Sermon for Sunday, February 1st, 2025 at First Presbyterian Church at Unionville, NY (BPC)
Old Testament Reading:
[Isaiah 5:18-25 ESV] 18 Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, who draw sin as with cart ropes, 19 who say: “Let him be quick, let him speed his work that we may see it; let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near, and let it come, that we may know it!” 20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! 21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight! 22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink, 23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of his right! 24 Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and as dry grass sinks down in the flame, so their root will be as rottenness, and their blossom go up like dust; for they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts, and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. 25 Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people, and he stretched out his hand against them and struck them, and the mountains quaked; and their corpses were as refuse in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.
New Testament Reading:
[Hebrews 6:1-6 ESV] 1 Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do if God permits. 4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.
Gospel Reading:
[Mark 3:22-30 ESV] 22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” 23 And he called them to him 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 will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. 27 But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house. 28 “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”– 30 for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”
Sermon Text:
[Matthew 12:22-32 ESV] 22 Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. 23 And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” 25 Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house. 30 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 31 Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
Introduction
One of the most frequent questions on Christians is to ask “Have I committed the unforgivable sin?”
And what great distress a person is in when they are asking this question. “Have I committed the unforgivable sin? Because, IF the answer is YES, then all hope is lost.
IF there is an UNFORGIVABLE sin, and IF you have committed it, then NOT You, NOT EVEN GOD, can do anything about it. That is the logic that haunts a person who raises that question.
What I want to do today is (1) to explain what the “unforgivable sin’ truly IS, (2) to then prove to you that you have NOT committed the unforgivable sin, and finally (3) to proclaim of glory of God who through Jesus Christ FORGIVES sin.
I. What is the Unforgivable Sin?
Naturally, to answer that question “Have I committed the unforgivable sin?’ we have to first ask, “What IS the unforgivable sin?”
In some places it is called “the unpardonable sin.” But perhaps slightly more often called “the unforgivable sin.”
And we cannot escape the reality that there is IS such a sin. We cannot whitewash this teaching or ignore it. For Jesus truly says “I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgive people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.’
Blasphemy in general is speaking in a way that shows contempt or disrespect to God. And it is interesting that when people take the Lord’s name in vain, it is common for them to utter the word “God’ or “Jesus” or “Jesus Christ,” but you NEVER hear anyone say “Holy Spirit” when they stub their toe. Perhaps that is an indication of the impact of this passage on our culture; that this line they do not cross. But the unforgivable sin “Blaspheming the Holy Spirit” isn’t about incautiously using the name of the Holy Spirit in vain.
The blasphemy against the Spirit is something bigger; something that WILL NOT BE FORGIVEN. That hits like a hammer blow. Loud and powerful. Indeed, our God is omnipotent, having all power, so we ought to fear Him.
So we have the answer in our text: the unforgivable sin is “blasphemy against the Spirit.” Or ‘blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.”
But I find that that statement alone doesn’t really clarify what the sin is. In fact, that is a great part of the difficulty; the reason why many ask “Have I committed the unforgivable sin” is because they are left wondering; they don’t know what “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit” means.
So how do we solve this question? How do we come to understanding the meaning of “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.”
We must look at other Scripture verses and look at context. We must compare Scripture with Scripture. Not only do we have this passage in Matthew 12, but parallel passages in Mark 3 and Luke 12. In each of these passages we need to look at the context also, for in that context we find an example (or examples) of what it means to ‘blaspheme the Holy Spirit.”
In Matthew, our text, the example — the sin of the Pharisees — is that they say “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.”
In the parallel passage in Mark, it says the sin of the Pharisees was,”they were saying [of Jesus], ‘He has an unclean spirit.’”
And in the parallel passage in Luke, it says the sin is to ‘deny me [Jesus] before men.” [Luke 12:9]
So we need to develop a more general idea of what “blaspheming the Holy Spirit” is from those examples.
“It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.”
”they were saying [of Jesus], ‘He has an unclean spirit.’”
and
to ‘deny me [Jesus] before men.”
And this cannot be just any simple denial. Peter denied Christ THREE TIMES and yet he was forgiven.
So, what we have here is this:
– A COMPLETE WILLFUL AND DETERMINED OPPOSITION TO CHRIST – WITH A MIND MADE UP – AND A HEART HARDENED AGAINST THE TESTIMONY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, EVEN TO THE POINT OF CALLING GOD’S WORK ‘THE WORK OF THE DEVIL.’ [REPEAT]
That is the unforgivable sin. It is a condition of the heart more than any single act; It is a LACK OF FAITH, and not only that, but a heart hardened against faith in Christ. And, it is notable that it is especially the case for those WHO SHOULD KNOW BETTER. The Pharisees had every opportunity to believe in Christ, but are DETERMINED OPPONENTS.
Those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit are equated to those who “are against Christ.” They are anti-Christ. Jesus says “Whoever is not with me is against me.” Those are the two options. And those who have blasphemed the Holy Spirit are against Christ.
We have some other New Testament passage that support this understanding of “blaspheming the Holy Spirit.” In Hebrews 6:4-6 it says that “It is impossible” to be restored to repentance for those that know better — like the Pharisees, those who have tasted the heavenly gift, those who have heard of Christ — and yet have REJECTED HIM, falling away.
Another verse that connects is Isaiah 5:20 which says “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil.” That is what the Pharisees are doing – saying that Jesus is casting out demons by the power of the devil. Their opposition to Christ is complete.
And how does Jesus respond? He continues his streak — batting 1000% — of having amazing answer. His answer has beautiful LOGIC.
“Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
The accusation is proven false by its absurdity and impossibility. Satan does not work against Satan. The good deeds — and miracles of Christ — show that He is sent of God, not of the devil.
Those who contend that Christ is working by the power of Satan are “calling good evil.” And though they had seen Jesus fulfilling prophecies and performing miracles — they even standing before the LIGHT OF THE WORLD — they defiantly closed their eyes and become willfully blind to the truth. That is the unforgivable sin. Determined rebellion against God.
II. You have not committed the unforgivable sin.
But I want to get back to you, the audience. “Have I committed the unforgivable sin?,” you might ask.
All have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God. And when you look at your sin you are apt to think “I am totally lost.” Sin sends us downward. And dwelling on sin might have us think we have forever broken from the Lord; that we’ve gone too far, that Christ could not possibly save us.
But, if you are aware of your sin, if you are concerned that you have committed the unforgivable sin, THEN, you have almost certainly NOT committed the unforgivable sin. Those who “blaspheme the Holy Spirit” are against Christ, beveling that they HAVE NOT SINNED, believing themselves to be a law unto themselves, doing whatever they want, without any concern of God, and with hearts hardened against Him. They fit the 2 rules of Atheism. Do you know those rules. Rule 1 of Atheism: There is no God. Rule 2 of Atheism: I hate him.
But you, if you have asked that question, “Have I committed the unforgivable sin?” you have not committed the unforgivable sin.
This was my conclusion, and it was reassuring to find a number of my most trusted pastors repeating the same:
Charles Spurgeon, from a sermon preached in 1869, “Whatever the unpardonable sin may be, [and Spurgeon has some questions of what it might be] … whatever it is, there is one thing that is sure, that no man who feels his need of Christ, and sincerely desires to be saved, can have committed that sin at all.”
And likewise R. C. Sproul said: “As for those who are not sure they are saved and are worried they may have committed the unpardonable sin, I would say that worrying about it is one of the clearest evidences that they have not committed this sin, for those who commit it are so hardened in their hearts they do not care that they commit it.”
And, another of my favorite, Herman Hanko: “One who commits the unpardonable sin is not one who is agitated about the question, nor concerned about the answer. The very anxiety that some experience when asking themselves this question and the very fear that they may have committed the sin is, paradoxically, the proof that they have not done so.”
Ultimately, no matter how bad your sins are, and no matter how many times you have sinned, your sins may be forgiven in Christ.
III. Your Sins are forgiven.
While the focus is so often on second half of verse 31 which says ‘the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven,” we ought to look also at the first half of the verse, for it gives the Glorious Gospel: “every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people.” [REPEAT: “every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people.”]
Of course that doesn’t include “blasphemy of the Holy Spirit,” but all literal breaking of the commandment not to take the Lord’s name in vain; that is included. And so is every other sin. All other sins can be forgiven. Your sins and mine can be forgiven.
This is the Gospel. All have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God, but in Jesus Christ our sins — all of them — are forgiven; all who trust in the Lord are to know that your sins are forgiven.
The very worsts sins can be forgiven.
Frequent, repeated sins can be forgiven.
No matter what you have done, or not done, or what evils you have thought in your mind, there is forgiveness in Jesus Christ. Come unto Him. Trust in Christ.
Your sins are forgiven.
I want to then look at 4 applications from this passage.
Application 1: Against Universalism
We have a point against Universalism. Universalism is that teaching which creeps up occasionally in church history, that “everyone is saved.” It is present in our day as well. A false teaching. I heard it at almost every funeral. “He is in a better place now,” it is said, regardless of whether that person had any faith in the Lord or evidence of salvation. In the event of the death of a Christian or their covenant child we have great hope in the Lord, and can trust that indeed they are called unto glory, forever living with the Lord. But where we do not know that, we ought to remain silent. When I’m called to preach at a funeral, or give graveside prayers as I did a couple weeks ago, in those circumstances, I focus on the Lord and His teachings, and make no proclamation which I cannot affirm is truth.
Well, I said the passage is against Universalism. The passage rules it out.
“whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”
Theoretically, logically, we could have a world where NO ONE ever speaks against the Holy Spirit. Then we would indeed have Universalism. But Jesus’s point is clear: SOME do speak against the Holy Spirit and they will not be forgiving.
Application 2: Not all that is claimed to be of God is really of God.
The teaching that “those who oppose the Spirit of God are not forgiven” doesn’t mean that everything that is CLAIMED to be OF GOD is really OF GOD. If you doubt Benny Hinn’s healing powers, a supporter of his might be apt to say you are blaspheming the Holy Spirit, when you are really calling a spade a spade.
I’ve known people to take some particular doctrine which they like, and claim that if YOU don’t agree with that doctrine, you are “blaspheming the Holy Spirit.” That is not the case. This text is not to be used for intramural debates within Christianity. Doing so merely fails at the logical fallacy of “begging the question;” it merely says WHAT is wrong, but doesn’t provide and argument for WHY it is wrong. And such then is just opinion if not backed by some argument.
So “not all that is claimed to be of God is really of God.”
Application 3: We must be careful in saying that anyone has blasphemed the Holy Spirit.
Then, on a similar line of thought, we must be careful in saying anyone has blasphemed the spirit. Even in bad situations we might have hope that a person would repent and come to the Lord.
But, on the other hand, Even though we must be careful, we can know with considerable confidence when someone has blasphemed the Holy Spirit. That occurs when they reject church discipline are excommunicated and have a hardened heart. Unless they repent, they are liable to have “blasphemed the Holy Spirit” and we can say like the Apostle John, “They went out from us, but they were not of us.” Or, like Jesus says, by their fruit they will be known.
Even so, we ought to be careful in saying that anyone has blasphemed the Holy Spirit.
Application 4: Salvation is through faith.
Then, a final application from this text. Salvation is through faith.
If the unforgivable is an utter lack of faith; then the opposite holds true: salvation is through faith. That is the doctrine of “Sola Fide.’ It is taught then here in a roundabout way. Such is the beauty of the Scriptures; that important doctrines are repeated in so many places and in so many ways that they are unmistakable; unmissable in our reading.
Conclusion:
So this passage is indeed a warning against those going against the Lord. But it too should be an encouragement for believers: ALL of our sins are covered as we look to the Lord in faith.
So do not suffer under that load of guilt thinking you have committed the unpardonable sin, for Jesus promises that “he is able to save completely those who come to God through him” (Hebrews 7:25) and “every sin is forgiven.”
Indeed, what a beautiful truth: every sin; your sins, they are forgiven. Let us pray.