Good evening, and welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the book of Romans.  Tonight is study #16 in Romans 3,  and we will read Romans 3:8-12:

And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just. What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

I will stop reading there.  In our last study, we were looking at verse 8, and we spent some time talking about how the unsaved (especially professed Christians that are Christians in name only because they have never become saved) hear things that the true people of God proclaim as God moves in His people to share right and faithful doctrine.  They do not hear it correctly, and it is not perceived properly. 

Not only do they not understand what is being said, but I would say that in a number of cases, they are misrepresenting what is said, and they are slanderously reported and affirming, “This is what they are saying, and this is what they believe.”  And yet what they report is inaccurate.  It is not true.  And it is partly because they do not have ears to hear, and it could also involve the idea that they think God’s true people are apostate and cultist, and that we must not regard the truth of God very highly because what we say sounds strange to them, and they feel justified in their carelessness, or in their outright dismissal of what is said with a wave of their hand, and in their erroneous statements describing it: “What does it matter?  Why should we try to accurately relate what is said when these people are of Satan?  They are not of the people of God.”  So it is that kind of mentality that leads to slanderous reporting.

By the way, the word translated as “slanderously reported” is a translation of the Greek word that is commonly translated as “blasphemed.”   It is the same word we find in Mark 3, and I think this will be helpful because it teaches us what it means to “blaspheme,” or to “slanderously report.”  In the context of the Jewish leaders accusing Christ of casting out devils under the power of the devil, Jesus said, “How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.”  Then it says in Mark 3:28-30:

Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.

So speaking “blasphemy” against the Holy Spirit is the same word translated as “slanderously reported.”  Here, God tells us what it is that they did.  They said Christ had an unclean spirit, and He was under the power of Satan rather than under the power of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God.  We have talked about the sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit before, so I will just mention in passing that it is not a sin of individuals.  For example, the Apostle Paul admitted that he was a “blasphemer,” and yet, the Apostle Paul found forgiveness.  How could that be if there is never forgiveness?  Others have cursed the names of Christ, and they have said and believed that He was under the power of Satan.  You know, Paul zealously went around, hailing men and women and casting them into prison because of the Gospel the early Christians were proclaiming.  How could he do that if he thought they were of God?  If you do not think someone is of God, then who are they of?  So he firmly believed they were not of God, and he admitted to committing “blasphemy.” 

So the sin of “blasphemy” against the Holy Spirit is not a sin attributed to individuals.  We read in Mark 3:28, “All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness…”  That is, there is no possibility of forgiveness, and that is because blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is a corporate sin that is committed by an entity, like national Israel, or like the New Testament churches, at the point when God makes a change in His program.  And when God makes a change in His program, the corporate body (Israel of old or the New Testament corporate church) will accuse, slander and charge, “This is of Satan!”   

The doctrine of the end of the church age is a good example.  It was information that came forth from the Bible, and, therefore, from God Himself.  And most in the churches, especially the preachers and pastors, said, “This is of the devil!  This is Satanic to say that the church age is over!”  What that meant was that they were firmly entrenched in their doctrinal position that the church age must continue, and that they were the people of God and had the blessing of God.  There was no way they would come out of the churches.  What would be the result of that forceful conviction on their part in not leaving the churches, and in their claim that anybody who said they should do so were of the devil?  The end result was that they remained within the congregations where there was no activity of the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit had departed out, and there could be no blessing of salvation there.  Without salvation, there is no more forgiveness.  So within the churches, there was never again forgiveness for committing the sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit had brought forth this information at the time of the end.  It tells us in Mark 13:11:

…but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.

The Holy Spirit spoke in the “hour” of Great Tribulation, bringing forth an abundance of revelation, the revealing of hidden truth in the Scriptures.  And included in this was the doctrine of the “end of the church age,” and that doctrine was spoken against.  It was “slanderously reported” in the churches regarding that teaching.  It was considered to be a heinous, wicked, and as evil a doctrine as they had ever heard.  Therefore, there was no more forgiveness for them. 

Likewise it was true of the time of Israel of old when God was making a change in His program from national Israel to the establishment of the New Testament church.  To say that Christ was under the power of Satan was to believe that the followers of Christ were also under the power of Satan, and they would not budge and humbles themselves and submit to the true Word of God, and they would not leave the worship system of national Israel in the synagogues to go worship with the Gentiles.  That was unheard of, and it was evil spoken of, and it resulted in no more salvation and no more forgiveness of sins within the synagogue system of worship.

So that is what “blasphemy of the Holy Spirit” is referring to.  It is the corporate sin that occurs at the point when God is making the change from Israel to the churches, and the change from the churches to worshipping God outside the churches in the nations.

In Acts 13, we see the same word translated as “blasphemy” and “slanderously reported.”  It says in Acts 13:44-45:

And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.

We get a fuller insight into what it means to blaspheme.  They were speaking against those things spoken by Paul.  They were contradicting, and the same word that was translated as “contradicting” was translated as “spake against,” so we know that to “contradict” means to “speak against,” and that is the nature of the ungodly toward the Word of God.  The Word of God is truth, and the ungodly will speak against it, whatever truth it may be, or whatever point of doctrine.  When the Bible says, “Do this,” or “do not do that,” the natural man will contradict, or speak against, that thing because it is his nature to do so.  But it is the nature of God’s people to submit, follow, and obey the will of God.

So “to contradict” or “to blaspheme” really means “to speak evil of,” and that would be a good way to define “blasphemy,” if anyone should ask, “What is blasphemy?  What does it mean to blaspheme?”  The biblical definition is that “to blaspheme” means “to speak evil of” something or someone.

I say it is a biblical definition because we find this same word that is translated as “blasphemy” and “slanderously reported,” in 2Peter 2.  I will read the first couple of verses, and then I will skip down to a verse later in this chapter.  It says in 2Peter 2:1-2:

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

The word translated as “blasphemy” is here translated as “evil spoken of.”  The “way of truth” is the faithful teaching of the Bible, but it is also Christ because Jesus said that He is the way, and the truth.  In 2Corinthians, it says that when we preach truth, it is likened to preaching Jesus or preaching the Spirit.  We read in 2Corinthians 11:4:

For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

So “another Jesus,” or “another spirit,” or “another gospel” are all synonyms, so that means when we teach and preach the true Gospel, we are teaching and preaching Jesus.  And that makes sense because He is the Word, and we are teaching from the Word.  He is the Truth, and we are teaching truth.  If we have a right and faithful Gospel, then we are teaching and preaching Jesus, and when people speak evil of the way of truth, you can see the shame in that, and the dishonor to God, as they blaspheme the way of truth, the true Gospel.  And this is because they do not understand it, and they do not like it.

If we read further on in 2Peter 2, God continues to speak of the ungodly who identify with the Gospel, and there have been multitudes of the ungodly during the church age (and after) who say they are Christian, but they speak against the truth.  It says in 2Peter 2:10:

But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.

That is our word, “speak evil of,” and in this case, they speak evil of dignities, such as kings, princes, and presidents, and so forth.  What does God tell us concerning those in power and authority above us?  We are to pray for them, and we are to submit to them in all things lawful.  But, certainly, we are not to speak evil of them and revile the leaders of our people, but the natural-minded man has a tendency toward speaking evil of people.  And it is really a kind of judging.  They are judging the way of truth incorrectly, and they are judging the messengers of the true Gospel incorrectly.  Just think how many people in the churches and congregations would label Mr. Camping a “false prophet,” and that is very revealing.  It tells you quite a bit about the churches, not about Mr. Camping.  Regarding Mr. Camping, we read in Luke 6:22-23:

Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.

Then it says in Luke 6:26:

Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

You see, when it comes to the opinion of the world, or the opinion of the corporate church, “Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you!”  It is almost guaranteed that you have been a false teacher and you have not brought the truth of the Word of God because the truth of the Word of God is an offense to men, to “religious” men and professors of Christianity that are not true men in heart.  So if you find you are reviled, despised, and your name is cast out as evil, then thank God.  You are blessed.  You did your job as a faithful man of God, and that is really the testimony given to Mr. Camping.  But you still hear it whenever Mr. Camping’s name comes up: “Oh, you followed that false prophet!”  Whenever I hear that, it immediately reveals the heart of an individual who would make a slanderous report like that.  Mr. Camping was certainly not concerned with the opinion of men and what they thought of him.  He was concerned with the truth of the Word of God.

But here, the ungodly speak evil of dignities.  Then it says in 2Peter 2:11-12:

Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord. But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;

They speak evil of things they understand not.  Of course at the time of the end, there was quite a bit they failed to understand.