Receiving the Holy SpiritSample
The unpardonable sin.
There are many sins a person might commit: murder, adultery, lying, thieving, and more. God will forgive you for every one of these. But there is one sin that Jesus says will never be pardoned. Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.
He even said if someone blasphemed Jesus Himself, and turned for forgiveness, they would be pardoned. But not so for those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit. This is what the scripture says:
Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever says a word against the Son of man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. (Matthew 12:31-32)
Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit occurs when someone calls the Holy Spirit an evil spirit. It is an “eternal sin” for which a person will never be forgiven (see Mark 3:22-30).
Now, this is a quandary. If the Holy Spirit is not God, as the scriptures indicate and as was discussed in the last session, then why is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit considered worse than blasphemy against Jesus?
To be honest, the scriptures don’t really tell us why. But if we stop and consider it for a while, we may understand why.
Imagine living in heaven, a place of peace, tranquillity, love, joy, and beauty in the presence of God. But then God sends you to dwell within a man or woman who is filthy from sin, depraved in nature, and beset by all of the weaknesses, passions, lusts, and desires of human nature. Then God says, “Your job is to transform and clean up their mess, but you are not allowed to just take over and fix this person.” The person still must be able to exercise their free will and will still mess up. And the Holy Spirit has to put up with it until that person repents, seeking God and the help of the Spirit.
There will be times when the Holy Spirit is grieved by what we do. There are times when the Spirit will be outraged when we mess up time after time until the work of transformation takes place.
Talk about a horrible situation that the Holy Spirit is in! And this is what God has ordained in His grand plan for man.
It is my opinion, and that is all it is, that God made blasphemy of the Spirit such a heinous thing because the Holy Spirit has such a filthy job.
Call to Action
We need to seek God and the truth at all times so that we do not grieve the Holy Spirit sent from God to help us and transform us into the image of Jesus Christ. Seek the truth and learn to walk in the Spirit at all times.
About this Plan
If we aim to walk as Christ and His disciples walked, then receiving the Holy Spirit is essential, just as they all received the Holy Spirit. This Bible plan will show the why, how, when, what, and who of receiving the Holy Spirit. And it may surprise you too!
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