Q&A - WHAT IS THE UNPARDONABLE SIN?

WBS260

Q&A – WHAT IS THE UNPARDONABLE SIN?

Matthew 26:31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven unto men.

It is odd that this question seems to be asked often; but odder still is that the question is being asked by Christians.  If there is anyone who should not be concerned about the answer to this question, it would be the disciple of Messiah; but then, that may be what makes the difference…being a Christian, or being a disciple of Messiah.  One who has not yielded his life servant to the Master is always wondering where that line is that he cannot afford to cross while in the pursuit of his own selfish objectives and desires.

First, let’s resolve one issue.  The word “unpardonable” appears nowhere in the Scripture.  That is a “church” term, I suppose intended to sound religious.  A pardon excuses a person from the consequences of his guilt; but it does not declare that person to be innocent. There is no “unpardonable” sin in the Scripture.  There are, however, sins that have eternal consequences. 

We find the story of this event in all three of the synoptic gospels.

Matthew 26:22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.

23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?

24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.

25 And Yahushua knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:

26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?

27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.

28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of Elohim, then the kingdom of Elohim is come unto you.

29 Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.

30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.

31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven unto men.

Mark 3: 22 And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.

29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Spirit hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.

30 Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.

Luke 12:10 And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Spirit it shall not be forgiven.

If we combine all of the comments in these three passages what we find is that “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit” shall never be forgiven. “Blasphemy” is saying something that is egregiously in conflict with what is commonly held as a treasured belief. When Yahushua said in John 6, that they must eat his flesh and drink his blood; that would have been regarded as blasphemy because it was repugnant; and it violated the law of Moses.  For Paul to declare that the converts to faith in Messiah were not under obligation to obey the law of Moses, that was held as blasphemy by the Jews; and for these Pharisees to declare the obvious and undeniable work of the Spirit of IAUE to the work of a pagan god, a Nephilim spirit, that was unforgivable blasphemy.

In Luke, there is no frame of reference for this remark.  It is a stand-alone verse.  In Mark it was said “because they said ‘he hath an unclean spirit.’”  It is in Matthew where the setting has its broadest context.

Matthew 26:24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.

The Pharisees did not believe what they were saying.  They were jealous of Yahushua’s popularity, envious of his power, and fearful of his effect upon their social standing. They would do anything, say anything to deflect the people’s belief that he was a prophet, or even worse, that he was the Messiah, even if that meant speaking against IAUE, Himself. The hardness of heart that represents is almost unimaginable…and unforgiveable; because that kind of fallow ground cannot be broken up by repentance.

John 3:1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

2 The same came to Yahushua by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from Elohim: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except Elohim be with him.

All of the Sanhedrin knew that what Yahushua did could only be done through allegiance with IAUE. The Pharisees attributed the work of the Holy Spirit to a demonic spirit.  Specifically, they attributed it to Beelzebub, the prince of demons.  If you have read the series on The Seed War, you will understand that Beelzebub is not a fancy name for the devil; but rather the chief of the Nephilim who was worshipped throughout Old Testament history as a god.  In the days of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel of the northern kingdom of Israel, they had 400 prophets of Baal.

With that in mind, what you now see in this passage of Scripture is that the religious leaders of the day were attempting to make Yahushua appear to be an emissary of a Nephilim spirit, a pagan deity.  In the Torah, that would require his death.

An aspect of this unforgivable sin that I have never heard anyone discuss is the fact that it is a pre-death declaration of Messiah.  He was referring to a particular sin that his up-coming impaling would not be efficacious to forgive.  He was not talking about something that a post-Pentecost (Acts 2) born-again disciple could commit.  Having said that, let’s take a look at some relevant scriptures.

Deuteronomy 32:48 And IAUE spake unto Moses that selfsame day, saying,

49 Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession:

50 And die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people:

51 Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of MeribahKadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel.

52 Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel.  (See Numbers 20:1-12)

Moses was instructed to speak to the rock and it would bring forth water for the people to drink.  In his anger, Moses struck the rock twice with his rod.  It cost him the Promised Land.  Why?  Because he did not sanctify IAUE before the people.  How often does our willful disobedience fail to sanctify IAUE to the people around us?  Can you reflect on any times that you have deliberately disobeyed IAUE’s will because you were embarrassed at what others’ reactions might be?  Have you acted in ways to prevent others to know that you belong to IAUE?  That IAUE is your Elohim? That your life belongs to Him?  Even in little things like refusing to pray over one’s meal in a restaurant or other public place, when you always pray over your meal at home…you fail to sanctify IAUE to the people around you. If we as disciples of Messiah Yahushua are not going to reveal to others that we are the children of IAUE, that we are the servants of Messiah, who is?

Hebrews 6:4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit,

5 And have tasted the good word of Elohim, and the powers of the world to come,

6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of Elohim afresh, and put him to an open shame.

2 Peter 2:20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Master and Saviour Yahushua Messiah, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.

Hebrews 3:12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living Elohim.

13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

14 For we are made partakers of Messiah, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;

15 While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.

These kinds of exhortations are not figurative.  I know of a minister in Houston, TX, who was well known in the 1970s through the 1990s as a Bible teacher who specialized in expositional studies from the Greek and Hebrew.  He held to the position that these verses were only ideas that could never happen in the life of a believer.  Personally, that just demonstrates theological bias rather than a proper understanding of Scripture.  These passages would not be in the Scriptures if they were not valid warnings of that which is possible.

So, in conclusion, there is a sin that the death of Messiah will not cover.  The person committing that sin is unredeemable because the redemption in Messiah pays the penalty for all sins but that one.  Having said that, once redeemed; we are still in need of obedience to the will of IAUE, participation with the Holy Spirit, and service to the Master Yahushua.  We lose our identity as a free agent when we entered into the death and resurrection of Yahushua.

2 Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Messiah constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:

15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

The church, at large, seems to have missed the whole point of the gospel.  To ask what is the “unpardonable sin” is irrelevant to a disciple who lives only to do the will of IAUE. It would never occur to a disciple to do anything but openly praise and declare the mighty acts of IAUE when seen.  To ascribe the work of the Holy Spirit to a false god would be as unnatural to a disciple as trying to breathe while under water.

One thing we can benefit from understanding this particular sin is that in the days coming upon the earth in, what I believe to be, the near future; when we see someone deliberately trying to dissuade people from coming to Messiah by willfully ascribing the works of the Holy Spirit (healings, casting out of demons, miracles, etc.) to demons, we know not to waste our time trying to preach the gospel to them.  They have been disqualified as recipients of the good news; and they are incapable of the requisite repentance.  As for our own lives, we need to remember the story of Moses and sanctify IAUE in our hearts so that we are careful to sanctify Him before others.

[If you have questions you would like discussed in this series, please email them to me at kaprion@gmail.com.]