The enemy of souls has laid many plans and has many devices to
deceive people and harass their minds and thereby cause them to
bring unnecessarily heavy burdens upon themselves. One of his common
impositions is to make a person think that he has committed the
unpardonable sin and that all hope of ever obtaining favor with God
again is forever gone. When such persons are told that they are laboring
under a delusion, and that there is hope for them; that others have felt
the same way and formed the same conclusion, but afterwards learned
that it was only a deception of the enemy, and were able to renounce
the delusion and obtain a good experience and keep it, the answer in
most cases is, "My case is different." "Had I taken advantage of past
opportunities when I had a chance to do so, I might have been saved,
but now it is too late."
Time after time I have labored with those who were sure that their cases
were "different" from that of any one else, and that hope was beyond
their reach. The situation and feelings seemed so real that no amount
of reasoning or evidence to the contrary could change their minds until
they became submissive enough to submit themselves to the mercy of God
and accept advice and counsel and act upon it. Then they were very soon
liberated from the oppressions of the enemy and set free by the grace
of God.
One laboring under a deception frequently undergoes as deep suffering of
mind and soul as if the situation and conditions were real. A lady once
received what was supposed to be an authentic report that her son had
been killed in a railway wreck. Circumstances were such that she could
receive no communication from him, which apparently added evidence to
the truthfulness of the story. Her mother-heart was grief-stricken. In
the anguish of her bereavement she refused to be comforted. Later she
was told that there was a possibility of his having escaped death, that
he was probably yet alive, and that evidence had been received to that
effect. No, her feelings were too real, her grief was too great, for
her to be deceived, she declared. One day her son arrived home sound
and well, and did not even know that there had been a train-wreck at the
place whence the report came. The mother then found that her sorrow and
grief had been groundless. She accepted the status of affairs, cast
aside the false report and her bad feelings, and was happy.
Not long ago I met an old acquaintance, a man above seventy years of
age, whom I had not seen for many years. At the time of our former
meeting he was enjoying the blessings of a Christian experience and
was happy in the service of the Lord. Through devotional neglect, and
perhaps for other reasons, he began to entertain doubts concerning his
spiritual experience, and he questioned whether or not he had any right,
under the circumstances, to lay claim to Christian fellowship with those
whom he knew to be spiritual. He knew of nothing sinful that he had
done, and he needed not to waver in faith. But the tempter was there
to suggest that he had lost his experience and might just as well give
up the struggle. He then concluded that the brethren did not have
confidence in him, and therefore he dropped his profession.
His heart was still tender, and he did not feel disposed to indulge
in sin. In a short time he made "another start" to serve the Lord and
tried to repent; but, having so little to repent over, and finding it
difficult to have the same earnestness as before, he claimed the victory
"by faith," but was soon in "doubting castle" again. These up-and-down
experiences continued for many months, during which his spiritual realm
was more down than up. Discouragement laid hold upon him, despair
followed hard on his track, and the enemy whispered that it was of
no use to try any more. The way began to be more and more dreary.
Occasionally, however, he was seized with a feeling of desperation to
break loose from the state of lethargy into which he had fallen, but
alas! his victories were of short duration. These experiences were
followed by the accusations of the enemy that he was possessed with
devils. Brethren who prayed with him declared that such was not the
case.
The darkest scriptures of judgment and everlasting destruction seemed to
have been written for him, and, as he viewed the matter, they exactly
fitted his case. He had doubted so often when it seemed the Lord was
offering a helping hand, that now it was too late; the last cord was
severed, the last ray of hope had vanished. It was no difficult matter
to believe that he had committed the unpardonable sin, and that God had
forever hid his face from him. He resigned himself to the hopelessness
of the situation, to meet his fate at the end of his life here upon
earth and spend eternity in the regions of the lost. He spent a number
of years in this condition.
At the time of our recent visit in a private home, I felt much concerned
about his deliverance from such a state and condition. Upon my approaching
him on the subject, he immediately informed me that it was useless to
waste any of my efforts on him, for his was a hopeless case, as he
had sinned against the Holy Ghost. Having met similar cases before, I
assured him that there was hope for him, and told him that I could prove
by the Word of God and by his own testimony that he had not committed
the crime that would cause him to be forever lost, as he had supposed.
Taking my Bible, I turned to Heb. 10:29, which reads as follows: "Of how
much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath
trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the
covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done
despite unto the Spirit of grace?"
"Have you trodden under foot the Son of God as herein mentioned?" he was
then asked. "No," he replied; "I have never doubted that there is a God
nor that Jesus Christ is his Son."
"Have you counted the 'blood of the covenant an unholy thing,' that is,
that there is no more virtue in the blood of Jesus Christ than there is
in the blood of a cow or some other unholy thing?"
"No, sir. I have never denied the power of the blood of Jesus nor 'done
despite to the Spirit of grace,'" he replied.
"Then, according to the Bible and your own testimony, you have not
blasphemed against the Holy Ghost, nor, as you say, committed the
unpardonable sin by sinning against the Holy Ghost. You must forever
cease to entertain the idea that you have committed such a sin."
He reluctantly admitted the truth in regard to that point, but said,
"There is such a thing as a man's going too far, of trifling so with God
that the Spirit of God will no longer strive with him." It was clearly
pointed out to him that he had never reached such an experience and that
he should cast aside his doubts and fears and call upon God, and was
assured that the Lord would save him. He then declared that he had no
will of his own, no power to exercise his will if he had any, and was
helpless. I told him that any one who could read human nature would at
once conclude that he was a man of strong will-power, and that no doubt
he frequently made others aware of that fact. His wife said, "That is
true; he knows very well how to exercise his will-power."
He was then told to assert his manhood and take a decided stand, to
which he replied:
"I have no manhood; I have no power to assert myself in any way."
"But," I replied, "you have been in this town for the past few days, and
have asserted your manhood during your entire visit by acting the part
of a perfect gentleman. What you need to do now is to kneel with us here
in prayer and yield yourself to God, and he will save you the same as he
has saved others who thought they were beyond the reach of mercy."
"But my case is different; my heart is hardened like stone; I can not
pray; I have no feeling."
"Almost every one in your condition thinks his case is different. If you
act according to the instructions given, you will soon be different.
Your heart will be changed. Do your part in making the effort, and the
Lord will help you to pray, and you will have all the feeling
necessary."
We knelt in prayer, laid our hands upon his head, and with a fervent
prayer rebuked the deceptive and binding power of Satan, and asked the
Lord to save him. He made an effort to pray, but his few words were soon
mingled with his sobs and feelings of deepest contrition. A few minutes
later he arose praising God for salvation. His doubts and fears had
vanished, and his burden was gone. He was once more a free man and had
no more fears of death and the judgment. The next day he returned home
with a joyful heart. I have frequently heard from him since that time,
and he has always sent a message concerning his victorious life.
There are many others who have been harassed by the enemy in like
manner; who have lost all hope of recovering their favor with God; who
think that they are "different," "hard-hearted," "hopeless," "have
sinned away the day of grace," "are under the control of Satan," or in
some such like condition. Yet God in his love is extending mercy and
only waiting for them to discard their deceptive ideas and accept his
grace.