rdsimpson
THis testimony shows that through Christ we can win, no matter how black things seem and how prolonged the fight. Faith Without Works Is Dead. What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? (James 2:14) "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him". (Hebrews 11:16) but people are stil “thoughtfully, willfully, and self-consciously rejecting the work of the Spirit.” --- Their blasphemy is to deny the Spirit’s testimony and to knowingly ascribe it to some other (usually evil) source. It is that last remark that especially drew Jesus’ ire and prompted his statement regarding blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. To understand the distinction being made by our Lord we need to consider what was happening. It was not merely that the Pharisees heard Jesus’ preaching and denied his gospel. That would have been, as he said, speaking “against the Son of Man” (v. 31). But here they not only heard Jesus’ claims about himself, but they also received clear validation of those claims through the power of the Holy Spirit, via the miracle Jesus performed. Instead of believing, they attributed to the devil what was the work of Christ through the Holy Spirit. They said, “He has an evil spirit” (Mk. 3:30). So hardened were their hearts, that even knowing the miracle was of the holy God they ascribed it to the Evil One, knowing it was true they nonetheless insisted it was false. That is the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, willfully and intentionally refusing to submit to God and his Word. So what is the “unforgivable" sin? Jesus said, “Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven” (Mt. 12:31). God is not unwilling to forgive. God gave his Son to die for our sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, because of his boundless grace. What makes this sin unforgivable is the offender’s unwillingness to repent and believe. Their hardened attitude is shown by “their determination to reject any proof for Jesus’ divine mission, to the extent that they even attribute God’s attestation of Jesus to the devil.” Jesus’ words on this matter assure us that such intentional and blasphemous rejection of the Gospel can render the heart no longer capable of repentance and leave the sinners like these Pharisees beyond forgiveness.
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