“Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”
These are terrifying words from Jesus regarding the limit of God’s tolerance. There are arguments about the exact meaning of the passage, but one thing is frighteningly clear… If you reject God’s plan of salvation … if you blaspheme the Spirit by denying your need for redemption, and repeatedly reject His offer - the offer will end, and there is no plan B.
That’s hard to hear because God is love, and we have mis-defined Love … Love and tolerance are not the same thing. Love sometimes has hard edges. That’s counter to our culture’s mantra “love me like I am”… But loving you, and condoning your sin, are actually incompatible. God loves us as we are - but He loves us too much to leave us that way, and like iron sharpens iron sometimes love produces sparks.
Peter was reminded of this when he tried to direct Christ away from the Cross. And Jesus’ own family is reproved when they tried to remove Him from danger… Resisting God’s plan (even with good intentions) is hazardous. The Holy Spirit opens your eyes to your need and offers you the only plan available for your redemption. If you reject that plan, you are rejecting the only plan in which God can remain God… and still fellowship with you and me.
So, if you repeatedly push away and blaspheme the Holy Spirit as He tugs at your heart – God will eventually say “have it your way”… to which there is no recovery.
Contained within the Triune God is Unbending Holiness, Perfect righteousness, and inconceivable love… And the Cross is the only place these characteristics can coexist. Only the cross transfers to us the holiness necessary to commune with God. If you reject that, there is no other proposal.
So, this morning, acknowledge your need of redemption, embrace the Holy Spirit’s offer of renewal, fall to your knees and give your life to Jesus. He is the way, the truth, and the life and there is not, nor will there ever be, an alternate route.
“Every divine action begins from the Father, proceeds through the Son, and is completed in the Holy Spirit.” - Saint Basil
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