THE GOSPELS
In this section:
MATTHEW 12:31-32, MARK 3:28-29, LUKE 11:14-23 with Luke 12:10
MATTHEW 12:35-37
MATTHEW 12:31-32, MARK 3:28-29, LUKE 11:14-23 with Luke 12:10
"31 Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. 32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man [which is Christ], it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come." Matthew 12:31-32
Concerning this passage, those who hold to the NEST are primarily interested in the sin of "blasphemy against the Spirit," which is also described as speaking "against the Holy Spirit." Since these two verses are spotlighted away from their contextual meaning, their original intent gets replaced with a curiously esoteric question mark. People recognize that Jesus says that this sin "shall not be forgiven," but because Jesus' words are cut out of His context, those who believe in the NEST become unsure of what exactly Jesus means. Consequently, just about every imaginable theory has been applied to these two spotlighted verses. The result is that there are people wondering if they have committed this sin, or they are wondering if they can, or will, possibly commit this sin, and lose their eternal spiritual salvation. According to the Not Eternally Saved Theory, a person who is truly spiritually saved in the regenerating miracle of salvation, can actually commit what "shall not be forgiven."
To put to rest a lot of unnecessary confusion concerning this passage, all we need to do is go to the context and see what Jesus is talking about. In doing so, we will recognize that those who are elect to eternal spiritual salvation, can not possibly commit this unforgivable sin. To do this, we will start back in verse 22, where we read,
"22 Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw. 23 All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, 'This man cannot be the Son of David, can he? 24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, 'This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.' 25 And knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, 'Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27 If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. 28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can anyone enter the strong man's house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. 30 He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters. 31 Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. 32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come." (Matthew 12:22-32)
In reading the full context, we now see the fuller picture of what all happened in this event that led to Christ's words. A demon possessed man is brought to Jesus, and Jesus casts out the demon by the power and authority of the Holy Spirit. All the Israelite crowds that are there are amazed, and wonder if Jesus is the promised Messiah King of the Davidic line according to all the ancient prophesies. After the crowds wonder and ask if this be the case, the Pharisees give the wrong answer. The Pharisees give the evil, hardened heart, answer of those who are lost haters of Jesus who reject Jesus as the promised "Son of David." Jesus knows all about these particular Pharisees. He knows that they are antichrists. He knows that they are anti-Messiahs who blaspheme against Yahweh, and they blaspheme against the Holy Spirit. This is why Jesus says later in chapter 23,
"13 But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in." (Matthew 23:13)
In other words the "scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites" are not gathering the Lost sheep of the house of Israel along with the Messiah. Rather, the "scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites" are lost wolves in sheep's clothing who are actually against Jesus, and so they are scattering the lost sheep; shutting off the Messianic kingdom from people. Accordingly, the hardened heart answer that the Pharisees give to Jesus in our text under study is, in fact, the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Instead of giving credit where credit is due, which is credit to God's Spirit, they blaspheme; not just Jesus Himself, but also the Holy Spirit by saying,
"This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons." (Matthew 12:24)
Jesus the man, did not cast out demons by the ruler of the demons. Jesus, as God in the flesh (the God-man), cast out demons by His Holy Spirit. Speaking against the Holy Spirit, and the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, is the unique act of a God hating person saying that Satan, or Beelzebul, is the Holy Spirit. Contextually, the God haters are certain Israelites. Making this blasphemous claim demonstrates that such a person is lost to begin with, and accordingly will be lost forever as one who hates Christ, hates Yahweh, and hates the Holy Spirit. The blasphemy issue is a hatred, and attack upon God issue. This is why Jesus says,
"26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27 If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. 28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom [reign, and rule] of God has come upon you." (Matthew 12:26-28)
Jesus points out that those lost Pharisees' own sons cast out demons by the Spirit of God. The testimony of their own sons, then, judges the Pharisees. But the main point is that here is what Jesus is talking about in respect to blaspheming and speaking against the "Spirit of God;" He says,
"28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." (Matthew 12:28)
Christ's next words are very important. Keep in mind that Jesus is in His pre-cross ministry at this time. He is speaking to Old Covenant Israel, and He is speaking to the religious leaders who are there, and so Jesus says,
"30 He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters. 31 Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. 32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come." (Matthew 12:30-32)
Jesus says that He will forgive people who speak against Him as the Son of Man, but He will not forgive people who speak against the Holy Spirit. This is important because, as the Son of Man, Jesus was mortal, which means that His human body was subject to death. As God though, Jesus is spirit as we see Him declaring in John 4:24,
"24 God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:24)
The body that God (as three persons in one, as 100% percent Father-100% percent Son-100% Holy Spirit), prepared for Himself in Mary's womb, that matured, and grew as the son of man, of which Paul says all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form (cf. Colossians 2:9) is something that God created. God did not create the Holy Spirit. God did not create Himself. The Holy Spirit, as very God, is very God who impregnated Mary according to Matthew 1:18. The result is the God-man Jesus Christ--God's only begotten Son. Classic Christianity has always described Him this way: 100% fully God, and 100% fully man. Knowing this is important because in all of these details we today recognize that Old Covenant rejecting Israel had to speak against Jesus as a man who was the Son of Man, and the reason is because they were predetermined to do so. They were, according to Peter in Acts 2:23, predetermined to reject Him and crucify Him so that, in doing so, they would fulfill the mystery of what was needed to establish God's New Covenant. The mystery to Israel was that Messiah came to be the great and final sacrificial Lamb without spot or blemish. Christ is called the Lamb that was slain, but He is a man. For many Israelites at this point in history in our scriptural context, to speak against the man aspect of Christ is forgivable, and so this is why Christ was able to forgive all of His elect people who spoke against Him, rejected Him, and delivered Him up on the cross. This is why Jesus, the great mediator between God and man, made His great exonerating pronouncement while impaled to the cross,
"33 When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. 34 But Jesus was saying, 'Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing'" Luke 23:33-34
Even with textual redaction considered in respect to the passage above, there is the example of the repentant elect of Israel who followed the Messiah after His resurrection in eternal spiritual salvation. On the other hand, any, and all, who rejected the "Son of man" (cf. Matthew 12:32), and delivered Him up, who also blasphemed against the Holy Spirit, were not forgiven (whether they asserted that they knew what they were doing or not) either in that age or in the age that was to come. Mark records Jesus' explanation of not being forgiven, in this age or in the age to come, as being guilty of an "eternal sin."
"'Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin'--30 because they were saying, 'He has an unclean spirit.'" (Mark 3:28-30)
The reason that this sin is so serious is because it is the bizarre sin of saying that Yahweh is really the devil. It is a personal blasphemous attack upon Yahweh to say that the Holy Spirit is an unclean spirit. This is made clear in Luke by way of a strong reference to God as being One with the Holy Spirit, where we read the same account of Messiah's confrontation with apostate leaders in Jerusalem. We need to notice some extra details that Luke gives us of what Jesus said. We do not find them in Matthew's chronicle, but in Luke we read Jesus saying,
"20 But if I cast out demons by the Finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." (Luke 11:20)
Notice that Jesus calls the "Spirit of God" the "Finger of God" in Luke's account. Clearly the Pharisees blasphemed God who is the One Who casts out demons by His own Finger as being, in actuality, the person of the "Holy Spirit;" and so in speaking against God, those particular Pharisees demonstrated that they were never, and never will be, saved. They are God haters. They are Christ haters. They are haters of the Finger of Yahweh, Who is the Holy Spirit. They are the rejectors of the very Holy Spirit that regenerates in the New Covenant that Christ is going to go on and establish in His own blood and resurrection from the dead. Those same blasphemers of the Holy Spirit are the ones who are going to take Jesus and have Him impaled upon a stake with a cross beam (a cross), and then after Christ raises from the dead, they will go on to continue to blaspheme the Holy Spirit and speak out against "the ministry of the Spirit" as Paul calls it in 2 Corinthians 3:8. These are the same Holy Spirit insulting people who murdered Stephen of whom he described shortly before he was stoned to death,
"You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; ..." (Acts 7:51)
The consistent point with the Jerusalem leadership is that in resisting the Holy Spirit they are rejecting Yahweh. We clearly see that Jesus is talking about people who are spiritually blind, who hate Jesus Christ, who "always" forever resist the Holy Spirit, and who accuse Messiah of casting out demons by Satan--all of which means they are blaspheming and speaking against the Holy Spirit. The most important point of all is that those who commit the unpardonable sin of blasphemy against the holy Spirit are the ones who die in a state of resisting, and blaspheming, against the Holy Spirit. In other words, it is not just a one time thing. It is a continuous attribute of someone who is lost, does not want to be saved, and never will be saved. This description does not describe anyone who is a born again Christian who is saved under the blood of the New Covenant, whose spiritual eyes are opened, who was once blind, but now sees, who loves Jesus Christ, who does not accuse Christ of casting out demons by Satan, but rather, believes, and asserts, that Christ casts out demons by His own Holy Spirit (the Finger of God). Therefor, it is clear that this description is not of saved people.
In considering all of these pertinent details, it becomes evident that this passage does not remotely suggest that people saved under the New Covenant can lose eternal spiritual salvation, gain eternal spiritual salvation, or keep eternal spiritual salvation secure through humanistic self effort.
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MATTHEW 12:35-37
Matthew 12:35-37 is a passage that continues with an ongoing confrontation that Jesus is having with the Pharisees. We looked at much of the confrontation in the study of the previous passage. Now we read,
"35 The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. 36 But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." (Matthew 12:33-37)
According to the typical NEST interpretation, Jesus is said to be teaching that you can be made righteous through righteous speech. By the same token, it is believed that if you, (as someone who has the imputed righteousness of Christ in New Covenant salvation), speak words that are unrighteous, then you condemn yourself to eternal damnation. The NEST interpretation is wrong, and is an example of committing the error of the false doctrine of works based righteousness. Let's look at why the NEST is wrong concerning Matthew 12:35-37.
/1/
As a primary consideration, we must recognize that everyone is born in sin, so for anyone to be saved, they must be saved through Christ and His work of redemption. Once saved, then the individual is already justified (righteousified), as we read in the New Covenant epistle of Romans,
"8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us [saved people], in that while we were yet sinners, [which describes everyone before salvation] Christ died for us [all who are and will be saved]. 9 Much more then, having now been justified [made the righteousness of Christ at this time--righteousified] by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him." (Romans 5:8-9)
Justification, being found in Christ alone, is a fundamental fact that is clearly expressed in the New Covenant scriptures. It is also a fundamental fact that justification, being found in Christ alone, where God imputes the righteousness of Christ to His elect believers, is something that was established in the New Covenant shortly after the events of Matthew 1.
/2/
The second consideration that we absolutely must keep in mind is that this passage is in the exact same contextual flow of the Pharisees blaspheming against the Spirit of God by speaking against the Holy Spirit with their mouths, (cf. Matthew 12:32). So, again, this is a contextual issue that is cleared up quickly when we read the sentence the way God meant it to be read. Right after Jesus says to the wicked Pharisees that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not going to be forgiven, He says in the next verse going into the flow of our second passage,
"33 Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers, [Jesus is talking to Pharisees, He says,] how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. 35 The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. 36 But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." (Matthew 12:33-37)
Everyone will give an account for their words, as all people are accountable to God--even all of us who are saved in the New Covenant, but Jesus says here,
"... by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned," (Matthew 12:37)
Jesus is talking straight to the bad tree Israelite religious leaders who reject Him. They are manifest by their fruits. Remember, Jesus is the good tree who casts out demons by the Holy Spirit. Jesus is manifested as having good fruits. He is talking straight at the brood of vipers (Matthew 12:34). They being evil can not speak what is good (Matthew 12:34). Certainly they are Israelites according to the flesh. They even boast that they are God's elect, Abrahamic, and Mosaic Old Covenant, people. They are even Pharisees who are the strictest sect of the Law keeping Jews. But there is a problem; they have not been effectually called and drawn by the same Holy Spirit that they blaspheme against. They do not have the goodness of God planted in them that God sows in men that makes men good in a salvific sense. Therefor, they have not been supernaturally enlightened. They have not been supernaturally preserved. They have not been elected. They have not had divine intervention, where good is put into their heart to be manifested in believing, and, following the One true Messiah of the One true God, according to the One true Spirit of God. For anyone to be justified by God, they must be supernaturally transformed by the Finger of God in an enabling miracle of the Holy Spirit. Instead of miracle, instead of an effectual calling, the bad tree Israelite leaders are getting an effectual condemnation. This is why Jesus says,
"For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart." (Matthew 12:34)
God has not sovereignly put good into their hearts, so the good is simply not there to come out. Jesus, as the direct opposite of what they are, is the perfect definition of good; His heart is good, which is His ultimate point. This is why Jesus asks them a question that they can not answer, but Jesus knows the answer, when He asks,
"34 You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good?" (Matthew 12:34)
Being evil is why they accused Him of casting out demons by Satan in the first place. Jesus goes on,
"For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. 35 The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil." (Matthew 12:34-35)
Jesus is still demonstrating, in casting the demon out of the possessed man who was blind and mute, that Jesus brought out of His own good treasure, what is good. The evil Pharisees, on the other hand, brought evil out of their evil treasure. Jesus goes on with the punctuation mark statement that we now understand in context,
"36 But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." (Matthew 12:33-37)
So, again we see that Jesus is declaring the condemnation that the Pharisees, as the careless people, will get in the coming day of judgment (which may be the "day" of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, or a time at the judgment seat of Christ after death) for carelessly speaking against the Spirit of God.
Therefore, based upon all these considerations, we conclude that this is not a teaching that remotely suggests that any person can gain eternal spiritual salvation, lose eternal spiritual salvation, or keep eternal spiritual salvation secure through humanistic self effort.
