What About Sin?

 

We began the year with a “Text Your Question / Ask Anything”weekend. I’ve asked some of our leaders at GCC to respond to a few of those questions.  Bob Laurent (we lovingly call him “Dr. Bob”) has chosen to wrestle with the perennial issue of “suffering.”  I love Bob.  He is one of our GCC pastors. I trust him. I admire his devotion to Jesus and the Bible.  I took this picture of Bob teaching one of our Journey Bible Classes last night.

The question is “What is the unpardonable sin? (and, is there a chance I’ve committed it?)”

This is Bob's good faith effort to help us all.  Read on….

                                                                          

Following are thoughts and insights from my own Bible study on this crucial topic.
 
                “He who is not with me is against me,” said Jesus, “and he who does not gather with me scatters.  And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.  Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”  (Matthew 12:30-32)
 
 Widespread confusion surrounds this question, and that’s why I’ve chosen to answer it.  So many people worry way too much that they MAY HAVE committed or DID commit, the unpardonable sin.  Yet most of them have no idea how to RECOGNIZE that sin that “shall not be forgiven.”  I’ve actually known Christians who believed for decades that they are beyond God’s forgiveness; Christians who attempted suicide because they believed themselves forever condemned; tortured souls who spent time in psychiatric wards because someone wrongly taught them that they had committed the unforgivable sin.  Now hear this: the unpardonable sin is not criticizing a television evangelist, or losing your virginity in high school, or being unfaithful to your mate in the past, or giving your consent to an abortion, or considering suicide.  Although these last four have serious consequences, they all have one thing in common: they can be forgiven and WILL be forgiven if you take them to Jesus.
 
Everything wrong you’ve ever done, are doing, or will do, can be forgiven IF YOU are sorry and REPENT.  And that’s why Jesus said that you could be forgiven for blaspheming the Son of Man (Jesus) but not for blaspheming the Holy Spirit.   Why?  Because it’s the Holy Spirit who CONVICTS YOU OF SIN (“when He comes He will convict the world of sin because MEN DO NOT BELIEVE IN ME.” John 16:8-9) and DRAWS YOU TO JESUS (who is “the only name under heaven given among men by whom we must be saved.” Acts 4:12).   So if you blaspheme the Spirit (and I’m about to explain what that is—don’t give up), you turn away from the one Person in your reality who can bring you to salvation in Christ.
 
By the way, whenever people come to me who are certain that  they have committed the unpardonable sin, I’m just as certain that they haven’t!  The very act of BEING CONCERNED is its own proof that you have not gone far enough to be guilty of this sin.  Still, I’m not always able to convince them of this truth (so effective are Satan’s lies!), and tragically, some of them give up seeking and obeying God because they have lost hope for His salvation.  This doesn’t have to be you.
 
So recognize this sin when it comes calling.  Blasphemy of the Spirit  (the unpardonable sin) is REJECTING JESUS CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR when you know that He died for you on the cross.  Let’s take it deeper: blaspheming the Holy  Spirit means you are rejecting God’s truth about Jesus when you are fully aware it’s the truth and you want nothing of it.  This should help you understand the following two difficult passages in Hebrews:
 
                “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God. . . IF THEY FALL AWAY, to be brought back TO REPENTANCE, because to their loss they are crucifying the son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.”  (Hebrews 6:4-6)
 
                “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sin is left.”  (Hebrews 10:26)

For an outside resource, I recommend Tony Evan’s book, “Totally Saved.”

 

Comments

[Kara]

Isn't it also kind of like someone saying, "I'm just going to do whatever I want and sin, because I know God already forgives me?" I've always seen blasphemy as abusing God's forgiveness, so this post helped build my definition a lot.

I've really appreciated this series. I love that you have your whole team answering questions. Thanks for all you and your team do :)

[Marty]

So if you can't stop sinning after you are saved, you have committed the unpardonable sin? What if you can't stop committing one specific sin? What if you are so ashamed that you can't tell anybody about it? What if you want to stop?

[God's truly]

I think Dr. Bob is a awsome teacher. I just wish he would tone it down a little while we are trying to meditate. Hummmmm!

[God's truly]

Leaving all jokes aside. I went to Amazon.com to read the first two pages of "Totally Saved" by Tony Evens. And just the first two pages give you something to think about. Thanks for the recomendation...