But a time comes when God must honor man's rejection. "God works by the manisfestation of His Spirit to reprove and convict the sinner; and if the Spirit's work is finally rejected, there is no more that God can do for the soul. The last resource of divine mercy has been employed. The transgressor has cut himself off from God; and sin has no remedy to cure itself. There is no reserved power by which God can work to convict and convert the sinner. "Let him alone" (Hosea 4:7) is the divine command (PP 405).
Such a problem grieves, not disgusts God. We can hurt no one as much as we can Him. Yet we dare to think that God waits to catch us when we make a mistake. Just the opposite. Our Master sobbed to those who spurned Him. "Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not" (Matthew 23:37). The Lord never leaves man. We must desert God to close the curtain.
Fourth, man commits the sin against the Hoy Spirit with deliberate awareness, not inadvertently or unconsciously. Sin, by it's very nature, involves moral awareness. You can't slip in through the back door and acquire the label of a sinner. Somewhere along the line you have to know what the issue is, else it is not sin. "To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin" (James 4:17). Our Lord told the religionists of his day who claimed that they were the children of Abraham and that they of all people were not blind,"If ye were blind, ye should have no sin; but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth" (John 9:41).
If sin inherently involves a moral perception, how can we then suppose that someone can commit the worst sin of all, the final rejection of God, inadvertently or unconsciously? However, we must add, that through repeated refusals, he may lose his moral awarenes. A person may do nothing more than continually refuse to reach a dicision to act in harmony with the Spirit's promptings, but not to decide is to decide. Somewhere in the process there must exist a moral awareness. Man commits the sin against the Holy Spirit deliberately, not accidentally or unknowingly.
Fifth, the sin against the Holy Spirit results from many decisions, not just one. The process of rejecting God is gradual, because God will not let us go. If it were merely a matter that we turn from God and He responds, "Away with you," that would be one thing, but "the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit does not lie in any sudden word or deed; it is the firm, determined resistance of truth and evidence" (MS 30, 1890). Habits develop slowly and sin becomes an addition. Once we develop a certain pattern for living that involves repeated moral choices, God Himslef cannot change us. But the rejection occurs over a period of time.
We should also recognize that the process of accepting God is gradual too. Sometimes, failing to recognize that fact, we tend to rush people. Consider Christ's treatment of Nicodemus. Why idid'nt He call him to a decision? Why didn't He force him right on the spot? Why did He just reveal the basic principles to him? Nicodemus was not ready. Sometimes I think we get ahead of the Holy Spirit in our evangelistic techniques. We use all of the tricks and the legerdemain that we know to get people to sign on the dotted line. Is it because of our lack of confidence in the persuation of the Holy Spirit? Just as it is a gradual process for a person to leave God, we must also remember that he does not instantaneously accept Him. Let's not get in the way.
As a result of constant rejection man closes his own probation. Some people think that a time will come when God flips a switch, the curtain drops, and that's it. But to do that He would have to deny our freedom. God does not close probation. "He that is . . . let him be" (Revelation 22:11). The Lord merely announces when the process has taken place. The final crisis must await a sufficient revelation. Then men can make intelligent decisions, and under the pressure of rapidly moving events their choices will quickly mold the character into a permanent habit tendency toward righeousness or wickedness. Man in closing his own probation makes many decisions, not just one.
Sixth, the sin against the Holy Spirit leaves the person void of spiritual concern, not with worry over whether he has commited it. Now we must not confuse spiritual concern with fear of consequences. Esau and Judas felt sorry for the results of their sins, but they experienced no remorse for the sin itself. Furthermore, we must not equate outward manifestation with inward condition.
A young person once said to me, "I have committed the unpardonable sin. I don't care about God, and I'm tickle to death that He has left me alone." Thinking that certainly he couldn't have put it more strongly, I assumed that what he said was correct. Several years later - to my amazement - he gave himself to Jesus Christ in a real way. Later I found that since God doesn't give up, even the most stubborn sinner might eventually yield. We make a mistake when we look at outward manifestations. Camouflage does not mislead God. He knows the sincerest desire of the soul, and as long as one spark remains, the Spirit will fan it.
When Martin Luther was on trial, the cardinal legate thundered at him, "The pope's little finger is stronger than all Germany; do you expect your princes to take up arms to defend you - a wretched worm like you? I tell you, no! And where will you be then? Tell me that - where will you be then?"
"Then, as now," Luther answered, "in the hands of Almighty God."
If you ever had any doubts about God's unyielding love for you, let me assure you, you're in good hands.
