The Unpardonable Sin
We should assure people that they
have not committed the
unpardonable sin and encourage
them to receive the gift of eternal life.
Here's Dr. Gene Getz:
There's no question that Jesus talked
about the unpardonable sin.
But the important thing is:
What did Jesus really mean?
And that's a question. It's legitimate
question and we need to explore it.
Now, the context for this reference to
the unpardonable sin on the part of Jesus
related to a confrontation with the Pharisees.
And it happened after He had healed
a demon-possessed man.
And notice what Matthew recorded in
chapter 12, verse 22:
Then a demon-possessed man who was blind
and unable to speak was brought to Him. ...
Now notice there are two things here
about this man.
Let me read that again:
Then a demon-possessed man who was blind
and unable to speak was brought to Him.
He healed him, so [that] the man could
both speak and see.
And all the crowds were astounded and said,
"Perhaps this is the Son of David!"
Perhaps this is indeed the Messiah
that was promised in the
Old Testament. The son of David.
And in saying that, they were focusing
on his humanity as King.
Now this wasn't the first time that Jesus
had this response from the Pharisee.
Here is the response.
The Pharisees' Accusation:
When the Pharisees heard this, they said,
"The man drives out demons only by Beelzebul,
the ruler of the demons."
What that simply means is:
The Pharisees could not deny that this was supernatural.
And that's why it's underscored here
that he had two problems:
He was blind and he couldn't speak.
And he was demon-possessed.
And Jesus healed him.
And that was incredible!
To heal him if he were blind was one thing.
To heal him if he were dumb,
that's another thing. But both?
The Pharisees had to acknowledge this
is supernatural. But they assigned that
miracle to Satan.
Now this wasn't the first time this had happened.
In Matthew chapter 9, Matthew records this:
another miracle.
When the demon had been driven out,
the man spoke. ...
Now here in this particular case, he was
dumb--he spoke.
He was demon-possessed, but he spoke.
...And the crowds were amazed, saying,
"Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!"
But the Pharisees said, "He drives out
demons by the ruler of the demons!"
You see, they had been attributing the
works of Jesus Christ to Satan himself.
Now think about this: Jesus had
ministered in all of these towns.
He had to have performed thousands of miracles.
These are just a couple that are mentioned.
We read in Matthew 4:23.
Let's just go back and pick up the history here:
Jesus was going all over Galilee,
teaching in their synagogues,
preaching the good news of the kingdom,
and healing every disease
and sickness among the people.
We don't know how many healings there were,
but ultimately, there had to be
thousands out of these 3 million people
that lived in that particular area of Galilee.
And, of course, it wasn't just limited to Galilee.
We go on to Matthew chapter 8, verse 16.
This was in Capernaum after Jesus had
healed Simon's mother-in-law:
When evening came, they brought to Him
many who were demon-possessed.
He drove out the spirits with a word
and healed all who were sick.
And it says: They gathered at that
home way into the nighttime.
And Jesus healed them all.
In Matthew 9:35. Again, a reference to Jesus'
incredible experience of healing throughout Galilee:
Then Jesus went to all the towns and villages...
How many were there?
Well, Josephus says at least 200.
I don't know if he went to every one of them.
But it just says:
...Jesus went to all the towns and villages,
teaching in their synagogues,
preaching the good news of the kingdom,
and healing every disease and every sickness.
You see, we have these generalizations.
Thousands of miracles--no doubt.
But Matthew, just to make sure we understand
what kind of miracles, he listed these.
And if you go back to the beginning
of Matthew, look at these specific miracles:
A serious skin disease is healed.
A Centurion's servant was healed.
He healed Peters mother-in-law.
He calmed the storm. Think about that one.
Calming the storm.
Two demon-possessed men were healed.
A paralytic was healed.
The daughter that was near death was healed.
A bleeding woman. Another passage said
she just touched the hem of His garment and was healed.
Two blind men are healed.
Another demon-possessed man was healed.
And then a paralyzed hand.
And then we have to culminate this,
a blind, and mute, demon-possessed man--
both blind and mute--couldn't talk.
And that's where they accused Him,
once again, of working these miracles
by Satan--the power of Satan.
And that's when Jesus turned to them
and said this: In view of all of these miracles.
And they knew about them.
Jesus had been working these miracles.
They have seen them. They had heard
about them. Probably thousands of miracles.
And they rejected Him and attributed this to Satan.
And so Jesus turned and said:
Because of this, I tell you, people will
be forgiven every sin and blasphemy,
but the blasphemy against the Spirit
will not be forgiven. ...
Now think about this. Think about this.
How was Jesus birthed into this world?
The Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary.
And the baby she bore was the Son of God.
Both Son of God, Son of man.
And so, Jesus reassured them, He said:
Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man...
Of me as a human. That'll be forgiven
...it will be forgiven him. But
[he said, looking at these men]
whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit,
it will not be forgiven him, either in
this age or in the one to come.
In other words, what these men are
doing is denying the God-man.
He said: I can understand if you think
of Me as a man and you're confused.
But you men know that I'm the God-man.
And that, ultimately, is unforgivable
because there is only one way for you
to inherit eternal life.
And that's to believe that I am the way,
the truth and the life, and no man
comes to the Father but by Me.
Ultimately, the unpardonable sin is to
reject Jesus Christ as the God-man and
that's exactly what they're doing.
Now I think the author of Hebrews
speaks to this as well. This is in retrospect.
This is after, in a sense,
Jesus was here and went to heaven
and the Holy Spirit came. And the church was born.
With all these miracles:
The mighty rushing wind.
The tongues of fire on the apostles.
Against the backdrop of all the healings.
And the healings, then, that took place
by the apostles.
And here's what the author of Hebrews wrote:
For it is impossible to renew to
repentance those who were once enlightened,
who tasted the heavenly gift...
These religious leaders literally tasted
the heavenly gift.
They experienced it happening
right there in Jerusalem.
They didn't swallow it--they tasted it.
If you want to follow through the metaphor.
...became companions with the Holy Spirit...
In a sense, they were right there when it happened.
And by the way, that also explains the
Pharisees that were there when they
attributed what Jesus did in healing that man.
They attributed the fact that He did it by Satan.
They were companions with the
Holy Spirit in that sense.
They saw it happening.
...They tasted God's good word...
Time, after time, after time.
...and the powers of the coming age...
All of these miracles that Jesus was working.
...and [he says, the author of Hebrews]
who have fallen away...
Nothing describes more accurately
the Pharisees, the men that God had
chosen to be His people.
And they totally rejected and fell away.
...because, to their own harm,
they are recrucifying the Son of God
and holding Him up to contempt.
In essence, what this passage is teaching.
And I think what Jesus was saying is
that if you ultimately reject Me, there is no hope.
Because I am the only hope of the world.
And that's the unpardonable sin.
And by the way, not one of us is able
to reproduce that experience in our life.
To do so, we would have to walk the
face of this earth when Jesus did
and see all these miracles.
See it again, and again, and everywhere.
And reject Him and say: you did this by Satan.
You can't reproduce that even in your own life.
I think Paul's conversion illustrates the
grace of God. That even an arrogant,
self-righteous Pharisee could be saved.
Listen to what Paul wrote. And I share
this for those of you who may believe
that you've committed the unpardonable sin.
Listen to what Paul says:
If anyone would have committed an
unpardonable sin it was Paul in terms of
what he did. But notice his testimony:
I give thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord
who has strengthened me,
because He considered me faithful,
appointing me to the ministry--
one who was formerly a blasphemer,
a persecutor, and an arrogant man.
But I received mercy because I acted
out of ignorance in unbelief.
And the grace of our Lord overflowed,
along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
This saying is trustworthy and
deserving of full acceptance:
"Christ Jesus came into the world to
save sinners"--and I am the worst of them. ...
Now he's not saying: I'm committing sin
like I once did. He's saying:
I am the worst of them.
I was the worst of sinners.
...But I received mercy for this reason,
so that in me, the worst of them,
Christ Jesus might demonstrate His
extraordinary patience as an example to those
who would believe in Him for eternal life. ...
In other words, he's saying: If God
could save me, He can save anybody.
And then he gives glory to God.
...Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible,
the only God, be honor and
glory forever and ever. Amen.
And that of course, leads us to this question:
When people worry that they may
have committed the unpardonable sin,
what other steps can we take to
reassure them they can be forgiven of all sin?
Well first, we can share with them
Paul's testimony. Because I never met
an individual that was a greater sinner than Paul.
I never met him, but I heard about it.
He wrote about it.
But here's something else that I like to say
to people who are fearing they may have
committed the unpardonable sin.
I say this: First, if you're worried about it,
you haven't committed it. Because you
have a sensitive conscience.
If you'd committed the unpardonable sin,
you would have a hard, hard heart
that's conscience is seared.
The very fact you're concerned about
your salvation, is that the Holy Spirit is
working on your conscience.
God is speaking to you and He's saying:
Come. And I'll forgive you.
But second, we need to explain that
the unpardonable sin is the ultimate rejection
of Jesus Christ as the God-man.
And that's what the Pharisees did.
That was the ultimate rejection when they
attributed what He was doing to Satan.
When in fact, it was His deity, the Holy Spirit
at work within His life and His ministry.
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
And thirdly, we need to remind them
and ourselves of 1st John 1:9.
This is a tremendous verse of Scripture:
If we confess our sins,
He is faithful and righteous to forgive us
our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Cleanse us from what?
All unrighteousness. That's why He came.
And so, let's remember this Principle to Live By:
We should assure people that they
have not committed the
unpardonable sin and encourage them
to receive the gift of eternal life.