How does one reject the Holy Spirit?

[JesusMonSauveur]

Several passages in the Bible are frequently interpreted as referring to the unforgivable sin:

Mark 3:28-30: “Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven all their sins and all the blasphemies they utter. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, but is guilty of an eternal sin. He said this because they [the Pharisees] were saying, ‘He has an evil spirit’.”

Matthew 12:30-32: “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. And so I tell you, people will be forgiven every sin and blasphemy. But the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”

Luke 12:8-10: “I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.”

Hebrews 6:4-8: “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned. Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are convinced of better things in your case — the things that have to do with salvation.”

Hebrews 10:26-29: “For we, sinning wilfully after receiving the full knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and fiery zeal about to consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think those deserve to be punished who have trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has considered as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who have insulted the Spirit of grace?”

Is rejecting God or the idea that God exits the same as rejecting the Holy Spirit?

 

[SteveVH]

Several passages in the Bible are frequently interpreted as referring to the unforgivable sin…

Is rejecting God or the idea that God exits the same as rejecting the Holy Spirit?

The unforgiveable sin is persisting in the rejection of God’s saving grace. Christ gave his life in order to save us. To reject this most wonderful of gifts is to choose a life apart from God, and that is called hell.

Now, there is a lot more to it than that and thankfully we have a God who is both just and merciful. Only he reads our hearts. But he never interferes in our free will. He draws us to himself but does not prevent us from running away. He looks down the road waiting for a glimpse of our return. But he allows us to never return if that is what we choose.

The sin is unforgiveable because it is never asked to be forgiven. It is a complete rejection of God’s mercy. We get what we choose.

 

[ltwin]

The way I understand it is this way. The Holy Spirit convicts of sin, and draws us toward God and repentance. However, the Holy Spirit is a gentlemen. He does not force us to accept God’s grace, and we can resist. The more we resist the more our hearts harden toward God. We cannot be forgiven because we will not ask for forgiveness. We have grieved the Holy Spirit and rejected the grace of God.

 

[TylerJordan]

Several passages in the Bible are frequently interpreted as referring to the unforgivable sin:

Mark 3:28-30: “Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven all their sins and all the blasphemies they utter. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, but is guilty of an eternal sin. He said this because they [the Pharisees] were saying, ‘He has an evil spirit’.”

Matthew 12:30-32: “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. And so I tell you, people will be forgiven every sin and blasphemy. But the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”

Luke 12:8-10: “I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.”

Hebrews 6:4-8: “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned. Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are convinced of better things in your case — the things that have to do with salvation.”

Hebrews 10:26-29: “For we, sinning wilfully after receiving the full knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and fiery zeal about to consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think those deserve to be punished who have trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has considered as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who have insulted the Spirit of grace?”

Is rejecting God or the idea that God exits the same as rejecting the Holy Spirit?

God is great!

 

[SummitJim]

The way I understand it is this way. The Holy Spirit convicts of sin, and draws us toward God and repentance. However, the Holy Spirit is a gentlemen. He does not force us to accept God’s grace, and we can resist. The more we resist the more our hearts harden toward God. We cannot be forgiven because we will not ask for forgiveness. We have grieved the Holy Spirit and rejected the grace of God.

So the sin is only unforgivable if we never ask to be forgiven?

 

[ltwin]

So the sin is only unforgivable if we never ask to be forgiven?

What happens is that as one continues to sin over and over again without confession and repentance, the heart is hardened until there is no longer conviction of sin. A person has resisted God for so long that they no longer even comprehend guilt or godly sorrow over sin. In this extreme spiritual condition, the person will not repent and therefore cannot be forgiven.

This is not a case of a person pleading for God to forgive but God refuses. This is a case of a person becoming so desensitized to sin because of continual rejection of God’s call and drawing to repentance that they condemn themselves.

It’s also not a case of someone forgetting to confess a particular sin. It’s more of a long term rejection of the Holy Spirit’s work in a person’s life.

Perhaps John Piper can explain it better than I can . . . Beyond Forgiveness: Blasphemy Against the Spirit

 

[GaryTaylor]

What your saying makes perfect sense. Reminds me of 1-Corinthians and the understanding of carnal and spiritual.

Paul says, “I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified;”

1 Brothers, I could not talk to you as spiritual people, but as fleshly people, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you milk, not solid food, because you were unable to take it. Indeed, you are still not able, even now, 3 for you are still of the flesh. While there is jealousy and rivalry among you,* are you not of the flesh, and behaving in an ordinary human way? 4Whenever someone says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not merely human?

5What is Apollos, after all, and what is Paul? Ministers* through whom you became believers, just as the Lord assigned each one. 6I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth. 7Therefore, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who causes the growth. 8The one who plants and the one who waters are equal, and each will receive wages in proportion to his labor. 9 For we are God’s co-workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. But each one must be careful how he builds upon it, 11for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ. 12 If anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, 13 the work of each will come to light, for the Day will disclose it. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire [itself] will test the quality of each one’s work. 14 If the work stands that someone built upon the foundation, that person will receive a wage. 15 But if someone’s work is burned up, that one will suffer loss; the person will be saved, but only as through fire. 16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.

18Let no one deceive himself. If any one among you considers himself wise in this age, let him become a fool so as to become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God, for it is written:

“He catches the wise in their own ruses,”

20 and again:

“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.”

21 So let no one boast about human beings, for everything belongs to you, 22 Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or the present or the future: all belong to you, 23 and you to Christ, and Christ to God.

So there is reality of carnal which we comprehend all to easy and often struggle with letting go of, yet this reality is contingent on the spiritual. We forsake the spiritual by clinging to the carnal. That’s reverse, of what Paul is stating, he forsake the carnal for the spiritual. Namely the Spiritual being the Holy Spirit.

Something to think about

 

[Nicea325]

So the sin is only unforgivable if we never ask to be forgiven?

No…all sins can be forgiven,if one repents. In a nutshell: To deny that Jesus can forgive us is to reject the Holy Spirit.

 

[SteveVH]

So the sin is only unforgivable if we never ask to be forgiven?

They kind of go together. One who is unrepentant, who persists in the rejection of Christ’s saving grace, will never ask for forgiveness. If they ask for forgiveness they are not persisting in refusal of God’s grace and are therefore not guilty of the sin…

 

[ufamtobie]

The Holy Spirit, is also rejected by many who don’t believe or believe, but yet, for some reason, don’t want to enter into the only Church Jesus Christ founded over 2000 years ago, the Catholic Church.

Ufam Tobie