Ephesians 1:13 – In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.

THEME OF THE DAY: HANDLE YOUR LIFE WITH CARE. As we read the book of Acts and two of the Apostle Paul’s letters, we come across three sins which may be committed against the Holy Spirit. These are serious, easy to commit, and no believer is immune from allowing them to occur in our lives. Yes, allow them. All sin is willful. There is never a time the believer “just sins”. Those days are over when the Lord Jesus saved us, sealed us with His Spirit, and gave us His Word to do battle against and defeat sin in our lives. Outside of Christ, all we do is sin and can do nothing else. In Christ, we sin by choice and it matters not what the sin is. It is willful. So with that introduction, let’s look at these sins . . .

First is the sin of lying which was committed by Ananias and Sapphira – “But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God” (Acts 5:1-4). In this sin, Ananias and Sapphira made a public profession of something they did for the Lord but was not true. They paid dealing for their hypocrisy. They were killed by divine displeasure.

The second sin is grieving the Spirit of God and is referred to by the Apostle Paul in his Ephesian letter – “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:29-30). In this instance, we are not given an example of an individual committing this sin, but Paul’s words are a strong warning of what leads to this sin – unwholesome speech or unedifying speech. Consider this sin for a moment and the ease with which it may happen. When we utter an unkind word to someone or about someone, we just committed the sin of grieving the Holy Spirit. Yes, one word. When we cut someone down either in their presence or behind their back in conversation with another person, we just committed the sin of grieving the Holy Spirit. When we are so focused on ourselves that we are not practicing the ministry of encouragement to others with uplifting speech, we just committed the sin of grieving the Holy Spirit. I often wonder what might be a reason for so many Christians looking like they just sucked on a lemon; joyless and all shriveled up. Could it be because of a loose tongue letting forth unedifying speech leading to a grieving of the Spirit who alone may control the tongue?

The third sin against the Spirit of God is found in the Apostle Paul’s first letter to the church in Thessalonica – “Do not quench the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19). To quench something means “to put it out” like dousing a fire. We commit this sin when we ignore the promptings of the Spirit toward some act of obedience to His Word. Perhaps He has placed us in a position to share Christ but out of fear, we quench His still small voice, remain silent, and sin against Him. Maybe it is His prompting to be obedient in the area of sacrificial and systematic giving of our finances for the Lord’s work and we refuse by spending God’s money on ourselves. Those are only two incidents. Take some time and see how easy it is to ignore, quiet, and ultimately refuse the promptings to obey the Lord.

God has placed within us His Spirit. He is a permanent dweller in our hearts and He can be lied to, grieved, and quenched with the greatest of ease. May God help us to handle our lives with care. We have a special, special guest who lives within us demanding such care to avoid sinning against Him.

PRAYER: “Father, make my heart tender, sensitive, and discerning not to let any sin grieve or quench Your Holy Spirit.”

QUOTE: “Handle your life with care. God lives within You in the Person of His Spirit who is gentle and dove-like.”