goes against a lot of scripture. Paul talks about the fact that at salvation, some people will plant the seed and some people will water and God will give the increase. And if we believe that blasphemy of the Holy Ghost is any time you give the gospel to someone and they reject it, they blaspheme the Holy Ghost.
Guess what? That means they have not forgiveness in this world neither in the world to come. That would mean that you get 1 shot at salvation and if you mess it up then that’s it. And that’s just way too much pressure to put on a new soulwinner. So that’s not what we get from scripture. Cursing and speaking ill of the Holy Ghost, although I would definitely think that anybody who is cursing the Holy Ghost and things like that. I would definitely say that person has something wrong in their heart. Their heart is hardened or being hardened. And they could definitely be a reprobate or become one.
Here is the other view that I’ve heard in regards to the Holy Ghost. Here is what the Pentecostals do. They will say that anyone who makes fun of speaking in tongues is blaspheming the Holy Ghost. They’ll say “You just blasphemed the Holy Ghost”. Right, because they believe they speak in tongues through the power of the Holy Ghost. So when we say “Hey, that’s not what the Bible says. That’s not what the Bible teaches”. Then they’ll say that we blaspheme the Holy Ghost.
Problem with that, #1 – The tongue speaking that the Pentecostals do is not biblical. It’s not found in the word of God. It’s not close to what the Bible says. We’re actually going to do a sermon on this topic. The last sermon in this series will be what the Bible actually teaches about speaking in tongues and all of that. So if you’re interested in learning about all of that then stick with the series and we will cover that. But the Pentecostals will say that when you mock their religion or say it’s a false religion, they will say that you just blasphemed the Holy Ghost.
But again, you can’t get that from the passage. What you don’t see from this passage is the Lord Jesus Christ speaking in tongues and the Pharisees laughing about it and then Jesus saying that they just blasphemed the Holy Ghost. So that is what the Pentecostals say is blaspheming the Holy Ghost. But that’s not what the Bible says. You don’t see the Pharisees making videos on Youtube saying “Blankety Blank the Holy Ghost”. So we might look at that and think that’s gotta be what blaspheming the Holy Ghost is. But that’s not what we see in the passage. And you don’t see Jesus giving the gospel to someone and them rejecting it and Jesus saying that they just blasphemed the Holy Ghost. That’s not what you see in scripture. So the question is what actually happened? What actually took place when there was blasphemy of the Holy Ghost?
Matthew 12:22 “22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil,” So the him there is Jesus. And they bring to him a man who is demon possessed, possessed with a devil. “blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.” So they bring a man who is possessed with a devil who is dumb and blind. Not able to speak, not able to see. And Jesus healed him and gave him the ability to cast the Devil out. The Bible says he both spake and saw now. “23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?” This has got to be the one that has been prophesied of. This has got to be the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of David, look how he cast out this devil. “24 But when the Pharisees heard it,” So notice, the Pharisees are envious. They heard people say about Jesus that this must be the Son of David. “they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.”
So, I want you to understand what is going on here. They bring a demon possessed man. Jesus casts out the Devil. He gives him the ability to both see and speak. And then the people said, Wow, that’s amazing. Look at that. Look at what he did. Is not this the Son of David? And then the Pharisees pipe up and they say, well this fellow, ya he’s casting out devils. But he “doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.”. So they are saying that he’s not casting out devils by the Spirit of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. But he’s casting out devils by Beelzebub. You might ask, who is Beelzebub? Well notice that the Pharisees identify who Beelzebub is. “This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.”. The word prince there is in reference to the ruler or the leader.
Remember, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, against principalities, against powers. And what it’s saying is that Beelzebub is the Devil who is in charge of all the devils. He is the prince of the devils. He is the guy who is in charge of all of the demons. We know that to be Satan. Notice that Jesus further clarifies that they are referring to Satan when they are referring to Beelzebub. Verse 25 “25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them,” So notice, they are just thinking this but Jesus knows what they are thinking because Jesus is God. Jesus is omniscient, he is all knowing. “And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:” Notice verse 26 “26 And if Satan cast out Satan,”
So I want you to notice, they say he has Beelzebub. They say that he is doing it by the power of the devil. And Jesus identifies that they are referring to Satan. They mention Beelzebub and Jesus says “26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?” Notice verse 27 “27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.” So notice the terms of Beelzebub and Satan are being used interchangeably. Because he is the prince of the devils. Here is what they are saying. You didn’t cast out devils by the power of the Holy Spirit but by the power of Satan. You are filled with Satan and you’ve got the power of Satan and that is what you are doing. Notice verse 28 “28 But if I” This is Jesus speaking “But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.”.
So what is it that took place when this idea of the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost came about. And again, we don’t see in this passage Jesus saying “Hello Mr. Pharisee, I just wanted to ask you a question. Do you know for sure if you died today that you are on your way to heaven”. “Ah, I’m not interested in that”. Then Jesus says you blasphemed the Holy Ghost. That’s not what we see in the story. We don’t see Jesus speaking in tongues and Jesus having the Pharisees laughing and mocking saying you blasphemed the Holy Ghost. We don’t even see the Pharisees mocking or laughing or cursing the Holy Ghost. They think they are cursing Jesus by saying that Jesus is filled with Satan. And the problem with them saying that is that Jesus was filled with the Holy Ghost. Jesus was filled with the Spirit of God. Jesus was doing these miracles by the power of God. And what they were basically doing is saying that Jesus was demon possessed.
Notice there in Mark 3:28 “28 Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: 29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation. 30 Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.” So notice when they said that you’re not doing this by the power of God, by the Spirit of God. You’re doing it by an unclean Spirit. You’re doing it by Beelzebub. In verse 30 it says “30 Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.” What are they saying? They are saying to Jesus that he is demon possessed.
So what is it that actually happened. Because sometimes I think we try to read too much in to the passages and we think that it has to be something bigger or deeper or greater in this passage. But look, if you have the Holy Spirit if you’re saved and if I have the Holy Spirit and I’m saved. If you have a King James Bible and I have a King James Bible. Then we should be able to look at it and say what happened when Jesus brought up the concept of blaspheming the Holy Ghost. And I think it’s clear when you look at the passage, Jesus cast out a devil. The people were amazed. They say that this must be the Son of David. The Pharisees said oh ya, well he’s casting out devils but he’s doing it by the prince of the devils. He’s doing it by Beelzebub. He’s doing it by the power of satan. No he’s actually doing it by the Holy Spirit of God and you just said that I did it by an unclean Spirit and you just blasphemed the Holy Ghost and you never have forgiveness. That’s what happened when the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost took place.
You can’t find another passage that gives you another example. Well what can we take away from that or learn from that. And here’s the point that I’m making and I don’t want to be dogmatic about it. But to be honest I’m not even necessarily sure that we could blaspheme the Holy Ghost. You say well why don’t you think that we can blaspheme the Holy Ghost? Well, as a Baptist I have to commit myself and submit myself to the Word of God. And if you ask me what it means to blaspheme the Holy Ghost, the only references I can show you is that Jesus cast out a devil and they said that he didn’t do it by the Spirit of God. You did it by Satan. You’re not filled with the Spirit of God but by Satan. That’s what is blaspheming the Holy Ghost and I just don’t know if we could do that today because Jesus isn’t on this earth today. He’s not walking around today and casting out devils.
So I’m not even necessarily sure or convinced that we could blaspheme the Holy Ghost. Now I’m not dogmatic on that. In fact, I recently had a preacher friend, and I’m not going to tell you who it is just in case he decides not to do this. But I recently had a preacher friend who told me that they are planning to preach a sermon on blaspheming the Holy Ghost and how that could be done today. And I told him that I am interested to hear that sermon. I would love to hear how that could be applied today. I’m not saying it can’t. I’m just telling you that I can’t think of a way to re-produce or to re-do what the Pharisees did. Because Jesus cast out a devil and the Pharisees said that he wasn’t filled with the Holy Ghost but by Satan.
So that’s what the Bible teaches us and that’s what the Bible said. So again, it’s not that someone was given the gospel, the Holy Spirit was drawing them, they rejected the Holy Spirit and that’s blaspheming the Holy Ghost. It’s not that someone was cursing out the Holy Ghost and Jesus said that they blasphemed the Holy Ghost. And it’s not that someone was speaking in tongues. In fact, if you look at Acts 2 in the passage of Pentecost, when they were actually speaking in tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. If you remember, the people were mocking at them. They said these men are filled with new wine. And Peter didn’t get up and say that you just blasphemed the Holy Ghost. No he got up and told them that this is what Joel said would take place and he preached unto them what was actually happening.
So those are in my opinion an abuse of what the Bible is teaching about blaspheming the Holy Ghost. You say what is blaspheming the Holy Ghost then? At the end of the day, all I think that we can really say is that when you see Jesus Christ casting out a devil and then you give the credit to Satan filling Him and doing it by the power of Satan rather than doing it by the power of the Holy Spirit.
We started by talking about the alternative views of blaspheming the Holy Ghost and then we talked about what actually happened. And again I’m not saying that it can’t happen today. I just can’t figure out a scenario where you could say that this is what happened and this is what took place. But what I’d like to do is spend a little bit of time and give you a few reasons as to why this passage does not teach that you can lose your salvation. Because this is really where this becomes an issue. You say “Well we can’t even blaspheme the Holy Ghost today because we would need the Lord Jesus Christ walking around casting out devils in order for someone to blaspheme the Holy Ghost.
So why preach a whole sermon on it? What’s the importance of this passage?”. The importance of this passage in my opinion is that this passage has been used today by false teachers to try to say that you can lose your salvation. And if you’re a soulwinner, you’ve probably had someone say to you as you’re talking about salvation and asking if they know if they are going to heaven. They say yes. Then you ask them what they are trusting in or if they can lose their salvation. Then they say “Well if you blaspheme the Holy Ghost”. And today people will say “of course you can lose your salvation if you blaspheme the Holy Ghost.”. That won’t be forgiven and this passage will be used against eternal security.
So what I’d like to do is give a few reasons why this passage does not teach that you can lose your salvation. The blasphemy of the Holy Ghost does not in any way, shape or form teach that someone can lose their salvation. You say prove it. Well look at Matthew 12:23. The problem with teaching that in Matthew 12, Mark 3 or Luke 12 that in those instances when those people blasphemed the Holy Ghost, that they lost their salvation, the problem with that is that the people who blasphemed the Holy Ghost in those passages were not saved. So it’s not possible that they blasphemed the Holy Ghost and they lost their salvation when they didn’t have salvation. They didn’t have salvation to lose. Matthew 12:23 “23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.”.
So notice, it was the Pharisees who said of Christ that this fellow doth not cast out devils but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. Here’s what you need to understand. The Pharisees were not saved. In fact you can prove it in the exact same book. And let me just show you and prove to you that the Pharisees were not saved. And if you’re taking notes, you might want to go to the references where you’ve got the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost and write this reference. Matthew 23:13-15 in the margin of your Bible. Because when you’re out soulwinning and someone asks you about this or what about blaspheming the Holy Ghost, you should have this cross reference to be able to prove this to them. Matthew 23:13 “13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” Notice. “for ye” The Pharisees. “shut up the kingdom of heaven against men:” It says the Pharisees that they are closing the doors. They are shutting the doors to the kingdom of heaven against men. Notice what Jesus says. “for ye neither go in yourselves,”
OK, so according to Jesus, were the Pharisees saved. No. He says that you’re not going in to the kingdom of heaven. You’re not going in to heaven when you die. “for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer” The word suffer means allow “neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.” He says look, you shut up the kingdom of heaven because of the fact that you’re not even saved and then you’re trying to get people who would like to be saved, you’re trying to stop them from getting saved. And look, this is the problem with false religion. Sometimes people get upset and say “Why do you have to mention false religions and mention this religion and that religion”. Look, the problem with false religion is that not only are they themselves going to die and go to hell but they are leading others to go to hell. When you have churches teaching that you have to repent of your sins or stop sinning or quit sinning in order to be saved, that’s a false teaching. When you’ve got a church that is saying that well you can lose your salvation or you can walk away from it or that God gives it to you but you can give it back, that’s a false teaching.
You say why do you have to come down so hard on those people? Because they are not only shutting up the kingdom of heaven for themselves but they are leading others to go to hell also. They are leading other people astray. And Jesus said about these Pharisees, he said look, you are not entering to go in to the kingdom of heaven. And you are not allowing other people. You’re keeping other people from going in. He says “14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive” Notice “the greater damnation.”. Look, are these people saved? No. Let me just give you a hint, if you’re damned then you’re not saved. If you’re condemned then you’re not saved. If you’ve been cursed by Jesus to go to hell then you’re not saved. That’s what the word damned means. He says look, you’re going to get the greater damnation. “15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte,” That’s a convert. “and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.”.
Here’s the point that I’m making. The Pharisees weren’t saved. So somebody says to you, well what about the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost, they lost their salvation. Here’s the answer. Those people weren’t even saved. They didn’t have salvation to lose. They weren’t going to the kingdom of heaven. And they were keeping others from going in. Now let me say this, that’s probably enough of an answer for the soulwinners. Let me talk to you that are soulwinners. That’s probably enough of an answer for you at the door. I’m going to give you more of an answer but you don’t have to preach this whole sermon to them at the door. But if the question comes up “What about blaspheming the Holy Ghost? Didn’t they lose their salvation?”. The only real short answer that you should be giving at the door is “Here is the problem with that: The people in the Bible, the only people who were blaspheming the Holy Ghost weren’t saved. Oh prove that to me. Sure. Matthew 23:13-15. The Pharisees were not saved.
Let me give you another reason though why this passage is not teaching that you can lose your salvation. So we’re talking about reasons why this does not teach that you can lose your salvation. The first reason is that the only people in the entire Bible who blasphemed the Holy Ghost were not saved. So don’t tell me that they lost their salvation because they didn’t have a salvation to lose. But here’s another reason and you may want to use this at the door too if you want to jot down the reference. But another reason that we know the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost does not teach that you can lose your salvation is because of this, the Bible suggests or seems to indicate that any true believers will not blaspheme against the Lord Jesus Christ or against God or against the Holy Ghost. 1 Corinthians 12:3 “3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed:”
Now remember, what is it that the Pharisees did? They said that you are not doing this by the power of the Holy Ghost. You are filled with Satan. Remember Mark 3:30. Because they said that he hath an unclean Spirit. They said to Jesus, they looked to Jesus that you are possessed by a devil. You are demon possessed. When you tell someone that you are possessed by a devil, at the very least you are telling them that they are accursed. Because if you have a devil, you don’t have the Holy Ghost. You say look, can a Christian get demon possessed? No. Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. In fact in those same passages(and we won’t take time to develop them), but in the same passages about the Holy Spirit and about unsaved people having demons, he talks about the fact that a strong man would have to bind someone and move them out of the way in order to take over their house. And he’s using that as an analogy to being possessed by a devil.
And here’s the truth, you say how about casting out devils today, what can we do? Well here’s the problem. You’re not Peter and you’re not Paul. So I’d be careful to walking up to somebody either strung out on drugs or possessed with a devil or both and start commanding in the name of Jesus, ok. I’d be careful. That devil might jump out and say “Jesus I know and Paul I know but I’m not sure who you are”. And beat the fire out of you. So I’d be careful about trying to pull a Benny Hinn. You say well Pastor Jimenez, how do we cast out devils today. Here is the best way to cast out a devil, is get that person saved. Because when the Holy Spirit moves in, the unclean spirits move out. Because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. So when they said that you’re filled with a devil, they said to Jesus that you are accursed. You’re demon possessed. You’re damned. You’re a child of hell. You’re going to go to hell. So notice what the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 12:3 “3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.”
Now this is just an interesting thought and I just thought this was funny but if you listen to the Pentecostals today, you’ll notice that there is a big beam with Pentecostals. And I’m going to say this and someone is going to find an example where this isn’t the case and send me an email and I’m not going to read it so whatever. Brother Oliver will read it and complete it. But when you talk to many Pentecostals today, you know what they say? They say that Jesus is Lord. Have you ever noticed that? Jesus is Lord. Big banners. Website. Jesus is Lord. Jesus is Lord. I just thought that was interesting to say that Jesus is Lord. Because the Bible says that no man can say that Jesus is THE Lord. I just thought it was interesting that they say Jesus is Lord. And I’m like the Holy Ghost says that you say Jesus is the Lord. And you might not think that that’s a big deal but I just thought it was interesting. But here’s the point. “that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed:” So look, I don’t believe that someone who is truly saved that has the Holy Spirit of God is ever going to blaspheme the Holy Ghost. They’re not going to call Jesus accursed or blaspheme the Holy Ghost. Because of the fact that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed.
So I’m giving you reasons why the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost does not teach that you can lose your salvation. Here are 2 good reasons. #1 – Everyone in the Bible who blasphemed the Holy Ghost wasn’t saved to begin with. #2 – No true believer would ever blaspheme the Holy Ghost to begin with.
Sometimes I get emails from people saying that they think they might have blasphemed the Holy Ghost. I’m like ok. How do you accidentally do that? They say “Well this one time I was drunk”. Well that’s a problem. Be filled with the Spirit. Not with drunkenness. Or “I had this or I was going through that and I said this”. Here’s the point, you’re not going to accidentally blaspheme the Holy Ghost. You’re not going to just be like “I tripped and fell and blasphemed the Holy Ghost”. It doesn’t work that way, ok. That is produced from a heart that is hard against God. And here’s the point. Though we believe that salvation is by grace through faith. Though we believe that salvation is not of works. Though we believe that there is nothing in your life that you have to do to be saved or to prove that you are saved. Though we believe that salvation is a gift and you can continue on in your sinful, merry way, and live a worldly lifestyle and still be saved. We believe that. The Bible teaches that.
Now we’re not saying that you should but we’re saying that you can. And what’s interesting is, you know people will attack us on that, but what’s interesting is that the churches that preach really hard against sin are the ones that say you can be saved and live a life of sin. So don’t sit there and say “Oh you’re giving people a license to sin”. You know last I checked, people didn’t need a license to sin. Alright. They were driving un-licensed. They were sinning un-licensed. A bunch of undocumented sinners. They didn’t wait until they were 16 to get their license to sin. They just started doing it all on their own. “Oh you give people a license to sin”.
You come to Verity Baptist Church and sit under this preaching for 6 months and say that we are giving people a license to sin. But you know what, we’re not going to try to scare people in to a false salvation either. Salvation is by grace through faith, period. And you don’t have to live any sort of life to be saved or to stay saved or prove that you are saved. With all of that said, let me say this, there are some things that a believer is not going to do. One of them is calling Jesus accursed. No man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed.
Here’s another example. Matthew 24:24 “24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” The elect is referring to believers. The Bible says that when the Antichrist shows up, there are going to be false Christs and false prophets. They are going to be so good that if it were possible then they would deceive the very elect. Translation: It’s not possible. Here’s the other thing, no true believer is going to accidentally take the mark of the beast. “I went down to this CVS, I was going to pick up Nyquil and somehow I got in the wrong line and now I’m worshipping the abomination of desolation and I have this mark so what do I do”. Because the Dispensationalists say “Cut your hand off. Cut your head off”.
Look, you’re not going to accidentally blaspheme the Holy Ghost. You’re not going to accidentally take the mark of the beast. There are some things that true believers, people that actually believe on Christ, they’re just not going to do. And one is taking the mark of the beast. One is blaspheming the Holy Ghost. So again, the doctrine of the Holy Ghost is not teaching that you can lose your salvation and hopefully that makes sense and you understand that. Let me give you a 3rd thing about blaspheming the Holy Ghost. And let’s see what the Bible does teach about sin and forgiveness. Well the first one is this. What is this blasphemy of the Holy Ghost? We saw that it actually was. We talked about some of the things that people will say it is. Alternative views that don’t really hold water. We talked about reasons why you can’t use it to teach against eternal security or losing salvation.
But let’s talk about some of the things this passage does teach about sin and forgiveness. The first one is this, it does teach that not all sin is equal. Today many Christians will say, “well all sin is equal. All sin is equal.”. I think just yesterday I was checking my email and someone was sending me a 14 page document. I wasn’t going to read the whole thing but I just looked at a few things. The first thing I read was being a pervert and being a sodomite and pedophile, that’s a sin like anything else. Look, you’ve got to have some mental issues to think that some guy who is just molesting and abusing children, that’s just the same as you know stealing a stapler from work. Now look, don’t steal a stapler from work. Ok. It’s a sin. It’s wrong. But that is no where near the same level as molesting children.
Ok. Being a pedophile or bestiality or a sodomite or whatever. Those ideas are ludicrous. It’s ridiculous to even think that. But if you want a proof text that not all sin is equal, some sin is worse than others. Matthew 12:31 “31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men:”. He says, you want to sin? You want to blasphemy? All sorts of blasphemy that you can do that will be forgiven unto men. But the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. What is that teaching us? It’s teaching us that not all blasphemy is equal. Not all sin is equal. There are some sins that are worse than others.
James 2:10 “10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”. People will try to use that verse and say “well look, if you keep the whole law and offend in one point then you are guilty of all. That means all sin is equal”. How does that mean that all sin is equal? The words do not say that all sin is equal. Here is all that means: Any sin is enough to send you to hell. If you keep the whole law and offend in any point, no matter what you do, if you offend in any point, that’s enough to send you to hell. You’re guilty of all. You’re guilty. You’re going to go to hell. There’s none righteous, no not one. To take that verse and say well see, all sin is equal. No, you’re reading in to that. You’re adding to that because that’s not what it says.
Let me give you another example of sins being greater than others. John 19:11 “11 Jesus answered,” This is when Jesus was arrested. “Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.”. Look, the Roman Empire is sinning by putting me to death. But you know the Jews who delivered me to you, they have the greater sin. They have a worse sin. They’ve done a more severe sin. Why? Because no where in the Bible is this teaching that all sin is equal. There are sins that are worse than others. There are sins that are greater than others. There are sins that are more exceeding sinful and more wicked than others. So one thing we can take from this passage is that not all sin is equal. Some sins are worse than others.
Here’s another thing we can learn from this passage. Not all people can be forgiven. And I realize that this is not popular today. But look, not everyone can receive forgiveness. You can cross a line with God on this earth. Now look, we understand that if an unbeliever dies, they crossed a line with God. They can’t be saved. And as it is appointed unto men once to die and after this the judgment. If you don’t get saved before you die, you crossed a line with God and you’re done. But the Bible teaches that there are even people who are alive who crossed a line with God. They’re twice dead. They’ve lost their opportunity to be saved.
Now please understand what I’m saying. They didn’t lose their salvation. Because nobody who is saved would do those things we are going to talk about here, but if an unbeliever does one of these things, God says that you crossed a line. You lost your opportunity. You could have been saved. God is not willing that any should perish. You could have believed. You could have had the gift. But you crossed a line with God and now you do not have the ability to be saved. You say well I’ve never heard that before. Well this is what the Bible teaches. The first one is what we’ve been talking about.
Matthew 12:32 “32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him:”. Isn’t that interesting? Jesus says that you can speak against me. And that will be forgiven you. “but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.”. Here’s another way of saying that. Neither in this life, neither in the life to come. He says it’s not that one day you die, “If you die in this state”. No, no, no. He says that you can’t be saved anymore. You’ve lost your opportunity to be saved. And look, if you don’t believe in the reprobate doctrine which teaches that you can cross a line with God and that you can no longer have the opportunity to be saved, then you have a big problem with Matthew 12:32. Because Jesus just told these people that you just crossed a line and it shall not be forgiven him. Neither in this world. Neither in the world to come. So there are some people who cross a line with God and have lost the opportunity to be saved.
Let me give you another example. Revelation 22:18-19 “18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things,” Talking about the prophecy of this book. “God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:” And look, if you’ve ever read the book of Revelation, God basically just dumps all of hell on the earth during his wrath. And God says, if you add to my book, I’m going to add the same plagues that are talked about in the same book. Look at verse 19 “19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life,”
Now notice what it says. It doesn’t say he’s going to take his salvation away. It’s just saying that he’s going to take the part where their names would have been if they would have got saved. He said that there isn’t even going to be a place for you. Where it would have gone, I’m going to take that part away out of the book of life “and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”. And look, here’s what the Bible says, the Bible says that anybody who corrupts the Word of God, they’ve crossed a line with God and lost their opportunity to be saved. That’s why these modern Bible versions are so dangerous. You say “Well I don’t understand what the big deal is. I don’t understand why I can’t read the NIV”.
How about the fact that they removed 27 verses from the New Testament. How about because you have a Bible that can’t even count right. You’re literally going to chapters where verses are missing. And it says 35, 36, 38. And they just remove a verse. Well let me tell you something. Everyone who was on the committee of the NIV and removed those verses, God removed their part out of the book of life. They crossed a line with God. They are going to die and go to hell. You say but it’s easier to understand. Look, it’s not that hard to understand. Thee, thou – It’s just you. It’s not that complicated.
People act the King James Bible is so hard to understand. Did you go to high school English? They made you read Shakespeare in public high school? It’s the same thing. If you’ve read Romeo and Juliet. The point is this, the word of God is important. And look, when there are corruptions of the word of God that have had verses removed and have had things added to them, that is a big deal with God. And that’s a big enough deal where God says, you know what, you messed with my word, I’m going to mess with you. I’m going to remove your, take away, I’m going to remove your part out of the book of life. And again, it’s not that these people lost their salvation. You know nobody who is actually saved is going to take something out of God’s word. But it’s these unsaved people who are messing with God’s word. And God says, you know what, you’ve crossed a line. You can no longer be saved.
Let me give you one more. Here’s another instance where someone could cross a line with God. We talked about it already and it’s taking the mark of the beast during the endtimes. If you take the mark of the beast, you cross a line with God, you’re done. You’re a reprobate. Revelation 14:9 “9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image,” And again, I think people get this idea that during the endtimes, when it’s time to get the mark of the beast, I’m going to go down to the DMV and they’ll put a chip in my hand and I’ll be good to go. Or I’ll go to CVS and get a chip. It’s like getting a passport. I’ll go down to the Pharmacy and they’ll give me a chip and I’ll be good to go. No that’s not the way it works. You’re going to have to worship the beast and his image. “and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,”.
Notice what it says “If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.”. The Bible teaches that when somebody takes the mark of the beast, they’re done. They crossed a line. You say, “what if a Christian accidentally takes the mark of the beast.” Remember Matthew 24:24, “if it were possible.”
It’s not possible. No true believer is going to take the mark of the beast. Only unbelievers will be deceived in to doing that. But here’s the point, once they do it, they’ve crossed a line. When the Pharisees blasphemed the Holy Ghost, they crossed a line. When people removed and messed with God’s Word, they crossed a line. So look, the Bible teaches that not all sin is equal. There are some sins that are worse than others. And the Bible teaches that not everyone can be forgiven. That not everyone can be forgiven because there are some people who have crossed lines with God. And I’m not going to get in to Romans 1 and all that. We don’t have time for that. But the point is this, the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost. Let’s understand the concept. What can we take away from it? We can take away from it that not all sin is equal. There are some sins that are worse than others. We can take away from it that you can cross a line with God. Not a believer.
Look, he will never leave thee nor forsake thee if you are saved. But unbelievers can get saved or they can reject it until the day they die or they can cross a line with God even before they die where God takes away their opportunity to be saved. And they become a reprobate. What we can learn about the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost is that it’s not teaching that you can lose your salvation. Because the people who blaspheme the Holy Ghost weren’t saved to begin with. And the Bible teaches that a believer is not going to, speaking by the Holy Spirit call Jesus accursed.
And we need to just understand, what is the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost. As Bible believing Christians, let’s not make it fancy or try to make it mystical or you know, what about in this situation or that situation. If you want to know what the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost is, it’s simple. Just read it. They brought a demon possessed man to Jesus. He cast out the devil. The people said wow that’s amazing. This must be the Messiah. The Son of David. The Pharisees got envious and said, well ya he casteth out devils but he’s not doing it by the Spirit of God, he’s doing it by Beelzebub. The Prince of the Devils. He’s filled with Satan. He’s got an unclean spirit. He’s demon possessed. And Jesus said to them, you just crossed a line. You blasphemed the Holy Ghost. Because he did it through the Spirit of God and you gave the credit to Satan. You will have no forgiveness in this world and in the world to come.
Let’s pray.