The Unpardonable Sin

Transcription

1 Text: Matthew 12: Intro: The Unpardonable Sin Last week I mentioned in passing, the unforgiveable sin the sin against the Holy Spirit. Well, I guess this created a great question in the minds of some and you would like further explanation. So I decided this morning I would try and clear up some things for you. Now, An unforgivable sin is serious and scary, to say the least! However, we must recognize that such a thing exists. How do we know? Because Jesus said it did. In fact, He s the only one who ever mentioned it, per se. So, Let s look at what He said and the context in which He said it. Since it s a long passage, I m simply going to read it to you. If you want to follow along, it s in Matthew 12: Read Passage Now, Mark adds an important detail at the end of the sentence as an explanation:

2 I assure you: people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin because they were saying, He has an unclean spirit. Mark 3:28-30 Let s look at the background. I. The Background Observe then what sparked the occasion of Jesus mention of the unforgiveable sin: it was His healing of a blind and deaf man who became that way as a result of being possessed by an evil spirit. When the common people saw this wonderful, restorative, undeniable miracle, they started asking whether Jesus might be the promised Messiah. The religious leaders hated this, and sought to quickly squelch the notion. So, In an effort to discredit Him and mold public opinion, they came up with the accusation that He was doing miracles and preforming dramatic, lifetransforming exorcisms using the Devil s power to do so. *Notice, they never denied the reality of the miracles now this is a historically-important proof that Jesus really did supernatural things, and supports the fact that Christianity is true. In fact, according to an ancient Jewish collection of oral law: Yeshu, the Nazarene, practiced magic and lead Israel astray. In addition, anti-christian Greek philosopher, Celsus, wrote in the 2 nd century, claiming that Jesus preformed his miracles by sorcery.

3 Recognize then That this is evidence outside Scripture for the reality of both Jesus existence and His supernatural powers, adding credibility to the Bible s trustworthiness Back to our main subject. Jesus demonstrates just how ludicrous and irrational it was to imagine that He was preforming anti-demon miracles and driving out evil spirits in the name of their very leader, the Prince of Demons. He does this by citing two logical examples: First, If Satan assisted Him in evicting demons, then Satan would be instigating Civil War in his own realm, pitting his own forces against himself, and thus foolishly tear apart his own kingdom now Satan isn t that stupid or schizophrenic! Moreover, Such actions go against everything we know about demonic psychology. They are emotionally incapable of voluntarily letting go of any person they ve deceived, inhabited and enslaved as a result, they must be forced out! So what Force would be doing such a thing? It surely wouldn t be a Friend of Demons! That would be purely idiotic!

4 Secondly, Jesus compares Himself to a person who wants to rescue goods taken by a bully and kept safely guarded by him. However, this can never be done without first subduing the brute, then and only then, could he recover what was stolen. Therefore, Jesus argues that He couldn t be casting out demons with the Devil s power because Satan would never agree to allow his captives to be released, if he could prevent it! That s the setting, we now move to the slander. II. The Slander I want you to notice, the Pharisees never mentioned the word Holy Spirit, in their opposition to Christ. Which means a person can slander the Spirit (commit the unpardonable sin), without ever uttering His name you see, it s the attitude that constitutes the slander. Here is where the comment of Mark comes in: They are guilty of an eternal sin because they were saying, He has an unclean spirit. Mark 3:30 Remember, They would have never said this had they not hated and rejected Christ first. They were grasping at straws to try and come up with an explanation where they wouldn t have to bow their knee to Him.

5 And, With the evidence staring them in the face, they knew there were only 2 possible forces capable of doing such a thing God and Satan. If they admitted that it was God, then they would have to accept Christ as being One with Him, and cease their opposition and humbly accept Jesus for who He claimed to be this they were totally unwilling to do! Therefore, they had no other alternative than to revert to the: Extremely illogical, Hopelessly irrational, and Dangerously suicidal, option The Devil Made Him Do It. Here, Is the heart of the unforgivable sin. The willful, deliberate, stubborn, and hardhearted refusal to acknowledge the undeniable and unmistakable presence, kindness and actions of God! Meaning, Christ s opponents knew what they were doing. There was no misunderstanding here. They thoughtfully, willfully, and self-consciously rejected the work of the Heaven and attributed it to Hell! It is one thing To love darkness. To cherish sin, and To not want to let go of some forbidden pleasure.

6 But It is quite another to call God the Devil! There is no greater slander! No more heinous slur! No more wicked insult! Moreover, They didn t say this about: Jesus calming the storm, Turning water into wine, or His feeing the overflowing crowds with a single sack-lunch. Now, Those were all miracles done on inanimate object, and although they did help people in need, they don t come close to the releasing of a single eternal soul from the torments of Hell, that without His intervention is forever doomed to a miserable life! And, Since Jesus whole purpose in coming can be summed up in these 15 words of John: The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. I John 3:8 Or in that famous promise of Isaiah: The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners Isaiah 61:1

7 Notice, The connection between the Holy Spirit and Christ s mission. Now, From these 2 great passages in John and Isaiah, we see that Christ s mission is twofold: 1. To oust Satan, and 2. To rescue us from him on account of God s great love. So, when an explicit miracle is doing this, and there are those who blatantly and callously oppose it, now that s a serious matter indeed! It s kinda like that verse from Proverbs when Solomon says: Better for a man to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool in his foolishness. Proverbs 17:12 Better meet a grizzly protecting its young, than oppose God when He s attempting to get His lost sons and daughters back! In reality, this is what the wicked churchmen were doing when they crossed that line of no return it was their final warning before it was too late. So, The question remains: Can a person commit the unpardonable sin today? That s my next and final point today.

8 III. Is The Unpardonable Sin Possible Today? My answer comes in the form of a rhetorical question: Is it possible that there are people today who hate Jesus so much that they, knowing full well who He is and why He s come, yet would prefer Hell to bending the knee to Him? Ill. Consider what South African Nobel peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu said: I would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven. No, I would say sorry, I mean I would much rather go to the other place. I would not worship a God who is homophobic. Or, Are there those who have resisted the Spirit s call, repeatedly, stubbornly, and hatefully, who want nothing whatsoever to do with Christ or His salvation, which the Spirit has finally and permanently stopped trying to reach them? I think both Scripture and Experience testify in the affirmative. That said, Let me add: Mere unbelief wouldn t qualify as this sin, because none of Jesus own brothers believed He was the Son of God until after the resurrection. Yet 2 of them later became key leaders in the fledgling new Church: James who wrote the book which bears his name, and Jude whose also authored the little book just before Revelation.

9 Neither would burning opposition necessarily equal that which is unforgivable, since Paul, not only violently opposed Christianity but went and rounded up followers to have them executed, nevertheless became the greatest missionary of the 1 st century! So, What then makes the unpardonable sin, unpardonable? And, Why is the Spirit singled out for special reverence? After all, we don t believe that the Father or Son is to be any less revered than the Holy Spirit. Nor does our theology elevate one of the members of the Trinity over another they are all God/God! So, why is it so terrible to sin against the Holy Spirit? Simply this. It is the Spirit who bears witness in one s conscience that Jesus is Lord. When the Counselor comes, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me. John 15:26 If a person violently rejects this, who is there to convince them? Jesus also adds: When He comes, He will convict the world concerning sin, righteousness and judgment. John 16:8

10 But If the Spirit is repeatedly driven away and told to Shut Up about Jesus and about their personal sin, He could do just that! And then, Without conviction of sin, nobody see their need for a Savior. Nobody feels their guilt, so there is no fear of the Judgment to come. Therefore, No godly sorrow, No repentance and No salvation! Now, Before we proceed any further, let me quote Dr. Charles Carnfield, a leading British New Testament scholar who passed away in He said: It is a matter of great importance that we can say with absolute confidence to anyone who is overwhelmed by the fear that he has committed this sin, that the fact that he is so troubled is itself a sure proof that he has not committed it. For, As I mentioned last Sunday, a person who has committed this sin: Doesn t care. Doesn t want to be saved, and Has no interest in being right with God.

11 I conclude with two true stories: Ill. In a book entitled Voices From The Edge of Eternity, there s an account of one, Jennie Gordon, who told Pastor Rice who came to talk to her about her soul: Mr. Rice, my mind was never clearer. I tell you all today that I do not wish to be a Christian. I don t want to go to Heaven; I would not if I could. I would rather go to Hell than Heaven; they need not keep the gates closed. When the minister plead with her, But you don t want to go to Hell, do you Jennie? She broke down and replied: No, Mr. Rice. O that I had never been born! If I could but get away from God. How I hate Him; I cannot help it! I drove His Spirit from my heart when He would have filled it with His love, now I am left to my own evil nature. Could Jennie been saved? I don t know. What I do know is, she wasn t. She died with these final words on her lips: Bind me, you chains of darkness! O that I might cease to be, but still exist. Here s the second:

12 Ill. Many years ago in Boston, a man by the name of William Pope lay dying. At one time Bill had professed to be a Christian, but now had grievously fallen away. At this point a visitor came to see him and attempted to lead him back to the Lord. I have no remorse, Bill responded, I cannot repent. God will damn me, he said coldly. He continued to talk about how miserable he felt, and that the only time he had any relief was when he was cursing! I have no remorse It s the Spirit of God who produces godly sorrow in one s heart. Without it There s no heart change, and No heart change means no salvation. For Scripture says: Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 2 Corinthians 7:10 So, If you have a heavy heart over your wrongdoing you haven t committed the unpardonable sin. If you long to be right with God you haven t pushed away the Spirit. But, today s the Day to Act on that drawing while it s fresh and strong.