It was not so much one act of sin, as a deep-seated,
stubborn rebellion against God that led them to choose darkness
rather than light, and so to blaspheme against the Spirit of
truth and light. It was sin full and ripe and ready for the
harvest.
Some one has said that "this sin cannot be forgiven, not because
God is unwilling to forgive, but because one who thus sins
against the Holy Spirit has put himself where no power can soften
his heart or change his nature. A man may misuse his eyes and yet
see; but whosoever puts them out can never see again. One may
misdirect his compass, and turn it aside from the North Pole by a
magnet or piece of iron, and it may recover and point right
again; but whosoever destroys the compass itself has lost his
guide at sea."
Many of God's dear children, honest souls, have been persuaded
that they have committed this awful sin. Indeed, I once thought
that I myself had done so, and for twenty-eight days I felt that,
like Jonah, I was "in the belly of hell." But God, in love and
tender mercy, drew me out of the horrible pit of doubt and fear,
and showed me that this is a sin committed only by those who, in
spite of all evidence, harden their hearts in unbelief, and to
shield themselves in their sins deny and blaspheme the Lord.
Dr. Daniel Steele tells of a Jew who was asked, "Is it that you
_cannot_, or that you _will not_ believe?" The Jew passionately
replied, "We _will_ not, we _will_ not believe.
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