THE UNPARDONABLE SIN (PART I)

“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”
(Matthew 12: 31-32).
 

As a pastor, I have often been asked the following questions: “What is the “unpardonable sin”? “Can a Christian commit the “unpardonable sin”? Let us examine these questions in the light of God’s Word.

The issue of the “unpardonable sin” is based upon an incident recorded both in Matthew 12: 22-37 and Mark 3: 19-30. The two passages concern the Lord’s public ministry.

Jesus had cast out “one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb; and He healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the Son of David? But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils” ((Matt. 12: 22-24). These self-righteous religious leaders attributed the Lord’s miraculous healing of the blind and dumb to the power of the devil. Though the Pharisees had long observed Christ and His undeniable miracles, they had set their heart to reject Him and this clear witness of the Holy Spirit. Unable to deny the miracle before their eyes, they sought to explain it away by ascribing it to Beelzebub, the prince of the devils. In this way, they maliciously charged Jesus with being in league with the devil; this was a direct affront against the Holy Spirit – the Spirit by which Jesus worked His miracles. What vicious blasphemy!

This slanderous accusation brought a prompt and sharp response from the Lord: “How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but have an end. No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house” (Mk. 3:23-27; see also Lk. 11:14-23).

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit

The Lord then sounded this solemn warning – “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” (Matt. 12: 31-32). We see clearly here that the Lord was referring to the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit which is commonly described today as the “unpardonable sin.” “Neither in this world, neither in the world to come” expresses in the strongest terms, the idea of eternal and hopeless ruin – Abbott.

The public ministry of our Lord was that of preaching the Gospel - the “Good News” of God’s grace and salvation through Him alone. The miraculous works of grace - healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, casting out demons, and other good works - were a confirmation of His Person and His message. In fact, when John the Baptist sent two of his disciples to Jesus to ask whether He was the Messiah, He replied: “Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in Me” (Matt. 11: 4-6).

Rejecting the miraculous works of our Lord and attributing them to Satan is tantamount to rejecting Christ Himself and His message of grace. Dr Jeffrey Khoo reiterates, “This sin is unforgivable because the only avenue of forgiveness through the convicting work of the Spirit has been rejected. The greatest sin that anyone can commit that leads to eternal damnation is the sin of rejecting Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord (Jn. 3: 18). The constant, persistent, voluntary, wilful, decisive rejection of the Gospel is tantamount to the unpardonable sin of blasphemy against the (Holy) Spirit” - “The Life of Christ –Part I” FEBC Lecture Notes (undated) pp.132-133).
(…to be continued)

- Pastor