References - Lesson 11

Lesson 11: March 11 - 17

Grieving and Resisting the Spirit

(All Bible texts are in the NIV Bible unless otherwise indicated)

Sabbath Afternoon

Memory Text: Ephesians 4:30

30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealedfor the day of redemption.

Matthew 12:31, 32

31 And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

Sunday - Resisting the Holy Spirit

Acts 7:51

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

Exodus 33:3

3 Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way.”

Hebrews 10:24, 25

24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Monday – Grieving the Holy Spirit: Part 1

Ephesians 4:30

30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealedfor the day of redemption.

John 16:8

8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment:

Ephesians 4:2, 3

2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one anotherin love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Ephesians 4:23

23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds;

Ephesians 4:15

15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.

Ephesians 4:17

Instructions for Christian Living

17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longerlive as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.

Ephesians 4:24-31

24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin”[a]: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need. 29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.

Tuesday - Grieving the Holy Spirit: Part 2

Ephesians 4:25

25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin”[a]: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need. 29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Ephesians 5:1, 2

1 Follow God’s example,therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Ephesians 4:3, 4

3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called;

Ephesians 4:15, 16

15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Ephesians 4:32

32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Read Ephesians 4

1 Cor. 3:16, 17

16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.

Revelation 14:6-12

The Three Angels

6 Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. 7 He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.” 8 A second angel followed and said, “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,’[a] which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.” 9 A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their foreheador on their hand, 10 they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” 12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.

Wednesday - Quenching the Holy Spirit

1 Thessalonians 5:19-21

19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt21 but test them all; hold on to what is good,

Ephesians 6:16

16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

1 Thessalonians 5:20

20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt

1 Thessalonians 5:21

21 but test them all; hold on to what is good,

Psalm 119:105

? Nun

105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.

Galatians 5:25

25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

Thursday – Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

Mark 3:28, 29

28 Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”

Luke 12:10

10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

Matthew 12:31, 32

Ellen G. White, Loma Linda Messages, pp. 155, 156.

The Lord is good and greatly to be praised. I will not complain. I feel very sad over the state of things in Battle Creek. I am trying to do all that is possible to guard the flock of God from falling into error. God alone can keep them, and through them work out His good pleasure. I am satisfied with the working of the Lord. If unbelief is multiplied, through the exercise of unbelief in the testimonies, having done all we can do, we will talk faith, and work on the affirmative side of the question. If my name is cast out as evil, I am in excellent company. Those who would not receive Christ were dead in trespasses and sins. As they looked upon the evidences that He presented, by curing disease and making the suffering ones rejoice in health, why did they not yield their unbelief? Because by such an action they would have confessed themselves to be sinners. In the place of receiving the evidence offered them, in the place of recognizing in Christ's works the endowment of heaven, they held right on to their wicked purposes, and said, He performed this wonderful work through the devil. This was the sin against the Holy Ghost. They had not forgiveness in this world, nor in the world to come. What reason had Christ given them for making this statement? None at all. The Prince of life was seeking the lost sheep. At last the leaders of Israel put Him to death. What had He done? He had expressed to a rebellious world the love of God. And His death was the great freewill offering for sin. By it a fountain of mercy was opened to a world yet to be convinced of the wonderful sacrifice made in order that whoever believed in Christ should not perish, but have everlasting life. The preaching of the gospel gives sinners opportunity to receive the greatest gift ever proffered human beings. Those who refuse this gift reveal the highest contempt for God. It is our privilege to be partakers of the divine nature. If we be falsified, if men give to the world a mis-statement of the work that God has done through the humble instrument, dishonoring Christ by making a misrepresentation of Him, they are partakers of the shame and reproach brought upon me.

1 John 5:3

3 In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,

Romans 8:14

14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.

Friday – Further Study

Romans 10:3

3 Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

Ellen G. White Comments, The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 1093, from The Loma Linda Messages, pp. 910-914.

The Lord has men prepared for the times. One does his part, carrying the people with him in reforms. The Lord raises up another who answers the call to duty saying, “Here am I, send me.” The Lord tests and proves him, to see if he will deal justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. But when a man begins to regard his judgment as infallible, God can no longer use him as a representative of what a man who occupies a responsible position should be. The instruction God gives is that his people are ever to press forward and upward. Many cease to advance any further than their teachers carry them. This difficulty has existed in every age of the Christian world. God servants find their greatest success among a class who are not wedded to their previous teacher, who ask, Is this the way of the Lord? Thus the work goes on. God has his men of opportunity, who are ready to do his bidding, who give fresh impetus to the work by bringing in food for needy souls, who wait and pray and watch and work. Be sure men are not chosen to act on your councils who have withstood the Spirit of God and have opposed truth and righteousness. In the fear and love of God I tell those before whom I stand today that there is increased light for us, and that great blessings come with the reception of this light. And when I see my brethren stirred with anger against God's messages and messengers, I think of similar scenes in the life of Christ and the reformers. The reception given to God's servants in past ages is the same as the reception that those today receive through whom God is sending precious rays of light. The leaders of the people today pursue the same course of action that the Jews pursued. They criticize and ply question after question, and refuse to admit evidence, treating the light sent them in the very same way that the Jews treated the light Christ brought them. In Christ's work there can be no neutrality, no middle ground He declared, “He that is not with me, is against me, and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.” Jesus saw and read like an open book the motives which actuated those before him, whose consciences pronounced them guilty. The great controversy was waxing strong. Christ was not warring against finite men, but against principalities and powers, against spiritual wickedness in high places. He tells his hearers that all manner of sin and blasphemy may be forgiven if done in ignorance. In their great blindness they might speak words of insult and derision against the Son of man, and yet be within the boundary of mercy. But when the power and Spirit of God rested upon his messengers they were on holy ground. To ignore the Spirit of God, to charge it with being the Spirit of the devil, placed them in a position where God had no power to reach their souls. No power in any of God's provisions to correct the erring can reach them. Some in Battle Creek will surely reach this point if they do not change their course. They will place themselves where none of God's ordained means will be able to set them right. Their will is not God's will, their persistency is not the perseverance of the saints. To speak against Christ, charging his work to Satanic agencies, and attributing the manifestations of the Spirit to fanaticism, is not of itself a damning sin, but the spirit that leads men to make these assertions places them in a position of stubborn resistance, where they cannot see spiritual light, Some will never retrace their steps, they will never humble their hearts by acknowledging their wrongs, but like the Jews will continually make assertions that mislead others. They refuse to investigate evidence candidly and frankly, but like Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, set themselves against the light. The evil heart of unbelief will make falsehood appear as truth and truth as falsehood, and will adhere to this position, whatever evidence may be produced. The terrible accusation against Christ, if perseveringly persisted in, places the guilty ones in a position where rays of light from heaven cannot reach them. They will continue to walk in the light of the sparks of their own kindling, until they will blaspheme the most sacred influences that ever came from heaven. They enter upon a path that leads to the darkness of midnight. They think they are following sound reason, but they are following another leader. They have placed themselves under the control of a power which in their blindness they are wholly ignorant of. They have resisted the only Spirit that could lead them, enlighten them, save them. They are following in the path of guilt for which there can be no forgiveness, in this life or in the life to come. Not that any degree of guilt would exhaust the mercy of God, but because pride and persistent stubbornness leads them to do despite to the Spirit of God, to occupy a place where no manifestation of the Spirit can convince them of their error. They will not yield their stubborn wills. In this our day men have placed themselves where they are wholly unable to fulfil the conditions of repentance and confession; therefore they cannot find mercy and pardon. 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. The Lord has been calling his people. In a most marked manner he has revealed his divine presence. But the message and the messengers have not been received but despised. I longed that those who have greatly needed the message of divine love would hear Christ's knock at the door of the heart, and let the heavenly guest enter. But at the hearts of some Jesus has knocked in vain. In rejecting the message given at Minneapolis, men committed sin. They have committed far greater sin by retaining for years the same hatred against God's messengers, by rejecting the truth that the Holy Spirit has been urging home. By making light of the message given, they are making light of the word of God. Every appeal rejected, every entreated unheeded, furthers the work of heart-hardening, and places them in the seat of the scornful. These rejecters of light cease to recognize light. Their souls are surrounded by a malarious atmosphere, and though some may not show open hostility, those who have spiritual discernment will realize the icy coldness which surrounds their souls.

Ellen G. White Comments, The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 1093, from The Review and Herald, June 29, 1897.

Peril of Sinning Against Light

“The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” No matter how sinful a person has been, no matter what his position may be, if he will repent and believe, coming unto Christ, and trusting him as his personal Saviour, he may be saved unto the uttermost. But how dangerous is the position of him who knows truth, but delays to practise it. How perilous it is for men to seek to amuse the mind, to gratify the taste and satisfy the reason, by neglecting what has been revealed as duty, and rambling off in search of something they do not know. God has opened a garden of precious plants and flowers, where men may enjoy the fragrance and pluck the fruit; but that which may be known becomes tame after a time, does not delight their senses, and they want something not in the garden, as did Adam and Eve in Eden,—something which God has seen fit to withhold. They are not benefited by the rich banquet which he has set before them, but desire to taste that which he has not provided, to gain access to gardens not opened to their feet. But what blessings are lost by not making a proper use of the privileges freely given us of God! Through ingratitude and unholy desire, men want something which they do not have. Jesus says, “Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you.” Gather up every ray, pass not one by. Walk in the light. Practise every precept of truth presented to you. Live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, and you will then follow Jesus wherever he goeth. When the Lord presents evidence upon evidence and gives light upon light, why is it that souls hesitate to walk in the light? Why do men neglect to walk in light to a greater light? The Lord does not refuse to give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him. When conviction comes home to the conscience, why not listen, and heed the voice of the Spirit of God? By every hesitation and delay, we place ourselves where it is more and more difficult for us to accept the light of heaven, and at last it seems impossible to be impressed by admonitions and warnings. The sinner says, more and more easily, “Go thy way for this time; when I have a more convenient season, I will call for thee.” I know the danger of those who refuse to walk in the light as God gives it. They bring upon themselves the terrible crisis of being left to follow their own ways, to do after their own judgment. The conscience becomes less and less impressible. The voice of God seems to become more and more distant, and the wrong-doer is left to his own infatuation. In stubbornness he resists every appeal, despises all counsel and advice, and turns from every provision made for his salvation, and the voice of the messenger of God makes no impression upon his mind. The Spirit of God no longer exerts a restraining power over him, and the sentence is passed, “He is joined to idols, let him alone.” O how dark, how sullen, how obstinate, is his independence! It seems that the insensibility of death is upon his heart. This is the process through which the soul passes that rejects the working of the Holy Spirit. He that walketh in darkness knoweth not at what he stumbleth. The soul that at first delays and hesitates, resisting light and pressing against all knowledge, has excellent intentions of making a square turn about when a convenient season shall come; but the wily foe that is upon his track makes his plans to bind him by the imperceptible threads of evil habits. Character is formed by habits, and one step in the downward road is a preparation for the second step, and the second for those that shall follow. Habits are formed by repetition of acts, and it takes time for a person who has been religiously instructed to throw off all restraint, and become accustomed to, and at home in, an evil course, and happy in doing the drudgery of Satan. The children of God are to shine as lights in the midst of a perverse and crooked generation. But if right habits are not cultivated, they will give way to natural tendencies, and will become self-sufficient, self-indulgent, reckless, covetous, revengeful, independent, self-willed, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God. As one who loves your soul, I would warn you not to delay, waiting for a time when you will be more inclined to serve God than at the present time. Every hour that you delay, you bind yourself away from God, erect barriers against him in your habits and practises, and make more difficult your repentance and return to the paths of righteousness. May God help the backslider and the sinner no longer to remain in the entanglement which the evil one is strengthening around them. Wait not to reason, wait not to measure possibilities and probabilities. Break with the deceiver at once. Insult no longer the Spirit of God. Press your way to the throne of grace through the opposing powers of hell. You are standing on the brink of the eternal world. Make a rush for the kingdom of God. It will require every energy of mind and purpose of soul. Delay not, saying, “I am not religiously inclined.” This very fact should make you fear lest the Spirit of God is being grieved away for the last time. Dare you run the risk? “How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my Spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at naught all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: for that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord.” The person who is drawn again and again by his Redeemer, and who slights the warnings given, yields not to his convictions to repent, and heeds not when he is exhorted to seek pardon and grace, is in a perilous position. Jesus is drawing him, the Spirit is exerting his power upon him, urging him to surrender his will to the will of God; and when this invitation is unheeded, the Spirit is grieved away. The sinner chooses to remain in sin and impenitence, although he has evidence to encourage his faith, and more evidence would do no good. His sins of past and present are presented before him, yet the drawing is in vain; for he refuses to change his course of action. There is another drawing to which he is responding, and that is the drawing of Satan. He yields obedience to the powers of darkness. This course is fatal, and leaves the soul in obstinate impenitence. This is the blasphemy that is most general among men, and it works in a most subtle way, until the sinner feels no remorse of conscience, no repentance, and consequently has no pardon. The man is left to himself, loving darkness rather than light. This is the case of thousands today. But I will address these lines to those who have had light, those who have had privileges, those who have had warnings and entreaties, who have made no determined effort to yield themselves in full surrender to God. I would warn you to fear lest you sin against the Holy Ghost, and be left to your own course, sunk in moral lethargy, and never obtain forgiveness. Why allow yourselves to be longer educated in the school of Satan, and pursue a course of action that will make repentance and reformation impossible? Why resist the overtures of mercy? Why say, “Let me alone,” until God shall be compelled to give you your desire, since you will have it so? Those who resist the Spirit of God think that they will repent at some future day, when they get ready to take a decided step toward reformation; but repentance will then be beyond their power. According to the light and privileges given will be the darkness of those who refuse to walk in the light while they have the light. No one need look upon the sin against the Holy Ghost as something mysterious and indefinable. The sin against the Holy Ghost is the sin of persistent refusal to respond to the invitation to repent. If you refuse to believe in Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour, you love darkness rather than light, you love the atmosphere that surrounded the first great apostate. You choose this atmosphere rather than the atmosphere that surrounds the Father and the Son, and God allows you to have your choice. But let no soul be discouraged by this presentation of the matter. Let no one who is striving to do the will of the Master be cast down. Hope thou in God. The Lord Jesus has made it manifest that he regards you at an infinite estimation. He left his royal throne, he left his royal courts, he clothed his divinity with humanity, and died a shameful death upon the cross of Calvary, that you might be saved. All the suffering and humiliation of the Son of God was endured that we might understand how God loved the world, how he purposed to bring moral power within our reach that we might be ennobled, elevated, and become partakers of the divine nature. By his grace, Christ enlarges and multiplies the faculties of men as they co-operate with heavenly intelligences, and transformation of character is the result. Through faith in Christ his powers of mind and heart are enlarged, and the believer is endowed with refined and holy affections. The character of Daniel is an illustration of what a man may become through the grace of Christ. He was strong in intellectual and spiritual power. The Holy Spirit is the source of all power, and works as a living, active agent in the new life created in the soul. The Holy Spirit is to be in us a divine indweller. Then let gratitude and love abound in your heart to God. “Study to show thyself approved unto God.” Let your conduct, your character, be in accordance with the sacred trust and heavenly endowment of the Holy Spirit. Never, never, feel at liberty to trifle with the opportunities granted to you. Study the will of God; do not study how you can avoid keeping the commandments of God, but study rather how you may keep them in sincerity and truth, and truly serve him whose property you are. Do not be satisfied with meeting a low standard, but consult the Spirit of God, obey its dictates, serve God in the beauty of holiness, and render glory to his name.