Consequences of Refusing the Holy Spirit

Ephesians 2:18

Sermon Transcript by Rev. Ernest O’Neill

What we discussed earlier and really what we were saying together and it makes it really clear that
there is common grace that is experienced by everybody. That God rains his rain on the just and the
unjust and everybody experiences God’s love and God’s goodness. Indeed, that’s why we’re alive here
on earth, because he has kept us alive even though we ought to be dead. So in fact everybody,
lesbian, homosexual, everybody experiences that, that common grace. Not everybody is experiencing
redeeming grace and it seems to me that is one of the distinctions that’s very clear that there’s a
common grace that all men and women experience whether they’re born of God or not, and then there is
a redeeming grace that is experienced by those who enter into that.

So, that’s the heart, I think, of Romans 1:18, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against
all ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their wickedness suppress the truth.” And this is the
common grace, “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has
been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse; for although
they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their
thinking and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and
exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man or birds or animals or
reptiles. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring
of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped
and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever! Amen. For this reason God
gave them up to dishonorable passions. Their woman exchanged natural relations for unnatural, and
the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one
another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in their own persons the due penalty
for their error.” And of course, you can see that in spite of the fact that God had shown himself
to them. And yet, in fact, because they did not recognize him, whatever they say and I suppose
that’s the heart of it, whatever the dear hearts say when they find themselves given up to these
passions, that’s the evidence that they – whatever they say is not really true at its deepest level.

They may say, “Oh yes, we honor him as God and we depend upon him.” Yes but then you wouldn’t be
like that you wouldn’t live that kind of life. “And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God,
God gave them up to a base mind and to improper conduct. They were filled with all manner of
wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity, they are
gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to
parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s decree that those who do
such things deserve to die, they not only do them but approve those who practice them.” And so of
course, we need to pray all the more for dear hearts that talk, about God’s goodness, and about his
love, and about his faithfulness and yet put themselves into this category of those who really still
do not acknowledge God in their own everyday lives and pray ourselves to come clear of that
hypocrisy.

Ephesians loved ones; we’re at actually that following versus which is very succinct. Ephesians
2:18, “For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.” Through him, and of
course, you can see it’s the trinity really. Through is “dia”, it’s like that, “dia”, through,

through Jesus and through him, we both have access, “en”. That’s “dia” diaphragm, through to the
Father and the “pros”. Through him we have access in one spirit to the Father “pros”. And so it’s
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and really, the whole of the gospel is there. And then
sometimes that’s translated by but it’s really the Greek word “en”, in the Spirit and I think
there’s some significance in that because you could say we all have access, including that one – I
don’t want to keep battering that one but it’s a clear example that came up in a conversation,
including the lesbians and homosexuals, we all have access in the sense it brings out, apparently
according to the commentators, the old idea of the eastern life where you need someone to introduce
you to the king, or the queen, so they provide an access to that person.

So in that sense, everybody has that access whether we actually come through to the Father is
another question, but we all have that access. And so the lesbians, and the homosexuals have it
also, and you might say also they have access to some of the benefits of God’s love, the rain drops
on the just and the unjust, and probably even the encouragement. I’m sure God gives encouragement
to those who do not even obey him as he seemed to give us encouragement to come to him and to seek
him even when we didn’t obey him.

So undoubtedly, God does give benefits and blessings of common grace to all of us and in that sense
we all, both Jews and Gentiles, both those who are afar off and those who are near. Those who are
absolute atheist and have no hope, and those who have some of the promises that the Jews had and of
course, those of us who are Christians and know the reality of Jesus, we all have access in that
sense to the Father through Jesus Christ in the Spirit to the Father. And of course, what changes
the whole thing really is here at this level because you have access, you can have an introduction
to the king and the queen, you can even go into their presence, but to come into that close
childlike trust, and love of the Father, that is the mark of those who are in the Spirit, that is
something that can only be received through the Holy Spirit himself, through “pneumati” you
remember, is the Greek word through the Spirit, “pneumatos”. And only through the Spirit can you
come into the real experience of that oneness.

That’s where common grace you remember and redeeming grace divides. Everybody experiences common
grace, but redeeming grace is only experienced by those who are born of the Spirit, those who not
only believe God’s character, but who enter into the reality that he calls them to, the reality of
obedience to him and oneness with his will. Whereas this common grace is experienced by all people,
so there is a great difference.

Some have said that atonement is universal. But universal atonement, but regeneration is
conditional and that condition is of course, dealing with the only one who can bring you into
oneness with the Father. There is a commentator who has put it, I don’t know that I can find his
phrase, but yes he says, “To God, that is that friendly relation with God whereby we are acceptable
to him and have assurance that he is favorably disposed towards us, that friendly relation with God
whereby we are acceptable to him and have assurance that he is favorably disposed towards us.” And
that comes about in the Spirit. That’s why the Bible is full of those words that say, “By their
fruits you shall know them,” or says, “The Spirit himself bears witness,” you remember, Romans 8:15,
“with our spirit that we are the children of God.”

So many people know that God loves them, know God’s character, even they may feel they’ve
experienced it and who are we to say that they haven’t experienced it? But that’s very different
from coming into a place in the Spirit where you have access to the Father in this inner way where
the Spirit himself bears witness with your spirit that you’re a child of God and that your life is

filled with the kind of fruit that pleases him, and that is beloved by him, and that is the purpose
of our being created in Jesus, and being crucified, and resurrected in him.

So there is a great difference. I would mention to you again, that it does seem to me that we have
grasped this, that we are part of Christ, that we have been created in Jesus, and it’s because of
that that we are able to have any access to God. We have actually been made part of Jesus and that
is why we have access to God. But the reality of that is actualized by the spirit. So through
Jesus Christ, but in the Spirit we have access to the Father. I don’t know if you’ve settled in
your own mind what the Spirit is, but it seems to me certainly that it is certainly Jesus in us, but
it seems to me the Spirit is – at times we feel it is our conscience but at other times it seems
even to go beyond our conscience and it is that sense we have, that quiet impression that we have
within, that we should do certain things and that there are other things that we should not do. And
it does seem to me, that if you stop listening to that voice, or you stop treasuring the impressions
of the Spirit within you, that you may continue to be like the rest of the people who enjoy common
grace.

You may even believe like them, that Christ has died for everybody, but you will not experience that
friendly relation with God whereby we are acceptable to him and have assurance that he is favorably
exposed towards us. We will not experience that inner witness of the Spirit unless we obey the
Spirit. And I would mention to each of us, and myself as well, that when we grieve the Holy Spirit,
or when we begin to sit loosely beside him, or when we get used to rationalizing his directions to
us, I would submit to you that that’s when we begin to lose a sense of the closeness of God and lose
the joy of our salvation, and this is – you can’t say that either of the persons of the trinity are
more important than the others, but in many ways it’s our grieving the Holy Spirit, and the
impressions that he gives to us within, that at times, separates us from the joy of being God’s
children and relegates us back into the position of those who are afar off, or those that enjoy
certainly the common grace of God, and we still believe – we still believe of course, Jesus died for
all men, but we don’t live in the inner joy of that and it’s because of a failure here at this
level.

It’s there that the daily – you can say obedience but don’t you think that it goes deeper than
obedience as you begin to deal with the Holy Spirit? Because, his voice is so gentle that you can
hardly call it a command, but it is little impressions that he gives you, “I’d like you to do this.
I’d like you to do that.” I think often we get caught in the pretense and deception of Satan who
would urge us, “Look, this is not a do or die matter. You are in Jesus. You are given to him.
This is not a big deal.” But it seems to me the more we walk with the Holy Spirit, the more big
deals the little deals are. The more important it is to walk close to him and to respond to what he
says.

I can see it in regard to our own – primarily in regard to our own relationship, and our own delight
in our Father, and his enjoyment of us, but it also will increasingly be important as we walk
forward into this new ministry of the website, and the possibility of the service, of having the
service on the web, the Holy Spirit will have all kinds of little details, little things that he
will guide you to do, or guide me to do. Little uploading of things that nobody will see, you’ll do
it – well, I hope not at one o’clock in the morning, but at 10 o’clock at night you load something
up, the Holy Spirit will prompt you to do it and if you don’t listen to him then there will be water
of life that will not flow as he planned it to flow. And so it seems to me increasingly the
sensitivity to the Holy Spirit is more and more vital for all of us.

So, through Jesus Christ, in the Spirit, we have access to the Father. If you’re wondering about
your access, it either is in your getting preoccupied with yourself and not living enough in the joy
and the delight that yourself has been done away with long ago and you are part of this wonderful
person full of spaciousness and full of magnanimity, that you’re a part of him. It’s either that,
failing there, or being casual in your respect for the voice of the Holy Spirit within you, because
both of them will give you continual access to the Father. Let us pray.