Welcoming the Holy Spirit

Here’s a challenging passage of scripture. Jesus said this after the religious leaders claimed that he only had authority over evil spirits around because he was on the side of Satan. “‘I tell you the truth, all sin and blasphemy can be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. This is a sin with eternal consequences.’ He told them this because they were saying, ‘He’s possessed by an evil spirit.’”(Mark 3:28-30, ESV).  

I can’t tell you how many people have come up to me really anxious and troubled because they’re confused about this verse and they’re afraid that they’ve blasphemed the Holy Spirit. So let’s examine it quickly here. 

Some believe that this passage is talking about when we see works of the Holy Spirit and attribute it to Satan. Does Satan come as an angel of light and impersonate the Holy Spirit and God? Yes, that is for sure. Are there false prophets and false manifestations, things not found in the Bible? Yes, absolutely. We have to be careful when we see people doing things that are in scripture, though, to not say, “That’s demonic.” If someone is healed in the name of Jesus and we say it was satanic, we’re on dangerous ground. 

Some have claimed that this passage means that the Holy Spirit is more important than Jesus since he said that any kinds of blasphemies against him would be forgiven but not against the Spirit. He was talking, though, about the foolishness that we do and say before we come to salvation. His blood covers every single sin. There’s nothing too horrible that Jesus can’t cover it and forgive you of when you repent and come to him. 

Some look at it this way. God sent the Son, and after the Son accomplished his work, he sent the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus. If someone rejects the Spirit and turns away from God all of their life, there’s no way of salvation left. That’s it. There’s nothing left except eternity without God. 

We’re not going to be that way. We’re longing to see the face of God. We’re waiting for an eternity in Jesus’s presence. Let’s be wide open to accepting all that the Spirit wants to do in our lives.

^{Jim Cymbala began the Brooklyn Tabernacle with less than twenty members in a small, rundown building in a difficult part of the city. A native of Brooklyn, he is a longtime friend of both David and Gary Wilkerson.}