THE UNPARDONABLE SIN

Pastor James J. Barker

Text: MATTHEW 12:22-37




INTRODUCTION:


  1. I am going to speak today on a text that is not an easy one to preach. It concerns a very solemn subject – the unpardonable sin.
  2. Mark the words of our Lord in Matt.12:32, "but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come."
  3. There are two other Scriptures where our Lord gave this warning. Please turn to Mark 3:28,29. Note verse 29: "But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation" (also cf. Luke 12:10).
  4. Although this terrible sin is referred to three times in the Gospels, the process involved and the principle behind it are repeated over and over throughout the Word of God (cf. Acts 7:51-60).
  5. Notice Stephen’s words in verse 51, "ye do always resist the Holy Ghost…" Resisting the Holy Spirit is the process that eventually leads to the unpardonable sin.
  6. I have heard preachers preach on the subject and I have done some reading on it. Here is a good definition of the unpardonable sin from the late J. Vernon McGee: "The unpardonable sin is the voluntary and the willful refusal to accept the pardon God offers by the convicting work of the Holy Spirit."
  7. Dr. McGee also said: "I believe there comes a moment when a man steps over an invisible line and no longer does the Holy Spirit speak to him."
  8. In other words, if you are not saved, and you have heard the Gospel many times, and the Holy Spirit has been convincing you that you need to repent and get right with God – and you keep resisting the Holy Spirit – you are in danger of stepping over this invisible deadline.
  9. If that happens, it means you will never get saved. You will no longer have any interest in getting saved. And you longer can get saved.
  10. Some here today might be surprised. You may be wondering, "Are you saying that there are people who are hopelessly lost and can never get saved?" Yes, that is exactly what I am saying (cf. II Thess.2:9-12).
  1. THE HOLY SPIRIT BRINGS SINNERS UNDER CONVICTION
    1. "He will reprove (convict) the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment" (John 16:8).
    2. Psychologists and psychiatrists try to remove feelings of guilt from sinners. This is wrong because sinners need to feel guilty over their sin in order to repent and get saved.
    3. After assuring them that they are OK, the psychiatrist oftentimes prescribes pills for the guilty sinner. Now, instead of feeling guilty over his sin, he is docile and sedated.
    4. But in order to get under conviction of sin, the guilty sinner should not be numb and tranquilized. He must be convinced by the Spirit of God that he is only an inch away from the jaws of hell and it is only the grace and mercy of God that is keeping him from descending headfirst into the torments of eternal hellfire.
    5. And it is not just the psychiatrists that are leading sinners down the broad road that leads to destruction. Many so-called preachers and ministers are doing the very same thing. Lost souls come to them, desperate to hear a word from God, but instead they are given a religious pep-talk. Consequently they walk away more confused than ever and even deeper in sin.
    6. I am convinced that this is the reason so many people listen all day long to loud rock music – it helps them not to think. With the loud boom-boom-boom all day long, they’re unable to think clearly and don’t have to think about heaven or hell, or feel guilty over their sin.
    7. What is our Lord talking about in John 16:8? The Holy Spirit appeals to the judgment of man – to the place where man exercises free will; and He asks man to admit that he is a wicked sinner who has sinned against a holy God.
    8. Man must accept God’s verdict. He must plead guilty. And he must cast himself upon the mercy and goodness of God.
    9. But man is reluctant to accept God’s verdict. Man has a hard time admitting he is a sinner, deserving of God’s wrath. Benjamin Disraeli, the great British statesman, said: "One of the hardest things in this world to do is to admit you are wrong. And nothing is more helpful in resolving a situation than its frank admission."
    10. The Holy Spirit convicts man of his greatest sin – unbelief (cf. John 16:9).
  1. THE UNPARDONABLE SIN IS A SIN AGAINST GOD’S LIGHT
    1. The Bible says that the Lord Jesus Christ was the true Light, "which lighteth every man that cometh into the world" (John 1:9).
    2. However, when that light is refused, the sinner steps further into darkness. There is a process, clearly explained in the Bible, over and over, in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. It is like this. First sinners:
    • reject the light (Acts 24:24,25). Then there comes a time when there is no more light. A man approached the late evangelist Hyman Appleman one night and said: "One night I heard you preach, and I was under tremendous conviction. As you gave the invitation, beads of perspiration broke out and I could not help it but I started crying. I grabbed the pew in front of me, I wanted to go up, but I did not. Now, do you know what? I am not afraid of God anymore!" And he started cursing at the preacher. I have heard similar stories from other preachers.
    • Bold rebellion against God and His Word (Ex.5:1,2). Think of all the false cults that deny the deity of Christ and other fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith. After awhile, God just gives up on them.
    • Continued indulgence in known sin (Rom.1:24,26,28). Homosexuals and other perverts admit that at first it was hard for them to indulge in their sins. But after awhile, it became easier and easier.
    • Gradual hardening of the heart (cf. Pro.29:1). I have seen this gradual hardening time and time again. I meet people knocking on doors. They seem friendly and open, but they will not get things right with God. Eventually, after several visits, they are unfriendly and even hostile.
    • Persistence in unbelief (Luke 23:39-41). I will never forget a man I met knocking on doors on 217th Street in Queens Village. With a horrible grin he looked at me and shrieked: "It’s too late for me. I can never be saved! It’s too late! Too late!" And the poor wretch even laughed! I also recall an elderly Jewish lady who told Dave Hine and me that it was impossible for her to believe even though she would like to.
    1. The unpardonable sin is sinning against God’s light. Our nation is now slipping into darkness: idolatry, pornography, rock music, drugs and alcohol, apostasy, materialism, abortion, euthanasia, lack of civility, etc.
    2. The problem has always been in the heart of man. Please turn back to Matt.12:25, and notice that "Jesus knew their thoughts." It was not their words that condemned them. They were condemned before they even opened their mouths (Matt.12:25a, cf. 12:34 – "for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh").
    3. This is not to imply that our words are unimportant. They are very important (12:36,37).
    4. What I am trying to bring out is that the problem is in man’s heart. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jer.17:9).
    5. Some one wrote an interesting tract, "Missing Heaven by Eighteen Inches" (the distance from the head to the heart).
    6. Oftentimes preachers say, "Get your heart right." Strictly speaking, WE CANNOT GET OUR HEARTS RIGHT. We need to get on our knees and ask God to change our hearts.
    7. The Pharisees were not willing to do this. And so they sealed their destiny. What about you?
    8. Oftentimes in the Bible we see God warning people to repent but they refused. They crossed the deadline. There was no more hope for them. Think of Cain. God said to him, "Why are thou wroth? And why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him" (Gen.4:6,7).
    9. Immediately after this warning, Cain went out and killed his brother (4:8).
    10. Remember Esau, Lot’s wife, Balaam, Judas Iscariot, King Agrippa, and many others in the Bible, who committed the unpardonable sin.
  1. THE UNPARDONABLE SIN IS THE SIN OF CHRIST-REJECTION
    1. There are some Bible-teachers who believe that the unpardonable sin cannot be committed today. They say that the unpardonable sin is ascribing to Satan the miracles of our Lord. And since our Lord is no longer on earth performing miracles, this situation no longer exists. I disagree.
    2. John Walvoord wrote: "As far as it applies today, it is not the thought that one seeking pardon will not find it, but rather that one who rejects the Holy Spirit will not seek pardon. It is the ultimate in unbelief."
    3. I believe the unpardonable sin is the sin of unbelief. It is the sin of Christ-rejection and this sin is committed all the time. "He that believeth not is condemned already" (John 3:18).
    4. "He that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him" (John 3:36).

CONCLUSION:

There is a time, I know not when,
A place, I know not where,
Which marks the destiny of men
To heaven or despair.

There is a line by us not seen,
Which crosses every path;
The hidden boundary between
God’s patience and His wrath.

To cross that limit is to die,
To die, as if by stealth,
It may not pale the beaming eye,
Nor quench the glowing health.

The conscience may be still at ease,
The spirit light and gay.
That which is pleasing still may please
And care be thrust away.

But on that forehead God hath set
Indelibly a mark,
By man unseen, for man as yet
Is blind and in the dark.

And still the doomed man’s path below
May bloom like Eden bloomed.
He did not, does not, will not know,
Nor feel that he is doomed.

He feels, he sees that all is well,
His every fear is calmed.
He lives, he dies, he wakes in hell,
Not only doomed, but damned.

Oh, where is that mysterious bourn,
By which each path is crossed,
Beyond which God Himself hath sworn
That he who goes is lost?

How long may man go on in sin,
How long will God forbear?
Where does hope end, and where begin
The confines of despair?

One answer from those skies is sent,
"Ye who from God depart,
While it is called today, repent,
And harden not your heart." – author unknown.



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