Unpardonable Sin?

Well, brethren, we've just come through God's spring Holy Day festivals, haven't we? Pass over the Days of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Pentecost. They've all been very inspiring to us, and through them we focused on God's grace and God's mercy. We considered the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the life that was laid down on our behalf so that we could live, and the fact that now a covenant was made available. And if we reconcile with God through repentance in that covenant, we have life extended to us. We walked through the Days of Unleavened Bread, which reminds us that this life and this covenant is a daily effort to put sin out. I mean, we put it out through the sacrifice, okay? And we're cleaned through the sacrifice, but we seek to keep it out. And as it seeks to creep back into our life, again, this is daily movement, this is daily effort to walk spiritually out of Egypt in our service to God. And then on the Feast of Pentecost, God's Holy Spirit, as we're reminded, came to live in each of us so that we could develop the character of God, the nature of God, and have the help we need truly to live as He desires, to overcome the ways of this world, and to put on His nature and the nature of His Son. So we just come through those Holy Days, and again, there are grace-filled days, I would call them. God's grace, God's mercy, shed upon those who, frankly, did not deserve it. None of us deserve it, but created in His image, it's His desire for us, and that indeed is a blessing. But as we exit this portion of the Holy Day cycle, once again, I'd like to ask and answer a question that I believe is important for us to consider against the backdrop of the Holy Days, of the grace and the mercy that's been extended, because I believe it's important for us to keep in mind. And the question is, what is the unpardonable sin?

What is the unpardonable sin? And again, I believe it's important for us to ask and answer that question because of the extensive study we've been immersed in, in God's grace, the fact that upon repentance, He removes our sins as far as east is from west. He makes us white as snow, and the blessing that we have to carry forward in a clean state before Him is because of His willingness to forgive our sin.

So what is the unpardonable sin? It's a question that sometimes comes up, is there a sin that God won't forgive? Is there a sin that God won't forgive? Or maybe we would put it another way, is there a sin that is too big for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ? You know, Jesus laid His life down, we come under the blood of that sacrifice in the covenant with our Father, but is there a sin that is too great for the sacrifice that was offered for us? When I counsel people for baptism, it's probably one of the most common lines of questioning that comes up through the course of conversation.

And I don't usually introduce it, it's usually asked of me, could I have committed the unpardonable sin? Because through counseling we're talking about God's mercy as grace through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and repenting, being washed clean, walking anew. And the question is, well, mate, what if there's something in my background that God won't forgive?

Could I have committed the unpardonable sin? So that comes up from time to time as well. So let's talk about it today. Let's talk about what the unpardonable sin is, or what our sins, we could even say that are unpardonable, what's required to pardon a sin, and what would perhaps put a sin outside of God's willingness to pardon. I don't mean this to be necessarily a heavy negative message, I would say after we get through this, we flip it around and it reveals for us the grace and the mercy of God, just how much He has given us to lift us up and to walk before Him in a reconciled manner.

So, but there is this element we need to be aware of and to consider in our lives. Let's begin in 1 John chapter 5 today. 1 John chapter 5. John here introduces a concept that I think, you know, sometimes people read this and they scratch their head. You know, what's he talking about here? 1 John chapter 5, and we're going to begin in verse 11. And it says, this is the testimony that God has given us eternal life. Okay, He says, God has given this and I'm testifying of this.

And indeed, that's what all the disciples, apostles, did as they went out, is gave testimony of this blessing. So this is the testimony that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Verse 12, He who has the Son has life. He who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

And so eternal life is what God has promised us. It comes only through and by coming under the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Right, we went through this not long ago. There's no other name given under heaven among men by which we must be saved. So eternal life comes through this relationship, reconciled to the Father under the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And it's something that continues forward as we maintain this relationship in a right and a proper way.

Verse 16 says, if anyone sees his brother sinning, a sin, okay, this is an interesting concept that sometimes is a hang-up. If anyone sees his brother sinning, a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask and he will give him life for those who commit sin, not leading to death. He says, there is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that.

All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death. So it's John talking about here. There's a sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. You know, I thought all sin led to death, right? The wages of sin is death.

So what's the distinction on sin leading to death and sin not leading to death? Sometimes that's confusing. In his daily Bible study series, you see, I even questioned putting this quote in here, and now I know I regret it.

In his daily Bible study series, William Barkley comments on this portion of the Scripture saying, there is no doubt that this is a most difficult and disturbing passage.

This concept that there's sin leading to death, sin not leading to death, and I would say, you know, it can be a difficult passage, and it can be disturbing, honestly, if you believe that being saved by grace means there's nothing you can do to disqualify yourself from that grace or remove yourself from under the umbrella of grace. So this seems difficult to some. What does it mean?

What does it mean? And the answer comes back to, again, the principle found in Romans chapter 6 in verse 23, and it spread through other passages as well. The wages of sin is death, okay? But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

So sin not leading to death is sin that is repentant of. It is sin that is repented of in its very basic form. You've come to God, you've acknowledged your sin before Him, you've repented, you've sought His mercy, you've sought to go the other direction yourself and change, and God has extended forgiveness. And what happens upon forgiveness of our sins? Well, again, they're removed as far as the east is from west. This is a sin not leading to death. It is repented of. Christ's sacrifice has been applied and forgiveness has been extended. And that's where we need to live each and every day as the people of God. We need to live in a continually humble and repentant attitude before God, examining our lives and coming before Him when we recognize there's things that don't reconcile with His nature. God help me, God forgive me by your spirit guide and direct me. So the sin not leading to death is a sin that is repented of and forgiven. The sin leading to death is different than that, though. It's any sin that is not brought under the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Okay, sin leading to death is any sin that's not brought under the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We're not talking about sins of ignorance here or something that we didn't realize we did. You know, last week I wasn't paying attention and I stumbled into this issue and maybe I told a little white lie to get out of it. Okay, that's a problem. It has to be worked on, okay, and that needs to be overcome. But a sin in terms of what we're talking about here leading to death, because if you recognize that and you repent to God and you seek to do better, again, washed away, but this is not talking about ignorance or accidental sin. This is talking about a deliberate refusal to go to God in repentance. So if the wages of sin is death, and it is, whatever it is that we are unwilling to go to God with, with the recognition that we're sinning, is actually a sin leading to death if we will not submit before Him in repentance.

Remember, the context here is to the church. John says, if you see a brother who is sinning, this is a brother in the faith. And so we're not talking about sinners in the world not called to know God now. We're talking about a Christian who has come under the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. They know better. They understand what sin is, what the consequence of sin is, understand what God's Word lays out as the parameters for sin, and yet they knowingly and willingly say, it's okay. That's just fine. I will carry on as I am, and they deliberately and permanently refuse to repent. It is a sin that leads to death, and it is a sin that will not be pardoned because a person refuses to submit to the pardoning process God has established through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Okay, so we're going to see some of this as we move forward today. What is too big for the sacrifice of Christ? Nothing. As long as we are willing to come under the umbrella of that grace and submit to God in this right and proper relationship, but if we intentionally and willfully push Him away and push that away and say, it is okay, we are now moving ourselves outside of the parameters of God's mercy that He would extend because we of heart are not repentant ourselves. So again, understand the unpardonable sin, and this will expand some as we go, but it's a sin leading to death, and it's not something that's accidental or unintentional. It is intentional, and it is willful. We're bought at a price, okay, very high price, and to consciously refuse then to submit and to come under the conditions of that gift through repentance then leaves our sins in an unpardon condition, and the wages of sin is death.

So it's a very serious subject, and it's not something we, I would say, spend a lot of time dwelling on. I hope we've learned the lessons of the Passover and the Days of Eleven Bread, Feast of Pentecost, and all of these, the fact that God's called us into this lively, interactive, repentant, grace-filled relationship with Him. And as we stay in the parameters of that, it is a blessing, but we have to understand there are places we do not want to go as the people of God, because the concept that grace just covers everything, no matter what you do, you cannot remove yourself from the grace of God. That is a false premise, something that is taught, frankly, many times in the world around us, but it's not what we teach in the Church of God.

Now, sometimes people worry that they have committed the unpardonable sin. I'm worried that I did that, that I committed a sin God won't forgive. I'll just say, if you're worried that you committed the unpardonable sin, you very likely have not, because if you're worried, if you're concerned, if you're going to God, pleading for His mercy, for His forgiveness, saying, God, I've done this, and like David, you know, don't take your Spirit from me. That is a repentant heart, and that is something that God then hears and responds to. You've not lapsed back into the world if you so desire to come to Him in repentance. It doesn't mean we don't have work to do, and a heart work to do. We all do, time to time. But again, that's part of an ongoing relationship with God, and He looks for a repentant heart in us. On that, okay, you stumble, but you get back up, you dust yourself off, you say, Father, forgive me, give me the strength to go the other way, as is my heart's desire as well. That, indeed, then is pardonable. So John says, pray for those who you see sinning, who are desirous to live God's way in seeking to overcome, right? Pray for those who have committed a sin, again, though it's not unto death. They have repentant. They're seeking to overcome. Pray for them. Pray for their strength if you know and understand those things. Pray for God's mercy and forgiveness, but don't pray for God to forgive someone who willingly and deliberately refuses to repent and change their stubborn and bitter heart before Him. That might sound a little odd. Let me, let me, we still pray for them, okay? Pray for God to wake them up. Pray for God to bring them to their senses, but don't say, God, forgive this person for something they will not even repent for themselves. That's not how this process works. So John says, if you see someone stumbling in a sin that's not unto death because you know, all right, they're working with this. They're struggling to overcome. Pray for them. Pray for God to help them and strengthen them, but if somebody is just willingly, intentionally, you know, forget the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, I will do this and I'm fine with it. Thank you very much. The prayer isn't God forgive them, honestly. They have to have the character of God develop. The prayer would be then, and again in my opinion, would be wake them up, help them to see, and then they will come indeed to repentance. The New Testament basically lays out three passages of Scripture which describes in greater detail the parameters of the unpardonable sin, and I want to take a look at these now as we move forward. The first passage pertaining to sin that God simply will not forgive is found in Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10, and we've touched on this basically all along as we've begun today, Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 26. What is it that God won't pardon? Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 26 says, for if we sin willfully, okay, we're getting back into what is your heart, what is your attitude behind this, for if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. So sinning willfully here is listed as something that God will not pardon.

Sinning willfully. And again, this is pertaining to someone who has been called out of the world, come under the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, receive God's Holy Spirit as they are in covenant relationship with Him. They're being just to salvation now, are they not? Isn't it time that judgment has come upon the house of God? This is our day of salvation. So the point is they're in this relationship with God and they are sinning willfully. For these individuals, the listed consequence of that is God's unfavorable judgment leading to the lake of fire. It is the second death. This isn't just a physical death that's talking about it, it's talking about eternal death from which there is no coming back. This is a sin that removes you from the intercessory work of Jesus Christ and takes you from under the umbrella of that grace that has been poured out, not because there's weakness in Christ's sacrifice, but because the individual who is sinning willfully and deliberately and without remorse has willfully removed themselves from under the conditions of grace which has been extended to them by God. Okay, that's what this is saying. And you know, sometimes Christians worry, you know, dedicated people of God worry, you know, have I done this? Because I sinned and, you know, it was kind of willful, right? I did this thing and I knew when I was doing it was a sin, I knew I shouldn't have done it, I knew it was a weakness, it was a struggle, and I did it anyway. And there's this kind of concept and this worry of have I committed this unpardonable sin that God will not forgive. But again, brethren, understand, if you're a repentant Christian and you're worrying about it and you're taking action based upon your concern, you're on your knees before God, you're pleading for his forgiveness and your desire is to change and go the other direction, you have not committed the unpardonable sin. That doesn't mean you don't still have work to do, but you haven't burned your bridge with God, okay? God is not willing that any should perish, that all should come to repentance. He desires us to grow and to change and to move forward. So as long as one desires repentance in their life, God will always forgive them. As long as you're willing to confess and to change, God will always stand ready to forgive them. But sadly, it's possible to come to the state of not caring about or not looking for the forgiveness of God. And where there is no repentance, there can be no forgiveness.

Okay, and that's an important point to remember. We're not bought by cheap grace, and we're not under the umbrella of once saved, always saved, no matter what you do.

Okay, we're under the umbrella of God's mercy and grace as long as we're willing to, as David said, grant me daily repentance. Grant me a heart that's desirous to be right with you continually. That's what God has called us to be, and in that state we can be right with Him.

But this passage is describing an individual who willfully sets their heart and their mind against God, and that's a different spirit. Okay, that's a different spirit, but it is somebody that, at least at some point in their life, covenanted with God, was reconciled to Him. Okay, but now their spirit has changed. They've chosen with understanding to reject the standard of His way, even knowing what God has called them to do and to be, and there is no remorse. They're not apologetic, they're not seeking to go another way, and usually there is pride that's connected to the life of this behavior and this individual. Verse 28, still in Hebrews chapter 10, verse 27 again said, you know, what are you going to... what's going to be the outcome of that? It's a certain fearful expectation of judgment and firing indignation which will devour the adversaries. Verse 28, anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Okay, a physical law with spiritual application, yes, but you break this law, you're going to die physically, okay, of how much worse punishment do you suppose? Will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and has insulted the spirit of grace. This is describing a rejection, somebody who was converted and has now turned in rejection of God, rejected Jesus Christ and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, rejected God's Holy Spirit, insulted the spirit of grace, and said, I don't need you, I am fine on my own, thank you very much. And it is a rejection, any belittling of all that God holds up as value in terms of where that grace comes from. So, brethren, recognize the danger here. So many sins are pardonable, okay, and we don't just go commit sins because they're pardonable, understand the price that was paid for you, and that should motivate us to change. But so many sins are pardonable.

Any sin that you commit and you desire to be right with God and you come in repentance is pardonable, but making the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to be nothing is unpardonable.

And God will not forgive that because you now removed yourself from His instrument of grace, spread abroad upon you. God will not forgive the making of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, nothing, nor the insulting of His Spirit in that regard. There's something so unique and so special about God's calling that if you turn your back and reject it, you will not get a second chance. And that's what the Bible teaches, and that's what the church has always taught. We're not second chancerers. People have said, oh, you're second chancerers because you believe there's going to be a portion of mankind that comes up in a resurrection that will have an opportunity to repent and know of God. No, that is their first chance of honestly knowing God, knowing what He is offering them and coming into that relationship. But for the church of God, who this is speaking to, this is our day of salvation. And to reject the grace of God and to reject the sacrifice of His Son in this calling is something that God won't sacrifice Jesus Christ again. Okay? And that's the point. If you accepted His sacrifice and rejected it, God will not sacrifice His Son again.

So it's not describing those who sin out of frailty, it's not describing those who sin out of human weaknesses. God does not remove His grace from those who are striving to be right with Him. If you stumble, you seek to put your life in order, and God works with us. Okay? And that is indeed the blessing. There's many encouraging scriptures in the Bible that show us God's willingness to help us up and help us along when we fall short in this life. Proverbs chapter 24 and verse 16.

Let's look at a couple of encouraging scriptures for us here, because we're talking about some heavy stuff, aren't we? We're talking about some heavy stuff. Proverbs chapter 24 and verse 16. You know, the grace of God is heavy, too, but it is indeed encouraging. Proverbs chapter 24 and verse 16 says, For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity. The term fall here doesn't mean to fall into destruction. It means to stumble, the trip and fall, but you get up again, and your attitude and your heart is to get up again and carry forward, and God gives you what you need, and that indeed is a blessing. It's a blessing. The righteous man may fall seven times and rise again. Psalm chapter 37 and verse 23. Psalm 37 and verse 23 says, The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. It's like he's right with God and he's yielding to God's Spirit, and his steps and his way through life is actually in response to that relationship. Okay, verse 23 again, The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholds him with his hand. And so there's so much encouragement in these verses, and there's so much encouragement in the holy days we just come through because we recognize, okay, through failure of our own, we do stumble, we do fall at times, but God helps us up. He gives us the hand. He desires us to return, and he gives us what we need to move forward again, and he desires that heart always to be in us. First John chapter 1 and verse 8. First John chapter 1 verse 8, speaking of the forgiveness of God, because again, there is no sin too great for God to forgive. No sin too big for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He's offered us the way to come under that umbrella of his grace, but we have to be there willingly. First John chapter 1 and verse 8. Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in him and in you?

First John 1 verse 8, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. I feel like I'm in the wrong place. Is that what your Bible says in First John 1 verse 8?

Okay.

Give me a moment.

All right. Don't know where the issue is, but the answer is you come to God in repentance, right? And he is always standing ready to forgive. That is it. Cast it upon him, and he stands ready at all times to forgive. If we say we have no sin, all right, and that's where the stumbling block is at times, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. Maybe you're looking at that scripture. I'm not sure what happened here, but you can look it out later. You know, if you say you have no sin, you deceive yourself, and the truth is not in you. But if you're willing to confess your sins before God, he stands ready to forgive you. And that is the great gift and the blessing. So don't lie to yourself. Don't say, I have no sin, I am okay. Repentance involves coming to God and bringing these things before him.

Passage number two pertaining to the unpardonable sin is found in Hebrews chapter six. Hebrews chapter six.

I do know this verse is in my Bible because I checked this morning. Hebrews chapter six. This is critical. Hebrews chapter six. Beginning in verse four, it says, For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, okay, what is that? God's Spirit, sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Word of God, what are the promises of God? You take those things on. You are enlightened and you walk enlightened. For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit and have tasted the good Word of God and the powers of the age to come if they fall away to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God and put him to an open shame. Okay, another very important and critical passage. It's impossible to renew them to repentance again, Paul says.

This is describing the unpardonable sin through the action of falling away.

Okay, falling away. So we need to understand what falling away is. Again, many people, many churches don't like these specific scriptures, okay, and as has been revealed, some believe this is rather perplexing and confusing because the concept of universal salvation, the concept of once saved, always saved, is applied by so many. But there are things that can remove us from the grace of God. The fall away is more than simply going to sleep.

And we see going to sleep in the Bible, that is a spiritual danger, brethren. We never want to go to sleep, but you can wake up out of a sleep. We pray that God wakes us up indeed if we are asleep. But falling away is more even than that. It is turning our back on our calling and slipping back willingly into the world where we came from. That's what it means to fall away. And as such, it's an about-face in our calling that rejects the gift of the Holy Spirit, the calling of God, and the only one through whom our salvation comes. I think we've probably, many of us, struggled with this concept of falling away over the years, because maybe we've looked at friends, close friends or family, and we wondered, does this apply to them? And I would just say that judgment is not for our place to draw. That judgment is for God, who knows the heart, who makes those ultimate decisions.

But again, there's no sin that's too great for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, as long as we return to God in willing repentance. But abandoning our former relationship with Him is unpardonable.

To walk away from the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, to say, you know, I'm closing the book on that chapter of my life, and I am putting it away, it no longer has value to me. To walk from that, indeed, is unpardonable. This passage, along with others, warns there's no way to renew such a person to repentance once they've rejected the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And so, one clear category, then, of the unpardonable sin is a person who is not willing to repent. Whether they've fallen away, whether they sin willingly, their heart is not in a place where they want to reconcile with God any longer, and they are just fine with their decision to turn from Him and to walk away.

Stumbling out of weakness is one thing. Sinning out of ignorance is one thing. But choosing to consciously reject Jesus Christ's sacrifice and embrace a lifestyle unrepentantly that is in the opposite direction and to embrace the world again. That's a sin that will not be pardoned.

But understand, God always forgives when we come in repentance. So what we understand about unpardonable is it's actually the heart of the individual that makes them unpardonable because they refuse to return in repentance. They refuse to come under that sacrifice any longer.

And the warning for us in the Church of God is stay close to God. Pray daily, repent, draw near to Him, meditate on His Word, fill your heart with the truth and the things of God. King David again was a man after God's own heart. David sinned big. And it's not an excuse to go sin. Okay, there's never an excuse. The point is, though, what did David do when he acknowledged his sin? David was a passionate man and there's times he sinned big. Taking Bathsheba, having her husband Uriah killed to cover up his sin, that's big. But when David acknowledged and confronted his sins, he repented big as well because his heart and his desire was always to be right with God. And in his pleading to God, he says, don't take your spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation. And indeed, that is where we must all be when we come to acknowledge our shortcomings before God. To be right with him and to walk with him is a place that will allow us to be pardoned and under the grace of his Son.

Sinning willfully, falling away are both examples of the unpardonable sin. We worship a God of mercy and a God of grace, but again, that grace is not cheap and it came at the price of his only begotten Son. We've been saved by grace through faith. Okay, by grace through faith. But if you're to depart from the faith, what is the foundation for that grace? Okay, so God here has offered us everything. And our response then to him is obedience and to grow and become as he and his Son are in their likeness. Don't forget everything we've learned through the spring holy days that we've walked through this year. The wages of sin is indeed death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. And the admonition of the Word is never be willing to step out from under the umbrella of that grace. Walk in it and live in it every day of your life. Passage number three pertaining to the unpardonable sin then is found in Matthew chapter 12. And this takes on a little bit different direction for us, but it's all relatable and it's all tied together ultimately. Matthew chapter 12 and verse 22. Let's look at an example here involving Jesus Christ and the Pharisees. Matthew chapter 12 and verse 22. It says, Then one was brought to Jesus, who was demon-possessed. He was blind, he was mute, and Jesus healed him, so that the blind and the mute man both spoke and saw. And all the multitudes were amazed and he said, could this be the Son of David? You know, could this be the Messiah?

Could this be the one we're watching for? Verse 24. Now in the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow does not cast out demons except by Belzebub, the ruler of the demons. Understand what the Pharisees are saying here. They're saying, excuse me, he has a demon. And the only way he can cast out this demon is because he has a demon, but not just any demon. The chief of demons is in him. It is by the power of the demon that Jesus Christ did this miracle. That's the accusation. It's from the rulers, the chief priests. Mark's account bears it out well. It's throughout the synoptic gospels. Let's stay in Matthew, but you can fill this in with the other accounts. He has the chief demon in him, and that's where they were attributing the power by which he did this miracle. Verse 25, but Jesus knew their thoughts, and he 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? He says, my power, my authority is not from Satan. It is from God. Verse 27, 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. Or maybe a better translation would be, surely the kingdom of God is among you, because Jesus Christ, the king of that kingdom, was in their midst. He was talking. He was teaching. He was doing signs and wonders. It's like the kingdom of God is here among you, and now you are without excuse. Verse 29, or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house? He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters abroad. Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. So here we have a description now of another sin which is unpardonable. A sin which will not be forgiven in the eyes of God is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Again, verse 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. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. Okay, you might say something about me. You know, that could be forgiven. Okay, fine. You probably, a lot of them eventually came to acknowledge who Jesus Christ was. Some of them, anyway, came to repentance on the day of Pentecost. Okay, so you anyone can, if you speak 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. So what's Jesus saying? What does it mean to blaspheme the Holy Spirit? Well, the word blaspheme comes directly from the Greek word blasphemia, okay, not a very big removal in the English, and it means evil speaking. It means to speak evil of something, to curse something, to denigrate something with malicious intent, and when it's used in the context of against the Holy Spirit, it means to deny the power and the authority of God, to speak evil of the power and the authority of God. The Pharisees were accusing Jesus Christ of operating with the power of Satan, not the power of God, and they knew better. Okay, and that's key. They knew better.

They were angry with him. They were jealous of him, but they were not without understanding of who he was, or at the very least, they were without excuse in what their understanding should have been. They knew better, and with that knowledge, they still attributed the power of God to Satan.

And that's the kicker. That's the kicker to with understanding attribute the power and the authority and the righteousness of God to be that of Satan. Jesus Christ says, that is a sin which is impardonable, unpardonable in the eyes of God, and you will not forgive.

Quoting from the United Church of God article titled, What Does It Mean to Blaspheme the Holy Spirit? And it says, quote, Blaspheming the Holy Spirit means denying the power of God and is mentioned by Jesus in connection with the unpardonable sin. It is not something that a person can say or do in a moment by accident or ignorance. Rather, blaspheming the Holy Spirit is a mindset that is firmly set against God and unwilling to acknowledge him even when one knows they should. End quote. So again, we're talking with knowledge. We're talking with understanding, recognizing who God is and the power of God in action, and still resisting, blaspheming, speaking evil of it, attributing it to the adversary. It is a mindset that is in opposition to God. Not a misspoken word, not a mistake. Again, it's in the same category of the other scriptures we've read of a heart that is unyielding and unwilling to yield to God. The Pharisees knew the prophecies of the coming Messiah, and they recognized who Jesus was because of the miracles He performed, because of the words He spoke. He fulfilled in their presence the proof of His Messiahship. But because of their hardness of heart, they denied Him and attributed the power of God's Spirit in Him to that of Satan. And Jesus Christ said, you are walking on very dangerous ground, lest you turn and repent.

For anyone to see the power and the work of God accomplished through His Spirit, and to know it is of God, and to willingly harden themselves against it, and knowingly attribute it to the power of Satan, is dancing on the ground of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. And understand, this comes through a bitter heart. This came from people who were embittered when they saw Jesus Christ and the people that were following Him and the miracles He was performing. Bitterness will take you out of the kingdom of God if you do not reign it in.

I didn't put the scripture in my notes, but I was thinking about it on the way down today, Esau.

And what's the warning? Beware lest a root of bitterness become in your life like Esau, who for one morsel sold his birthright, his birthright. But later he wanted to receive it.

But he says he would not, even though with tears he sought after it. We've been offered a birthright from God, and the scripture says, do not sell that out. Do not turn back from it. This is your day of salvation, and the day will come you will stand before God. That will not be the time to, with tears, seek the birthright that you've sold.

This is the day of salvation. We are under grace.

But we are not second chancerers. God has given us the legitimate shot we need to be in His family and in His kingdom. We need to hold fast with that to the end. All these matters that are listed as unpardonable sins aren't accidental sins, okay? So understand that. None of us commit it if we are truly desirous to be right with God and we turn and repent. These are intentional, habitual, and unrepentant sins. And the Bible lists all these categories of people who will not be in the kingdom of God. Guess what? Those sins are pardonable. The people will get on their knees before God and seek His forgiveness and change. So that's ultimately this relationship that it boils down to.

A willing rejection of the salvation work of God and Christ is what will lead to someone missing out on the kingdom of God. And that indeed is what is unpardonable. Those who willingly reject the salvation work of God and Christ in their life with knowledge, with understanding.

It is what God says, I will not pardon in that day. They push God away, they push His Son away, they push His sacrifice away, His Spirit away, knowingly and willingly. All those grace-filled gifts of God that we learned about during, again, the Days of Unleavened Bread, the Passover, Pentecost, and indeed moving forward throughout the Holy Days, they are a huge blessing. And it's what we embrace, I pray willingly, and it's what brings us back to God time and time again before His throne and grace on our knees. They are an incredible blessing, brethren. Never take that for granted. Let us take heed to the things we have heard and let us also take comfort in knowing that we worship a loving God who has given us so much. He's not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance. He wants us in His image, in His kingdom, and in His family for eternity, and He's given all for that to take place, even the life of His only begotten Son.

So as we exit these Holy Days now and we move forward now, we're looking towards, in our hemisphere, the fall, right? The great feasts that God has set before us of the establishment then of His kingdom yet to come. We rejoice in that. We look forward to that, but never take our eyes off of the promises of God and the mercy and the grace He's extended. It's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, but it's an incredible blessing to come under the umbrella of His grace and His mercy as well.