Creflo Dollar - The Unforgivable Sin, Part 1
We're going to continue talking about your security in grace. Now, I want you to think about what this means, that I am secure in grace, you are secure in grace. It is the devil's job to do everything he possibly can to convince us that there is no security in grace, to convince us that what Jesus has made available to us is not sure. You're talking about security. You're talking about protection. You're talking about being secure and being taken care of. I literally hear that God has my back. And what the enemy wants to do, he wants to put you in a place where you're always questioning your security in grace, especially in the area of sin. It's like, you know, it can't be, "Grace can't take care of me when I've messed up this bad". Or, "Oh my God, how can God love me after I did this"? Or, "Oh my God, if I commit blasphemy and God's going to hate me forever".
And the enemy is getting you to question your security in grace. And I'm telling you, all of the guilt and all of the condemnation and all of the shame, it's time for you to load it up in a bag somewhere and tie it up and throw it into the river somewhere and let it go. You hear me right. Some of you, you allow the guilt, the shame; you allow the condemnation to just become your minister, and it ministers to you all the time. It affects your life. It affects your confidence in Jesus and his finished works, and you keep going back over and over again and replaying it and replaying it and replaying it and rehearsing it.
Instead of dispersing it, you nurse it. It's time to let it go. It's time to let the guilt go, the condemnation go, the shame go. It's time to let it go. You can no longer be a victim of manipulation. You got to let it go. You are secure in the grace of God. You are secure in Jesus Christ. And the enemy wants to always keep bringing up your shortcomings, your shortfalls, your sin, but you are secure in grace, and that's what I want to teach you today. And I pray that after I finish you will have a sense of security, you'll have a sense of protection, you'll have a sense that God's got your back, and hopefully you can leave today and say, "You know what? I'm good. I'm good". And when the devil shows up and tries to bring those same things up again, you just say, "I don't think I'm going to let you do that anymore. I am secure in the grace of God". Praise God.
So let's go in Matthew chapter 12, and the first thing I want to deal with, because this is the one that really makes people feel like they're not secure. I want to deal with something that's called the unforgivable sin or blasphemy against the Holy Spirit because I want to show you how wide this security blanket is. I want to show you how strong this thing is, and this is going to bless you. Now, as I go through this, you're going to see a lot of things that you heard taught wrong, and the reason why today I'm teaching chapters is because I need you to see things in context. You can't just look at the verse and ignore the context that the verse appears in. Because if you want to define a verse, you have to allow the context to give you the definition of that verse.
I'm going to start Matthew 12:31 and 32 because several Christians are afraid of this Scripture. Why? Fearing that they have committed this sin and that their hope of salvation is eternally gone, and I want to show you that your security in grace is so huge, so awesome. And so I want to start off in Matthew 12:31-32, and let's read that together if you're at home. He says, "Wherefore I say unto you, all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men". Now look at this. This is so interesting. He says right here all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men. But then he says, "But the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men". So at one point he says all blasphemy will be forgiven, but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven. He says in verse 32, "And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world neither in the world to come".
Now, listen. When you read verse 31 and 32 and if you don't understand the context that this has been spoken in, it'll put fear in you and the first thing you'll say is, "Well, have I committed blasphemy against the Holy Spirit"? Because the first thing we need to deal with is in verse 31 where he talks about blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. What is that? How do you blaspheme the Holy Spirit? If that's the sin that you can never be forgiven of, we need to make sure we know what it is that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. I mean, think about this. God is saying, "I can't forgive you of blaspheming and speaking against the Holy Ghost".
What is that, and have you committed it? Well, in order to do this, let's back up to verse 22 and let's get a feel of the context of what he's talking about here. Verse 22. In verse 22 he says, "Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him". So far he says there was a guy that was possessed with the devil. He was not only possessed with the devil, he was blind and dumb. And the Bible says, "And Jesus healed him". He healed him, "Insomuch that the blind and the dumb both spake and saw". All right?
Now watch this. So that's a miracle took place. The blind, the one possessed with the devil, the dumb, and Jesus healed them. And then he says in verse 23, "And all the people were amazed, and they said, 'Is not this the son of David?'" I mean, they were amazed, they saw it, and they were like, "Oh, wow, what a miracle. What a awesome thing". "But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, 'This fellow,'" referring to Jesus, "doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of devils".
Now, his insinuation was this. "He did not do this by the Holy Ghost, he did this by Beelzebub the prince of devils". So he was saying, "This fellow doesn't cast out devils but by Beelzebub the prince of devils". So he was saying that Jesus cast this devil out by the prince of devils. So it's like a devil casting out a devil. All right. So now let's go to the next verse. "And Jesus knew their thoughts". Isn't that awesome? Jesus knew their thoughts, and you know what? Today Jesus knows our thoughts. He says, "And Jesus knew their thoughts, and he said unto them, 'Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.'"
That's why our country's got to get it together because if we're divided against ourselves, the country won't stand. I mean, that's what Jesus said. And so Jesus was looking here and he says, "This is crazy. What you just said doesn't even makes sense. Let me show you how what you just said doesn't make sense". All right, now watch this. Verse 26 he says now, "If Satan cast out Satan, he's divided against himself. How shall then his kingdom stand"? He said, "So what you're accusing me of just goes against, you know, whatever the objective of the devil is. 'Cause if the devil cast out the devil, then how can his kingdom stand when it's divided like that"?
All right, next verse. "And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out"? He says, "Therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God," which is what he did, "If I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter a strong man's house and spoil his house except he first bind the strong man," all right, "and then he will spoil his house. He that is not with me is against me. He that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. Wherefore I say unto you, all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men, but the blaspheming against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men".
Now hold on a minute. Jesus calls what he's been talking about the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. So what was happening here? They didn't believe that Jesus did what he did by the Holy Ghost. They didn't believe that he cast out these devils by the Holy Ghost, by the Spirit of God. The issue is an issue of unbelief. So what is blasphemy against the Holy Ghost? Not believing in the power of the Holy Spirit to do what he does. It's an issue of unbelief. Oh, now I get it. That's why God can't forgive somebody who doesn't believe in the Holy Ghost because unbelief is the only issue that Jesus didn't take care of on the cross because unbelief or belief is an issue of the freewill, a free moral agent. When you decide to believe something, praise God, God can work on your behalf. But when you decide as a free moral agent, "I don't believe that," then he can't do anything until you decide to believe.
Unbelief cannot be forgiven of. Unbelief can only be repented of. In other words, until you change your mind about unbelief and start believing, then how in the world can God forgive you of something when you don't even believe in him, you don't even believe in the power of the Holy Spirit? So it's not that he doesn't want to forgive you, he can't forgive you because you have decided, "I don't believe". So when you repent or change your mind about that and start believing, then of course he can come in and forgive you of anything or everything because you believe in him.
Now, I hope you got that. I'm going to tackle it from another perspective so I can make sure I nailed this at home. So basically if anyone spoke against Jesus as a human being, being the Son of God, he said that they would be forgiven. But if they spoke against the Holy Ghost being in Jesus, they did not believe that Jesus was the Son of God, they would not be forgiven. And I told you about the only sin that was not taken care of on the cross was that issue of unbelief. The moment a person believes in Jesus, he is no longer in sin.
So look at what blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is. It's unbelief in the Holy Spirit operating in Jesus. That's what it is. It's unbelief in the Holy Spirit operating in Jesus. And I'm telling you, it's simple as that. "I've spent all my life. Oh, my God, have I committed blasphemy"? And see, here's what I realized, that a lot of people relate this story with Ephesians chapter 4, verse 29 and 32. Turn there. They relate this with grieving the Holy Spirit. There's a difference between what he's talking about here of the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, which is unbelief in the Holy Spirit, versus grieving the Holy Spirit.
Let me show you what the difference is. Look at Ephesians 4:29. He says, "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying," or building up, "that it may minister," what? Grace to those who hear. "And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God". Now, this is the very important now because "and" is a conjunction which is connecting the thoughts on one side of the "and" with what's happening on the other side of the "and". So back up in verse 29 and let's take that in consideration. "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good so it can be used to edify," or to build up or minister grace unto those who hear. "And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption". Thirty-one, "Let all bitterness", he's breaking it down now, "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you".
Can you see what's happening here? He is talking about how we should treat one another and how when we don't treat one another right, how that grieves the Holy Spirit. You see, it's when I am bitter to somebody, when I am cruel to somebody, when I'm not tenderhearted with somebody, when I'm not forgiving to somebody; he says how you treat one another grieves the Holy Spirit, how you treat one another grieves the Holy Spirit. So grieving the Holy Spirit is based on how we treat one another. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is unbelief in the Holy Spirit. Do you see that? But you have to understand that there is great security in grace. The blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, man, if you'll just believe God, then all grace abound towards you. It's an issue of belief. This whole relationship is an issue of belief. And then you don't want to grieve the Holy Spirit 'cause to grieve the Holy Spirit may put in a position where you're kind of blocking him from doing things in your life.
Don't grieve the Holy Spirit. Be watchful how you treat one another, how you treat one another. You know, everybody wants to, you know, jump on the bandwagon. "Oh, the guy committed adultery," and you consider that sin. But what about the same guy who was rude to the waitress? I mean, she came up, she brought the wrong order, and you are all rude. "And let me see your manager," and all that kind of stuff. That grieves the Holy Spirit. That grieves the Holy Spirit. Look at how you're treating one... anytime we do that, so we basically have got to learn how to treat one another right so we don't grieve the Holy Spirit.
Now, there is grace there. I mean, you may grieve the Holy Spirit, but, you know, God will still work with you. He's just trying to say don't resist the Holy Spirit. Don't put him in a position to make it hard for him to do things in your life because we're not treating one another the way we need to treat one another. Amen? Now, the question is, how can we know that we will forever be with Jesus? That's a big question. "I'm born again. I made Jesus the Lord of my life. How do I know that I will forever be with Jesus"? You know, there are some people who are ready for Jesus to come back, and there's some people who's like, "Oh, no, no. Jesus, please take your time. Don't come back right now. I'm not ready".
Well, you better hurry up and get ready. I'm telling you Taffi told me the Lord told her one time that Jesus is coming a lot sooner than we think. And I'm telling you if you're not ready, you need to go ahead and get ready. How do you get ready? You make Jesus the Lord of your life. But the question is, how can we know that we will forever be with Jesus?
Well, let's go to the Book of 1 John chapter 5. Let's look at verse 11 through 13. First of all, let's see what the Word says. If I want to know something, I want to find out what the Word says.
Verse 11 says, "And this is the record; that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son". So when you get in his Son, you have eternal life.
Verse 12, "He that hath the Son hath life". Have you made Jesus the Lord of your life? "He that hath the Son has life, and he that hath not the Son of God has not life". Real simple. If you are born again, you have life. If you're not born again, you don't have life. Real simple. Don't care what you think about it. "Well, I don't agree with that. Well, that ain't that"... No, no, no, no, no. This Bible is true. This Bible is the base of all truth. It's the true true. You understand? No matter what somebody says. People all around the world try to tell you this Word ain't true. This Word is true. Praise God. Some of the interpretations that people give it may not be true, but this Word is true.
And look at verse 13. "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God". Do you believe on the name of the Son of God? "That you may know that you have eternal life". I know that I have eternal life because I believe on the name of the Son of God. Now, the enemy is constantly going to be trying to throw that whole sin issue at you, you know, he's going to try to constantly throw things that will cause you to question who you are in Christ and your identity, and your confidence that you have eternal life, and your confidence that you know you will forever be with Jesus. That's his job. That's what he's going to try to do.
So I want to take two Scriptures. I want to look at two chapters right quick hopefully. Hebrews chapter 9, and I want to read into Hebrews chapter 10 and I really want us to take our time with this. I set all that stuff up because I want you to see this for yourself in context. I want you to see for yourself what Jesus has done. I want you to understand what Jesus has done. Hebrews chapter 9. Let's read this in the New Living Translation. Hebrews chapter 9. If I need to go to the King James, I'll refer back into my Bible. Hebrews chapter 9 and 11, and we're going to read 11 through 28 and on into Hebrews chapter 10. Are you ready? All right.
Now verse 11 says, "So Christ has now become the high priest over all the good things that have come". So Christ is our mediator. He's our high priest. He's the one that stand between God and man. He says, "He has entered that greater, more perfect tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world".
So there was a tabernacle in the wilderness which consisted of the outer court, the inner court, and the most holy place. All right? But we're not talking about Jesus going into that earthly tabernacle that man created, where the high priest would take animals and sacrifice the animals to cover the sins of people for 1 year. No. Jesus went into the real tabernacle, the one in heaven. He said, "Which was made not with human hands and is not part of this world".
Verse 12, he said he went into the heavenly tabernacle where God is with his own blood. He didn't go into the heavenly tabernacle where God sits with the blood of goats and calves. "He entered the most holy place," in heaven, "once for all times and he secured our redemption forever".
Oh, my God. Please listen to what I'm saying. Jesus didn't enter into that earthly tabernacle where you go behind that curtain and then there's the priest offering animals. He went to heaven, entered in the heavenly tabernacle, presented his blood in heavenly tabernacles to secure your redemption forever. Your redemption, your deliverance, your ransom from sin has been paid. He has secured your redemption forever, your deliverance forever. He secured it. You are secure. Jesus went to heaven, gave his blood, and secured those of us who've made Jesus the Lord of our life. Secured your redemption forever.