Title: The Unforgivable Sin / Matthew 12:31-37
Contents
The content of today's text is a very strong warning from the Lord Himself to the Pharisees and the scribes.
I. There are forgiven sins and unpardonable sins.
1. First, what kind of sins can be forgiven?
The first part of verses 31 and 32 says, “I tell you, all sins and blasphemy shall be forgiven men,” and “If anyone speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven.”
1) It is saying that people can be forgiven for rejecting and swearing at God because they are ignorant.
① Peter, who denied Jesus, and Saul, who arrested and imprisoned and persecuted those who believed in Jesus, received the blessing of forgiveness from the Lord.
② Not only Peter and Saul, but many people joked about God and about Jesus before they believed in Jesus, and fearlessly said many blasphemous remarks, but God showed mercy and mercy and accepted us.
2) Our Lord fundamentally forgives all our sins and does not want to condemn us.
① What we must remember clearly is that there is no unforgivable sin for us.
② This is the core of the gospel and we should not have any doubts.
2. Then, why does the Lord say that there is an unforgivable sin so harshly in the text?
What is the meaning of the words “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit” and “whoever opposes the Holy Spirit, neither in this world nor in the world to come” in verses 31 and 32 of the text mean?
1) This is related to the saying in the previous section that when Jesus healed a man possessed by a demon, the Pharisees saw this and said, “Jesus cast out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the king of demons.
① The Pharisees view the works of Jesus, who cast out demons by the power of the Holy Spirit, as works of Satan.
② The work of the Holy Spirit was clearly appearing before them, but the Pharisees were determined not to believe it.
③ It is not because they do not know, lack of understanding, or because evidence is not given, but because they are clenching their teeth and fighting with the will to not believe in death.
2) When the works of the Holy Spirit are taking place and grace is being given, we must receive grace, melt our hearts, and kneel.
1 Corinthians 6:2 “I heard you in my favor, and I helped you in the day of salvation.” Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
②The strange thing is that the more God's grace appears, the more poisonous it becomes.
③ The more the Holy Spirit works the more fervently, the more denial and refusal there are, and the more accusations there are.
④ It was the Pharisees who denied Jesus even to the last moment of death and refused the opportunity to repent.
II. You must acknowledge Jesus right away.
In verse 33, the Lord said, “Declare that the tree is good and its fruit is good, or the tree is not good and the fruit is not good, and by its fruit a tree is known.”
1) Now that the works of the Holy Spirit are taking place, if you look at them, you must know who you are and acknowledge it.
①The work of God is clearly taking place, so why are you insisting that it is the work of Satan?
② Then comes the Lord's strong rebuke. He is calling out to the Pharisees, “You brood of vipers” in verse 34. (These are the children of the devil.)
③ “How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” It is referring to the words of the Pharisees.
2) The words of the saints tell the state of the person. (Importance of words)
In verse 35, “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.”
② Verse 32 also says, "If anyone speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven."
③The Lord is talking about the Pharisees who spit out venomous words.
3) However, it is important to say the principles taught in the Bible.
① Words come from the heart.
②We cannot look inside a person.
③However, there are times when you show your inner self once in a while, and when it comes to that time, it is “the time to talk”.
4) Occasionally, strangely twisted words and destructive and negative words just pour out.
①It tells you that your condition is very unhealthy.
②Therefore, when I am in a bad state, both spiritually and in various ways, the best way is to say less.
③ There is no such thing as words that accurately reveal the person.
④ Listening to what is said reveals the level, personality, and spiritual state of the person.
⑤ If there is a wound in the heart and there is hatred and anger, good words will not come out of that mouth.
It is only when you change your mind and the words that come out that you change that person.
⑥ No matter what we say, we must have the sensitivity to discern whether these words come from the Holy Spirit or from blood and lust.
Ⅲ. As for the words, please keep in mind that there is a judgment of God upon receiving.
1) Jesus said in verses 36 and 37, "I tell you, whatever meaningless words a man speaks, they will be brought to trial on the day of judgment, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."
① If we do not think deeply and speak in the Holy Spirit, there is a high possibility that we will become useless words, empty words, and useless words.
② Judgment on the words that will be held in the last days, in other words, is that the judgment is based on the person's inner condition.
2) Therefore, we should always carefully examine our inner condition.
① In particular, if the spiritual state is not healthy, it is easy to be easily controlled by emotions.
② According to one's mood and mood, it is easy to come up with useless words without hesitation.
③If you leave it as it is, you will go to extremes like the Pharisees.
What is in your heart right now? What is your spiritual state? Be careful. On the day of judgment, you will be judged for what you say.
In particular, do not deny or reject the work of the Holy Spirit with words.
Whenever the Holy Spirit wants to give you grace and gives you an opportunity to repent, never refuse and have an attitude of Amen.
Praise the Lord with your lips and kneel before him for the work God is showing you.
Now is the time when such grace is given.
Believe that the Holy Spirit is in you and do not deny it.
I hope that you will be able to see the work of the Holy Spirit as history and glorify it.