Sins Against The Holy Spirit I

There are certain sins we can commit against the Holy Spirit.  Ephesians 4:30-commands, “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.  Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, 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.”   There are certain things which, if allowed in Christian’s life, grieve the Holy Spirit.  Galatians 5:19-21 describes these as the works or actions of the flesh.  “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”  They are typical of the kinds of actions and attitudes Christ died to set us free from. 

When people who claim to be Christians behave in such manners they dishonor God and cause others to blaspheme or speak evil against Him, according to Romans 2:21-24.  “Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?  Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?  Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?  For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.”  Such activity is exactly the opposite of what they Holy Spirit is attempting to produce in the Christian’s life and it grieves him that they choose to live that way.  Whe wants to glorify God rather than dishonoring him, according to John 16:14-15. “He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.  All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you.”

There are many today who believe that because they have been saved, they don’t have to worry about such sins because they cannot lose their salvation.  They don’t seem to understand that the fact that they can continue in the sin raises the possibility they are not truly saved, as we have already seen.  If they are saved, they are making a mockery of God, and as I Corinthians 3:13-15 tells us, they will lose their rewards, even though they will get into heaven.  “Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.  If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.  If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” 

Galatians 5:16-17 tells us how to avoid dishonoring God and grieving the Holy Spirit.  “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.”  Unless Christians learn to walk in the Spirit, they will constantly struggle with doing what is right and good.  The Great Commission, found it Matthew 28:19-20 commands, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”  The first teach is the Greek word meaning disciple or cause to become a follower.  Once they have been save, we are to baptize them and teach them to obey everything Christ has commanded.  An important part of that is teaching them to walk in the Spirit.  Because that part of the Great Commission has been neglected, many Christians are grieving the Holy Spirit.