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In the
Gospel according to Matthew we read: “Then was brought unto him one possessed
with a devil [demon], blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind
and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not
this the son of David? But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This
fellow doth not cast out devils [demons], but by Beelzebub the prince of the
devils [demons]. And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every
kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or
house divided against itself shall not stand: And if Satan cast out Satan, he
is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? And if I by
Beelzebub cast out devils [demons], by whom do your children cast them out?
therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils [demons] by the
Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one
enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind
the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. He that is not with me is
against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. 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. And
whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him:
but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him,
neither in this world, neither in the world to come” (Matthew 12:22:32), and
in the Gospel according to Mark we read: “And the scribes which came down
from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils
[demons] casteth he out devils [demons]. And he called them unto him, and
said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom be
divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided
against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan rise up against
himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. 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. Verily I say unto you, All sins
shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they
shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath
never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: Because they said,
He hath an unclean spirit” (Mark 3:22-30). |
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As you can
see, Jesus rebuked sharply those who said that He had the prince of demons
and that by his help He cast out demons, because by saying those words they
blasphemed against the Holy Spirit of God, for Jesus cast out demons by the
help of the Holy Spirit and not by the help of Satan. In other words, because
they attributed the work of the Holy Spirit through Jesus to Satan,
blaspheming thus against the Spirit. They asserted that He was possessed by
Beelzebub, not filled with the Holy Spirit. They attributed the power to
drive out demons, not to the Holy Spirit of God, but to the prince of demons.
And because of the seriousness of their offense Jesus told them that they
would never be forgiven, for they were guilty of an eternal sin. |
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Now we
know that Jesus Christ still baptizes His disciples with the Holy Spirit, and
when they are baptized they are filled with the Holy Spirit and begin to
speak with other tongues as the Spirit gives them utterance, just as on the day
of Pentecost (in Jerusalem, about two thousand years ago) about one hundred
and twenty disciples began to speak in other tongues after they were filled
with the Holy Spirit. We know also that the Holy Spirit still distributes His
gifts to believers according to the will of God. So there are still
Christians who speak with different kinds of tongues to God by the Spirit,
who interpret those tongues by the supernatural help of the Spirit of God,
who prophesy by the Spirit, who receive a word of wisdom and a word of
knowledge by the same Spirit, who perform miracles and healings by the Holy
Spirit, who discern evil spirits (demons) and cast them out of the demon
possessed in the name of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit (demons
come out of these people by the power of the Holy Spirit, who is much more
powerful than Satan and all his demons), and those who are enabled by the
same Spirit to perform signs and wonders through the gift of faith. All these
things are wrought by the Holy Spirit, for the edification of the saints, and
these things lead us to glorify the glorious and powerful name of Jesus
Christ. So we praise and glorify the name of Jesus Christ because in His name
the works of the devil are destroyed, his schemes brought to light and exposed,
the saints are comforted and encouraged in their faith, and many unbelievers
repent of their sins and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, because many
people across the world believe in Jesus when they see the supernatural
manifestation of the Holy Spirit. However, there are many people who affirm
that those Christians who speak in other tongues, cast out demons, heal the
sick, perform miracles, prophesy, have visions and revelations and so on, are
of the devil because they have evil spirits or are demon-possessed.
Therefore, these people say against these Christians the same things that
those scribes and Pharisees said against Jesus while He was still on the
earth. And unfortunately, among these ignorant people there are many who
claim that they have believed in God and in His Son. They belong to many and
various Protestant Churches. These people are greatly mistaken because they
don’t know the Scriptures nor the power of God. I exhort you, brethren, to
beware of them, because they deny the power of our immutable God, and speak
against the Holy Spirit. And if you, who are reading these words, are tempted
to say that those Christians who have these spiritual manifestations in their
life have evil spirits or are demon-possessed, I exhort you to resist the
devil and not to say these evil things, lest you blaspheme against the Holy
Spirit. Know this, that they are full of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit
is working through them. I exhort you to seek the face of the Lord, and to
desire earnestly the baptism with the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the
Spirit. You will be blessed, and you will not regret your decision. You will
finally know the power of God and you will be thanking the Lord until the end
of your life for making known to you His power. |
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I want to
tell you one more thing. According to the Scriptures, if a believer denies
the Lord Jesus Christ, that is, if he denies that He died on the cross for
our sins and rose again for our justification, he tramples the Son of God
underfoot, counts the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a
common thing and insults the Spirit of grace. Such a man commits the “sin
unto death” (1 John 5:16) and therefore at his death he will go to perdition
(hell) together with the wicked and on the day of judgement he will be cast
into the lake of fire. For it is clearly written: “For if we sin wilfully
[that is, if we commit the sin unto death] after that we have received the
knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a
certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall
devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under
two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be
thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted
the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and
hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said,
Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again,
The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands
of the living God” (Hebrews 10:26-31). Therefore, to insult the Spirit of
grace is to sin unto death. Flee from the sin unto death, for it is the most
serious sin a believer may commit, since it is impossible for those who
commit this sin to be brought back to repentance, for they crucify again for
themselves the Son of God and put Him to an open shame (Hebrews 6:4-6). In
other words, flee from the sin unto death, for a believer can repent of all
sins he may commit except the sin unto death, for this is the unforgivable
sin. |