Calvary Baptist Church

Consider the amazing work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  He is comforter, convincer, defender, helper, inspiration and friend.  He teaches, convicts, and equips.  Every part of our living the Christian life depends on His work in and through us.

As with every good thing about God, the Spirit’s work can be subverted.  Lies abound.  False teachings are too numerous to count.  The challenges from false teachers and prophets have been expounded through this study.  From the beginning until Jesus returns, we can witness and should expect His work to be maligned and subverted.

There are five sins against the Holy Spirit expounded in Scripture.  This week’s blog will feature three of those sins.  This study on the Holy Spirit will take a week off and conclude December 1^st.

A word of warning comes in Genesis 6:3. God warned humanity and Noah, “Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.” ^[1]

God will say, “enough.”  God’s Spirit will not force believers to receive His ministry.  God will not compel a person to be saved, but the Spirit will speak.  God will not force people to follow His leadership despite the Spirit’s work.

First Sin Against the Spirit: Lying to the Spirit

The first sin against the Spirit is revealed in the fifth chapter of Acts.  A little background is important.  At the end of the fourth chapter, Barnabas is mentioned for the first time.  He sold a piece of property, donating the proceeds to the church.  The young church was quickly becoming overwhelmed by the needs of the widows in their midst.  Barnabas is given the nickname, “Son of Encouragement” and the ministry is strengthened.

Into this scene come Ananias and Sapphira.  They hardly lived up to their names.  His name means “God (Yahweh) is gracious.”  Her name means “Beauty.”  They wanted to receive the praise Barnabas received without the same sacrifice.  They want the glory without the surrender.

They also sold property.  They also gave money to the church.  The difference?  They only gave part of the money to the church. They agreed together in this scheme. 

Make no mistake.  They did not have to sell their property.  There was no early communism or socialism.  They could do as they willed with their property.  In addition, after selling their property they did not have to give all the money to the church.  They were free to do with their property and money as they wanted. 

With the Spirit’s assistance Peter recognized the deception as revealed in Acts 5:

“But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?” (Acts 5:3).

⁹ “Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”  (Acts 5:9)

Peter recognizes that they were guilty of lying to the Spirit.  When we declare that something belongs to the Lord and then do not follow through, we lie to the Holy Spirit.

We lie to the Spirit when we say one thing and do another.  Satan was behind their actions.   They could have resisted Satan (See James 4:7).  But pride and the love of their possessions drove them to act.  They deceived the Spirit and the early church.

Peter asked them to acknowledge that they did not have to give the money.  They did not need to deceive.  But their lying was not just to Peter, and to the early church.  They tried to deceive the Spirit.  That never works.  He sees the truth.

The outcome of their deception is a harsh punishment.  First Ananias and then Sapphira died at the feet of the early church leaders.  The punishment was severe because the danger to the early church was serious.  If their deceit were allowed to stand anyone could do the same. 

We lie to the Holy Spirit when we fail to stand by truth while claiming to do so.  We deceive the Spirit when we say we are all in, but we are holding ourselves back.  That deception can include failure to use our gifts to God’s glory.

Second Sin Against the Spirit: Resisting the Spirit

As the church continued to grow, the need for new leaders became evident.  The church sought out leaders who were the first deacons.  Among those leaders was the deacon, Stephen. 

The church faced strong opposition, but Stephen’s words were full of the Spirit and power. 

⁹ Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. ¹⁰ But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke. ^[2]

These forces opposing Stephen were powerful.  Jewish leaders from around the region stood opposed to him.  But they could not stand against his arguments.  The Spirit filled Stephen with power and wisdom.  He continued to speak boldly and clearly.

Chapter seven of Acts is a lengthy but powerful exposition of the gospel.  He outlined the history of the people of God culminating in the death and resurrection of the Savior.  He challenged them with the truth.

They could not overcome Stephen’s wisdom.  He calmly and graciously fended off their attacks.  He showed no nervousness as He stood before the high priest and the powerful Sanhedrin.  He had a distinct advantage.  He was speaking from the anointing power of the Holy Spirit.

Stephen completed the sermon with a serious accusation.

 

⁵¹ “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit!^[3]

Stephen’s charge is clear.  They are stubborn and hard-hearted.  They obstinately resist the Spirit’s work. 

How do we resist the Spirit?  We hear but do not heed His voice.  We listen to the Word without making the changes required.  We see a need and fail to respond.  We know His prompting but refuse to act.

Third Sin Against the Spirit: Quenching the Spirit  

At the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus John predicted that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. 

Matthew 3:11 “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”

When the Spirit came, He appeared as tongues of fire.   Yielding to the Spirit is to allow Him to control your life.  He will fill you with fire.

Paul makes a short and powerful charge.  He warns us not to stifle or put out the fire.

1 Thess 5:19 Do not quench the Spirit.^[4]

Do not put out the Spirit’s fire.  Do not suppress or stifle Him.  We cannot throw cold water on His work.

To quench the Spirit is like being in a room with someone while ignoring them.  We give the Spirit the cold shoulder.  When the fire of the Spirit is burning, someone pours water on His work.

How do we quench the Spirit?  We do so when we:

• We say no to something God directs us to do.    We choose our will over His will.  We choose our own way.  We can choose to ignore His voice, smothering His influence with a blanket of indifference.
• We ignore His presence.   We go about living our lives and refuse to acknowledge His help. 
• We sin repeatedly.   Our sin causes the Holy Spirit to abandon the work He is doing in us.

Conclusion:

The Spirit is still at work.  We can never throw enough cold water on the fire of God or put out His fire completely in our lives.

What is He doing in your life?  What is He saying to you? What does He want you to do?

Keep our relationship with the Spirit kindled.  It is easier to keep a fire burning than to restart one.    

• Talk to Him daily.
• Recognize His presence. 
• Ask for His help. 
• Invite Him to lead and guide you.
• Confess your sin immediately and repent of it.
• Turn back to the way you know God desires for you to walk.