Do Not Quench the Spirit

Edward Griffin (1770—1837)
 

1 Thessalonians 5:19
"Do not quench the Spirit."

The Spirit is compared to fire, on account of his enlightening and refining influence; and hence the implication that he may be quenched. He performs the two fold work of convincing and sanctifying. Christians for a time may quench the fervor of love produced by the sanctifying Spirit, by resisting the light thrown upon their minds by the convicting Spirit; and to Christians the text seems primarily addressed.

But the general warning not to resist the Spirit, is addressed to all. The impenitent may resist the Spirit, not only by disobeying and disbelieving those Scriptures which he inspired, but by rejecting the light which he throws upon their conscience. "You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you do always resist the Holy Spirit: as your fathers did so do you."

I choose to consider the subject in reference to the impenitent, and in reference chiefly to the light shed upon their conscience.

All that the Spirit does to the impenitent, besides giving them the Scriptures—is to bring the truths of the Bible into contact with the sensibilities of their soul, and to make them felt, though not loved. Whether the operation is on the head or heart, or on which of the several powers ranged under these names, I cannot tell; nor how the truth that was well known before, can be brought more clearly into the mind's eye while the temper of the heart remains unchanged. All this is among the secrets of divine operations which men are probably never to understand. But thus much is certain: nothing is done in this matter but to carry light in and lay it before the eye of the mind, in a manner to make it felt.

That light is susceptible of resistance, as much as the light which lies on the sacred page. It is indeed the same light, but only more distinctly seen. And that resistance may be punished by the removal of the light, and by leaving the cloud of doltish unbelief to resettle upon the mind in still darker folds.

The Spirit could doubtless conquer this resistance by sanctifying power; but his object in mere conviction is to deal with the sinner as a moral agent, or as a creature bound to improve light. It is a part of the same system that furnished him with the external light of the Gospel. It is of the nature of an invitation whispered in his ear. But it no more follows that he must be sanctified, than that all must be sanctified who hear the Gospel. Let us contemplate,

I. The ways in which the Spirit is resisted;

II. The sin and danger of doing this;

III. Other reasons which ought to dissuade men from this course.
 

I. The ways in which the Spirit is resisted.

(1.) The Spirit is resisted by every kind of outward sin; by profaneness, by speaking against the work of the Spirit, by mocking or opposing him, by false or defamatory words, by every unhallowed pleasure, by intemperance, by injustice in dealings, and by every failure to do to others as we would have others do to us.

(2.) The Spirit is resisted by harbored doubts of the truth of the Bible, of the Trinity, of future or of endless punishment, of regeneration. Disbelief of the Bible or of its leading truths does not arise from lack of evidence, but from wickedness of heart.

(3.) The Spirit is resisted by all unseasonable levity; such as levity in the house of God, or in the place of prayers, or just before entering either. A little boisterous mirth or play, or even a light word, while one is under conviction, may banish the Spirit from him. A light remark about religion at such a time may banish it forever.

(4.) The Spirit is resisted by all attempts to throw off serious impressions, arising from direct aversion to God and his ways, from a selfish wish "to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season," from a proud reluctance to give up prospects of worldly honor and gain, from a proud fear of the derision of the wicked, or from resentments at Christians for their harassing exhortations.

(5.) The Spirit is resisted by the neglect of means; by refusing to pray, by refusing to attend Christian meetings, by refusing to be approached by Christians for religious conversation, by neglecting to read the Bible daily, by neglecting to meditate on divine subjects.

(6.) The Spirit is resisted by sluggish exertions—half awake in prayer—in prayer continued but for a few seconds—listless under sermons, listless in reading and meditation; all evincing a heart unengaged, and even the absence of thorough conviction.

(7.) The Spirit is resisted, even in the most awakened, by the sins of the heart; by selfishness, pride, and idolatry; by lack of holy love to man; by enmity against God; by unbelief, that excludes conviction, that excludes a sense of the desert of Hell, that excludes a sense of the need of a Savior; by that obstinate blindness and hardness that will not repent, that will not cast the soul upon Christ, that will not accept him for a Savior, that will not believe in the reality and sincerity of his appointment; by that proud self-sufficiency that will not cast the soul upon the divine Spirit for all its moral strength, but relies on its own power to change the heart, and puts that power in the place of the Holy Spirit; by that self-righteousness which hopes by present duties to make amends for past neglects and sins, and to purchase eternal life, putting those duties in the room of Christ's atonement and obedience—which hopes to move God by its prayers without respect to a Mediator, putting those prayers in the place of the intercession of Christ; by that obstinate rebellion which refuses to devote to God and his service all the powers and possessions—which refuses to render universal obedience or any obedience at all.

The awakened sinner does nothing which the Spirit invites him to, except the mere outward form. In every moral motion of his heart he resists the Spirit with the whole strength of his soul. All his exertions are selfish and proud. He cares nothing about the glory of God. Had no prospect of reward allured him, he would never have troubled himself about religion. Had self-interest prompted, he would with as much earnestness have blasphemed the name of God. The whole plan on which he acts is to find salvation without a Savior—to induce God, in some way or other by his own exertions, to confer on him pardon and eternal life. He often wonders why God is not moved by his duties, and his heart rises against him; and then he goes to work with increased earnestness, hoping to succeed better with a greater exertion of strength: but it is all without dependence on Christ or the Holy Spirit. He is constantly going farther and farther from God; and when the still small voice comes, it will be "a word behind" him, "saying, This is the way, walk in it."

The prodigal never took one step towards home until "he came to himself." Nor will the sinner, with all his efforts, assist God in changing his heart. He will do nothing but oppose to the last. And his efforts, which nevertheless are all important, are chiefly necessary to convince him that he can do nothing.

II. Let us consider the sin and danger of this resistance.

(1.) It is an enormous sin against light. As the Holy Spirit puts into the eye of the mind the whole mass of revealed truth, this resistance is a direct opposition to the whole. It is a distinct rejection of the whole. It is a war against all the light that has come to our world respecting God and eternity—respecting the work of redemption, and God as he appears in that work—respecting Father, Son, and Holy Ghost—respecting the authority and love of God—respecting his mercy and compassions as expressed in the invitations and promises of the Gospel—respecting all that God has done for our world and all his manifestations to men.

All is brought near by the Holy Spirit: God, in all his authority and love, is brought near; and all is distinctly rejected.

That sin is aggravated by light, is no less a doctrine of Scripture than of common sense. "That servant who knew his lord's will and did not prepare himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes." "If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin; but now they have no cloak for their sin." "If you were blind you would have no sin, but now you say, We see! therefore your sin remains." "Woe unto you, Chorazin, Woe unto you, Bethsaida; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. And you Capernaum, which are exalted unto Heaven, shall be brought down to Hell; for if the mighty works which have been done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you!"

(2.) God has been at infinite expense to send you the Holy Spirit. The law had doomed our race to the curse of perpetual abandonment. The Son of God must come down and die on a cross to render it possible for the Spirit to get to our world in consistency with the honor of the law, and he must render perfect obedience, under circumstances the most difficult, to render that mission certain, and to give him a covenant claim to it. When he ascended on high he received this gift for men as his own reward, and sent the Spirit out on the day of Pentecost. And now for you to reject the ministry of the third Person in the adorable Trinity, procured for you by the obedience and death of Christ, is presumption and ingratitude that know no bounds.

It was infinite kindness in God to send down the Holy Spirit in the present most merciful visitation, and that he did not send you to Hell three months ago, but allowed you to live to share in this infinite grace. In this he gave you more than though he had bestowed upon you ten thousand worlds of gold. And yet you will not stoop to pick it up, nor thank him for it, nor listen to the message it brings, nor take any notice of it, except perhaps to resent the uneasiness it occasions. Let Heaven and earth judge between you and God, and estimate the infinite ingratitude of such returns!

On these accounts the sin against the Holy Spirit is the greatest of all sins, and when carried to a certain extent and attended with sufficient knowledge and malice, is unpardonable, and is the only sin that is unpardonable.

That particular form of it which consists in willfully opposing the work of the Spirit and speaking reproachfully of it, is very distinctly marked. The Pharisees maliciously ascribed the miracles of Jesus, wrought by the Holy Spirit, to the agency of Beelzebub, and this they did against their better judgment. The parable represents them as saying, "This is the heir; come let us kill him and—seize the inheritance." "Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, You both know me and you know whence I am."

They malignantly took counsel to put Lazarus to death because he had been raised from the dead; and in every case their spite was more inflamed as the evidence increased. And at last, the Roman soldiers went to the damning extreme of hiring some to perjure their souls by swearing that the disciples came by night and stole him away. This is a specimen of what the human heart can do! It proves that when they ascribed the miracles of Christ to the power of Beelzebub, they lied against their own conscience; and therefore their sin was that "unto death."

There may be some who are acting the same part now; combining to stop this work of God and loading it with reproaches, though they know it is the work of the Holy Spirit. They were brought up perhaps by pious parents and cradled in revivals. If they had plunged into the kennels of vice, they might have seared their conscience into infidelity; but this they have not done. They know the Bible is true, and that this revival is the work of God. They try to doubt, but they cannot doubt.

Look at your companions, no better than you, who are now at their prayers. Who has produced this wondrous change? You know it was the power of God: and yet you vilify and blaspheme. So far from doubting, you are enraged that others are taken and you are left. And yet how could you expect to be taken when you would not pray, nor do anything but oppose with the fury of a fiend! Beware! You are treading in the dark, near the verge of a pit, down which if you fall you can rise no more.

Some of you have probably already committed the unpardonable sin. And what are you doing? Trying to prevent the religion and the kingdom of Heaven from spreading in the world, knowing them to be such: trying to prevent rebels from going over from Satan to the service of Christ, with your eyes open to what you are doing: trying to prevent your friends, whom you profess to love, from escaping from an eternal Hell to an eternal Heaven, because their conversion would torment your conscience; knowing all the time that you are committing this most flagitious of all murders! Never were men pursuing a course more hazardous or more diabolical!

But there are other forms of resisting the Holy Spirit which lead to damnation. The mere continuance in doltishness in such a day as this, hardens the heart. The refusal of the awakened to submit, banishes the Spirit from their minds. All their impressions suddenly disappear like the lightning of Heaven, and the night becomes the darker for the momentary gleam of light. Many are given over to infidelity and to work all iniquity with greediness. They go and take to themselves "seven other spirits more wicked than" themselves, "and the last state" of those men "is worse than the first."

There are doubtless many in the lowest dungeons of Hell who in their lifetime trembled under strong convictions. Many, by going back, are sealed over to the eternal judgment. "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit—if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh and put him to an open shame." "For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries."

III. There are other reasons which ought to dissuade you from this course.

You cannot prevail against God. You may harden yourselves in your pride and in the countenance of your ungodly companions; but when he shall enter into judgment with you, your strength and your courage will all melt away like wax! "Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth," but "Woe unto him that strives with his Maker!" If this struggle is continued between a worm and the infinite God, the worm must infallibly be crushed to death.

In resisting the Holy Spirit you resist not only the chief source of present comfort, but the only helper on the way to Heaven. If you reject him, you reject your all, and must inevitably perish! Should the Holy Spirit forsake the best Christian on earth, even on the borders of Heaven, that man would sink, with the rapidity of a falling star, into eternal darkness!

The Spirit will "not always strive with man." Many are left in early life. It has often been tauntingly said that the children of pious parents are worse than others. This is because it happens so in some cases. Those who, like Esau, have sold their birth-right, become, like the Jews, the wickeder for the privileges they have abused; and often find "no place of repentance, though" they seek it "carefully with tears."

There are probably some abandoned in every revival. You are now therefore acting on the ridge of danger—on the brink of damnation. You have come to a most awful crisis. Every motion is in the midst of peril; every moment is pregnant with life or death. It behooves you to be fully awake. If ever you had occasion to use all your powers, this is the time.

I bless God that it is not too late with you all. Notwithstanding your long resistance and delay, the Spirit is still hovering over you. Notwithstanding all your ingratitude and hardness, he still woos you and entreats you to come away, and offers to assist you with all his strength. He knocks at your door and says, "If any man hears my voice and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him and he with me." He stands under your window and cries, "Open to me—for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night." In this manner he has followed you "from a child."

When in the dusk of evening you were driven into a secret place to pray; when by a new opened grave, or under a pungent sermon, or under the meltings of parental reproof—you were smitten with a sense of sin, or glanced an anxious eye into the eternal world; this was the Spirit calling a wayward child. If his calls have been less frequent as you have advanced in life, it is because you did not improve them at first. If they have been less frequent, you see to that. But they are with you still in this day of the Spirit's power. Fail not to improve them now.

What infinite ingratitude would be involved in such a failure! What danger that it would grieve him away to return no more!

I stop to exclaim: What evidence have we of the deep-rooted depravity of the human heart! It is a shame to man that there ever was need of a second word to persuade one of our race to love the blessed God. How much more, that all entreaties and means are insufficient, and that there is need of the special interposition of the Spirit. "Hear, O heavens and give ear, O earth!"—the sinner turns upon his heavenly helper as though he was an enemy, and resists to the last. The Spirit pleads and expostulates, but all is to a senseless block; and the ungrateful rebel would hold out forever if not conquered by superior power. And even after he is conquered, all that remains of the old man continues to resist, and the poor backward creature must be carried all the way to Heaven in the arms of another.

It is a wonder that the Spirit does not grow weary of his wayward charge. But so it is: he never forsakes the soul he has begun to sanctify; nor does the soul forsake its opposition any faster than it is subdued. And even in the last struggles of nature, this sinful conflict still continues. On the borders of Heaven, in distinct view of eternal glory—the soul still resists; and if left to itself, from that opening dawn of immortality would sink into a devil.

This is not a description of a soul of the baser sort, but of every one that ever descended from Adam. Who that reflects on this, "does not blush and hang his head to think himself a man?" Yet some deem it a pity to degrade human nature by a hint of total depravity; while others plead this very obstinacy as their excuse for not loving God.

Awakened sinners, you have been resisting the Spirit all your days, but never probably with so much guilt and danger as now. Self-righteousness often whispers to you that you are now doing something more acceptable to God; but you have never done anything but resist the Spirit with the whole strength of your soul, except the mere outward form. What wonder that the heavenly visitor has not left you forever! Some of you, in all probability, will continue to resist until he is gone—gone perhaps to return no more; and then you will mourn out a whole eternity that you threw away the infinite price in your hands! Some of you will probably in a few days be more doltish than you ever were before; for you never can again be as you have been: you must be either better or worse. And if you die impenitent, your whole eternity will be more wretched for the call you are now slighting.

Perhaps some of you have less feeling than you have had. This looks as if the Spirit was departing. Take the alarm. If salvation is not to be forever relinquished, take the alarm. Your all is at stake. Your condition was never so critical before. Hasten to the Savior's feet. Whatever be your state of mind, hasten to the Savior's feet. Put away that horrid resistance which you have always made to the divine Spirit. Submit to God without delay. Go not over that threshold until you have given him your heart and devoted to him your life! How long will you halt between two opinions? God is now waiting for your decision. What is your answer? Will you believe and live—or will you disbelieve and die? You alone must determine that ponderous question. I leave you to make the great decision.