The Unpardonable Sin (Part 1)
Posted by: biblenotes <biblenotes@...>
From: Martin Overfield
Date: Thu, 5 Oct 2000
The Unpardonable Sin (Part 1)
(In dealing with this subject, I would further refer the reader to Bible
Note title, "Will God Not Let Me Come to Him?" and a twenty-four-page
book by William S. Deal entitled, "THE UNPARDONABLE SIN
EXPLAINED" -- but I do not know whether it is in print any longer. My
copy has only this information: "Deal Publications, 11326 Ranchito Street,
El Monte, California 91732".)
"And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub,
and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils. And he called them
unto
him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? ...
Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and
blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall
blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of
eternal damnation: Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit." (Mark
3:22, 23, 29-30)
Many souls have been troubled by the thought that they may have
committed the "unpardonable sin". In many cases, this is but an attempt of
Satan either to cause a very conscientious or even a very devout soul to
cast away their confidence and give up in the battle, or to prevent a sinner
or backslider who desires to come to God from doing so. That there is such
an unpardonable sin, or at least was at the time of Christ, is not to be
doubted, since we have the words of Christ Himself stating the fact. But,
to understand what does or does not qualify as the unpardonable sin would
be of great help to many who face the accusations and taunts of the Devil.
This subject may also be useful in warning careless and rebellious souls
to become careful and to submit themselves under the loving hand of the
Almighty God, Who is holy and just and is to be greatly feared with the awe
and reverence due Him.
The unpardonable sin is also referred to as "blasphemy against the Holy
Ghost" and "the sin against the Holy Ghost". The most biblical terminology
is to refer to this sin as blasphemy against the Holy Ghost.
WHAT IT IS NOT
Let not anyone try to excuse any sin on the basis of what I here write.
The point here is not to minimize sin, but to define what sin Jesus actually
said is unpardonable (or unforgivable), first by process of elimination, and
then by an attempt at giving the real meaning of Christ's words.
What the unpardonable sin, or blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, is NOT:
1. It is not necessarily what is usually called "crossing the deadline".
Though we may assume that one who has crossed the deadline might
also be able to blaspheme the Holy Ghost. Crossing the deadline seems to
speak more of a person's inability to return to God, primarily by having
gotten into such a spiritual state in which they have no longer any desire
to
return or any receptivity to the voice of the Holy Ghost. It may even be
that
God will no longer speak to such a soul. It is a dangerous thing for people
to
turn down the Lord's gracious invitations. There may come a day, when
those who do so may not be able to repent.
It is entirely possible that someone may think he has "crossed the
deadline" who has not. If you are such a one or know one like this, please
put it to the test. What I mean by this is see whether there is any desire
to turn to God. If there is, the person should act upon that desire. Begin
to pray and walk in every ray of light. Do everything you can to get to
God.
I believe I am right in saying that if this can be done the person has
NOT "crossed the deadline". He may be so far from God that it may take a
while to get back to Him or it may be difficult to forgive one's self, but
God promises, "Draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you." (James 4:8).
Anyone who really wants to get to God can do so on the authority of this one
verse of Scripture. The people who cannot get to God -- if we believe this
is possible -- are people who have no desire to get to God even under the
most favorable of circumstances. I might add that just because someone
seems not to have such a desire right now does not mean that they will not
have such a desire later.
2. It is not the committing of gross sin. There is no degree of wickedness
or quantity of wickedness but that our Lord will forgive IF the sinner will
truly repent and trust in Christ as his only hope of salvation. Any
continuance in the downward path of sin will lead to the eternal damnation
of the soul if the sinner does not change his direction. I would therefore
urge all who are guilty of sin to repent and flee from the wrath to come.
3. It is not the sin of backsliding, of committing spiritual adultery, of
becoming a prodigal son or daughter. Not one of God's children should
ever backslide, but many have and do today. It is rather clear in the Bible
that God pleads and longs for the restoration of His backslidden children.
While the backslider will face a worse hell if he dies without returning to
God, he may certainly return. He may certainly be forgiven.
4. It is not the terrible sin of apostasy. An apostate goes beyond the
condition of the ordinary backslider in that he denies the fundamental
truths of the gospel that he had once believed. As long as the apostate
does not blaspheme the Holy Ghost there may still be some hope for him
IF he will once again accept the truth of the gospel.
This is perhaps the most dangerous of all sins that still falls short of
"the unpardonable sin". All sin is to be feared and to be forsaken, but
apostasy puts the soul in a position where he cannot be saved while he
continues to deny the true faith that once he held. This sin requires such
self-deception that I do not have trouble believing what William S. Deal
wrote, "Apostasy is the next step to the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost."
5. It is not the feeling that "God is no where around" or that "God does
not talk to me", nor are these infallible evidences that the blasphemy
against the Holy Ghost has been committed. It may be that God has not
been speaking to one's soul recently, or a Christian may be going through a
very dark time (nerves, low emotions, depression, accusations of the Devil).
It may be that God has not spoken for a long time. Also, a sinner may so
feel the awful weight of the guilt of his sin that he begins to despair of
hope.
This is common in cases of great conviction for sin. Oh, that it might be
more common in our day!
These things ought to be of great concern to anyone who cares about his
never-dying soul, but the very fact that one would have any measure of
concern, or any desire to be right with God, is an indication that the
"unpardonable sin" has NOT been committed.
Yours In Christ,
Martin Overfield
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