Good evening everyone.
Last week we looked at the scriptures in the Old Testament concerning God’s promise made exclusively to the nation of Israel related to their physical health and well-being.
That blessing is tied with the nation’s obedience to the commandment of the Lord.
The nation of Israel will always be a God-chosen nation.
The Lord is not done with the Israelites.
On the contrary, saved believers of the local New Testament church are promised with something much better than physical well-being.
We are promised spiritual blessings.
Please allow me to remind you once again of this truth in [Ephesians 1:3].
This is because we tend to forget it so quickly.
We cannot emphasize and repeat this truth enough.
Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
When you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you are promised with eternal life.
The righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ is imputed to you.
You are placed into the body of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Holy Ghost comes to dwell inside you and seal you until the day of redemption.
The Holy Ghost gives you a spiritual gift to live a Christian life.
He gives you the power to restrain the influence of your fleshly lust.
You also have the Lord Jesus Christ as a Great High Priest always interceding for you in heaven.
Though you sin while living a Christian life, the Lord Jesus Christ will step in as your advocate.
If you happen to die, you are promised with a resurrection body which will have no corruption in it.
The Lord Jesus Christ also promises you that He will come and pick you up to meet Him in the air.
As we continue our study tonight, we will enter into the subject of the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost.
We will start with verse 22.
Mark 3:22 And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.
The scribes are people who copy records of the scriptures.
They are meticulous in their duty.
They must have seen and read through the Old Testament scriptures many times as part of their job.
Sadly, they were so blind not seeing that the Lord Jesus Christ was their God.
In chapter 2, they saw the healing of the sick of the palsy by the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord also had the power to forgive the sin of that man.
These scribes reasoned in their hearts, saying that the Lord Jesus Christ was a blasphemer.
This shows us that people can have strong Bible knowledge, but their hearts can be far from God.
Now in chapter 3, the scribes accused the Lord Jesus Christ of having the devils.
Other cross-references charging the Lord Jesus Christ of having the devils include [John 7:20, John 8:48, John 8:52, John 10:20 and Luke 11:15].
The chief adversary of the Lord Jesus Christ is Satan.
In the Bible, there are several names of the powerful force of darkness aligned with Satan against God.
Beelzebub is the prince of the devils.
Another one can be found in [Revelation 9:11].
Revelation 9:11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
Abaddon in Hebrew or Apollyon in Greek is said to be the angel of the bottomless pit.
The force of darkness in the spiritual realm is real.
We are not to be ignorant about it.
Let us read [Mark 3: 23-26].
Mark 3:23 And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?
Mark 3:24 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
Mark 3:25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
Mark 3:26 And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.
Satan is not going to divide and destroy his own house.
He is consistent with his approach by influencing the world to go against the Holy Bible and God every day.
For the lost people, Satan’s work is to blind them from the light of the glorious gospel of Christ.
For the saved people, He lures them to be entangled with the care of this world and to rob them from the rewards they could have received at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
Satan is not going to weaken his power.
Next, let us read verse 27.
Mark 3:27 No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.
If there is a man who wants to come in and harm your family members and take your stuff, the only way to prevent that from happening is to be stronger than him.
The Lord Jesus Christ can cast out the devils because His power is more superior than them.
Next, we will discuss the core subject of our study tonight which is the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost.
First of all, we need to understand the meaning of the word blaspheme.
It means to disrespect or to have no reverence about God.
Then we need to do a quick review of a Bible doctrine concerning the Holy Ghost.
Let us go to [1 John 5:7] in your King James Bible.
1 John 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
This is the strongest verse supporting the doctrine of the trinity.
We have one God as three distinct persons.
The Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost.
The Bible tells us plainly that these three are one.
The Bile has settled this teaching, and we can know that the Holy Ghost is God.
One more evidence to say that the Holy Ghost is God is found in [Act 5:1-4].
This brings us to the time of a scary church service when Ananias and Sapphira dropped dead because they lied about their money gained from selling their land.
Act 5:1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
Act 5:2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
Act 5:3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
Act 5:4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
What did Peter say in verse 3?
… why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost.
What did Peter also say in verse 4?
… thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
Who is the Holy Ghost?
He is God.
Next, we will need to know the specific duty of the Holy Ghost.
Let us go to [John 16:7-13].
John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
John 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
John 16:9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;
John 16:10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
John 16:11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
John 16:12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
The Lord Jesus Christ told His disciples that He must ascend back to heaven to be at the right hand of God the Father.
Only then, the Comforter (or the Holy Ghost) can come down and dwell inside each saved believer.
Now please pay attention to verse 8.
What is a specific job of the Holy Ghost?
… he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.
Please remember this verse carefully as it will help unlock the issue of the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost.
Let us read go back to [Mark 3:28-30].
Mark 3:28 Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:
Mark 3:29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:
Mark 3:30 Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.
Some people have been ill-informed about this teaching.
The common error of the teaching is like this.
You are in a church, and a person starts to speak in tongue.
You say that the person is not doing it by the power of the Holy Ghost.
The pastor or preacher then say you are blaspheming the Holy Ghost.
None of this idea or teaching is found in [Mark 3:28-30].
When we filter the so-called speaking in tongue in our modern-day using the absolute authority of the Bible based on God-given restrictions in 1 Corinthians 14, it will not pass any of the criteria.
The Holy Ghost inspired the human authors of the Bible to write this teaching.
Therefore, He cannot agree with such a modern-day speaking in tongue manifestation.
The Charismatic Movement is overly driven by emotion and feeling good experience.
No doubt, it is not the work of the Holy Ghost.
Now let read verse Mark 3:28 carefully.
… All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men.
We need to stick to the context of the passage; otherwise, we will end up with the belief that people will all eventually be saved – whether or not they ever accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
The Bible is clear that the only way to get saved is through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us reread verse 28 slowly.
… All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men.
This is a future tense statement.
Let us continue reading what this verse also says.
… and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:
Just like the sin of lying, adultery, fornication, the sin of blasphemy will be forgiven as well.
The forgiveness of sin is available if the person repents and decides to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
Next, let us read 29.
Mark 3:29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:
Let us do a quick observation of this passage carefully.
… But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness.
This verse is a present tense statement.
It does not say that a person will lose his salvation.
It says a person is in danger of eternal damnation.
As you know, the Holy Ghost has a job to reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.
Let us use a witnessing situation as an example.
You witness to a lost person on the street.
You show him a Bible verse saying, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
This man replies, “How dare you call me a sinner! I am a good person. I never murder anyone.”
You go on to say that the Lord Jesus Christ died to pay for his sin, He was buried and rose again the third day to forgive the sin of the whole world.
This man replies, “I do not believe in this kind of stuff! I do not want this Jesus. Go away!”
The Holy Ghost is doing the work to show this man that he is a sinner.
This man is not righteous in the eyes of God.
As such, the judgment is waiting for him.
This man has blasphemed the Holy Ghost.
His present condition has rejected the Lord Jesus Christ.
Can God save this man?
Yes, absolutely.
However, the present condition of this man makes it impossible for him to get saved.
As long as this man remains with the condition of rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ, he cannot receive the forgiveness of sin.
God never wants anyone to perish.
Let us remind ourselves from [2 Peter 3:9].
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Some people may not get saved the first time when they heard the gospel.
However, if he repents and believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, this sin of blasphemy shall be forgiven to him as well.
The blasphemy of the Holy Ghost has nothing to do with speaking in tongue or not speaking in tongue.
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