The Unforgivable Sin?
Mark 3:20-30
Pastor Jefferson Williams
Chenoa Baptist Church
02-20-2022
Again?
At a church I used to serve at there was a man who I will call Luke. Every three months or so, he would come into the church in tears and tell the secretary that he needed to talked to me asap.
We would sit down and he would begin, “I think I committed the unforgivable sin and I’m going to hell.”
And I would respond, in love but with a little sarcasm, “Again?”
He would laugh and I would explain, again, what the unforgivable sin actually is. He would say that he understood and leave with peace…until the next time.
If someone asked you what the “unforgivable sin” is could you take them to Scripture and answer their question?
Now That’s a Good Question Series
This morning, we begin a new short sermon series called, “Now that’s a Good Question.” Over the years I’ve been here, I’ve had a lot of questions thrown my way and I thought it would be good to answer some of them on Sunday mornings.
Next week, we are going to answer the question, “How do you know what God wants you to do?”
Two weeks from now - what does it mean to be “born again?”
And we will end with the question, “What is the best translation of the Bible?”
I really didn’t grow up involved in church or reading my Bible, so when I became a Christ-Follower I had so many questions but I was afraid to speak up.
Here at CBC, questions are encouraged! They are good. It shows that you are thinking deeply about the issues.
Remember that there are no dumb questions, except to question the genus of Barry Manilow!
[Slide] C.S. Lewis’ Trilemma
The author, professor, and apologist C.S. Lewis grew weary of people saying that Jesus was “a good moral teacher” but wasn’t God. In his classic work, “Mere Christianity” he puts this notion to rest:
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell.”
Jesus is either a liar, lunatic, or, He is exactly who He said He is, Lord of All!
It’s as if C.S. Lewis was reading Mark 3 when he wrote these words!
Text in Context
It is always important to consider a text in the Bible within its context but with these verses it is absolutely critical to understanding what Jesus is saying.
The book of Mark is not a biography of Jesus but a Gospel. Mark had an agenda and a question for his readers, “Who is Jesus?”
Mark doesn’t begin with the birth narratives like Matthew and Luke. He starts his story off with John the Baptist baptizing Jesus, marking the beginning of His earthly ministry.
Jesus started casting out demons. When these demons are confronted, they say “I know who you are - the Holy One of God!” (Mark 2:24) and “You are the Son of God.” (Mark 3:11)
Mark tells us that many brought their sick and demon possessed friends and family to him. In fact, “the whole town gathered at His door.” (Mark 2:33)
Jesus healed a man with leprosy and told him not to tell anyone. The man, so excited about his healing, ignored Jesus’ command and told anyone and everyone that would listen.
“As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.” (Mark 1:45)
In chapter two, he is in a house that is so packed with people that a group of friends dug a hole in the roof of the house and lowered their paralyzed friend down to Jesus. Jesus forgive the man’s sins, causing a heated debate:
“Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:6-7).
Jesus then healed the man who took up his mat and danced away with his friends.
“This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!” (Mark 2:12)
He healed a man with a shriveled hand on the Sabbath and Mark tells us:
“Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. When they heard about all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him.” (Mark 3:7-10)
He then chose twelve men to be His disciples:
“Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him” (Mark 3:16-19)
That brings us to our text today. If you would turn with me to the Gospel of Mark, chapter 3, we will start in verse 20.
Prayer.
[Slide] His Family Thought He was a Lunatic
[Slide] Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
Some time after he appointed the disciples, Jesus was back in Capernaum, at Peter’s house.
By this time Jesus was a rock star. We’ve already seen that crowds were following Him everywhere. Not that they necessarily thought He was the Messiah but they wanted to see the miracles.
The crowds were becoming dangerous and pressed in on Him to the point that they could even eat dinner.
I remember having this conversation with a group of junior high students who all thought it would amazing to be famous. I told them that once you [Slide] grow up a little you will realize it isn’t as fun as it looks.
[Slide] Comedian and actor Kevin Hart told the story that he went into the bathroom and was headed for a stall when a fan asked for selfie. He explained that he would not take a selfie in the bathroom and went into the stall. Sometime later, he came out and the man was still standing there and said, “Wow, you were in there for a long time!”
Word reached his family and they made the trip to Capernaum to “take charge of Him.” This word means to seize and can also mean to arrest.
They had heard the rumors that Jesus was claiming to be God, forgiving sins, driving out demons, and had gathered a motley crew of followers around Him.
Mary knew that He was God’s Son but she really didn’t know how it would happen and was probably very worried about Jesus’ health and safety.
It was obvious that Jesus had lost his mind. This word means to be “beside one’s self.” Jesus had obviously had a mental breakdown and was having what psychiatrists call “delusions of grandeur” and is associated with schizophrenia.
A man in a psychiatric hospital went around telling everyone he was Napoleon. Finally, one of the other patients was fed up with him and said, “You’re crazy. Who told you that you are Napoleon?” Without hesitation he answered, “God did.” The other man looked him up and down and said, “I most assuredly didn’t not!”
I worked in a psychiatric hospital for eight years and met many people who had these sort of delusions. In my time there, I met several people who truly believed they were Biblical characters.
One was an older lady who was convinced she was Mary Magdalene. You could read her chart to her, reminding her of her real name and where she lived, and she would just smile and shake her head. She was harmless but it was very hard on her family.
But delusions of religiosity can be very dangerous. Just consider people like David Koresh, Marshall Applewhite, and Jim Jones who all claimed to be Jesus or a prophet and led their followers to their deaths.
Jesus family considered him a religious fanatic. When my brother and I got serious about our relationship with Jesus, we were both accused of being fanatics, especially by our parents.
But we embraced the words of D.C. Talk:
“What will people think when they hear that I’m a Jesus freak?
What will people do when they find that’s it’s true?
I don’t really care if they label be me a Jesus freak
There ain’t no disguising the truth”.
When the Apostle Paul was trying to share the Gospel with Festus in Acts 26 and Festus interrupted and said:
“You are out of your mind, Paul!” he shouted. “Your great learning is driving you insane.” (Acts 26:24).
This same Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians:
“The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.” (I Cor 2:14)
D.L. Moody was called “Crazy Moody” because of his passion for lost people coming to Christ. Luther, Bunyan, Whitfield, Calvin, Wesley were all thought mad.
This culture is fanatical about all kinds of things, especially sports. But these people are considered crazy.
William Macdonald said it well: 'It is always true that a man who is on fire for God seems deranged to his contemporaries. If we set out to make a fortune, men will cheer us; if we are a fanatic for Jesus Christ, they will jeer us.”
But Jesus brothers and mother considered Him a lunatic.
Before we move on, let me encourage you with something.
Jesus’ brothers did not believe He was the Messiah. We know this from John 7:6:
“For even his own brothers did not believe in him.” (John 7:6)
He was odd but not God. But, after the resurrection, both James and Jude became believers, wrote two books in the Bible, and were leaders in the early church.
Don’t give up praying for your friends and family that do not have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ yet.
[Slide]The Religious Leaders thought He was a liar…and possessed
And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebub! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”
Matthew gives us some more details:
“Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?” (Matthew 12:22-23)
The religious leaders in Jerusalem had heard about this Jesus that was doing miracles and they travel the ninety miles to Capernaum to see this new superstar rabbi with their own eyes.
They couldn’t explain away the miracles. Too many people had witnessed it and there were rumors swirling that Jesus was the Messiah.
The scribes were the ones that made the copies of the Scriptures and knew them inside and out. But they wouldn’t believe that Jesus was the Messiah.
They made the charge openly that Jesus was a liar and possessed by Beelzebul. This is a term for a Philistine deity that means “Lord of the flies/dunghill.”
This is not the first, or last time, they would accuse Jesus of being in collusion with satan.
John 10:20 “He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?”
John 8:48 “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?
John 7:20 “You have a demon.”
Ray Steadman makes the analogy that Beelzebul was like the Godfather of the satanic mafia and Jesus was in league with, and controlled by, satan himself.
The scribes say this to the gathered crowd, “It is be the prince of demons that He is driving out demons.”
The term driving out /casting out is in the present tense. This is clear admission that the scribes acknowledged that demons were being cast out continually!
Jesus was obviously a black magician, a sorcerer, tapping into the dark side.
Jesus had enough of this talk about needed to teach them a lesson.
[slide] Jesus Thinks their Logic is Flawed
So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house.
Maybe Jesus just made eye contact with the scribes and said, “Listen up, guys.” Or maybe the people in the room made way and allowed them to circle around Jesus.
Jesus begins with a question to point out the logical absurdity of their claim.
Satan may be evil but he’s no fool. If his kingdom fights against itself, then it will lose ground. He would be working against his own goals and purposes. In fact, Jesus says that his kingdom would be finished!
When I worked at the children’s home in North Carolina, I used the play the students 1 on 5 in basketball. People asked how I won every time. Because I sowed division in their ranks. There would ultimately be a civil war. And, no matter how bad they wanted to beat me, they couldn’t because they were working against each other.
Jesus then tells a story about robbing a strong man’s house. In order to accomplish this, in order to tie up the strong man, someone actually has to be stronger.
Jesus is stronger than satan and the whole point of the Gospels is that Jesus has entered satan’s domain and He is plundering satan’s strongholds. He is setting people free. The blind see, the lame dance, the deaf hear and the dead, well they aren’t dead anymore.
The scribes have it completely wrong. Jesus isn’t in league with satan. He is tearing down satan’s kingdom one soul at a time.
[Slide] The Unforgivable Sin
[Slide] Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.” He said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.”
Jesus gives the scribes and the crowd a solemn warning. This is meant to frighten the comfortable and comfort the frightened.
He begins by saying, “Amen. Amen”. Only the Gospel writers record Jesus starting off his warnings this way. It’s like saying, “Listen up. What I’m about to say is important!”
In Matthew 12, it’s recorded this way:
“Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. “Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.” (Matthew 12:31-32)
There is VERY good news in these verses and there is a terrifying warning.
First, the good news!
ALL sin, slander, and blasphemy can be forgiven! You know what the Greek word for all is? ALL!
We are actually going to come back to this good news in a minute at the end of the sermon.
But now let’s look the bad news. This is serous warning that we need to think through carefully.
Jesus says that all sins can be forgiven but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. This is an eternal sin and they will not be forgiven in this age or the age to come.
Wow! That is super intense. What is this sin and how do we avoid it?
Throughout the week, I’ve asked people what they thought the unforgivable sin is.
One person said that she was told the unforgivable sin was incest. Another was told that taking communion if you aren’t a member of the church. Another said abortion.
This is why you have to study the Bible in its context.
Let me ask you some questions?
Is the unforgivable sin murder? Obviously not, Moses and David were both murderers.
Is the unforgivable sin adultery? Obviously not, David committed adultery.
Is the unforgivable sin denying Jesus? Obviously not, Peter denied Him three times.
Is the unforgivable sin not recognizing the genius of Barry Manilow? Probably not, but I wouldn’t risk it.
The key to understanding what the unforgivable sin is lies in verse 30:
Jesus said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.”
What is the unforgivable sin according to the Bible?
Danny Akin writes that the unforgivable sin is the “knowingly, willingly, and persistently attribute to satan the works of God done by and in Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Matt Chandler said it this way, “The blasphemy of the Spirit is the knowledgeable, willful, and continued rebellion against the ministry of the Holy Spirit.”
Sam Storms writes, “It is not a careless act but a calloused attitude…it is not mere denial but determined denial, not mere rejection but wanton, wicked, wide-eyed rejection”.
Let’s break this down:
Sin of full knowledge. When Jesus was on the cross He said, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)
People who commit this sin do it full knowledge of what they doing. It is deliberate.
Ongoing disposition of the heart that resists the conviction of the Holy Spirit
This is not a person that gets mad at God and yells at Him a bunch of cuss words. This is a pervasive way of thinking.
Verbal act that attributes the works of the Holy Spirit to satan
This is what the scribes and Pharisees were in danger of doing.
Kristi Burke has a lot of followers on Tik Tok. Listen to one of her videos where she makes the case that satan is actually the good guy.
Kristi Burke video
Willful rejection of God’s grace in Jesus
John Piper puts in words that made me shudder when I first read them:
“It is an act of resistance which belittles the Holy Spirit so grievously that He withdraws forever with His saving power and leaves you unable to repent and be forgiven.
* Rooted in unbelief
This is not someone who has doubts. Doubt is not the opposite of belief, unbelief is. It a refusal of the will to believe.
Christians cannot commit this sin
If you are saved, you are secure. John wrote:
“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (I John 5:11-12)
If you worried that you have committed you haven’t! The very fact that you are anxiously about this, proves that the Holy Spirit is active in your life.
Those who commit this sin wouldn’t care.
Ray Stedman writes:
And it is true, therefore, that if in the ultimate there is a rejection of Christ, then there is no hope, because there is no ground of forgiveness other than faith in the Lord Jesus. Men are forgiven when they believe in his name -- and on no other basis. If that is set aside; ultimately and finally -- this is not a single act of rejection which is in view, it is a process -- if the heart is resistant and rejects the claims of Jesus as set forth by the Holy Spirit, the result is that there can be no forgiveness
Want proof.
Video of Kristi Burke.
Let’s stop and pray for her right now.
Application
Forgiveness
Let go back to that little word back in verse 28 - ALL!
All sins can be forgiven. ALL. If we genuinely repent and ask for forgiveness.
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” (I John 1:7)
Two verses later, we are given this promise:
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9)
Isaiah words should be tattooed on our souls:
“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18)
One commentator wrote:
"a magnificent assertion of the wideness of God’s forgiving mercy. It is not an assertion of universal forgiveness but a declaration that all classes and kinds of sins may be forgiven.’
David writes in Psalm 103:12:
“As far as the east is from the west, so far as He removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12)
And the prophet Micah proclaimed that God will “hurl our sins into the sea of forgetfulness” and then puts up a sign that reads “No Fishing!”
You can be forgiven and free. Yes even for “that thing” in your past that you just can’t get past.
Paul wrote to Timothy about his past:
"even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.” (I Tim 1:13-14)
Salvation is free because it cost God the life of His Son on the cross. Every second you are alive you have the opportunity to place your trust in Jesus’ sacrifice for your sins on the cross.
The writer of Hebrews asks this haunting question:
“…how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation?” (Hebrews 2:3)
Lair, Lunatic, Lord
His family thought Jesus was a lunatic, the scribes thought He was a liar and possessed by Satan. Who do you say He is?
C. S. Lewis writes:
You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
Closing Song: O Come to the Altar
