Topical Bible: Holy Spirit: Withdrawn from Incorrigible Sinners

◄ Holy Spirit: Withdrawn from Incorrigible Sinners ►

Jump to: Nave's • Library • Subtopics • Terms

Topical Encyclopedia

The concept of the Holy Spirit being withdrawn from incorrigible sinners is a sobering theme found throughout the Scriptures. It underscores the gravity of persistent rebellion against God and the eventual divine response to such obstinacy. The Holy Spirit, as the third person of the Trinity, plays a crucial role in convicting individuals of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8). However, when individuals persistently harden their hearts and reject divine guidance, Scripture indicates that the Spirit may be withdrawn, leaving them to the consequences of their choices.

Old Testament Foundations

The Old Testament provides several instances where God's Spirit is withdrawn due to persistent disobedience. In Genesis 6:3, God declares, "My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days shall be 120 years." This pronouncement precedes the judgment of the flood, highlighting the divine decision to limit His Spirit's striving with humanity due to their pervasive wickedness.

In the narrative of King Saul, we see a poignant example of the Spirit's withdrawal. After Saul's repeated disobedience, 1 Samuel 16:14 states, "Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him." Saul's rejection of God's commands led to the Spirit's departure, illustrating the severe consequences of incorrigibility.

New Testament Insights

The New Testament continues this theme, emphasizing the seriousness of resisting the Holy Spirit. In Acts 7:51, Stephen addresses the Sanhedrin, saying, "You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did." This resistance is portrayed as a persistent pattern of behavior that ultimately leads to spiritual ruin.

The Epistle to the Hebrews warns against hardening one's heart and falling away from the living God. Hebrews 3:7-8, quoting Psalm 95, exhorts, "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion." The warning is clear: continued rebellion can lead to a state where repentance becomes impossible, as seen in Hebrews 6:4-6, which describes those who have fallen away as being beyond renewal to repentance.

The Unforgivable Sin

A particularly grave warning is found in the synoptic Gospels concerning the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. In Matthew 12:31-32, Jesus states, "Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven." This sin, often understood as a willful and persistent rejection of the Spirit's testimony to Christ, results in the Spirit's withdrawal and the impossibility of forgiveness.

Theological Implications

The withdrawal of the Holy Spirit from incorrigible sinners serves as a divine judgment, reflecting God's holiness and justice. It is a response to the deliberate and persistent rejection of His grace and truth. This withdrawal is not arbitrary but is the result of a hardened heart that continually resists the Spirit's work.

The Scriptures call believers to remain sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading and to heed His conviction. The warnings against grieving (Ephesians 4:30) and quenching (1 Thessalonians 5:19) the Spirit serve as reminders of the importance of maintaining a responsive and obedient heart. The withdrawal of the Holy Spirit from incorrigible sinners stands as a solemn reminder of the consequences of persistent rebellion and the necessity of remaining open to the Spirit's transformative work.

Nave's Topical Index

Genesis 6:3
And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
Nave's Topical Index

Deuteronomy 32:30
How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up?
Nave's Topical Index

Psalm 51:11
Cast me not away from your presence; and take not your holy spirit from me.
Nave's Topical Index

Proverbs 1:24-28
Because I have called, and you refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
Nave's Topical Index

Jeremiah 7:29
Cut off your hair, O Jerusalem, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on high places; for the LORD has rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.
Nave's Topical Index

Hosea 4:17,18
Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.
Nave's Topical Index

Hosea 5:6
They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find him; he has withdrawn himself from them.
Nave's Topical Index

Hosea 9:12
Though they bring up their children, yet will I bereave them, that there shall not be a man left: yes, woe also to them when I depart from them!
Nave's Topical Index

Matthew 15:14
Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
Nave's Topical Index

Luke 13:7
Then said he to the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why encumbers it the ground?
Nave's Topical Index

Romans 1:24,26,28
Why God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves:
Nave's Topical Index

Library

Letter Xciii. (AD 408. )
... by having, in some far distant spot, withdrawn himself along ... shore." [2227] For the
same Church of holy and good ... not perceiving the things of the spirit of God ...
/.../augustine/the confessions and letters of st/letter xciii a d 408.htm

Of the Incapacity of an Unregenerate Person for Relishing the ...
... the sanctifying operations of the blessed Spirit on the ... scene: the heavenly oratory
of this holy society would ... of his presence shall be withdrawn, from whence ...
/.../practical discourses on regeneration/discourse v of the incapacity.htm