“The unforgivable delusion is the constant, unrepented of, contempt for the Spirit of God.”
I once attended a specialist forum where a very highly credentialed lawyer conducted a talk. It was on ‘corporate manslaughter.’ It was supposed to be a thirty minute talk on the latest developments in that area of law in relation to workplace health and safety. He completely missed the mark in this area.
The long and the short of it was he spent his time (and then some) beating the drum on how negligent certain companies were being, preaching a message (to the converted, mind you) on how disgusting it was that fatal injuries occurred in workplaces. (Like basically everyone would, I feel any workplace fatality is appalling.)
It was a highly emotive talk and it had the militant ‘trade union’ badge all over it (though I acknowledge not all trade unions are militant). He lambasted the employer in every situation and only later acknowledged his union pedigree, having a father serve as a high-ranking union official. It was plainly an unfair, one-sided analysis full of part-truths and glaring non-truths.
Unfortunately, good trade unions get a bad name for aggressive people like this. As a fear-monger this lawyer certainly left his mark as perhaps the only one in the world concerned with workplace deaths and maimings.
The biggest and most underlying shame, however, was that this person was highly skilled, knowledgeable and competent, but was using their highly developed prowess in such clandestine, rebellious ways.
How people can turn the extravagant blessing of a large investment of a sponsored education, a silver-spoon situation—essentially a golden ride—and use it for personal, unfair or hidden gain is beyond me. For a person to be so blinded to the truth and pass through life having the ear of society and to use that influence for personal or evil gain is an anachronism of dictatorships past.
One only has to think of the many more morally-responsible people who’d do far more just work of advocacy, and achieve far more for others, for want of the same opportunities.
How does this story resonate with Mark 3:28-29 (TNIV)?
“Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven all their sins and all the blasphemies they utter. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, but is guilty of an eternal sin.”
Christ is saying ‘in very truth’ i.e. “verily,” or in other words, ‘I solemnly declare,’ all sins of blasphemy (‘defiant irreverence’) will be forgiven, barring only the unpardonable sin of being forever “unwilling to tread the path that leads to pardon.”[1]
People who wilfully refuse the illumination of the Spirit through the experience of truth, effectively and repetitively slamming the door on God have no recourse to salvation. And for this man, the recourse was not simply only to acknowledge the truth of God, but to acknowledge the truth—the balanced argument.
People in high positions, and certainly positions of education who’ve been exposed to much truth, must be warier than most others—God has shown them special favour. And how do they thank him for his extra portions of grace? With contempt? Blasphemy—the worst kind!
Only heaven can help the deluded eminent and distinguished person.
© S. J. Wickham, 2009.
[1] William Hendricksen, The Gospel of Mark – New Testament Commentary (Edinburgh, Scotland: Banner of Truth Trust, 1975), p. 139.
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