As I wrote the previous post (Last Chance), it reminded me of a sermon from a few weeks ago in church. That sermon was about the one sin that God cannot forgive, from what Jesus said in Mark 3:22-30.
Jesus had been doing miracles, and in this specific case He had exorcised demons. Some of the religious leaders who were jealous of Him started saying that Jesus was casting out demons by the power of one of the demonic princes or rulers. Jesus refuted their claim by pointing out that Satan can’t be working against himself, otherwise everything he’s doing will fall apart. Later Jesus added that if He is exorcising demons by demonic power, then how are the children of the religious leaders exorcising them?
While the point of this post is the unforgivable sin, I’d like to point out Jesus’ parable in verse 27. He talked about how you can’t take the goods out of a strong man’s house without tying the strong man up first. In this parable, Satan is the strong man, Jesus is the one binding him, and the goods are the souls that Jesus is rescuing from Satan’s clutches.
Back to the rest of the context. Jesus then talks about how every sin can be forgiven, even blasphemy. But then Jesus says that there’s one sin that cannot be forgiven: blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Jesus is talking about the sin these religious leaders are either committing at that moment or are ready to commit. They are so adamant that they not believe in Jesus, so adamant that they ignore the Holy Spirit showing them the proof right in front of them, that they are willing to say the Messiah from God is from Satan. They are outright rejecting the Holy Spirit.
Blaspheming the Holy Spirit is the rejection of and determined refusal to believe the Holy Spirit’s witness about Christ, even to the point of attributing Christ’s power to Satan. The unforgivable sin is consistently denying and rejecting the witness of the Holy Spirit when the He begins to convict you of your sin and about how you need Jesus Christ. You are denying the truth that God Himself is telling you, and even calling it a lie. Believing in Jesus Christ is how you get to Heaven – and God wants you to be there – but if you continually reject the Holy Spirit calling you to belief and faith in Christ, then God will ultimately let you have what you want. Rejecting and denying the Holy Spirit’s call to you is the only sin that God cannot forgive. If you want to be separated from God, then separated you shall be.
You never know when the Holy Spirit will call you for the last time. Whether you’ve been raised in “church world,” whether you’ve lived your whole life doing the worst things possible, or whether you’re somewhere in between, the Holy Spirit calls to everyone. Don’t blaspheme by calling the Holy Spirit a liar when He brings you the truth.
Related:
The Time to Make a Choice
When God Cannot Give to You
Love and Volition