The Unforgivable Sin
Matthew 12:22-37
Sermon by Rick Crandall
McClendon Baptist Church - July 6, 2008
*Have you ever worried about committing the unpardonable or unforgivable sin? What is the unforgivable sin? A lot of people think it’s suicide, but that’s not what the Bible says.
*When James McCullen was a pastor in St. Louis, Missouri, a young man came Sunday after Sunday. He was not a Christian, and even though he showed signs of interest, he would never talk about accepting Jesus as his Savior. Finally, he told the men in the church that he could never be a Christian because he had committed the unpardonable sin. Now the sin he had committed and served time for was the sin of taking another life. He had murdered his own father. One night he got in a terrible fight with his drunken father, and killed him. (1)
*Murder is a terrible sin, -- but it is not the unforgivable sin. Moses was a murderer, and he is one of the heroes of Heaven.
*Many people think that rejecting Jesus as your Savior is the unforgivable sin, but that can’t be true. Yes, you are as lost as can be until you receive Jesus. But Paul surely rejected the Lord before he got saved. -- So did I and a lot of other people who now trust in the cross of Jesus Christ.
*There are many other sins people think are unforgivable, but the Bible mentions only one, and Jesus tells us about it here in Matthew 12:31-32. The unforgivable sin is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit: evil, abusive speaking against the Holy Spirit of God, speaking against the Holy Spirit in a way to slander and injure Him.
1. You see, the Lord wants us to know the great honor we should give to His Spirit. We must honor the Holy Spirit as God. We must recognize that the Holy Spirit is God, so in vs. 30&31, Jesus said:
30. “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.
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.”
*We must honor the Holy Spirit as God. The Christian Life Study Notes tell us that the Holy Spirit is God, and is equal to the Father and the Son. He is God the Holy Spirit, and is distinct from the Father and the Son. In the Genesis account of creation, He is seen actively engaged in the work of creation, along with the Father and the Son. In the New Testament, we see the Holy Spirit living in the believer, never leaving, filling and empowering him.
*We clearly see the deity of the Holy Spirit in Acts 5:3-4, where Ananias and his wife tried to deceive the Lord and His church in their giving.
3. Peter said, “Ananias, why has the 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.”
*In vs. 3 Peter said, “You lied to the Holy Spirit.” In vs. 4 Peter said, “You lied to God.” -- So the Holy Spirit is God. He is co-equal, co-eternal, and co-existent with the Father and Son. The Holy Spirit’s deity is also seen in the fact that He has divine qualities.
-He is everywhere present in the universe (Psa 139:7-10)
-He has all power (Luke 1:35)
-He has all knowledge (I Cor 2:10-11)
-He is eternal (Heb 9:14) (2)
2. We must honor the Holy Spirit as God. The Lord wants us to know the great honor we should give to His Spirit, and the great hurt for those who speak against His Spirit.
*Blaspheming God’s Spirit is a horrendous sin that brings absolute condemnation from God. Blaspheming the Holy Spirit is unforgivable. As Jesus said in vs. 31-32:
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.
32. Anyone who speaks 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.”
*Jesus said this because of something the unbelieving Pharisees had said up in vs. 24. Jesus had healed that blind and mute man by casting out the demons that possessed him. Then, because of that miraculous healing, the multitudes began to wonder if Jesus was the Messiah. And in vs. 24, “When the Pharisees heard it they said, ‘This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.’” By saying these words those unbelieving Pharisees were blaspheming the Holy Spirit with no hope of forgiveness.
*B. H. Carroll was a tremendous preacher and the founder of our Southwestern Seminary over in Fort Worth. He explained the unpardonable sin with these 3 key points:
(1) Outside of grace -- no salvation.
(2) Outside of Christ -- no grace.
(3) Outside of the Spirit -- no Christ.
*Dr. Carroll further said,
-“If we sin against the Father directly, the Son remains. -- We may reach the Father through the Son.
-If we sin directly against the Son, the Spirit remains. -- We may reach the Son through the Spirit.
-But if we sin against the Spirit, nothing remains. -- Therefore, that sin is without remedy.” (1)
*James McCullen said, “To slander the Holy Spirit or use abusive speech about Him involves the unforgivable sin. You cannot disrespect the Holy Spirit and ever be drawn to Jesus for salvation. The person who commits this sin never comes to a place of repentance. In my opinion the person who can commit this sin doesn’t know it and could care less.
*James gave this illustration:
-I have an evangelist friend who was preaching a revival meeting in Arkansas. He was preaching about the Holy Spirit. Two young men (who didn’t believe what the Bible teaches concerning the Holy Spirit) stood up near the front. They began to call the Holy Spirit like you would call a dog. They said, "Here Holy Spirit. Here Holy Spirit. OK, Holy Spirit where are you."
*When they saw how much their actions aroused the deacons they quickly left. But they were blaspheming the Holy Spirit, refusing to acknowledge Him or His power. (1)
*Another example is the "Blasphemy Challenge" that made headlines in December, 2006. A group of atheists called “The Rational Response Squad” sent out a challenge on the internet for people to make a video of themselves committing blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Then they were to post their video clip on YouTube. The Rational Response Squad thinks such a demonstration is the perfect litmus test for proving one’s disbelief. They say they will "accept the consequences" if it is determined after they die that God does in fact exist.
*The web site says "You may damn yourself to Hell however you would like, but somewhere in your video you must say this phrase, ’I deny the Holy Spirit.’"
-Of course, by using the Internet, Rational Response Squad was making a strong appeal for young people to stand against God. The first 1001 participants were given a free DVD of the documentary, “The God Who Wasn’t There.” (3)
*I could not find out how many people accepted the blasphemy challenge -- certainly hundreds, possibly thousands. And every one of them is hopelessly doomed, because they have committed the unforgivable sin.
3. The Lord wants us to know the great hurt for all who speak against His Spirit. -- And the great help we can get from His Spirit.
*We must have the Holy Spirit’s help for salvation. Vs. 33-37 point us to this truth. There Jesus said:
33. "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.
34. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
35. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.
36. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.
37. For by your words you will be justified, & by your words you will be condemned.”
*Jesus said, "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.” The problem is that we can’t make the tree good. “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.” The problem is that we can’t turn a bad heart into a good heart. -- Only God can do that.
*We need a heart transplant that only God can give. And through Jesus Christ, He will give us that new heart. Speaking to Israel in Ezekiel 36:26-28, but also to us, God said:
26. "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
27. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.
28. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.
*Here again we see the essential role of God’s Spirit. The Lord said, “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.” There are not three separate Gods: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There is only one God -- existing as three persons, each person essential for our salvation. Here in Matthew 12 Jesus stressed the importance of the Holy Spirit. And He chose to do that in this passage, because the Pharisees were guilty of committing the unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit.
*Once you reject the Holy Spirit...
-You are rejecting the Word of God, because the Holy Spirit wrote this Word.
-You are rejecting the Giver of spiritual truth.
-The one who brings us under conviction.
-The one who warns us of judgment.
-The one who gives us the new birth.
-The one who points us to Jesus.
*The Holy Spirit opens our eyes to the truth of the cross: That God the Father loved us enough to send His only begotten Son into the world to die for our sins. That on the cross Jesus did take the full punishment for our sins. That Jesus rose from the dead and that He offers eternal life to all who will trust in Him.
*The Holy Spirit opens our eyes to the truth of the cross. On top of that, God’s Spirit is the primary source of personal contact we can have with God in our world today. The Father is and always has been in Heaven. Jesus is in Heaven until the day of His return, but through the Holy Spirit, God is present in our world right now.
*Paul stressed the essential help we get from God’s Spirit in 1 Cor 12:1-3. There Paul said:
1. Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant:
2. You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led.
3. Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.
*John stressed the essential help of God’s Spirit in 1 John 4:1-4, where he said:
1. Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
2. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,
3. and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
4. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
*Bruce Howell used two words to sum up the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives: purity and power. Jesus said in Acts 1:8, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.” And Howell says that this includes power in prayer.
*Acts 4:31 says of the early believers, “When they had prayed, the place was shaken.” When Spirit-filled folks pray, things begin to shake:
(1) Sinners tremble with conviction
(2) Saints shake with conviction about their shallowness
(3) Hell’s foundations quiver with fear
*The Holy Spirit also gives us the power to overcome Satan, temptation, failure, compromise, sin, sorrow and disappointment. No one can be a victorious believer without the Spirit’s help. He is the overcoming force within us. As one little boy put it, “He’s the One who puts the ‘umph’ in ‘triumph.’”
*The Holy Spirit also gives us the power to persist. The early Christians didn’t entertain any thought of giving up. Though scattered, threatened, beaten, and thrown in prison, they laid down their lives. (4)
*The Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ is in the world today -- seeking, persuading, giving new birth, encouraging, comforting, filling, growing us into all God wants us to be.
*My favorite story about the Holy Spirit is the story C.S. Lewis told about a college student who wrote to him. The young man was an atheist. And he was very concerned, because he had made friends with some Christian students. They were enthusiastically witnessing to him about Jesus, and it had shaken-up the young man’s thinking. He was going through some great struggles about Christianity, and he wanted to know, “What did Dr. Lewis think?”
*C. S. Lewis wrote back, “I think you are already in the meshes of the net. -- The Holy Spirit is after you. -- I doubt you will get away.” (5)
*God’s Holy Spirit is in the world today -- seeking for us, trying to teach us about the eternal, abundant life that only Jesus can give. That young college student who was in the meshes of the Holy Spirit’s net did get saved. His name was Sheldon Vanauken and here is what he wrote about that day:
-I couldn’t reject Christ. -- There was only one thing to do. I turned and flung myself over the gap toward Christ. On a morning with spring in the air, March 29th, I wrote in my notebook: I choose to believe in the Father, Son & Holy Ghost. -- In Christ, my Lord and my God. Christianity has the ring, the feel of unique truth. -- Essential truth. By it, life is made full instead of empty, meaningful instead of meaningless. I confess my doubts and ask my Lord Christ to enter my life. I do not know God. I do but say: Be it unto me according to Thy will. I do not affirm that I am without doubt. I do but ask for help, having chosen, to overcome it. I do but say: Lord, I believe. Help Thou mine unbelief. (6)
*And God did -- by His Holy Spirit. Yes there is an unforgivable sin. -- One and only one unforgivable sin: Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. I would be shocked if anyone here tonight was considering blaspheming the Holy Spirit. But if you were to ever seriously do that, there would be no hope of forgiveness for you. But there is hope for everyone who will allow God’s Spirit to lead them to God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Let the Holy Spirit of God have His way in your heart tonight.
(1) Cross & Crown sermons - THE UNFORGIVABLE SIN by James McCullen - Matt 12:31-32
(2) Christian Life Study Outlines and Notes
(3) National Liberty Journal, March 2007, p.5 (Found in “In Other Words” - April2007_1) (IN OTHER WORDS is produced by Dr. Raymond McHenry, Senior Pastor of the Westgate Memorial Baptist Church in Beaumont, Texas. 6130 Barrington ~ Beaumont, Texas 77706 (800) 553-4697 www.iows.net)
(4) SermonCentral sermon “The Impact of Pentecost” by Bruce Howell - Acts 2:1-4
(5) DON’T JUST STAND THERE, PRAY SOMETHING by Ron Dunn
(6) Encounter With Light - an honest account of how a scholar met Christ - http://www.surfoutsider.net/pdfs/encounter.pdf
