Unpardonable Sin

fallin SG

Does a believer really go to hell if he/she commits this sin.

thoughts123 SG

What kind of sin are you refering to?

fallin SG

Matthew 12:31

thoughts123 SG

The scripture did not say that you will go to hell.

gasband SG

I wrote a short paragraph on this to my church youth ministry members. Hope it helps, if you do not understand any part, please ask! Cheers!

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"Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. 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" Matthew 12:31-32

There is no such thing as an 'unpardonable sin' for truly saved christians. The context of the passage was meant for the PHARISEES there and then. At that moment, the PHARISEES had just rejected the MOST COMPELLING evidence that Jesus was the Son of God, that is the casting out of the demons (read a few verses before). A person who rejected Jesus may be due a failure to realize who HE is just like Paul rejected Jesus in the beginning. But if Paul were to take his experience on the road to Damsacus as a work by the DEVIL, then he is directly rejecting a work of the Holy Spirit and crediting it to the DEVIL. JESUS himself CAST out the demons but yet the PHARISEES credited that power to DEVIL, right in JESUS's face!

Today, we hardly have the chance to reject JESUS so directly, face to face. If I were to tell a friend that God enables me to stop swearing and gambling, he would credit it to my strong determination. If I were to tell him my sickness was healed, he would say that a temple medium did that before too. Can I blame him? Hardly, because it is ME we are talking about. I am not JESUS demonstrating HIS POWER in front of my friend.

Like the example of PAUL I quote, he was persecuting christians and killing them. He must have heard many good things that Jesus had done, but yet he went on killing them. If he had committed the unpardonable sin by persisting on killing them even though he had heard of the truth, would God appear to him in Damascus and saved him? He was saved, as we knew, and thus the 'unpardonable sin' was in context to the pharisees because they did not sin against the Son of Man but sin against the SPIRIT because they credited the power to the DEVIL. A person who says "Hey, Jesus could not perform those miracles as He was just a mere man." (a failure to recognise Jesus for who He is) is different from saying "Ah this miracle that this Jesus perform can only be done with the power from the evil spirits."

So in that instance, Jesus spoke up strongly against the Pharisees because they had displayed an attitude that Jesus cast out the demons with the power of evil spirits: they credited the miracle to Satan. To Jesus, this was an 'unpardonable sin'.

To simplify it, if a man comes up to you and say "I am your father" and you reject his claims, it is reasonable because you do not really know who he is. BUT if after going through a DNA test and it proves his claim and yet you reject that claim, then it is really an attitude and sign of prolonged and permanent rebellion against the truth. (this example is not to say DNA is flawless but purely an example."

A true christian need not be afraid because by the fact that we are remorseful and are repentant and seek to be with God shows that the Holy Spirit is working in us and thus could never commit the 'unpardonable sin'.

The unpardonable sin described in Matt 12 could not happen in our current time. Its tricky but above all I would suggest that this is not important at all because to suggest otherwise is to contradict the scripture and disqualify what Christ has done for us on the cross - taking away ALL our sins. When you cant understand, just TRUST HIS HEART. He loves us and when HE says He forgives ALL our sins, He meant ALL.

"Then we take stock of our own spiritual lives. Have we been negligent in any way? Have we taken for granted our salvation. Hows the condition of our hearts?...The warning in this unpardonable sin is not one of condemnation. It is a warning against so hardening one's heart against Jesus that he or she crosses the point of no return." - quoted from a friend.

fallin SG

But how bout I John 5:16

gasband SG

what bout it that you do not understand?

fallin SG

I believe John was speaking to other Christians in his epistle. I John 5:16 …There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. Could you clarify this?

gasband SG

Ok. Look at the preceding 3 verses first:

1 John 5:13-15:

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him.

These 3 verses are John's encouragement that we can come to God boldly and pray and the assurance that we have eternal life if we believe and also God hears our prayers

Next:

John went on rightly to say that we should then pray for a brother who commits a sin that does not lead to death in the 1st part of verse 16.

"If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death"

THEN:

John went on to say something in the 2nd part of verse 16 which seem to contradict what God has been saying, to pray for all things.

"There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about that."

TO UNDERSTAND THIS:

In the context, this brother must be an erring child of God. What does God require of His erring child?

Acts 8:22-24:

"Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity. Then Simon answered and said, pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me."

Simon asked Peter to pray for him but in Peters words to Simon, we see instruction to personally repent and pray. The one who is guilty of sin must confess that sin to God.

1 John 1:9:

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." God offers no special grounds to the rebellious or unrepentant.

In the verse 16, it also speaks of "a sin that leads to death," and we are NOT to pray for that sin, because it is futile to do so.

Is this the sin against the Holy Spirit? Is it about one particular type of sin? What we do know is that the sin was a sin that a brother knows of. Its effects are visible to a Christian. So what kind of sin is it?

The sin the Lord will not forgive is simply a sin -- any sin -- that a brother will not confess and of which he will not repent. If a brother manifests repentance and godly sorrow, I must pray for him. But I am not urged to pray for the one who is unwilling to confess or repent. If such a person dies in that sin, can my prayer cause God to grant forgiveness? NO! At death, the door of opportunity closes forever. One mans prayer can never cancel anothers free moral agency. For one sin, a Christian could pray with confidence that the sin could be forgiven; for the other, such confidence is missing. Thats the difference. Death ends the guilty persons ability to repent and confess the sin.

Does this help?

fallin SG

Gasband,thank you. Those few verses have been causing me a lot of doubt regarding my salvation. Thank you.

gasband SG

No probs, I hope it helps you understand that God is a God of His words, if you believe in Him, salvation is yours. But still we must work on it, realise our sins, confess them and have the confidence that He has forgiven them as He said in His words. In any cases of doubt, just trust His heart.

SingaporeMacross SG

There is but one sin that cannot be forgiven. That is the sin against the Holy Spirit.

Icemoon SG

How come blasphemy against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven while, I presume, blasphemy against Christ and God the Father can?

dumbdumb! SG

I read once in my dad’s holy spirit filled bible, that a christian cannot blaspheme against the Holy Spirit. its impossible. let me go get my dad’s bible wait ah

dumbdumb! SG

ok, this is what my dad's spirit filled bible said

The pharasees slandered the HS by knowledgeably attributing His work with the Devil, thus commiting the "unpardonable sin" Their sin was not an act of implulse or ignorance, but the rsult of a continued and willful rejection f the truth concerning Jesus. It was a sin against spiritual knowledge, for they had aimle evidence of the truth from the words and deeds of Jesus. In deliberately choosing to insult the Spirit, they forfeited His ministry in their lives, and will not be forgiven.

the unpardonable sin is not merel saying unkind things against the HS, the religious leaders involved had turned totally against the revelation of God, they were so far into their own wickedness that they rejected not only Jesus Christ, but also the HS. they were saying that good was evil and evil was good. they called the Spirit of God, satan.

once they rejected Jesus. the one source of forgiveness, they was now no forgiveness. a person who turns away from Jesus Christ can receive no forgiveness, and that is what these had done.

If you want to obey God. but are concereed that you may have committed the unpardonable sin, you have not committed it. if anyone today has committed this sin, it would be someone who is hard-hearted, who has turned against Jesus, reviled Him and become so depraved that he would claim that God's spirit is satan

dumbdumb! SG

even non believers will acknowledge the power and touch of the Holy Spirit when they encounter Him. so its not really easy to commit this sin i think.

gasband SG

It is impossible to commit this sin in today's context.

laurence82 SG

Really..? Rolling Eyes

dumbdumb! SG

if anyone today has committed this sin, it would be someone who is hard-hearted, who has turned against Jesus, reviled Him and become so depraved that he would claim that God's spirit is satan

dumbdumb! SG

yea! you know tang kee (chinese mediums) acknowledge the power of the Holy Spirit? they can't perform their arts while a christian is in the midst? my dad's cluster leader is a testimony.

why do non believers believe when they hear the message? its a personal touch. at least it was for me and my family. Mr. Green