THE SIN AGAINST THE HOLY GHOST.
By U. S.
WE have queries from several correspondents respecting what constitutes the sin against the Holy Ghost. We believe that during our connection with the religious press, more questions have come in upon this subject than upon any other single question. And perhaps there is no subject upon which the enemy seems more ready to tempt and harass exceedingly conscientious souls than upon this. To bring no railing accusation against the prince of darkness, we may say, at least, that he is destitute of every vestige of candor, and every species of honor; and if he cannot succeed in lulling the consciences of men to sleep, and causing them to live in a state of carelessness and indifference, he will then take advantage of their awakened and watchful conscientiousness, and endeavor to drive them to despair over the supposition that they have committed the unpardonable sin, and therefore cannot be saved. If any are now tempted in this direction, we invite them to look carefully at a few facts connected with this subject. The circumstances under which mention is first made of the sin against the Holy Ghost, furnish a key to the meaning of that expression. These are recorded in Matt. 12:22–32. Christ had wrought a notable miracle. One was brought unto him possessed with a devil; and so terribly malignant was the influence of the evil one upon the unfortunate person, that he was rendered both blind and dumb. Christ cast out the devil, and the individual was healed so that he both spake and saw. All the people were amazed, and began to give expression to their conviction that Christ was indeed the Messiah, by the question, “Is not this the Son of David?” For the impression prevailed that when the Messiah should come, he would cast out devils, and that none but he could do such a work. Christ’s works testified of him, and there was enough in them to convince the most obstinate of the truthfulness of his claims. But the Pharisees, a class, we are sorry to say, not yet extinct, ever standing around watching with envious and jealous eyes the movements of Christ, despising him in his humility, grieved and maddened that the people should be inclined to accept him, and determined at all hazards to resist and overthrow his work, now found themselves in a very critical position. The devil had been cast out, and the dumb and blind both spake and saw. None could deny that. Christ had done this good work by the power of his word. This was equally evident. Now what were these Pharisees to do? If they admitted that Christ had wrought this work by the Spirit of God, they would admit that he was what he professed to be, and then all their opposition to him would recoil disastrously upon their own heads. Their insane hatred against Christ and his work would not permit them to acknowledge the truth. There was but one other course open to them; and that was to attribute the wonderful work which Christ had wrought, not to the power of the Spirit of God, but to that terrible embodiment of evil, the prince of darkness; and rather than acknowledge the truth, they hazarded that bold venture, and said contemptuously, “This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub, the prince of devils.” Their claim was as foolish as it was blasphemous. This Christ showed by referring to the obvious principle that a kingdom, city, or house, divided against itself, cannot stand, and that if Satan cast out Satan, he was divided against himself, and would work his own destruction. Then comes the announcement respecting the sin against the Holy Ghost. These Pharisees had committed this sin; which was, attributing to the devil the performance of a work which, in its very nature, gave ample evidence of having been done by the Holy Ghost; and doing this to avoid an acknowledgment of the truth. This it was that called forth the denunciation of Christ, and this, then, is what constitutes that sin. Reader, have you ever, for the sake of denying the truth, which you would otherwise be obliged to confess, attributed any work to the devil, which gave evidence of being the work of the Spirit of God? If you have, you have reason to fear that you have committed this sin. But if you have become so hardened as that, you will not have fears of anything of the kind. The Pharisees were not alarmed about themselves at all. Their consciences were utterly hardened and at ease. So will be that of every one who has committed this sin. If your sin is a burden to you, that is in itself evidence that you have not committed the sin that is unpardonable. U. S.