Mark 3: 28 – 30
The Sin That Will Not Be Pardoned
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.”
Now, as you know there were two other documents in circulation and they were the Gospels of Luke and Matthew. As you know, Matthew was an apostle who was with our Lord Jesus Christ for over three years and was an eye witness to all that our Lord said and did. Luke, on the other hand was a friend and fellow traveler with the apostle Paul. He later came back to Israel and interviewed the eye witnesses to this event.
So, to get a full picture let us take a quick look at both Gospels and see if there is any other information that would bless us.
Matthew 12:31, “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.
Luke 12:10, “10 “And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.
Today we are going to look at the ‘Unpardonable Sin’. There is a sin that will not be pardoned by our Holy El Shaddai – God Almighty.
I want to let you know up front that I am shocked. I sit here now with my thoughts just spinning. Here is my reason why this feeling overwhelms me.
A subject that I believe you and I have dealt with, that is if you are a believer, is what sin would prevent our Holy Master from ‘pardoning’? Have we ever committed this sin? Is there a possibility of us ever committing this sin now that we have prayed the sinner’s prayer? This is a big concern.
My other thoughts focus on why hasn’t our Precious Holy God dealt more with this issue. I mean, look what Matthew and Luke wrote on this subject – one verse. How come?
So, I think a good place to begin with is what does the word pardon mean?
1. To release (a person) from punishment; exempt from penalty: a convicted criminal who was pardoned by the governor.
2. To let (an offense) pass without punishment.
3. To make courteous allowance for; excuse: Pardon me, I'm in a hurry. See Synonyms at ‘forgive’.
n.
1. The act of pardoning.
2. Law
a. Exemption of a convicted person from the penalties of an offense or crime by the power of the executor of the laws.
b. An official document or warrant declaring such an exemption.
3. Allowance or forgiveness for an offense or a discourtesy: begged the host's pardon for leaving early
The ‘Good News’ of our Adoni Yeshua’s shedding of His blood and death on the cross means that we are ‘forgiven’ of all our sins. Now that is good news. So, how do we deal with the scary thing of ‘blaspheming’ The Holy Spirit, as we read from all the Gospels?
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”
We read in the book of Deuteronomy 6:3-5, “3 Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the LORD God of your fathers has promised you—‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’ 4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD Is One![ 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
Many people, especially Jewish men and women say, now wait a minute. Jehovah Elyon – The Lord Most High – Is One.
How come you Christians then proclaim this ‘Holy Trinity?’
Well, I am not the greatest biblical teacher and have great knowledge in the Hebrew and Greek languages, but even a dummy like me, has been allowed to understand the ‘Tri-unity’ of our Holy God.
When you look at the verse ‘The Lord our God Is One, another way to read it is, ‘Our God [Elohim] Is El. In other words our Great Supreme Ruler Is plural. He Is One God but Is also Three Divine Holy Ones – Our Heavenly Father, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and our Precious Holy Spirit. They are equal yet the same in essence and being. They are One.
I know, I know, our feeble minds have a hard time putting it all in harmony with our thoughts.
Now some people have come to a belief that the ‘Godhead’ Is made up of only ‘Two’ Holy Ones – The Father and the Son. These people are called Bi-tarians or Unitarians. They state that in the bible you principally only see reference to the Father and the Son. Here are a few examples of their findings.
Psalm 2:10-12, “10 Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.”
Revelation 5 “,5 And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. 4 So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read[a] the scroll, or to look at it. 5 But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose[b] its seven seals.” 6 And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. 8 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; For You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, 10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.” 11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!” 13 And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: “Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!” 14 Then the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.
John 8:13-18, “13 The Pharisees therefore said to Him, “You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true.” 14 Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me. 17 It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. 18 I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.”
There are other verses that only lists our Lord Jesus and our Holy Father, so these groups take a position that there are only two Holy Ones in the Godhead.
Now my answer to this position is this, ‘Just because it lists in some occasions only our Heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus does not necessarily limit our God to two Holy Ones. In these particular verses this is just the way our God listed the Scripture.
There are also other verses that our God Is listed as ‘Three’.
John 1”29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ 31 I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.” 32 And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. 33 I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
All Three Holy One’s are involved here. Our Holy Father is speaking from Heaven to John ‘The Baptist’ to confirm the One Who Is standing before him Is God’s Holy Son, while also our Precious Holy Ghost descends on our Lord.
The one verse that clears up for me and I believe for all of us comes from the book of Acts chapter 5, “5 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. 2 And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? 4 While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” 5 Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. 6 And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him. 7 Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 And Peter answered her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?” She said, “Yes, for so much.” 9 Then Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” 10 Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. 11 So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things.”
Read that one portion again – ‘You have not lied to men but to God.’
So, how to you commit the unpardonable sin? Some people have commented that the Holy Spirit has come to convince the world that our Lord Jesus Christ Is the Son of God. Yes, He has and yes He does. However, is it sin to those people who will not accept the words so greatly pointed out in the Gospel of John chapter 14, “5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”
No, the answer is that if people will not turn to the Lord Jesus Christ who paid the supreme price on the cross for all mankind, then their sins are not covered by the Precious Blood of the Holy Lamb of God. All their sins remain.
We find the reason for the unpardonable sin is this as pointed out by Mark
30 because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
Can you see the abomination here? These godless men were accusing our Master and King of doing all His miracles by an unclean spirit. The Holy Spirit Is God. He Is Holy. Mankind will not ever get away with calling our Living and Glorious Creator evil.
