Bible Question:
I've heard it said that some may have sinned a unpardonable sin. What is this unpardonable sin?
Mary T. / Davenport, Ill.
Bible Answer:
In Mark's gospel we read...
Mark 3: 29-30 “But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin. He said this because they were saying, "He has an evil spirit."
Many people have worried that they may have committed the “Unpardonable Sin.”
And why cannot this sin be forgiven, didn't Christ come to forgive sin?
Here in Mark's gospel we see the story where the Pharisees had rejected Christ's claim of divinity. His casting out of evil spirits they reasoned, must be by the power of Beelzebub (Satan).
Matthew 12: 22-32
“22.Then was brought unto Him one possessed with a devil , blind, and dumb: and He healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw .
23.And all the people were amazed , and said , Is not this the son of David?
24.But when the Pharisees heard it, they said , This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
25.And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation ; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand :
26.And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand ?
27.And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out ? therefore they shall be your judges.
28.But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.
29.Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
30.He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad
31.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.
32.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 .”
Jesus did His miraculous works by and through the Spirit of God (God the Holy Spirit).
The Pharisees didn't believe Jesus was the Son of God, and they reasoned that the miracles that He did do was through the power of satan.
They had committed the “Unpardonable Sin.”
Well, so what was their unpardonable sin?
It was the fact that they had rejected Jesus, and called His works, works of satan.
So what is the Unpardonable Sin?
It is rejecting Christ, and the Holy Spirit who presents Him to you.
Psalms 103:3
“who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases”
Matthew 12:31
“Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men:..”
The sin that cannot be forgiven, is the sin of rejecting the Savior, who alone can cleanse from sin.
I John 1:9"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
When someone REJECTS THE SAVIOUR, there can be no one else to save them, and so they cannot be forgiven, and so they cannot be saved.
John 3:16-18
“16.For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish , but have everlasting life.
17.For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved .
18.He that believeth on Him is not condemned : but He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
Illustration:
A large passenger cruise ship was out in the south pacific. One day a man fell out of the ship. “Man Overboard,” yelled on of the ship hands. Quickly word got to the ships captain, and the vessel came to a stop. Off in the distance the man was seen, and a Life Preserver was thrown to the man. “Grab the Life Preserver,” the passengers yelled to the man. But the man, thought, “I don't want to be hauled in like some kind of fish in front of all these people.” So the man refused the Life Preserver. Again and again the ships passengers, yelled to the man, “Take The Life Preserver, Take The Life Preserver!” But the man, refused, thinking that surely the Captain, would redirect the ship to pick him up. But that did not happen, and the man, drowned.
Jesus Christ is the Life Preserver for all of mankind! The Holy Spirit of God, pleads and pleads with man kinds heart, “Take The Life Preserver, Take The Life Preserver!” But, Jesus Christ, mans only Savior, they reject, and so are without a Life Preserver, without forgiveness, in an eternal, unforgiveable sin (of rejecting Jesus Christ, God's Son), and so they are forever lost.
Acts 4:12
“Neither is there salvation in any other (creeds, dogma, confirmations, baptisms, communion, church membership etc..etc):
for there is none other name (not “her name, not their name)
under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
That most precious name, is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Yes, He does forgive all sin, except the one, unforgiveable sin, that rejects Him, as Savior.
All those in hell, and who are going there, have or are "Committing the Unpardonable Sin," of rejecting the Savior.
