The Unpardonable Sin
MARK 3:22-30
“WHAT IS IT?”
HAVE I COMMITTED IT?
I THOUGHT THAT GOD CAN AND WILL FORGIVE
ALL SINS!
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?
MARK 3:23-30 - “And the scribes who came down
from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebub," and, "By
the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.“
23. So He called them to [Himself] and said to them
in parables: "How can Satan cast out Satan?
24. If a kingdom is divided against itself, that
kingdom cannot stand.
25. And if a house is divided against itself, that
house cannot stand. “
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?
26. And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is
divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.
27. No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder
his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then
he will plunder his house.
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."
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?
1. The Topic for our Study this Morning is –
“The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?”
a. It is Topic that brings about much discussion and is filled
with much speculation and misinterpretation of the scripture.
b. The are some things that are difficult to understand and get
twisted in the interpretation and teaching.
II PETER 3:15-16 “….as also our beloved brother Paul,
according to the wisdom given to him, has written to
you,
16. as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these
things, in which are some things hard to understand,
which untaught and unstable [people] twist to their own
destruction, as [they do] also the rest of the Scriptures. “
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?
c. The Topic of the “Unpardonable Sin” is one of
those topics. SPECIFICALLY – “BLASPHEMY
AGAINT THE HOLY SPIRIT”
d. Some are concerned they may have committed
this sin. That they can never be forgiven and
have no hope.
e. Let me say at the very beginning, if an
individual is concerned that they may be guilty
of this sin, then they need not be worried any
more.
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?
Meaning of the Text as related to the Topic1. Jesus faced great opposition from the Pharisees,
Herodians, and the Scribes the religious leaders of
Jerusalem during His ministry Mark 3:6 - Mark 3:22
2. In our text for this lesson, Jesus is charged by them in
essence as being “Satan casting out Satan”
3. Jesus easily answered the scribes‘ charge...
a. For Satan to cast out his own demons defeated his
(Satan's) own purpose - Mark 3:23-26
b. On the contrary, casting out demons was integral to
defeating Satan - Mark 3:27
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?
4. It is on this occasion that Jesus speaks of an
"unforgiveable sin"...
a. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit - Mark 3:28-29
b. For which there is no forgiveness –
Matthew 12:31-32 –
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.”
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?
5. These words of Jesus have troubled many, who
wonder if they have committed this "eternal sin"
(ESV) that "never has forgiveness".
“WHAT IS IT TO BLASPHEME Against the
HOLY SPIRIT?”
HAVE I COMMITTED IT?
I THOUGHT THAT GOD CAN AND WILL FORGIVE
ALL SINS!
- Let's first seek to identify exactly what was...
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?
I. THE UNFORGIVEABLE SIN THEN
A. WHAT WAS THIS SIN...?
1. Jesus described it as blaspheming the Holy Spirit
- Mark 3:29 “but he who blasphemes against the
Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to
eternal condemnation"-a. Blaspheme - "to speak reproachfully, rail at,
revile, calumniate (make false and injurious
statements), blaspheme" - Thayer
b. So it is to speak evil of the Holy Spirit in some
way among other ways that can not be forgiven.
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?
2. As Jesus prepares for his Crucifixion He Tells the
Apostles John 14:16, 26
16. “And I will pray the Father, and He will give
you another Helper, that He may abide with you
forever.”
26. “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the
Father will send in My name, He will teach you
all things, and bring to your remembrance all
things that I said to you.”
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?
3. He then tells the Apostles
John 15:26 -27
26. “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from
the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He
will testify of Me.
27. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with
Me from the beginning.”
4. Before His Ascension Jesus confirms to the Apostles ACTS 1:8
8. “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come
upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in
all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?
3. Therefore All Scripture is given by Inspiration of
the Holy Spirit –
The Message of Life, the Gospel
II TIMOTHY 3:16
“All Scripture [is] given by inspiration of God,
and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness,”
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?
4. AND – II PETER 1: 20-21
20. “knowing this first, that no prophecy of
Scripture is of any private interpretation,
21 for prophecy never came by the will of man,
but holy men of God spoke [as they were]
moved by the Holy Spirit.”
ACTS 2
• ACTS 2:1 “When the Day of Pentecost had fully
come, they were all with one accord in one
place.”
• ACTS 2:4 “And they were all filled with the Holy
Spirit and began to speak with other tongues,
as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
• ACTS 2:17 “'And it shall come to pass in the last
days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit
on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall
prophesy, Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams.”
ACTS 2
• Acts 2:22 "Men of Israel, hear these words:
Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to
you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God
did through Him in your midst, as you
yourselves also know—
• ACTS 2:36 "Therefore let all the house of Israel
know assuredly that God has made this Jesus,
whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?
5. They had a choice at this point;
A. Accept the message “OF LIFE” coming from Peter
and the rest as “INSPIRED by the HOLY SPIRIT”
B. Or Commit the “UNPARDANABLE SIN” – blaspheme
the Holy Spirit by railing out against the Holy Spirit speaking in a contemptuous way just as they railed
against Christ in our Text.
a. They could have declared what happened that day
as something that was Satanic, rejecting the
Message of Salvation brought through the power of
the Holy Spirit. NEVER BEING FORGIVEN.
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?
6. Their choice WAS;
38.Now when they heard [this], they were cut to the
heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the
apostles, "Men [and] brethren, what shall we
do?“
40. And with many other words he testified and
exhorted them, saying, "Be saved from this
perverse generation."
41. Then those who gladly received his word were
baptized; and that day about three thousand
souls were added [to them].
Vs. 47 – The Lord added them to the Church.
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?
II. Christ and the Holy Spirit.
A. We see how significant, how special, how
Important the Holy Spirit is in this message.
B. Jesus is significant, but He will become even more
so after His Resurrection, which will be revealed
through the Holy Spirit as we have seen.
C. What these Jewish leaders were saying about and
to Christ (REJECTING HIM AT THIS TIME) could still
be forgiven, but there would come a time that
such blasphemy could not be forgiven, THAT TIME
IS THE REJECTION OF THE MESSAGE OF THE HOLY
SPIRIT. THE REJECTION OF LIFE, Then And Now.
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?
D. There are - “several explanations regarding this
topic, the one that seems the most plausible to the
writer is that men may sin against Christ and find
forgiveness, but not against the Holy Spirit,
because Christ was to be succeeded by the Holy
Spirit when He returned to the Father.
Consequently, the dispensation after Christ’s
ascension and under the guidance of the Spirit in
which we now live represents man’s last chance to
accept God. Any other explanation which would
attach greater importance or rank to the Holy Spirit
than to Christ would hardly be in keeping with the
Scripture.” Edward Neely Cullum “A Simplified Study of the Holy Spirit”,
1967
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?
E. McGarvey writes, “Blasphemy against the Son may
be a temporary sin, for the one who commits it may
be subsequently convinced of his error by the
testimony of the Holy Spirit and becomes a believer
(I Timothy 1:13). But blasphemy against the Holy
Spirit is in it’s nature an eternal sin, for if one rejects
the evidence given by the Holy Spirit and ascribes it
to Satan, he rejects the only evidence upon which
faith can be based; WITHOUT FAITH THERE IS NO
FORGIVENESS”….
“The Fourfold Gospel”, McGarvey/Pendleton
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?
F. With what Jesus faced from the Pharisees,
Herodians, and the Scribes - the religious leaders of
Jerusalem, that could be forgiven if repented of and
obedience rendered.
G. However – blasphemy against the Holy Spirit in this
manner could not be forgiven.
MARK 3:28, 29 “"Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will
be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever
blasphemies they may utter; 39. but he who
blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has
forgiveness, but is subject to eternal
condemnation"--
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?
III. CAN IT BE COMITTED TODAY?
A. Yes it can.
B. However as I said “at the very beginning, if
an individual is concerned that they may be
guilty of this sin, (BLASPHEMY OF THE HOLY
SPIRIT) then they need not be worried any
more” - their concern is showing where their
heart is truly dwelling.
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?
IV. THE UNFORGIVEABLE SIN TODAY IS:
“If any man see his brother sin a sin [which is] not unto
death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them
that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do
not say that he shall pray for it.” I John 5:16
A. This passage is not in reference to our Message Text of
Mark 3 or Matthew 12.
1. It is in regard to a brother/sister who will not repent of
sinful ways.
2. It could include those who hear the Gospel and do
nothing about what they hear.
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?
B. The sin by which we "crucify again" the Son of
God Hebrews 6:4-6
C. The sin for which there "no longer remains a
sacrifice for sin" - Hebrews 10:26-31
-- The sin in which there is no hope for
forgiveness because forgiveness of sin has
not been sought out!
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?
• Committed openly - Hebrews 6:6
• Committed continually - Hebrews 10:26
• Sin that is willfully participated in till death.
Hebrews 10:26
• Committed knowingly - Hebrews 6:4; Hebrews
10:26
• It is any sin that we knowingly refuse to repent
of, despite many opportunities!
The Unpardonable Sin- What Is It?
CONCLUSION
1. Many today worry about blaspheming the Holy
Spirit...
a. A serious sin indeed, but likely cannot be
replicated today
b. If one worries about it, they are certainly not
guilty of it!
2. People should be more concerned about any sin...
a. They knowingly commit
b. They refuse to give up
3. There is Not a Sin that God Can Not Forgive if It is
repented of by anyone of us.
What MUST You Do to Be Saved?
•
•
•
•
•
Hear The Word Of God
Romans 10:17
Believe His Word
Mark 16:16, John 8:24
Repent of your sins
Luke 13:3, Acts 2:38
Confess your belief Romans 10:10, Acts 8:37
Be Baptized
Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38
For the Remission of Your Sins
Acts 22:16
Galatians 3:26, 27
• Live Faithfully
Titus 2:11-14