The Unpardonable Sin

1
The Unpardonable Sin

• MARK 322-30
• WHAT IS IT?
• HAVE I COMMITTED IT?
• I THOUGHT THAT GOD CAN AND WILL FORGIVE ALL SINS!

2
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?

• MARK 323-30 - And the scribes who came
  down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebub,"
  and, "By the ruler of the demons He casts out
  demons.
• 23. So He called them to Himself and said to
  them in parables "How can Satan cast out Satan?
  24. If a kingdom is divided against itself,
  that kingdom cannot stand. 25. And if a house
  is divided against itself, that house cannot
  stand.

3
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?

• 26. And if Satan has risen up against
  himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has
  an end. 27. No one can enter a strong man's
  house and plunder his goods, unless he first
  binds the strong man. And then he will plunder
  his house. 28. "Assuredly, I say to you, all
  sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and
  whatever blasphemies they may utter 29. but
  he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never
  has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal
  condemnation"-30. because they said, "He has an
  unclean spirit."

4
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?

• 1. The Topic for our Study this Morning is
• The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?
• a. It is Topic that brings about much discussion
  and is filled with much speculation and
  misinterpretation of the scripture.
• b. The are some things that are difficult to
  understand and get twisted in the interpretation
  and teaching.
• II PETER 315-16 .as also our beloved
  brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to
  him, has written to you, 16. as also in all his
  epistles, speaking in them of these things, in
  which are some things hard to understand, which
  untaught and unstable people twist to their own
  destruction, as they do also the rest of the
  Scriptures.

5
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?

• c. The Topic of the Unpardonable Sin is one of
  those topics. SPECIFICALLY BLASPHEMY AGAINT
  THE HOLY SPIRIT
• d. Some are concerned they may have committed
  this sin. That they can never be forgiven and
  have no hope.
• e. Let me say at the very beginning, if an
  individual is concerned that they may be guilty
  of this sin, then they need not be worried any
  more.

6
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?

• Meaning of the Text as related to the Topic-
• 1. Jesus faced great opposition from the
  Pharisees, Herodians, and the Scribes the
  religious leaders of Jerusalem during His
  ministry Mark 36 - Mark 322
• 2. In our text for this lesson, Jesus is charged
  by them in essence as being Satan casting out
  Satan
• 3. Jesus easily answered the scribes charge...
• a. For Satan to cast out his own demons
  defeated his (Satan's) own purpose - Mark 323-26
• b. On the contrary, casting out demons was
  integral to defeating Satan - Mark 327

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The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?

• 4. It is on this occasion that Jesus speaks of
  an "unforgiveable sin"...
• a. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit - Mark
  328-29
• b. For which there is no forgiveness
  Matthew 1231-32
• 31. Therefore I say to you, every sin and
  blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy
  against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.
  32. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son
  of Man, it will be forgiven him but whoever
  speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be
  forgiven him, either in this age or in the age
  to come.

8
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?

• 5. These words of Jesus have troubled many, who
  wonder if they have committed this "eternal sin"
  (ESV) that "never has forgiveness".
• WHAT IS IT TO BLASPHEME Against the
• HOLY SPIRIT?
• HAVE I COMMITTED IT?
• I THOUGHT THAT GOD CAN AND WILL FORGIVE ALL
  SINS!
• - Let's first seek to identify exactly what was...

9
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?

• THE UNFORGIVEABLE SIN THEN
• A. WHAT WAS THIS SIN...?
• 1. Jesus described it as blaspheming the
  Holy Spirit - Mark 329 but he who blasphemes
  against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness,
  but is subject to eternal condemnation"--
• a. Blaspheme - "to speak reproachfully,
  rail at, revile, calumniate (make false and
  injurious statements), blaspheme" - Thayer
• b. So it is to speak evil of the Holy
  Spirit in some way among other ways that can not
  be forgiven.

10
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?

• 2. As Jesus prepares for his Crucifixion He
  Tells the Apostles John 1416, 26
• 16. And I will pray the Father, and He will
  give you another Helper, that He may abide with
  you forever.
• 26. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom
  the Father will send in My name, He will teach
  you all things, and bring to your remembrance all
  things that I said to you.

11
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?

• 3. He then tells the Apostles
• John 1526 -27
• 26. But when the Helper comes, whom I shall
  send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth
  who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of
  Me.
• 27. And you also will bear witness, because
  you have been with Me from the beginning.
• 4. Before His Ascension Jesus confirms to the
  Apostles - ACTS 18
• 8. But you shall receive power when the Holy
  Spirit has come upon you and you shall be
  witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea
  and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

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The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?

• 3. Therefore All Scripture is given by
  Inspiration of the Holy Spirit
• The Message of Life, the Gospel
• II TIMOTHY 316
• All Scripture is given by inspiration of
  God, and is profitable for doctrine, for
  reproof, for correction, for instruction in
  righteousness,

13
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?

• 4. AND II PETER 1 20-21
• 20. knowing this first, that no prophecy of
  Scripture is of any private interpretation,
• 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man,
  but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by
  the Holy Spirit.

14
ACTS 2

• ACTS 21 When the Day of Pentecost had fully
  come, they were all with one accord in one
  place.
• ACTS 24 And they were all filled with the Holy
  Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as
  the Spirit gave them utterance.
• ACTS 217 'And it shall come to pass in the
  last days, says God, That I will pour out of My
  Spirit on all flesh Your sons and your daughters
  shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions,
  Your old men shall dream dreams.

15
ACTS 2

• Acts 222 "Men of Israel, hear these words
  Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you
  by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did
  through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also
  know
• ACTS 236 "Therefore let all the house of Israel
  know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom
  you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

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The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?

• 5. They had a choice at this point
• A. Accept the message OF LIFE coming from
  Peter and the rest as INSPIRED by the HOLY
  SPIRIT
• B. Or Commit the UNPARDANABLE SIN blaspheme
  the Holy Spirit by railing out against the Holy
  Spirit - speaking in a contemptuous way just as
  they railed against Christ in our Text.
• a. They could have declared what happened
  that day as something that was Satanic, rejecting
  the Message of Salvation brought through the
  power of the Holy Spirit. NEVER BEING FORGIVEN.

17
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?

• 6. Their choice WAS
• Now when they heard this, they were cut to the
  heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the
  apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?
• 40. And with many other words he testified and
  exhorted them, saying, "Be saved from this
  perverse generation."
• 41. Then those who gladly received his word were
  baptized and that day about three thousand souls
  were added to them.
• Vs. 47 The Lord added them to the Church.

18
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?

• II. Christ and the Holy Spirit.
• We see how significant, how special, how
  Important the Holy Spirit is in this message.
• Jesus is significant, but He will become even
  more so after His Resurrection, which will be
  revealed through the Holy Spirit as we have seen.
• What these Jewish leaders were saying about and
  to Christ (REJECTING HIM AT THIS TIME) could
  still be forgiven, but there would come a time
  that such blasphemy could not be forgiven, THAT
  TIME IS THE REJECTION OF THE MESSAGE OF THE HOLY
  SPIRIT. THE REJECTION OF LIFE, Then And Now.

19
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?

• D. There are - several explanations regarding
  this topic, the one that seems the most plausible
  to the writer is that men may sin against Christ
  and find forgiveness, but not against the Holy
  Spirit, because Christ was to be succeeded by the
  Holy Spirit when He returned to the Father.
  Consequently, the dispensation after Christs
  ascension and under the guidance of the Spirit in
  which we now live represents mans last chance to
  accept God. Any other explanation which would
  attach greater importance or rank to the Holy
  Spirit than to Christ would hardly be in keeping
  with the Scripture. Edward Neely Cullum A
  Simplified Study of the Holy Spirit, 1967

20
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?

• E. McGarvey writes, Blasphemy against the Son
  may be a temporary sin, for the one who commits
  it may be subsequently convinced of his error by
  the testimony of the Holy Spirit and becomes a
  believer (I Timothy 113). But blasphemy against
  the Holy Spirit is in its nature an eternal sin,
  for if one rejects the evidence given by the Holy
  Spirit and ascribes it to Satan, he rejects the
  only evidence upon which faith can be based
  WITHOUT FAITH THERE IS NO FORGIVENESS.
• The Fourfold Gospel,
  McGarvey/Pendleton

21
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?

• F. With what Jesus faced from the Pharisees,
  Herodians, and the Scribes - the religious
  leaders of Jerusalem, that could be forgiven if
  repented of and obedience rendered.
• G. However blasphemy against the Holy Spirit in
  this manner could not be forgiven.
• MARK 328, 29 "Assuredly, I say to you, all sins
  will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever
  blasphemies they may utter 39. but he who
  blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has
  forgiveness, but is subject to eternal
  condemnation"--

22
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?

• CAN IT BE COMITTED TODAY?
• A. Yes it can.
• B. However as I said at the very beginning, if
  an individual is concerned that they may be
  guilty of this sin, (BLASPHEMY OF THE HOLY
  SPIRIT) then they need not be worried any more
  - their concern is showing where their heart is
  truly dwelling.

23
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?

• IV. THE UNFORGIVEABLE SIN TODAY IS
• If any man see his brother sin a sin which
  is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall
  give him life for them that sin not unto death.
  There is a sin unto death I do not say that he
  shall pray for it. I John 516
• A. This passage is not in reference to our
  Message Text of Mark 3 or Matthew 12.
• 1. It is in regard to a brother/sister who
  will not repent of sinful ways.
• 2. It could include those who hear the
  Gospel and do nothing about what they hear.

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The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?

• B. The sin by which we "crucify again" the Son of
  God Hebrews 64-6
• C. The sin for which there "no longer remains a
  sacrifice for sin" - Hebrews 1026-31
• -- The sin in which there is no hope for
  forgiveness because forgiveness of sin has not
  been sought out!

25
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?

• Committed openly - Hebrews 66
• Committed continually - Hebrews 1026
• Sin that is willfully participated in till death.
  Hebrews 1026
• Committed knowingly - Hebrews 64 Hebrews 1026
• It is any sin that we knowingly refuse to repent
  of, despite many opportunities!

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The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?

• CONCLUSION
• Many today worry about blaspheming the Holy
  Spirit...
• a. A serious sin indeed, but likely cannot
  be replicated today
• b. If one worries about it, they are
  certainly not guilty of it! 
• 2. People should be more concerned about any
  sin...
• a. They knowingly commit
• b. They refuse to give up
  
• 3. There is Not a Sin that God Can Not Forgive if
  It is repented of by anyone of us.

27
What MUST You Do to Be Saved?

• Hear The Word Of God Romans 1017
• Believe His Word Mark 1616, John 824
• Repent of your sins Luke 133, Acts
  238
• Confess your belief Romans 1010, Acts 837
• Be Baptized Mark 1616, Acts
  238 For the Remission of
  Your Sins Acts 2216
  Galatians 326, 27
• Live Faithfully
  Titus 211-14