It's good to be with you again this morning. The disputes between Jesus and the religious leaders were growing. And in today's text, Jesus spoke jarringly to them, warning them against a state where forgiveness of sins cannot be obtained. The words of Jesus about the unforgivable sin has troubled many people, little doubt. There are people here today who have felt a quiver in their soul when they read Jesus's words. Whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him either in this age or in the age to come. Back when I was a mental health counselor, worker, I once had a client and we were talking about God as we often did. And she said to me, I can never be forgiven. I said, oh, she said yes, because one day I said, you know, blank, blank, blank, you Holy Spirit. I said to her, well, I believe you've misinterpreted scripture, and I went on to explain to her a better interpretation, but it turned out that She didn't really want to repent. She wanted to continue to live the lifestyle she was living at that point in time. Today we study the dispute where Jesus warned about the unforgivable sin. We begin in verse 22. Then one was brought to him who is demon-possessed. Then, right after, the previous dispute, which Jesus had with the Pharisees, and that one was about the Sabbath day. Last Sunday we read that Jesus healed a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath. And so the crowds knew that Jesus was a healer. miraculous healer, and so they looked for opportunities to have their loved ones healed. And someone brought a demon-possessed man to Jesus. Generally, the demon-possessed were brought to Jesus. As you can imagine, the demons possessing the person, they were not anxious to meet with Jesus. The outward manifestation of the demon possession in this case, The manifestations were his inability to see and his inability to speak. The devil has always sought the destruction of people. Be sober, be vigilant because your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. The demons residing in this man had stolen his ability to see and stolen his ability to talk. He couldn't communicate, he couldn't observe, and the demons had built bulwarks into his life against him coming to the help that was offered by Jesus. So the unnamed people who brought the demon-possessed man to Jesus, set up a great confrontation between the two supreme powers of the universe, God and the devil. It was as though Jesus and the devil were placed in a boxing ring. And in the boxing ring, Jesus prevails. Every time Jesus cast out the demons and the man was able to see again and speak again. The spiritual war. that's occurring in your life will also see Jesus prevail. And there is a spiritual war unfolding in your life. It's inevitable when the devil prowls around like a lion seeking someone to devour. So you will never be free in this life from the enemy constantly observing you for a weakness in your life to take advantage of, and that's why you need to regularly commit yourself, daily commit yourself to Jesus, because Jesus prevails against the devil. On your own, you will not, for still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe. His craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate on earth is not his equal. Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing. We're not the right man on our side, the man of God's own choosing. You ask who that may be? Christ Jesus it is he, Lord Sabaoth his name from age to age the same. He must win the battle. Now note in verse 23, and all the multitudes were amazed and said, could this be the son of David? The crowds were not accustomed to the religious leaders casting out demons. And their thought immediately went to the possibility that Jesus was the Messiah. Might this be the son of David? The Pharisees were highly offended that the multitudes connected these dots, Jesus, Messiah. It was no secret that Jesus upstaged the Pharisees Multitudes were amazed at Jesus. The Pharisees didn't do much that would amaze the people. But what they could do is try to undermine Jesus. When you can't stand on your own merit, you can always try to cut others down so that you appear a little higher in comparison. Now, the accusation against Jesus was that his power over demons came from the dark side. This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons. Now, this was a particularly damaging accusation. There were many accusations the religious leaders laid against Jesus, which he didn't bother much to refute. For example, in John 8, 41, the scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus, we are not born of fornication. We have one father, God. The accusation was that Jesus was an illegitimate child and that Mary, his mother, was like a prostitute. But Jesus didn't bother to refute that accusation, at least not that scripture records. But the accusation that Jesus worked alongside Satan, that could not be left unchallenged because the people had a tendency to believe the religious leaders. If they believed that Jesus was some kind of sorcerer, They would never trust him for salvation. The people needed to believe that Jesus was the Messiah sent from heaven, the Lamb of God sent to take away the sins of the world. There just couldn't be an undercurrent that Jesus was an occultist. So Jesus began his refutation of the Pharisees in verses 25 and six. But Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? They misunderstood the nature of Satan's kingdom. The Pharisee's accusation made assumptions about Satan's kingdom, which were unfounded. Many terrible things can be said about Satan and his kingdom, but what cannot be said is that his kingdom is in chaos. His kingdom is not in chaos. It's well orchestrated, it's disciplined. The success of any organization depends on its coherence. We see this in the real world every day. A sports team is effective when all its players and coaches work together. A government or a candidate for government succeeds when all the moving parts cohere. A household of infighting tears itself apart. Therefore, it was unrealistic that Jesus was working under the direction of Satan. Satan would have been casting out his own demons. The organization within Satan's kingdom, as alluded to in Ephesians 6, 11 and 12, Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers and against rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness and heavenly places. In that verse, you get a sense of the hierarchy in Satan's kingdom, principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, spiritual hosts and heavenly places. In Proverbs 6, we read of seven things that God hates. A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and finally, seventh, one who sows discord among the brethren. So Satan works to promote disunity in the church, but the words of Jesus here indicate that he doesn't tolerate disunity in his ranks. Now we move to verse 27. If I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. Now the logic of this argument It's a little hard to understand this verse, but the logic could unfold in one of two ways. First, the meaning of the verse might be that the Pharisees can't cast out demons. In this sense, Jesus would have been sarcastic toward the Pharisees, pointing out their utter impotence against the demonic world. There's no place in scripture where religious leaders were said to cast out demons. And given the amazement of the crowd, when Jesus did cast out demons, we would infer that the power to cast out demons was something completely new to these observers. I think it's safe to bet, it's a safe bet that the Pharisees nor their associates could cast out demons. A second interpretation of Jesus' statement, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they shall be your judges, is to suggest that the sons of the Pharisees claimed to cast out demons. There's some historic record that persons affiliated with the Pharisees claimed to exorcise demons from people. But if they did, the power to cast out demons comes from Satan himself. then the sons of the Pharisees also cast out demons by this same power. But I prefer the first interpretation. I think Jesus was sarcastic with the Pharisees, pointing out their impotence in dealing with demonic power. Jesus may have been saying in effect, don't stop me from piercing the power of evil just because you can't. In other words, he pointed out the weakness of the Pharisees. He continued his rebuttal against the Pharisees in verses 28 and nine. But if I cast out demons by the spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods? Unless he first binds the strong man, then he will plunder his house. The strong man in this mini parable represents Satan. Jesus by casting out demons was walking into the strong man, Satan's kingdom and ousting his demons. And by this, Jesus showed that he had the power to bind Satan and that Satan was powerless to prevent Jesus from invading and conquering his kingdom. That being the case, it proved that the kingdom of God had arrived on earth in the person of Jesus Christ. The people who were asking, could this be the son of David? They were right. Jesus was the Messiah, the son of God and his coming to earth demanded a decision from all people. Are you joining his kingdom or are you not? Now that's the meaning of verse 30. He who is not with me is against me and he who does not gather with me scatters abroad. in the presence of Jesus, come into the world, split the world of men into those who gather with Jesus and those who scatter. There's no middle ground. A person might say, well, I'm not particularly for Jesus. I'm not particularly against him. But Jesus said, that's not an option. Because those not gathering with Jesus are scattering. And those who do not stand with Jesus stand against him. In other words, to not choose is to choose to reject Jesus. All right, now we come to those difficult verses about the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come. Now, let me say before I go any further, good men disagree. on the interpretation of these verses. I'll give you my interpretation. Part of the controversy comes down to the last phrase in verse 32, either in this age or in the age to come. This age or the age to come. Now, chances are you took the age to come to mean the eternal age of heaven and hell. And chances are you interpreted this age as the time until the eternal age. And I agree with you, if you thought that. But not everybody interprets it that way. Some people take this age that Jesus said, and they say that Jesus meant by that, the time that he walked on earth, that brief period of 30 years is this age. And the age to come is the millennial kingdom when Jesus once again will walk on earth. And so they neatly cut out the church age, Out of that equation, part of the motivation for doing that is because then they can say, oh, it's actually not possible to commit the unpardonable sin in this age. It referred only to when Jesus was on the earth and when he will be on the earth again. I understand this sentiment, but I disagree. I think blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is happening in our age. Let's start with two things that blasphemy against the Spirit is not. It's not a simple matter of rejecting the gospel of Jesus. A man or woman may reject the gospel of Jesus many times, but later come to repentance and salvation, and when that person is saved, they're forgiven for their unbelief. The unpardonable sin is something beyond rejecting the gospel. And it's also not the same as backsliding. A backslidden Christian always has the opportunity to repent and confess Christians fall into sin, like King David did with Bathsheba. But they're called to repentance and they can be reconciled to God. So the sins of being backslidden or refusing the gospel are not unforgivable, thank goodness. Because the reality is, most of us here would be locked out of heaven if they were. Okay, for a reasonable explanation for what the unforgivable sin is, first notice that speaking a word against Jesus is different than speaking a word against the Holy Spirit. Look at verse 32. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him. Why is that? Is the Holy Spirit more sacred than Jesus? Does the Holy Spirit need more protection against people than Jesus does? Does God view sin differently when the sin is against the Father or against the Son or against the Holy Spirit? I doubt it. There's something more structural at play, and it's hinted at In John 15, 26, when the helper comes whom I shall send to you from the father, the spirit of truth who proceeds from the father, he will testify of me. There you see the primary role of the Holy Spirit is to testify about Jesus, the role of the Holy Spirit in the lives of unsaved people as spoken of in the next chapter in John 16, verse eight. When he comes, when the Holy Spirit comes, he will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness and of judgment. And so the initial movement in the heart of unbelievers moving towards salvation is through Holy Spirit conviction. Structurally, no progress can be made in salvation until the Holy Spirit breaks through in a person's heart and mind. The Holy Spirit, or the Pharisees in today's passage blasphemed the Holy Spirit by claiming the power used in casting out demons was the power of Beelzebub. Look again at verse 28. Jesus said, but if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. But they blasphemed the Holy Spirit when they saw the Holy Spirit at work. through Jesus, and they called it demonic. The reason that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is so calamitous is because the Holy Spirit is shut off in a person's life. The foundation, the foundation that leads to salvation is destroyed when you shut off and blaspheme the Holy Spirit. by declaring the Holy Spirit's work a movement of Beelzebub. The Pharisees shut out God's movement in their lives, therefore they never could be forgiven. So the unforgivable sin involves people hardening their hearts against the Holy Spirit. Stephen spoke of this as he spoke to the Sanhedrin, that group of religious, the great religious leaders of his day. And he said in Matthew 7, 51, you stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the just one of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers. See, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit involves resisting the work of the Holy Spirit over and over and over, resulting in a hardened heart that has become so accustomed to rejecting him that the person has virtually lost the ability to respond anymore. And when people have determined in their heart to reject God and have become hardened against him, God gives them over to their wish. He gives them over to their desire. We read of this turning over by God in Romans 1 and other places, but Romans 1 28, and even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind to do those things which are not fitting. Also 2 Thessalonians 2, 11 and 12. And for this reason, God will send them strong delusion that they should believe the lie that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. Now, I know that God sending a delusion on people is going to bother. Some of us. Because we want to jump to the conclusion that if God had not sent this strong delusion, some of those people would have become saved if God had not chosen to send the delusion to them. That's a false assumption. But if you thought along those lines, perhaps, I want you to notice how quick you were to condemn God. In your thoughts, the very God who in great love and at a great cost sent his beloved and only begotten son to the earth to die for you and for me, that same God we are very quick to condemn. Brothers and sisters, it ought not to be so. Remember that God desires for everyone to be saved. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness, but as long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. There's God's desire. He desires all people to come to repentance and faith, and he's unwilling. that any should perish. But some people are unwilling to repent. They're the ones who resist and blaspheme the Holy Spirit. They're the ones who have pleasure in unrighteousness. And when the testimony of the Holy Spirit about Jesus is fully and finally rejected, one has blasphemed the Holy Spirit, and he essentially called the Holy Spirit a liar. in respect to his testimony about Jesus. Now, one misunderstanding people have when they think about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is they think that this is a one-time sin, you know, that a person can never repent from. I don't see it that way. Here's a definition of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit that I think is reasonable. Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is a subtle and hardened disposition against the Holy Spirit and his work, which rejects him by calling him a liar or accusing him of evil. I don't believe there's any magic words which constitute blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which after having said them, a person has lost all hope. The words of Jesus in verse 32 speaks against the Holy Spirit. It's unlikely to refer to a one-time statement. They refer to a subtle disposition that constantly resists the Holy Spirit's testimony in one's life. A person who dies having settled A subtle disposition of rejection of the Holy Spirit, indeed, can never be forgiven in this current age, nor in eternity. It's a subtle rejection and defamation. It's a rejection by defamation. They reject the Holy Spirit by defaming him. Now, someone probably wants to know, can a person reach a point in life where there's no longer hope of salvation? Is there a point of no return? I don't know for sure. But when a man's heart is hardened, the devil can also build bulwarks against the movement of God in that man's life, and the outlook becomes very bleak indeed. Also, there are the practical concerns of a person reaching a point in life where they're so cognitively impaired that it may be impossible to turn to God. So we have every reason to take to heart the warnings in Hebrews 3. You have that as an extra reading in your bulletin. So if you turn to Hebrews 3, we're going to read together there. Hebrews 3, starting at verse 7. Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tested me and tried me and saw my works 40 years. Therefore, I was angry with that generation and said, they always go astray in their heart and they have not known my ways. So I swore on my wrath, they shall not enter my rest. Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief and departing from the living God, but exhort one another daily while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Now let me make a couple comments on this matter of the blasphemy with the Holy Spirit that may be relevant to you. All right, one, God's desire is for you to be saved. The Father loves you. The Holy Spirit is moving in you in conviction. Jesus draws you. He knocks at the door of your life. The Bible testifies to salvation. The people have prayed for you. Your conscience testifies to you. Nature is a witness to God himself. In fact, God has made the path to salvation extremely easy but he will not violate your free will. If you choose to reject the offer of salvation through Jesus, it will be your decision and yours only. All the rationalizations that you think you can employ to excuse yourself from rejecting Jesus will be utterly futile. when considered in the light of the power and of the love of God who's calling you. All rejection of the Holy Spirit's testimony is extremely dangerous in light of potential hardening. Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says today, If you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion and the day of trial in the wilderness. If you're an unbeliever and you hear the calling of the Holy Spirit to you about coming to Jesus for salvation, it's a terrible thing to turn away from his voice. I've seen it happen from the pulpit when scripture I studied testifying to the death of Jesus for sinners. I've observed the stirring in people's hearts and the tears as people are drawn by God. And I've gone to them afterwards, after the service to discuss this with them. And some have said, oh, you know, oh, I just got a little emotional, that's all. Their hearts have become hardened in those few minutes against the Holy Spirit's conviction. Today is the only day which God promises you the opportunity to respond to his call. You are not guaranteed tomorrow. Now, if you're a believer, know that rejecting the Holy Spirit also hardens you, hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. This happens in two ways. One, by grieving the Holy Spirit. That's when we allow sin in our lives. What sin has the Holy Spirit tried to convict you of? Lustful thoughts? Gossip? Failing to love your wife or husband as you ought? Neglecting scripture and prayer in favor of your favorite hobby? Scrolling online or video games or what have you? Of selfishly neglecting the needs of those around you? And what was your response when he came speaking softly to you? Every time you turn him away, it becomes easier to turn him away the next time. And perhaps you imagine that since he's not speaking so loudly to me anymore, it must not matter so much. You're becoming hardened in your sin and you're headed for disaster. If that's you, stop it. Stop it. Stop it. It's spiritual insanity. Go back today and say, Holy Spirit, what was that you were trying to tell me? Because today I want to hear what you have to say. It also happens to believers, this hardening happens to believers through quenching the Holy Spirit. Now, this happens when the Holy Spirit, in His excitement, wants to help you mature, and He moves in your heart to get moving. And what is it that the Holy Spirit has moved you to do? To do, teach Sunday school, to witness to a friend, or witness to somebody, read the Bible with your spouse, how have you responded? Because if you say, well, well, I really wouldn't be interested in that, you're hardening your heart and you're missing out on tremendous blessing. Now, for those who worry that they may have blasphemed against the Holy Spirit and can never be forgiven, If you're worried that you have committed the unpardonable sin, you have not. The unpardonable sin involves extreme hardness of heart. Hardhearted people are not walking around in a state of worry about their soul. Hardened people have no care in the world for the Bible, for Jesus, or for the voice of the Holy Spirit. Now here are the words of 1800s Bible scholar Adam Clark. Many sincere people have been grievously troubled with the apprehension that they may have committed the unpardonable sin. But let it be observed that no man who believes in the divine mission of Jesus Christ can ever commit this sin. Therefore, let no man's heart fail because it from henceforth and forever. Amen. In other words, if you believe in Jesus, You cannot and have not committed the unpardonable sin. God's more gracious than you imagine. And even if you still worry that you are beyond redemption because your spiritual trouble is so dire, I urge you to go to Jesus because Jesus desires all to be saved. and he'll never turn away a repentant person. Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. All right, we're down to verses 33 through 37. I'll read them. Either make the tree good and its fruit good or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers, how can you being evil speak good things? Free out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things. And an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. The Pharisees said, this man does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons. But what did their words reveal about them? It revealed they didn't care about the well-being of the demon-possessed man. It revealed that they were so calloused that they would have been happier if Jesus had not traveled the land, relieving great distress by healing the sick, the lame, the blind, the deaf, the demon-possessed. It revealed that nothing could sway them to consider God was at work through Jesus, not even breathtaking miracles. It revealed they were jealous of Jesus. It revealed that they resented that Jesus was attracting followers when they were not. It revealed that they were small hearted. It revealed that their reputation was more important to them than the movement of God on earth. No wonder Jesus called them a brood of vipers. The heart was revealed by their words. Now the principle that Jesus taught back in verse 30, he who is not with me is against me is really repeated in verses 33, either make the tree good or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad for a tree is known by its fruit and In verse 35, a good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. In the eyes of the heavenly judge, there is no person who's kind of good and kind of not good. There's no middle rotor. Either a person has a heart accepting of Jesus or a person has a heart rejecting Jesus. Well, how can you tell the difference? By their words. For by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned. Now, let no one think that the only important thing is to say the right words. Don't imagine that saying the words trump what we do. You will know them by their fruits, Jesus said elsewhere, and that includes what people do. The principle here is not that words somehow trump behavior. The principle is that your character will eventually be revealed by your words. How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Now, I know. that some people can put up a good front with words. There are people who can talk. There are people who have learned, you know, the Christianese, as they call it. They can fool people for a while. Beyond any doubt, a number of people here have played the game of talking a good line, a better line than the reality of their life. and I've been one of them. But if you were a person today masking a barren spiritual life by some grand speech, let me say two things to you. First, God's never been fooled by your words. What benefit is it to you, even if you can fool people, When you'll soon stand before the eternal judge, at which time your empty and idle speech will be exposed, how does that benefit you? Secondly, God's never been fooled, and you can't fool people either. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Oh, you can fool some of the people for a while, The honest truth is a lot of people already know that your grandiose words are masking a barren life. People have just been too nice to tell you. Or maybe they told you once or twice and then they're hoping somebody else tells you. Beginning with those closest to you, your husband, your wife, your mother and father, your children. Beginning with those closest to you, people begin to see through the facade, because the true state of your heart will begin to show through your words. The Pharisees thought they could impress with their words, but they couldn't, because the people had already begun to cling to Jesus. Because in Jesus, they saw authenticity. People know authentic when they see it. Free out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Eventually, words and actions concur to reveal the true spiritual condition. So, what's the solution? Double down on my efforts to always say the right thing? That's a dead end. Solution is to make the tree good. Solution is to get connected to Jesus Christ. If you're not connected to Jesus and trying really hard to say righteous words, then you are guilty of saying many idle words, verse 36. That will not be good on judgment day. I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. If the tree of your life is bearing bad fruit today, there's no reason for you to stay there. Come to Jesus in repentance, put your life in his hands and heaven will immediately declare that the tree of your life is good. The truth of your life can be good. It's up to you. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your love and grace that you desire everyone to be saved. You've made a path to salvation that everyone can choose to walk. Help those of us, Father, who are currently holding the Holy Spirit at bay. May we be honest enough to hear his voice. Follow the wisdom that he's speaking to us. We ask that you would help us as we continue to worship this morning. Father, we pray these things in Jesus name, Amen.