Pastor Glenn’s Weblog

            I have written that Acts 2:38 doesn’t teach baptism as necessary for salvation.  Now I want to demonstrate that all of Acts argues for salvation by grace alone through faith alone.  I will use faith and repentance in this article interchangeably, though they are not exactly the same thing.  Repentance is turning away from something one used to trust; faith is turning to something else and putting one’s trust there.  Genuine, biblical faith, faith that results in salvation, involves both aspects. It is not real saving faith in Jesus, if someone hasn’t turned completely away from his previous trusts.  To be saved one must trust Jesus alone; he cannot just add Jesus to his other lifelines.  So when the Bible talks about faith necessary for salvation or repentance necessary for salvation, it may be emphasizing one aspect of genuine faith over another, but it is not giving two completely different requirements.

            After Pentecost, Peter’s very next sermon was about the healing of the lame man in the temple and includes the words “It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing.”  Of course that doesn’t say anything about salvation, but it does say something about the importance of faith in Jesus.  However, plenty of other passages offer support to this argument as well.  Peter speaks to the Sanhedrin and offers this conclusion, “God exalted (Jesus) to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.” (5:31)  There is no mention of anything connected to forgiveness other than repentance.  Then in Peter’s sermon to Cornelius and his family, Peter spells out the requirements for these Gentiles; “everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” (10:43)  It is interesting that the Holy Spirit came into their lives right at that moment.  The audience had been eagerly waiting about four days to hear what Peter would say, and as soon as he said “believe,” they did.  Baptism wasn’t necessary, though it followed immediately after.  These first Gentile believers were saved before they were baptized, and before they did anything else for that matter!  When Peter was questioned about spending time with Gentiles, he told his story, and “when they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God saying, ‘So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.’” (11:18)

            We see the same teaching in the sermons of Paul.  His first one parallels Peter’s first in many ways.  But his application to this mostly Jewish audience is “Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.  Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the Law of Moses.” (13:38-39)  Again there is no mention of any requirement on our part but faith.  When the Philippian jailer asked point blank, “What must I do to be saved?”  Paul gave the direct answer, “Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.” (16:29-31)  His farewell address to the Ephesian elders states, “I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.”  (20:21; see also 26:15-18)

            However, I believe the key passage in this matter is found in Acts 15.  The Apostles and elders of the Jerusalem church met to discuss the matter of the Gentile believers coming into the church in huge numbers.  They were particularly interested in the question of circumcision – whether or not the Gentiles had to be circumcised to be saved – but their conclusion impacts our question as well.  Peter reminded the Council of his dream from God and of Cornelius’ salvation.   Then he concludes, “He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.   .  .  .  we believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” (15:9-11)  The conclusion of the question about circumcision was that God saves by his grace through faith – and nothing else.

I have often been asked questions about “the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit,” as it is called in the New Testament.  This sin, which is called an eternal sin that cannot be forgiven, naturally raises questions for followers of Jesus, who understandably don’t want to be guilty of it.  This grievous sin is mentioned in all three Synoptic Gospels: Matthew 12:31; Mark 3:29; and Luke 12:10.  The passage I’m most familiar with is the one in Mark, so I will refer specifically to that passage.  The context in Matthew is identical.  The context of the Luke version is similar enough that the same argument holds there too.  To arrive at the correct understanding, we must look at the entire story in Mark 3:20-30 rather than jump immediately into verse 29.

Jesus was drawing a crowd everywhere he went in his Galilean ministry.  Rightly so, because word had gone out that he was healing many and casting out demons (Mark 1:28; 1:45; 3:8).  Because he was gathering such a large crowd, the religious leaders were jealous of him and wanted to kill him (3:6).  Killing Jesus would have been hard since he was so popular, so they tried first to discredit him in the eyes of the crowd.  They did so by saying his works were from the devil (3:22 – You might notice that these Pharisees were from Jerusalem, not Galilee, probably because they were more influential Pharisees who had gone to Galilee with the sole purpose of trapping or discrediting Jesus).  Jesus answered their charge with two parables, one about a divided kingdom and one about the strong man.  The first demonstrates that Jesus has an authority that is other than Satan; the second demonstrates that he has an authority that is greater than Satan.  Both of these truths are things the Pharisees in the story refused to admit. In other words, they stubbornly refused to admit who Jesus really was.

Jesus follows these two stories with some encouraging words about forgiveness and then a warning about blasphemy.  “I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them.  But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.  He said this because they were saying, ‘He has an evil spirit.’” (29-30)

Don’t ignore the good news in the passage.  Every sin and blasphemy of men will be forgiven them!  Sometimes we miss that promise and  jump right to the problem issue.  However, with that said, there’s no way to water down the next phrase.  Whatever this blasphemy is, it is unforgivable.  This is a serious matter, and we best know what Jesus was talking about.  I’ve have heard four possibilities suggested.

First, this blasphemy could be speaking against the Holy Spirit or, more pointedly, cursing the Holy Spirit.  This fits the common understanding of blasphemy.  However, it simply doesn’t fit this context.  There is no reason why Jesus would say that here, especially in light of the closing comment in verse 30, that Jesus said these words because of the accusations of the Pharisees.

Second, blasphemy of the Holy Spirit has been said to be unconfessed sin.  One job of the Holy Spirit is to convict people of sin; ignoring that conviction would be a rejection of the Holy Spirit.  Like the first option, this too does not fit this context, especially in light of verse 30.  However, this option has a deeper problem; it makes our confession of sin the basis of our forgiveness of that sin.  This is absolutely not biblical.  The basis of forgiveness is always Jesus’ death as the substitute for our deserved punishment.  And on that basis, God forgives his people whether they confess everyone of their sins or not!  (For some of you this is a radical statement.  I would encourage you to read the following verses and especially note the tenses of forgiveness – it is an already done deal!  Romans 8:1-4; Ephesians 1:7-8, 2:1-10; Colossians 1:13-14, 2:13-14; Hebrews 10:11-13.  Right now some of you are saying, “But what about 1 John 1:9?  Doesn’t it say that we must confess our sins?”  Since this is not the topic of this post, I don’t have time to go into depth on 1 John 1:9; suffice it to say that passage deals with the believers attitude toward sin – one is not a true believer unless he readily admits he is a sinner.  Maybe that can be a topic for another post someday!  Now back to the main topic for this post.)  If the basis of forgiveness is my confession, then I am trusting in myself rather than in Christ.

Third, some have said blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is crediting God’s work to Satan.  This option certainly fits the context of the passage; that’s exactly what the Pharisees were doing.  However, churches do this all the time.  One theological expression calling another heretical, even when God is at work in both situations!  Even the Apostle Paul was guilty of this!  In his early career, he said the Jesus movement was an evil work of the devil (Acts 9:1-2).  He even calls himself “a blasphemer, a persecutor and a violent man,” yet “the grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly!”  (Read 1 Timothy 1:12-17)  Certainly Paul is an example proving that crediting God’s work to the devil is not unforgivable.

Fourth, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit could be a stubborn refusal to recognize who Jesus is.  This explanation fits the context of this passage; it’s what the Pharisees were doing.  It fits the entire biblical teaching on forgiveness and salvation; note some of the passages in option 2.  This fits the biblical teaching about the Holy Spirit also.  One of the Holy Spirit’s jobs is to teach people who Jesus is; a stubborn refusal to see that is a stubborn rejection of the Holy Spirit.

Do you recognize who Jesus is?  Do you recognize that he is God in human form?  Have you accepted his death on the cross as the substitute for your deserved punishment?  If you answer no, then a prolonged stubbornness in that position is eternally dangerous.  However, you can still come to Jesus, and all who come to him will be accepted and forgiven.  If you can answer yes, then blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is not a possibility for you.  Take God at his word and believe it.  The one believing in him has eternal life!  (John 3:18, 36; 1 John 5:11-13)