THE UNPARDONABLE SIN

MARK 3:22-30

      The unpardonable sin as spoken of by Jesus is the sin that God will not forgive (3:29). All other sins can be forgiven (3:28), but this sin will never be forgiven. This sin is an eternal sin. The Bible teaches the reality of eternal sin (Mt. 25:41-46; 2 Th. 1:9; Heb. 6:2). The eternal sin that cannot be forgiven is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (3:29).

      In Mk. 3:11-15 Jesus cast out unclean spirits. The scribes came from Jerusalem and said, “Jesus had an unclean spirit (3:22-30; cf. Mt. 9:34; Jn. 7:20, 8:48-52, 10:20) named Beelzebub (Mt. 10:25), and by the prince of devils (Jn. 12:31, 14:30; Eph. 2:2, 6:12) Jesus cast out unclean spirits or demons (3:22).” Jesus showed the folly of such reasoning with two illustrations.

1. Kingdom. A divided kingdom could not stand (3:23-24; cf. 1 Cor. 1:13).

2. House. A divided house could not stand (3:25). Satan divided against himself could not stand (3:26). Jesus was not in league with Satan. He came to destroy the devil (3:27; Col. 2:15; Heb. 2:14; 1 Jn. 3:8).

      The Holy Spirit came to give witness to Jesus (Jn. 15:26). Yet, the scribes said that the person and works of Jesus were not from the Holy Spirit but from the unclean spirit. They persisted in unbelief (3:30–imperfect tense) in Jesus. Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is to resist the Holy Spirit’s witness concerning Jesus (3:22-30, what the scribes were doing rather than simply saying about Jesus).

      A person may blaspheme the Son of God in ignorance (Mt. 12:32, 27:39; 1 Tim. 1:13), but when a person rejects the Spirit’s revelation of Jesus–an irrevocable blasphemy occurs (2 Pet. 2:10-12; Jude 8-10; Rev. 13:1-5-6, 16:9-11-21). The Holy Spirit is God’s final voice.

      When the Holy Spirit witnesses to your heart to receive Jesus but you resist–that is the unpardonable sin (Acts 7:51; Heb. 10:28-29). The Bible contains three truths about the Holy Spirit and salvation.

1. No one can come to Jesus without the Holy Spirit (Jn. 3:5, 6:44; Tit. 3:5; Mt. 11:27).

2. The Holy Spirit is sensitive (blasphemy–to “insult” the Spirit) to your response to Jesus (Jn. 3:8; Eph. 4:30; 1 Th. 5:19; Heb. 3:7).

3. The conviction of the Holy Spirit can depart in this life (Gen. 6:3; 2 Chr. 36:16; Prov. 1:24-28; Is. 55:6; Hos. 4:17; Amos 8:2; Mt. 15:14; Jn. 12:37-39; Rom. 1:24-26-28; Heb. 4:7). If the conviction of the Holy Spirit departs, a person is (3:29–present tense) guilty (Mt. 5:21-22; 1 Cor. 11:27; Jas. 2:10) of the unpardonable sin.

  I. Will not hear preaching (Is. 6:9; Acts 13:41)

      A. Dull ears (Acts 28:27; Heb. 5:11)

      B. Closed eyes (Acts 28:27)

      C. Blinded minds (2 Cor. 4:4)

      D. Darkened understanding (Eph. 4:18; 2 Th. 2:10-12)

      E. Past feeling (Eph. 4:19; Ecc. 12:1)

      F. Seared conscience (1 Tim. 4:2)

      G. Hardened heart (Prov. 29:1; Heb. 3:7-8)

 II. Waited too late for prayer (1 Jn. 5:16)

      A. At the judgment (Mt. 25:11; Lk. 13:25)

      B. During the tribulation (Rev. 6:16)

      C. In death (Ps. 109:7; Mt. 27:3)

      John R. Bisagno related, “Many years ago in a small northeastern city, we had spent over eight hours one week trying to win a man to Christ. He kept saying, ‘No, preacher, not now, I am not ready.’ The pastor had tried to win him to Christ for 14 years, his wife for 20 years. Always it was the same, ‘Not today, I will do it tomorrow.’ After an all-night prayer meeting one Saturday I met his wife in the hall during Sunday School and she looked very refreshed and called to me. ‘Thank God,’ I said, ‘you’ve got the victory, your husband is going to be saved this morning.’ ‘No,’ she said, ‘and preacher, it’s a strange thing. I just don’t care any more. God has removed the burden.’ Quickly I raced to the pastor’s office and said, ‘Pastor, come quickly, Frank has committed the unpardonable sin. God has removed the burden from his wife. We must go to him one more time.’ ‘I can’t go,’ he replied. ‘This morning as I was praying, the burden was lifted. I am sorry to say it, but I simply don’t care anymore.’”

      D. In life (2 Kg. 24:4)

      Jesus said, “It shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come” (Mt. 12:32).

III. Would not come in penitence (Rom. 2:5)

      A person who commits the unpardonable sin will not respond in repentance to any of the following.

      A. Miracles (Mt. 11:20)

      B. Preachers (2 Cor. 12:21, 13:5)

      C. Time (Rev. 2:21)

      D. Crisis (Rev. 16:9-11)

      E. Resurrection (Lk. 16:30-31)

      If you have rejected the resurrected Jesus, you have committed the unpardonable sin. Aaron Burr’s (vice-president to Jefferson) father was the second president of Princeton, and his mother was the daughter of Jonathan Edwards. The experience of Aaron Burr while a college student illustrated the danger of the unpardonable sin. A historian wrote,

       “Samuel Spring. . . urged him to prepare for the ministry, reminding him that such ‘was the prayer of your dear father and mother.’ Burr did not take this suggestion lightly. No less that fourteen of his classmates were already embarked on religious careers, and his friends took it for granted that as the inheritor of ‘an almost suffocating odor of sanctity’ he would eventually do likewise. During his senior year, practically the entire student body at Princeton had been visited by a religious awakening.” He continued, “Troubled at his inability to join this outburst of piety, he had called on Dr. Witherspoon, and had come away relieved to learn from that stout Presbyterian that what he was witnessing was not religion but fanaticism.”

      Another author recounted, “The professor thought he should appear thoughtful and scholarly, so he said, ‘Mr. Burr, you are in an abnormal state of mind, being affected by this great wave of emotion which is sweeping the campus. You are a man of intellect. Why not wait until this has passed away and then clearly think through your religious problem?’ Aaron Burr said that was exactly what he would do. And never again did anyone hear of Aaron Burr being concerned for one single moment about his relationship to Jesus Christ.”

      If you will not come to Christ, you cannot come (Jn. 5:40; Heb. 12:17). But if you will come, it is not too late (cf. Mk. 10:51-52). Elizabeth Reed wrote,

“O do not let the Word depart,

  And close thine eyes against the light;

Poor sinner, harden not your heart,

  Be saved, O tonight.

Tomorrow’s sun may never rise

  To bless thy long deluded sight;

This is the time, O then be wise;

  Be saved, O tonight.”

      In June of 1917 in Fort Worth, Texas, George W. Truett preached a sermon entitled “The Passing of Religious Opportunity.” In that message he stated the following.

1. Jesus visits us by His Divine Spirit (through preaching, teaching).

2. These visits may be resisted.

3. There is an end to God’s visits (at death but also during life). Truett quoted,

“There is a time, I know not when,

  A place, I know not where,

Which marks the destiny of men

  To heaven or despair.

There is a line by us not seen,

  Which crosses every path;

The hidden boundary between

  God’s patience and His wrath.”

      Do not cross God’s deadline and commit the unpardonable sin. Do not resist God’s last call. In Mt. 12:30 Jesus said, “He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.”