Unforgiven

I have the privilege of teaching 11th and 12th graders in Sunday School for a few weeks, and to start with, I asked them all to write down their questions (any questions) on index cards, and I would try my best to answer them. There’s two in particular that stuck out, just because it seems as if so many people (not just teens, either) have wondered about the subject at one time or another. Here are the two questions they asked, along with my answers.

“1. If you blaspheme God, can you go to hell? First of all, define blaspheme.”

“2. Is there any sin stated in the Bible that cannot be forgiven as easily as any other?”

I’m combining these two questions, because they both revolve around the same basic idea. First of all, it is important to realize that there is no such thing as a sin too great or too serious for God to forgive. The Apostle Paul even considered himself to be the worst of sinners, and yet God was able to forgive him! This is exactly why I prefer to call it the “unforgiven sin” rather than the “unforgivable sin,” because the people Jesus was warning so severely did not seem too interested in seeking forgiveness in the first place, thus their sin would remain unforgiven.

Confusion arises concerning two passages of Scripture, in which Jesus refers to the “blasphemy of the Holy Spirit”: Matthew 12:22-37 and Mark 3:20-30. The context for both is a confrontation between Jesus and the religious leaders of the day. Basically, they seemed to know full well that Jesus was doing the work of God, but they were giving the credit to Satan instead. Blasphemy can be defined as cursing, reviling, or speaking evil about God, which is what these religious leaders were doing by saying Jesus “cast out demons by the ruler of the demons.”

A good rule of thumb to keep in mind is that if you are even concerned enough to ask the question about a so-called “unforgivable” sin, that in itself is a good indication that you have not committed it!

Theologian Dr. F.F. Bruce writes,

"…Speaking against the Son of Man might be due to a failure to recognize Him for what He is. So Paul recalls how in his pre-Christian days he thought it his duty to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. But if, having seen the light on the Damascus road, he had deliberately closed his eyes to it and kicked out against the goad which was directing him into the true path, that would have been the sin against the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit persuades and enables men to accept Christ and enjoy the saving benefits of the gospel [John 16:8; 1 Corinthians 2:12-14; acts 7:51], but if anyone refuses to submit to the Spirit's gracious constraint, preferring to call good evil and evil good, how can the gospel avail for him? The deliberate refusal of the grace of God is the one sin which by its very nature is irremediable" [F.F. Bruce, Answers to Questions (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1973), pp. 46-47.].

As to how easily it is for God to forgive sin, it was not easy in any sense for Him to offer His one and only Son to be an atoning sacrifice on our behalf. That ought to be our starting place in realizing how awful sin really is. But Jesus’ sacrifice was once for all – He died on the cross once, and the blood that He shed was enough to cover all of humanity’s sin past, present, and future, if they would choose to accept it.

The key is 1 John 1:7 – the Christian life is all about walking in the light, and having confidence that Jesus’ blood continually cleanses us from sin. In fact, John even says if we try to convince ourselves and others that we are completely sinless, we’re lying! We’re supposed to acknowledge sin for the terrible evil that it is (it cost Jesus His life, after all), repent of it, seek to walk in “newness of life,” and find joy in knowing that God promises us that constant purifying and forgiveness.