The Unpardonable Sin
(Matt. 12:31-32)
Maybe you have read this verse and wondered what sin is it that God won’t forgive? It seems that should be no sin that God would not graciously forgive. But yet, here it is in scripture from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that there is an unforgivable sin that blasphemes against the Holy Spirit. That God will not forgive in this world and in the world to come. Today, we will see what the unpardonable sin is not, what it is, and how the lost can keep from committing it. Today’s sermon is the unpardonable sin.
I. What the Unpardonable Sin is not.
There are many vile and atrocious sins committed by mankind today. And there are some things I can think of that would be very hard for me to forgive. But in looking at sins I wondered what could be the worst sin that God could not forgive.
A. What about murder? – I think about murder and it is probably the worst possible sin one could commit. To deprive a person of their life and opportunities for someone to repentance towards God and plunge that person into eternity without a chance, could that be the unpardonable sin? Then I read in scripture of when Moses murdered the Egyptian taskmaster and hid the body in the sand to cover it up and I see that although it is a heinous act to commit and a great sin, it is not an unforgivable sin because we see that God forgave Moses of the sin of murder and used him in the deliverance and leading of God’s people. Also, scripture calls Moses in James 2:23, “the Friend of God”. So the unpardonable sin couldn’t be murder.
B. What about adultery? – There is no sin that affects humanity like adultery. Adultery not only affects those involved in a marriage but the children of marriage also. It is a ultimate act of betrayal and it tears out the heart of a family and causes a domino effect of sin that leads to even worse sins even murder. Take for example King David and his sin of adultery with Bathsheba. It went from adultery with her, her becoming pregnant with David’s child, and finally to where David has her husband killed. This grievous and terrible sin that of this man and how far it went to despair and death. Surely maybe this might be the unpardonable sin but in 2 Samuel 12 when confronted by the prophet Nathan David repents unto God and Nathan tells David in verse 13, “The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die”. Even though the sadness and despair involved in this sin it is not unforgivable by God.
C. What about denial of Christ? – Where there is persecution, trials, and fear of martyrdom in the history of the church there have been those who have denied Christ. Surely to deny Jesus would be severe enough to face rejection by God. But looking at Simon Peter who told Jesus in Matthew 12:35 that he would never deny Jesus, in fact he said, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You” but in vv. 69-75 he denied Christ three times. But we see Peter in Acts after seeing the resurrected Christ and being filled with the Holy Spirit stand up and proclaim Christ to thousands and 5,000 where saved that day and later on Peter was martyred for proclaiming Christ. So we see also that denial of Jesus is not unpardonable.
D. What about violence against God’s people, the church? – Surely to kill and beat, and imprison, and torture God’s people is the unforgivable act that God does not forgive. But in the book of Acts we see the great persecutor of the early church, a man named Saul, who imprisoned and killed Christians (God’s children). But we also see in Acts 9 that Jesus reveals Himself to this man and Saul is saved and becomes the great apostle Paul. So, we see that even this great violent sin of persecution against the church is forgivable by God. So what is the unpardonable sin?
II. The Unpardonable Sin (Matt. 12:22-32)
The clue to understanding what the unpardonable sin is to read the passage in Matthew 12:22-32. Let’s began by reading vv. 22-28, “Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. And all the multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?" Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons." But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. "If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? "And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. "But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you”. We need to remember that every sign, wonder, healing, and miracle that Christ did was to bring glory to the Father and revelation that He was God in the flesh. He was revealing Himself as the Messiah the glory of God incarnate. Every time someone was healed or delivered from demons and every time He taught or preached, He revealed that He was the salvation of God. And for the Pharisees to have seen this revelation of God’s power in their midst and still reject Jesus Christ. The unpardonable sin is this, their rejection of Jesus after so many times seeing the evidence and hearing Him tell them who He was and still hardening their heart and ultimately rejecting Jesus as Savior. This is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, to have first hand seen and heard Jesus Christ Himself over and over again at time after time rejecting the Holy Spirit of God revealing Christ to them. Jesus Himself pronounced that it would be better for Sodom and Gomorrah at the judgment than unbelieving Israel, in fact let me quote Jesus from Matt. 11:23, “if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day”. God had mercifully dealt with Israel for many centuries and when the promised Messiah came, He was rejected and killed by them. The Pharisees crossed the line that day; they went from the mercy of God to the side of reprobation of blaspheming the Holy Spirit of God by their final rejection of Christ. Today, here in America there are people who have heard the gospel message of Jesus Christ and the preaching of God’s Word and they still are rejecting Christ. They have hardened their hearts over and over again against the conviction of the Holy Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit so lovingly wooing them to come to Christ and again they reject Him. They have become desensitized to the merciful grace of God. One day they will find that God will no longer woo them. When Noah built the ark and preached for 120 years to those people they rejected the grace of God over and over again. But when the day of judgment came and Noah, his family, and animals entered into the ark the Bible says that God closed the door and sealed it shut (Gen.7:16). When the rain began to fall and water started to rise then the people began to beat on the side of the ark to open. But what had been opened to all had been shut that day once for all. It was too late; the day of salvation is today. When God calls it is then salvation is offered, that moment and that time. There is a time and a line that is crossed when the lost who have heard the Gospel, time and time again they have rejected Christ and rejected the calling and conviction of the Holy Spirit, a time when God will say, “It is enough!” (Heb. 10:26-27,31 – “For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation; It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God”). What is lost man to do to not sin the unpardonable sin?
III. Turn to Christ
There was a story about a tall apartment building that caught on fire and was engulfed in flames. The fire department arrived and got everyone out except one person. That person stood at the window of their apartment yelling, “Help, Save me!” to the fireman below. The fire department didn’t have a ladder tall enough to get to them but had stretched out a net that was able to catch that person and save them. They called up to that trapped person and told them, “Jump from the window we will catch you, we’ll save you” but the person wouldn’t jump but would go inside their smoke filled apartment then reappear to yell for help again and the firefighters would tell to just jump to safety. But the person never jumped but died in the flames of that fire. The only thing they had to do to be saved was to jump, to respond to the word of instruction from the fireman. Mankind is like that today, especially in America, they have heard the Word, warning, and instruction from God’s Word from God’s servants to repent and turn to towards Christ to be saved from the judgment to come but they perish in the fire. When Christ is preached today people want to question, to argue, to get some kind of explanation but all they need to do is respond. Rom. 10:9-10 says, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation”. To have Christ as Lord and Savior you must respond, you must confess Him as Lord. It doesn’t matter where you are or what condition you’re in turn to Christ. When the thief was dying on the cross beside Jesus, he couldn’t move or walk towards Him but he turned his eyes to Christ and said “Lord, remember me.” And Jesus’ said so graciously, “Today you will be with me in Paradise” (Lk. 23:4243). What must the lost man or woman do not to be forever lost? Do whatever they have to do to turn to Jesus in faith for Him to be their Lord and Savior.
The Unpardonable Sin is rejecting Jesus. What a sad statement today that here in America there are so many who have rejected Him. But there are those who have not heard also. Let us keep proclaiming Christ for those who will hear and believe.
