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Matt. 12:31,32, Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and
blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost
shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son
of man, it shall be forgiven him, but whosoever speaketh against the Holy
Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the
world to come.
Introduction
We must state at the very beginning that the unpardonable sin and blasphemy
against the Holy Spirit is the same thing. As for the "sin unto death"
(I John 5:16), I seriously doubt it is the unpardonable sin for a saved person
can sin unto death, and only a lost person can commit the unpardonable sin.
There is a sin unto death.
1) I John 5:16 states, "If any man see his brother sin a sin
which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them
that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he
shall pray for it." This is a brother (a saved person) who commits
this sin.
2) What is this sin? I dont know, but it never pays to sin willfully
against God.
3) Hebrews 10:26 Here is a sin where there is no hope for
forgiveness. A simple (and very common) thing like willfully absenting from
church services is considered a terrible sin because that sin tramples upon
the blood of Christ, and is very discouraging to other believers, as well as
unbelievers.
4) James 5:19,20 declares, "Brethren, if any of you do err from
the truth, and one convert him; 20 Let him know, that he which converteth
the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall
hide a multitude of sins." I believe this passage is speaking to
and about saved people, because the book of James is written to believers.
The statement is made to "brethren," not unbelievers. See my notes
on ..\JAMES\05V19-20.DOC for more information.
5) Examples of the sin unto death.
a) Saul disobeyed the command of God to kill all the Amalekites, and
lost the good spirit from the Lord and received an evil spirit instead. He
continued to rule for 38 years, but never had the blessings of God upon
him.
b) It is likely Moses also committed the sin unto death, but I am not
at all sure about whether his sin would be called a sin unto death. He
struck the rock twice instead of striking it once, then speaking to it the
next time. He was unable to go into the promised land because of this sin.
There is also a difference between an unpardoned sin and an
unpardonable sin. There are many unpardoned sins which will be
forgiven when asked, but there is only one unpardonable sin.
Point # 1 What The Unpardonable Sin is not
1. It is not any sin against men. All sins (these are more
correctly stated to be "trespasses") against men (murder, rape,
adultery, stealing, lying, etc.;) can be forgiven.
It is not any sin against Jesus Christ. A person can deny all
the doctrines of Christ and still be forgiven, according to the text.
a. I have been very disturbed to hear a great many preachers preach that
the unpardonable sin is rejecting Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour. This
theory is false for it teaches that as soon as a lost person rejects Christ,
they have committed the unpardonable sin and are doomed to an eternal hell! I
believe it is safe to say that practically nobody was saved when Christ first
dealt with them concerning salvation. We were all saved only after repeated
dealings by the Holy Spirit. Of course, if a person rejects Christ until he
dies, his sins are unforgiven, but this does not mean he has committed the
unpardonable sin. If we say that the unpardonable sin is rejecting Christ
as our personal Saviour, this disregards entirely the doctrine of "Total
Depravity" and the work of the Holy Spirit in redemption. All
are lost and will reject Christ until His Holy Spirit condemns them and draws
them to a loving and saving Christ.
b. I was in a meeting one time where there were several preachers present.
Before the meeting, the pastor asked several of the pastors present if they
would meet together to pray for the meeting. We met in one of the Sunday
School rooms and before prayer, the evangelist asked for special prayer for
himself that night as he was going to preach on the unpardonable sin. I
thought this was going to be interesting, as I considered that a strange
subject for an evangelistic meeting. The evangelist preached that the
unpardonable sin was rejecting Christ as ones personal saviour. I thought then
he was wrong, and I still think he was wrong. The reasons are in the above
paragraph.
c. Jesus makes it very clear that sins against Himself, and some
sins against the Holy Spirit, shall be forgiven. It is a particular sin
against the Holy Spirit that will not be forgiven.
3. It is not any sin against the ten commandments. Christ died
on the cross to save sinners from the curse of the law, Gal. 3:13.
4. It is not any sin against God the Father. The text says,
"All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men".
5. It is not every sin against the Holy Spirit.
a. I Thess. 5:19 - The Holy Spirit can be quenched,
b. Eph. 4:30 - The Holy Spirit can be grieved.
c. Acts 7:51,52 - The Holy Spirit can be resisted.
d. All of these sins can be forgiven, if the sinner will only ask.
Point # 2 What the Unpardonable Sin is
According to the text, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (the unpardonable
sin) is attributing a work of God to Satan, or attributing a work of Satan to
God. Blasphemy is to speak injuriously.
Please notice that every blasphemy is not blasphemy against
the Holy Spirit.
1. Acts 13:45, the Jews at Antioch contradicted and blasphemed those things
spoken by Paul. In verse 46, Paul states they had put the gospel from them,
judging themselves unworthy of everlasting life. The Bible does not state they
committed the unpardonable sin.
2. Acts 26:11, Paul compelled the believers to blasphemy, or to speak
injuriously against Christ, probably something like Peter who denied Jesus
three times. Peter did not blaspheme against the Holy Spirit or lose his
salvation, and these believers didn't either.
3. Rom. 2:24, Paul tells the Roman church that they have caused the name of
Christ to be blasphemed among the Gentiles, yet this sin can be forgiven if
they will only ask, I John 1:8-10.
4. I Tim. 1:13, Paul says that before he was saved, he was a blasphemer,
but he obtained mercy because he did it ignorantly in unbelief.
Point # 3 Conditions under which the Holy Spirit is
Blasphemed
1. There must be an unmistakable work of the Spirit. Our text clearly
indicates that a miracle had been performed which the Jews could not deny. They
knew God performed this miracle, but accused Jesus of casting out devils by
Beelzebub, the prince of devils.
2. There must be a knowledge that the work is of God. In I Tim. 1:13, Paul
obtained forgiveness of blasphemy because he did it ignorantly in unbelief, but
these Pharisees were not ignorant. Thos. Goodwyn, one of the Puritans, says that
two things are necessary in committing the unpardonable sin: "Light in the
mind and malice in the heart."
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