Satan’s Tactics & The Blasphemy of The Holy Spirit | Mark 3:22-35 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

What a wonderful time of worship. Wouldn't you agree? Mimi and the gospel according to Mark in chapter three and in verse 20, we have quite a bit of verses to read here, but it's important to understand the context before we explore the meanings of these sacred texts. Mark chapter three, beginning in verse 20. Hope you have a Bible in your hand.

It's best to follow with your own copy of God's word. Mark three twenty reads, then he went home, and the crowd gathered again so that they could not even eat. And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying he is out of his mind. And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying he is possessed by Beelzebul. And by the prince of demons, he casts out the demons.

And he called them to him and said to them in parables, how can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man, then indeed he may plunder his house.

Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin. For they were saying, he has an unclean spirit. Lord, with this weighty text, we ask for a greater measure of your Holy Spirit's help. May this liberate those who are confused and unnecessarily anxious, but may this also stir up the one who has become dangerously comfortable. Lord, give us minds to understand hearts that will have our affections warmed by these words.

We love you. We wanna love you more as a result of obeying you through this. In Jesus name, amen. I'm sure that, one of the first things that comes to mind when you hear this famous passage is to seek clarity of this disturbing, frightful revelation of the eternal sin, the unforgivable sin, the unpardonable sin. And be assured that we will seek to have understanding about what that really is, but at the same time, we must resist the temptation to make this entire message about just that because there is so much leading up to it that will supplement our walk with the Lord if we are but patient.

And so as we come to this text, this isn't perhaps going to be the most, crafted message, but I want us to just follow Mark's thoughts and to just pick up truths until we come to what I'm sure is really on our hearts after hearing what Jesus had said, not just to this audience, but to all of us even today. Something has happened in Jesus' ministry. You were here last week, so you heard it, I'm sure. Jesus had just selected his 12 apostles, and this was a significant decision that would affect the future of his message and ministry. And we see here that after he selects this group, there are three other groups who enter into the scene to come to him following this important decision.

The first group is something you're familiar with, the recurring and overwhelming crowd who are desperate to receive a touch from Jesus, to be ministered by this unusual authority that this rabbi from Nazareth possessed. The second group were his closest relatives, and the relatives of Jesus were concerned for him because they had heard that he was receiving certain attention, and they were worried about his safety and maybe even their own as his relatives. The third group is something that we know of as well, the Pharisees. We have not seen the Pharisees since that wonderful scene where Jesus was in their self righteous presence in that synagogue, and he healed a man with a withered hand, only having them so flared up to flee the scene and to plot his destruction. When you look at this, you understand a principle that is promised throughout the word of God.

That as God's purposes advance, as God's salvific person through his son was making progress, there was an increase of protest and there was an increase of persecution. And any servant of God who plays any role to seeing the gospel advance in their life and in the ministry that they are part of have to know this, have to be so aware of what I'm about to say, and it is the following. That oppositions of various kinds are inevitable when you and I do God's work faithfully. They will come. They will come to you personally.

They will come to us corporately. Minister with the zeal that the master exemplifies and expect Satan to discourage or dampen your fervor through various means. We see that here, don't we? We see that here with Jesus' own family. We see that here with Jesus' own enemies.

First, we see that his own brothers, and it's questionable whether his his mother was a part of this criticism, But we see for for certain that his brothers, his half brothers who did not believe in him according to John, until after his resurrection were insulting him, were openly saying he lost his ability to reason, because they couldn't understand how someone would miss meals to minister to strangers, to give so much energy, and to give so much of themselves. And so here they are from a distance receiving this news, and they wanna be able to rescue him, apparently. And it makes you wonder though it's not explicitly clear, are are they worried for themselves because they know that there is a growing hostility towards Jesus and they're related to Jesus? And so we read here that they were actually now come to where he is to physically apprehend him, perhaps with the goal of conforming him to some normal and quiet safe routine that doesn't attract so much trouble from those who are in power. But what's amazing here is that Jesus will deal with them in a moment, but not immediately.

Because all for a sudden, this suspenseful scene is interrupted with a second group who also have a gross speculation of who he is and why he's doing what he's doing or how he's doing what he's doing, and that's the Pharisees. And I I wonder, I said, you know, to myself reading this, why did Jesus because look at verse twenty twenty one. Right? It's about his family, then the rest of the text is about the Pharisees, and then you look at verse 31 down to verse 35, and he comes back to his family again to respond to them. And I thought to myself, well, why not just keep Jesus's response with the comments of his family in one part and then deal with the second part?

Why intertwine them? Why split into two segments and then put that famous passage in between? And here's what I believe. I believe it's because the Holy Spirit wants to make sure that we realize that there is a truth with these segments being brought together as a sandwich, so to speak. And it is this, Satan's arsenal to hinder the work of Christ is is deep.

Sometimes it is subtle. Sometimes it is open. They can come from those who are closest to us, or they can come from those who brazenly despise us. The efforts of the enemy to derail our enthusiasm for the work of Jesus can come from those who are unknowingly serving his purposes. Remember Peter, who tried to who tried to take Jesus to a different course other than the cross, and it was Satan who was influencing his thinking.

I believe in part that's what's happening here with his family. And sometimes the efforts to derail our enthusiasm for Christ comes from those who have no shame to be intentionally malicious and divisive and harmful. You and I are gonna follow Mark's thoughts here, and we're gonna pause with his family, and we're gonna revisit that next week as Jesus will indeed correct them, and he will show us what true family is. But for now, we will look and deal with the Pharisees and how Jesus immediately rebukes them. And there are so many truths here, not just about the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.

May I present to you today to the serious servant of God that we will impart expose some of the tactics of Satan. Because if you serve Jesus Christ long enough and if you are part of a church by God's grace like this one that wants to be serious about proclaiming God's word and making disciples, then these attacks will surely come, if they haven't already. Look at verse 22 again. And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem just pause there. They came down from Jerusalem.

It is believed that Jesus and his group were in Galilee, miles and miles away from Jerusalem. And we are told that these scribes, these religious leaders, made a trip down to visit Jesus, not because they were honest and curious, but because they had a plot in mind. And I can't help but think of the great the great effort to make sure to spy on Jesus and stop the move of God at any cost. They had no hesitation to waste resources, to set apart time, to travel on foot perhaps, and to give up so much of who they were to stop something so holy and good. And that simple phrase of how they came down from Jerusalem should be a great reminder that the enemy's attacks against the children who are faithful and spirit empowered and who want to serve their father are relentless.

He is constantly on the move. He is constantly aware, and he constantly plans and schemes to find a way to limit the proclamation of the whole council of God. And anybody who is desiring to plant the seed of truth in the hearts that God has brought into their lives. If you think that this was unique to Jesus, then remember the apostle Paul. Reflect on the account of his life in the book of Acts.

The guy could not evade the harassment of the Jews. I mean, no matter where he went, there was some kind of interference from the spiritual leaders of his day as well. And so it is with us, you and I, when we said yes to Jesus, you signed up for a war. If you don't know that, I'm gonna hear I'm here to tell you that you signed up for a war, an ancient war, a war that's been going on since the beginning of time. And you have put on a uniform, and you have the badge of Christ.

And as long as you are dedicated to the cause of Christ, you are a threat to the kingdom of darkness. And so it's more than just you having a nice quiet life. You got your insurance for heaven. Your life is bigger than just two vacations a year and paying off your mortgage. You are part of an army with an eternal cause, and Satan knows the potential that you have if you are indeed serious about that mission.

And so what should we expect as a church? I'm speaking to Maranatha Bible Church. Here's what you can expect. In your own life and as our lives are lived together, a series, a lifelong series of attacks from hell. God does grant his servants a season or seasons of repose, and we always know an internal joy.

But even in those times where corporately, we we see great fruit and great peace and heightened joy, I personally am always mindful of this. Satan is somewhere planning something. And once these scribes finally arrive at the place where these desperate crowds were to receive from the Lord, we are told that they began to poison the minds of people by saying that Jesus was doing what he was doing by the influence of satanic powers. The reason for this, it's a smear campaign. This was a diabolical plan to try to discredit who Jesus was and the source of his message and his ability to minister.

And hopefully, that would cause people to at least doubt and more than doubt, despise and remove themselves from any association with Christ. And here's what I find so interesting about what these scribes were doing. The last that we heard from them was in verse six. Go back to verse six. What do we see?

The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against them how to destroy him. You know what that tells me? That tells me between that moment and our text today, these evil men have been brainstorming of how to destroy the ministry of Jesus Christ. And what was their primary weapon of choice? You ready for this?

Slander. That was their weapon of choice. Intentional misinformation that harms how others view the object of one's hatred. This is an insight. This is an insight that you and I have to contemplate and have to consider and have to seal into our hearts because this is Satan's strategy to ruin the reputations of men and women of God.

One of his go to tactics is to find a mouthpiece or mouthpieces to unashamedly stain the name of somebody who is actively serving for the glory of God. So if I if I see that here, then I gotta apply that to my life, and here's how we apply it as a people. We are discerning. We must be always investigating, operating in wisdom whenever information comes your way that may cause you to doubt the integrity of someone else, especially if that person is serving God. But here's what I think, and I say this in love.

Because so many Christians are uneducated about the schemes of Satan, the devices of the evil one. They're easily influenced by the wicked whispers of churchgoers. Yeah. I said churchgoers. Is it the tax collectors and the prostitutes going around sharing this stuff?

The Pharisees. The Pharisees. Those who had a presentation of piety. Those who memorized scripture. Those who seem like they respected and revered God and his commands.

Yeah. Those kind of people were the ones who were doing the work of Satan. They were slandering. And the reason why I believe even Christians today are so gullible is because they can't see past the surface. And so they just eat up everything that they hear, especially if a person has some kind of a smokescreen of spirituality.

Surely, such men would not be among those who would tarnish the reputation of another, especially especially a good man like Jesus of Nazareth. There must be some authenticity to their criticism. How foolish of us. How foolish of us because it is often those who are affiliated with religion and who dwell in the spheres of spirituality who are most capable of the most keenest offenses. And just like the Pharisees, religious men and women are susceptible to being so eaten up by the cancer of envy and jealousy that they will do anything at any cost to bring down the object of their hatred.

Be discerning, church. Be smart. Know how Satan works. So if you're someone who seeks to be a servant of Jesus Christ in this adulterous and perverse and increasingly hypocritical generation, remember the words of Jesus towards you. Meet me in Matthew chapter 10 verse 25.

Matthew ten twenty five. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household? How do you summarize what Jesus is teaching here? Very easy.

If you wanna live like Christ, be be expectant to be treated like Christ. If Christ himself, the matchless, undefiled, sinless son of God had his name drugged and dragged and drowned in the mud, What's gonna happen to you and I, imperfect and weak servants of his? It's bound to come your way. But understand what Jesus is warning about here is in the context because earlier in verse seven, we are told, go and proclaim saying the kingdom of heaven is at hand. He's speaking to those who are actually taking the great commission seriously.

So if you really wanna serve the Lord, if you really wanna make your life about about that, proclaiming and testifying with your life, Don't be surprised when slander comes your way, and don't be afraid when it comes your way. Don't be afraid when it comes towards the ministry that you represent, if they're faithful and godly. It's bound to happen even from the least expected crowd. Be ready. And the way you have trusted your soul in the hands of God, put your reputation there with it, As Wesley said, you and I have a responsibility to make sure that everything in our lives gives no ammunition to a watching world and even a religious world to say something that would disqualify our effectiveness for the kingdom of God.

But to make the mistake and think that high character will eliminate the possibility of being smeared and lied about is wrong. They try to do it with the perfect one. Surely it will come to the imperfect ones who love him and serve him. We come back to verse 23. There are times when we should ignore slander made about us, and there are times where we are responsible to address it.

And in this case, the Pharisees were publicly attacking Christ, and so it deserved a public reprimand from Christ. And so he calls these Pharisees over to himself, and he is going to rebuke them openly. And this is what he says. How can Satan cast out Satan? A rhetorical question that is followed with a universal truth that we are familiar with in verse 24.

If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. It seems straightforward. It seems so clear. It seems so obvious, but let me say it in a different way. No institution has a chance of survival when the members within turn against one another.

Whether it's a kingdom or it's a household, any establishment is bound to collapse when you have those who represent it devouring one another. And Jesus is saying something so humbling. Even Satan understands the destructive force that division brings to a body. And Satan, as chaotic, vile, and as evil as he is, would never permit division in his own kingdom. Yes.

He is ugly. Yes. He is disloyal. Yes. He does promote betrayal, but he's not stupid.

And he realizes that he would never entertain, and he would never encourage his agents to fight against one another. And he would never ever allow that in his own operations, and yet it is what he initiates and has caused in different structures and administrations throughout human history. It would be wrong for us to assume that the church is impervious to division and divisive schemes from the devil because we are his primary target. And so you have to understand that what we so often experience as the evangelical church is something that the kingdom of darkness does not tolerate. Isn't that, like, sobering?

Like, that's so convicting to me that the devil himself knows the power of unity. That the devil himself will not allow those minions of his who tear things apart day by day to allow it to happen to themselves. Paul gives us two strong threats to ministries being ripped apart. Can I show you them? It's It's in acts 20 verse 29, then acts 20 verse 30.

Acts 20 verse 29. He's he's sitting with the elders of the church of Ephesus, and he's giving them a final set of instructions before he departs from them, and he warns them. He warns them. And he says in verse 29 of acts 20, I know that after my departure, fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Number one, there are threats outside.

And Paul says, I am sure of it. That once I leave here, wolves will come in and try to ravage the people of God with their false teaching. They will come in dressed as sheep, and they will they will seek to devour the faith of those who truly belong to God and those who may not belong to God, but are in the presence of God's people. And I think for most of us, when we understand the threat to the church, we generally think about outside dangers. Right?

And and those that are coming from outside of our safety and our family. And that's easier to detect, that's easier to spot out, that's where energy goes, that's where our vigilant goes, but that's not where Paul stops when he talks about the possibility of a ministry imploding and internally eroding. Look at verse 30. And and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things to draw away the disciples after them. Almost hard to believe, isn't it?

Paul, according to the next verse, we're told was with this church for three entire years. Teaching them, training them, praying with them, outreach with them. All these wonderful things. I can imagine the the the wonderful testimonies and the relationships built and the things that they enjoyed during those three years. And yet, when he is ready to leave, he says, I know that once I leave, not just outside threats, but even from within, there will be those who will try to divide the body of Christ.

How did he know? We we're not told how. That's not the main point of the passage. The main point of the passage is that even healthy and godly churches can have members who turn sour over time. The twisted things that he is speaking about here is clear.

It's false teaching, but that is not the only reason why churches divide, ministries divide, families divide. There are various reasons that can bring a body of genuine believers to a breaking point. And you see the motive to seek to draw disciples after them. That sounds scary. Right?

That sounds scary. Imagine the the leaders approaching this church after three years and saying, I know that from among this group, there will be those who will seek to divide this church. I don't think that is a principle for all churches. This is a specific warning to this church, but it is a potential danger for every church. And here's the hopeful message.

Is it possible for us to avoid that, to escape that, to never experience that? And I say with a resounding, yes, it's possible. It is possible for us to know continuous fellowship, continuous harmony, continuous love. And I'll give you one ingredient to that reality. Why do you think it is that the kingdom of darkness will not succumb itself to division?

One simple answer, because even the devil and his demons share a consuming common goal. And that goal is greater than anything else, to steal, to kill, and to destroy. And anything that is a threat to that goal, anything that will hinder the effectiveness and the efforts to knowing the full potential of that goal will not be tolerated. You and I are called to a glorious calling, one of redemption and healing and salvation and sanctification. Is that enough motivation for us to be able to put things aside and to forgive and to love and to move on?

It should. It should be. And we should be embarrassed to a certain degree when we allow certain things that have absolutely no eternal value tear us apart. To cause us to create clans from within and to destroy what God has begun. But let me tell you this, all it takes is for one person to lose sight of that heavenly call for there to be hellish chaos.

The same Paul who warned about the possibility of godly churches knowing civil wars is the same man who gives us the antidote from a compromising immune system in the body of Jesus Christ. In Philippians two verse two, Paul says complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. You You know what verse two tells me? It's possible. That's what verse two tells me.

No command is given in the scriptures that cannot be fulfilled. He says, complete my joy as an apostle, as a spiritual father of being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Wonderful. That's possible for Maranatha Bible Church for a hundred years. That's possible for this church until eternity.

How do we get there? How how do we maintain that? How do we nourish that? How do we protect that? Verse three.

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Is that a random command? No. It's directly connected to the previous reality. If you want the same love, the same mind, one accord perpetually, then every single one of us has the great call of dying to self and doing nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing from the place of selfish ambition.

When we esteem others as higher than ourselves, when we esteem their interest above our own, oh, we can know a piece of heaven on earth. This can be a joyful place. This can be a refuge. This can be a healing place. But all it takes is for one to be selfish.

All it takes is for one to be proud. All it takes is for one to look at ministry as an opportunity to glorify your name or your family's name for things to come crashing down. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit. And this church will know the preserving grace of God perfumed with the love of Jesus through us. Oh, I hope you would desire that.

Jesus points out their logical fallacy. You guys don't even make any sense. Even Satan is not dumb enough to try to fight against his own efforts, to be a hindrance to his own plans. How can you even come up with such an argument? And he goes on in verse 27 to actually make a statement of how he, as the son of God, is able to deliver these suffering, bound individuals from the power of Satan.

Look at verse 27 of Mark three. But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed, he may plunder his house. So he gives a little parabolical saying, a little illustration, but it's very straightforward and obvious. The reason why I'm able to overcome Satan in this way is not because I'm in league with Satan, but because I'm more powerful than him.

That's why. Now notice, he doesn't dismiss the reality that Satan is strong. Twice he refers them as strong, but he is stronger and he is greater. I'm able to do this, you Pharisees, because I overwhelm the authority of Satan with my own. And he must submit to my orders.

He must submit to my power. That's the explanation for why I'm able to do what I am doing. And I look at this and I I was meditating on that. Jesus is stronger than Satan. Okay.

We don't believe that, you know, like, there's things that go on in the Internet and and I'm I'm off social media so I don't see it anymore, but I used to see stuff where just these illustrations. There's a picture of Jesus and there's a picture of Satan and the world is under them and they're at an arm wrestle. Not even close. Not even close. They don't share equal power.

There isn't a dual over the earth. He is under him. He is a created being, and any authority he possesses is granted by God. He has a leash around his neck, and he, even in his destructive ways, according to God's sovereignty, still fulfilling a redemptive purpose. Let me show you, though, because we have to be honest, of how powerful Satan is.

In first John five eighteen, excuse me, five nineteen, John says we know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. The whole world lies in the power of the not part of the world, not certain countries in the world. The entire globe is orchestrated to a certain extent by the authority of Satan himself. The world is subject to his cues. The world is subject to his influences, which means something.

Brother and sister, every entity that you can think of, whether it is educational, political, even spiritual, is only operating with two types of authorities, invisible authorities. God or the devil. There's no third option. There's no neutrality in our universe. It's either being energized and and inspired by hell, or it is humbly taking orders from the word of God, and there's nothing in between.

I hope I hope that's that reminder helps you filter how you view the world and what you allow into your life, into your mind, into your living room, into your phone. And it doesn't take much of the sermon to see who's working for who, especially in these days. Satan is Satanism is being promoted as though it's a new trend these days. Satan cartoon shows, Satan satanic rituals in our entertainment and our music. I mean, what kind of day are we living in when Satan is not even trying to hide anymore?

We're living in the last days. But even though we are pilgrims traveling through this satanically empowered and animated world, look at verse 18. We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him and the evil one does not touch him. Does not touch him. Never mind enter into him as some would propose.

Does not touch the one who is born of God, cannot even lay a finger on the child of God. And if there's anything that Satan would desire to do, he must get permission from God. Whatever he would try to plot against a child of God and God allows, it will always be for his glory and our good. Hallelujah. I praise God for that.

George Whitfield said that you and I are immortal until our work on earth is done. We are immortal until our work on earth is done. Oh, if only we can see what the invisible world sees, the great protection around us, around our homes, around our children. I said this at one point a few weeks ago, and I'll say it again. In this crazy age, the safest place to be is not on some island somewhere where you're not being dictated by a tyrannical government.

It's to be in the hands of Jesus. That's the safest place to be. Now let's come back. Let's come back to Mark in chapter three. Jesus rebukes these Pharisees.

He exposes, really, their silly thinking and their argument. He makes a statement about his lordship, about his power over even these fierce, dark powers, and then he issues a warning. He takes this opportunity to give a warning because what these men said exposes a condition of the heart that is absolutely terrifying. Truly, I say to you in verse 28, all sins will be forgiven, the children of man, and whatever blasphemes, they utter. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.

I can't think of something more horrific than that. You all can say, I will never forgive you, and that's fine. But to not have forgiveness from God is a hopeless place. And this is why a scripture like this has been, the source of much confusion and fear, really, among those who shouldn't be confused or fearful. And it's predictable that in almost any biblical q and a in any setting, there will be the inquiry of a troubled soul who wants to know whether or not if they have committed the sin of blaspheming against the holy spirit.

And the way out of the confusion is to first clarify what the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is not. Did you read the reassuring words of Jesus in verse 28? Read it again slowly and understand the implications. Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man. When Jesus meant all sins, he really meant all sins.

Every sin. So the the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is not repeated sexual morality. It's not murder or any other atrocity that you can imagine because all sins that are repented of are able to be forgiven by God. And but from there, he takes a separate category, and he even clarifies what and whatever blasphemies they utter. So even the category of sins that blaspheme God now what does it mean to blaspheme God?

It means to openly mock or scorn the name of God, the character of God, the ways of God with disdain, with irreverence. That's what it means to blaspheme. And we are told by Jesus that even blasphemies that people utter. In Matthew 12, he clarifies, if you blaspheme against the son, you will be forgiven. In other words, if you blaspheme God, there is still forgiveness.

What is there? Well, how do I understand this? Because he goes on to say, but there is one kind of blasphemy that will never be forgiven or pardoned. And some people even in this place could be worried because you think about your life before Jesus, and you can you can reminisce as you cringe, as you blush with shame, of times with the ungodly or even in your own room with anger boiling over, blaspheming God, profaning His name, ascribing slurs and wishes against His holy character. And here you are, though, and there was a moment where you came to Christ and you wonder, am I really in Christ?

Will will will God hold this against me when I see him face to face? Some people live with that torment. And there are other Christians who wonder as well. I have a loved one who doesn't know the Lord, but I hear them give so much contempt towards Christ, and I wonder if they've crossed the line and if they are irredeemable by his grace. I wanna give you hope because in first Timothy one thirteen, Paul gives a glimpse of what his life was like before he came to Christ, and he gives a snapshot idea of what kind of person he was.

And one Timothy one thirteen, he says, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, an insolent opponent, but I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief. A blasphemer. You wanna know how great of a blasphemer Paul was? You don't have to turn there, but when you go to Acts 26 verse 11, this blasphemer was so ugly that he even tried to take imprisoned Christians and cause them to blaspheme themselves. So he even tried to make Christians blaspheme the name that he so easily blasphemed in his days of ignorance.

But he was also in that same sentence, though a great offender, an offense so great that in the Old Testament, it was punishable by death. How many of our people on TV here, these late night show guys and these news anchors, how many of them, if they're in the old covenant, would be punished by death for blaspheming the name of God? Even such a man knew true forgiveness as we know. And not just forgiveness, but even being set apart to being one of the greatest men that the church has ever known. So understand that there is still mercy for the blasphemer, but I think what he says at the end of the verse, it gives us more help about why, even more, why was he a recipient of God's saving grace?

Because he acted ignorantly in unbelief. What does that mean? I think what that means in part is that Paul admitted that he was not exposed to the full measure of God's power and revelation when he was in that season of life blaspheming the name of God. There was a level of of of darkness that he was in about who Jesus was, who God was, and God saw that and gave him mercy. And and I think that's important to understand.

You know why? Because the crowd that Jesus was addressing when he warned them about this eternal sin had a front row seat to the manifestation of God's glory and power in the person of Jesus Christ. It's gonna start making sense now, I hope. What this means is that the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is more than just attributing the work of God to the work of Satan. It's not that simple, though that is dangerous ground to be treading on.

What the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is is to attribute the work of God to Satan when you have been granted undeniable and absolute confirmation of the contrary. You see, what the Pharisees were saying was was especially dangerous because they were not opposing the Spirit's work with limited revelation. They had a unique privilege that no one else in all of human history shared. They constantly stood in the unfiltered presence of God's empowering work to prove the deity of Jesus Christ day by day. And the main reason why these men were treading on the line of an eternal guilt was because there was nothing more for God to do in order to showcase his son's messiahship.

What more could have God done to display the true identity, the saving identity, the prophesied identity of Jesus Christ? Nothing. So to stubbornly refuse to acknowledge that Jesus is in fact the true Messiah even after all that you have seen with your own eyes means that they were close to sealing their unforgivable fate. It was them despising the Holy Spirit's work. It was them insulting the invitation to be saved in the face of a unique measure of marvelous power that made Jesus warn them of going to a place of no return.

So the question is, at this point, is it possible then to commit the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit in our day? And here's what my answer would be because I I am not in the camp that says the blaspheming of the Holy Spirit is really just a synonymous way of saying to continually reject God. Yes and no. My answer would be, it's possible to commit the sin of the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit only if someone has been granted the equal evidence of the supreme revelation that Jesus made of himself during his ministry. An example of that would arguably be Hebrews chapter six, and a very known passage that makes other people more uncomfortable.

I want you to see with your own eyes. In Hebrews chapter six, the author of Hebrews is addressing Jewish Christians. You know what his thesis is? You know what his concern is? They wanna turn away from Christ and go back to the Levitical law.

And he warns them in different portions of this book. And one of those strong warnings is a verse four. For it is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away to restore them again to repentance since they are crucifying once again the son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. I think this is the closest arguably the closest thing of what Jesus is warning about in Mark chapter three. Let me say this because when we come to Hebrews or in another appropriate time, I will break this down.

This is not teaching that somebody can lose their salvation. Because if you carefully examine the wording about the experiences that some of these readers are having or had, none of them are really about being saved. Right? You you can be enlightened and not truly absorb the light. You can taste the heavenly gift, but not receive the heavenly gift.

You can be around God's word and actually somewhat be blessed by it, but not truly give yourself to it. And to propose that this means that if you were a Christian at one point and then turn away from Christ, either from a continual, repetition of a certain sin, then you also have to, with that consistency, say that that person can never be saved again, which I don't think people who even believe you could lose your salvation would say that. So then what is happening here? Well, notice the description of the experience of some of these readers that the writer is writing to. One of the things that stand out to me is at the end of verse five, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come.

The powers of the age to come. Look, I've been blessed to experience many things from the Lord. I'll tell you this one thing. I don't I can say confidently I have not tasted the powers of the things of the age to come. But some of these guys could.

You know why? Because the reason why they are in this place to begin with was because they were exposed to the ministry of the apostles. The apostles who mirrored the power of Jesus while he was on earth because it was granted to them to perform certain miraculous signs and abilities in order to confirm the message of the gospel in its infant stages. And so these guys here who experienced the miraculous ability of the apostles were in a select danger. And the danger is this, you have reached a certain level of experience that that really cannot be matched, and there's really nothing more that can be offered than what you have known.

And here's the point. You ready for this? After all that you've experienced, all that you've witnessed, after you have you have known a degree of light that is not common, and you still will not be faithful to the Lord and give yourself to him, It's impossible for you to be saved. How? What else can God do in order to convince you of the truth of the Christ?

There's no other options. All the options have been executed, and that is exactly what is happening to the Pharisees. The Pharisees have seen so much, beheld so much undeniable evidence, unparalleled matchless majesty and miracles. And with all of that, the Pharisees have made this conclusion, listen, not only am I not gonna believe in you, this is of the devil. And so here's the Holy Spirit who is the agent upon Christ's humanity, who wants to invite and prove who he is in order for people to be saved, and you have these men who are looking straight into the eyes of the one who can save their souls and say, I'm going to reject you as I would the devil.

And Jesus says, that's dangerous. That's very dangerous. The debate is, did they commit the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? Are they about to commit the sin of the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? Whatever it is, they were on their way of committing this sin, And Jesus warned them.

Now if you're a person in this place who are concerned about whether or not you have blasphemed the Holy Spirit, that attitude confirms that you haven't. Because a person who blasphemes the Holy Spirit is not worried of whether or not they have done it. A person who is blasphemed the Holy Spirit has made the conclusion that the saving work of Jesus to them is as repulsive as hell itself. So I wanna say something in closing by offering a word of comfort and a word of warning for those who might be trembling, who have perhaps been lied to by Satan himself, the evil one who enjoys to disturb our joy and our confidence in the Lord. Do you realize that Jesus in Mark chapter three did not address his church, he addressed his enemies?

Are you his enemy? Are you a person who has plotted in your heart to defy the name of God and to destroy the work of the gospel? If you can answer that confidently, you're in a good place. You're safe. You are not his enemy.

You're his possession. You're his child. You belong to him. And if there's any work that the Holy Spirit has done in you upon faith is the work of a promise seal upon your soul. So what you and I can do, the capacity of our relationship to the Holy Spirit in the negative sense is that we can grieve the Holy Spirit, and we can quench the Holy Spirit.

But because of our entrance into the kingdom of God and our names being sealed in that precious book of life, he says, I will commit myself to you. And the work that I began in you, I will bring it to completion for the glory of God. Nothing to fear. Nothing to worry about. The fact that you are worried about that is a wonderful pulse that you love the Lord and you wanna be his.

But also a word of warning. I don't think this idea of the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is a common thing, and I don't think it equates intrusive thoughts that even you might have, dear Christian, that are disrespectful to God or perverted even about God. That's not the same. Because the this is this is the battleground of warfare. It's the mind.

Satan is clever enough to put things in our mind and then blame us for it. But there is a principle behind this this scary warning. And the principle when you put the teaching of Hebrews and the warning of Jesus together is that although somebody may not outright blaspheme the Holy Spirit like these Pharisees had, It's possible to resist the Holy Spirit to a degree where you become so unresponsive that you're irredeemable. Right? That that's what again, let me let me revisit that text in Hebrews.

That's what I think is happening in Hebrews. After all that you've seen, all that you've heard, all that you've experienced that you still cannot come to Christ, there's nothing left for God to be able to do, and so it's impossible to be saved. And so I would say this. As as privileged as we are in the West to be exposed freely to so much light and revelation, that's a dangerous thing too. That's a really dangerous thing.

And it's dangerous because the longer you resist to give your heart to Jesus Christ, especially when you are sitting under true, unfiltered, unadulterated revelation, the more insensitive you will become over time to the point where you are unresponsive to the call of the gospel. And even in this life, you cannot be saved. That's why I've heard somebody say, tell me that a visitor came and they said, the preacher's a little strong. How can I not be? This this isn't a clubhouse.

This isn't. This isn't just because we have nothing else to do. In the past hour and a half, perhaps souls have been hanging in the balance between heaven and hell. I'm not giving a TED talk this afternoon. I have to stand before God, and he's gonna ask me how seriously did you take your preaching position.

And so there is a serious urgency with the proclamation of the gospel because the Bible tells us that the more light you are exposed to and the longer you resist with that light shining on your heart, it can either soften your heart or harden it. Just like what the sun can do with clay. It can melt or it can harden. So today is the day of salvation. Don't gamble with it.

Don't wait on it. And to be honest, I've seen it to a certain degree. I've seen it. I've seen how the word can convict somebody's heart in such a fresh way. You can even see it while you're preaching.

Just their mouths are dropped and their eyes are filled with water. But no decision's really made, and you can just see a hardening take place week after week. And those same people are so distracted during the meeting, and you wonder what's happening to them. What's happening to them? No man can ever determine what line they cross.

Only God knows the heart, but the warning is clear. Don't don't flirt with how how close you can come to that line. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart. Don't harden it. Give yourself.

Flee to the cross of Jesus Christ. Run to him. Give yourself to him and he will embrace you. If there's anybody who will be responsible for them not being redeemed, it's you, not him. And the human heart is so tricky, so scary that it is capable of doing what Pharaoh did, be exposed to the miraculous you think miracles are gonna save people?

You think if God splits open the ceiling and shows us something that people look at Pharaoh, all the things that he has seen, all the things that he has experienced, and yet he was still able to harden his heart and harden it and harden until God says, you wanna harden it? Let me help you. So the blaspheme of the Holy Spirit is really to be exposed to an overwhelming flood of the evidence of his power, of his truth, and to look at it and say, that's the devil, and I want nothing to do with it. Jesus says, be careful. Let's pray.

Lord, with this solemn text, we rejoice with trembling because those whom you save, you keep. And we thank you, Lord, that in this place, many can testify of the opposite of what your son warned about, and that is having our hearts changed by the Holy Spirit. And, Lord, we want to know the Holy Spirit and grow in the Holy Spirit. We don't wanna even grieve the Holy Spirit. We don't wanna quench the Holy Spirit.

We want to know the fullness of the Holy Spirit. And, Lord, we just pray for the person who's in this place who has resisted the Holy Spirit over and over and over again. They know that they're not right with you. They know they're playing games with you. They know that they have been rejecting you.

They might have not blasphemed you, but, oh, Lord, would they feel the urgency of this message to know that the direction that they're walking on is a scary path? And you are patient. Yes. You are. And you're willing to save us at any point in our lives.

But, oh, Lord, our hearts are not for us. Our hearts are desperately wicked, and they want to betray us and lie to us. And so, Lord, rescue us from ourselves. And, Lord, we just pray that every person leaving this place would have the confidence that they are a child of God by repenting and believing in the name of Jesus Christ, by realizing that you are willing to forgive us, as you said, of all sin, even blasphemies, you're willing to forgive. But, Lord, may we not harden our hearts to the point where we don't even respond to that love anymore.

We worship you. We worship you in the promises of your love and in the warnings of what we can do to ourselves. We give you praise now in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's stand and worship the Lord.