SIX SINS AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT
MATTHEW 12:31-37
Key verse: v. 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.”
PART 3
Introduction:
This is the third message on the subject of sins against the Holy Spirit. To date we have considered 1. Blaspheming the Holy Spirit, 2. Lying to or Tempting the Holy Spirit, 3. Despising the Holy Spirit, 4. Resisting [opposing] or Striving [to fight against] with the Holy Spirit.
In this message we will consider Vexing or Grieving the Holy Spirit and Quenching the Holy Spirit.
V. GRIEVING [to distress mentally] or VEXING [to provoke] THE HOLY SPIRIT
Ephesians 4:30, “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”
A. Grieve = to feel grief or great sorrow:
1. The SORROW of the Apostles when the Lord reveal his coming death, Matthew 17:23, “And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry.”
2. The SORROW felt by the rich young ruler upon hearing the conditions of salvation, Matthew 19:22, “But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.”
3. When the Lord Jesus ANNOUNCED that ONE of the disciples WOULD BETRAY Him, Matthew 26:22, “And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?”
4. The Lord in the garden of Gethsemane, Matthew 26:37, “And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.”
B. Vex = to irritate; annoy; provoke:
1. The grieving of God the Father over the sinfulness of man, Genesis 6:3, 6, “And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. 6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.”
2. The Lord was provoked by the Hebrews in the wilderness yet He did not destroy them, Psalm 95:10, “Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:”
C. The Holy Spirit is the element IN which the believer is SEALED, His gracious INFLUENCES being the SEAL ITSELF, Ephesians 1:13, “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,”
1. The Believer is protected by the Spirit’s influence even when he grieves the Spirit, John 5:24, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
2. His influence is a STRONG POSITIVE influence, Ephesians 4:25-26, 29, “Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. 26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: 29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.”
VI. QUENCHING THE HOLY SPIRIT
1 Thessalonians 5:19, “Quench not the Spirit.”
QUENCH = to put out or extinguish (as a fire); the sense is, we are NOT TO EXTINGUISH the INFLUENCES of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.
A. Remember, preacher, to stir up the gift of God, 2 Timothy 1:6, “Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.”
1. In order to a good minister of Jesus Christ, 1 Timothy 4:6, “If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.”
2. That he be not negligent in preaching the truth, 2 Peter 1:12, “Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.”
B. The Believer is to FAITHFULLY “OCCUPY” until the Lord returns, Luke 19:13, “And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.”
1. The word means more than to “possess” but to EMPLOY IN BUSINESS, Romans 12:6-8, “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; 7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; 8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.”
2. “Until I come,” in the Greek is: “WHILE I AM COMING,” 2 John 1:8, “LOOK to yourselves, that WE LOSE NOT those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a FULL REWARD.”
a. Holding forth the word of life, Philippians 2:16, “Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.”
b. We are the LIGHT OF THE WORLD, Matthew 5:14, “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”