This is part 2 on “The Unforgivable Sin.” To read part 1 click here.
In part 1 we’ve concluded that the singular sin the Holy Spirit convicts unbelievers of is the sin of not believing in Jesus.
Unbelief in Jesus Christ is the only sin that Jesus couldn’t die for. This is the only sin God can’t forgive.
A person has to believe in Jesus to receive forgiveness.
Here is the Video Blog with the entire message:
The only sin under the New Covenant is unbelief in Jesus
After Jesus speaks about the unforgivable sin His natural family – His mother and brothers – arrive. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. A crowd was sitting around Him, and they told Him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.” “Who are my mother and my brothers?” He asked. Then He looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 3:31-34, NIV).
To be part of Jesus’ spiritual family you need to do the will of God. The million dollar question is, what does it mean to do the will of God so that you can be part of God’s family?
John 6:29 sheds light on what it means to “do” the will of God or to “work” the works of God:
This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.
To do the will of God does not mean that we have to do some external action or work for it has nothing to do with your level of obedience, but it refers to placing our trust in Jesus Christ.
In other words, to do the will of God means to believe in Jesus!
What is the unforgivable sin?
In short, the only sin under the New Covenant is not believing in Jesus.
Since the Holy Spirit’s job is to convict unbelievers of the sin of unbelief in the Person and work of Jesus, “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit” is refusing to believe the Holy Spirit’s testimony regarding the grace of God revealed through Jesus Christ.
So what is the unforgivable sin? It is the sin of of unbelief in Jesus and His finished work.
The only unforgivable sin is the rejection of Jesus Christ’s offer of salvation, and thus, His forgiveness of sin.
This sin cannot be forgiven because he who commits it chooses to reject the very thing that would otherwise save him. To reject the only way to be forgiven is, obviously, unforgivable.
This belief is not only a commonly held understanding among Christians, but I believe also underlined by a little, but important phrase found in Matthew 12 verse 25 which reads, “Jesus knew their thoughts…”
Jesus knew not only the slanderous words of the Pharisees, but their thoughts as well.
Upon witnessing the miracle of the healing of a blind, mute, demon-possesed man Jesus knew that the Pharises were sensing the conviction of the Holy Spirit in their hearts that this was indeed a true miracle of God, but due to their prideful attitude they wilfully rejected this testimony of the Spirit.
Because Jesus knew their thoughts He let them know that by willfully rejecting the drawing and conviction of the Holy Spirit they could never receive forgiveness, thus never be forgiven.
No danger. No worries
If you have accepted Christ you are never in danger of committing the unforgivable sin, which is why the apostle Paul, who wrote two thirds of the New Testament, never mentioned an unforgivable sin. Instead, he assures believers that all their sins have been forgiven because of Jesus’ one sacrifice at the cross (Heb. 10:12-14).
A Christian cannot commit the unforgivable sin because there is no sin the Christian is not forgiven of!
If you’re worried that you may be guilty of the unforgivable sin, that’s a good sign that you’re saved, secure and forgiven because concern about comitting it reveals the opposite attitude of what the sin is.
Those who might be guilty wouldn’t care because they wouldn’t be worried about this possibility.
Rest in the fact you are saved, secure, loved and pleasing to God. You can be absolutely sure of your salvation. To live with no doubt about your salvation is normal Christianity.
To sum up
So the issue with “the unforgivable sin” is not whether you’ve done something that God can’t or won’t forgive. He has already forgiven all sins of the whole world.
God doens’t consider anyone as unforgiven because of Christ’s succesful work on the cross.
However, unbelief in Jesus Christ is the only sin that Jesus couldn’t die for. Since this is the only sin that God can’t forgive, the singular sin the Holy Spirit convicts unbelievers of is the sin of not believing in Jesus.
Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is a lifetime of rejecting the Holy Spirit’s work of conviction for our need for the Savior, and thus committing the unforgivable sin.
Many believers fear they have committed some sin that God cannot or will not forgive, and they feel there is no hope for them, no matter what they do.
Satan would like us to have self-condemnation that comes from misunderstanding the “unforgivable sin” issue. The truth is, however, that a believer can never commit the sin that can’t be forgiven since they have received God’s complete forgiveness.
Now, that’s Good News!
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Thanks for this information. As a 54 year old Christian man, I must tell you I had pondered this question many times. Your explanation is like a breath of fresh air amongst the polluted effusive condemnation and fearmongering often espoused by charlatans, and con-men.
I am so grateful; to have heard this – the Holy Sp[irit has convicted me of this truth – allelujah !
Thank you, and may God bless you.
James. I am so glad that this explanation resonated with you and that you’ve felt the Holy Spirit giving you also the clarity and insight on this issue! You’re welcome. It’s my pleasure to help you in this way brother. May we continue to see how Good God really is. Yours, Bas
Thanks for this information. As a 54 year old Christian man, I must tell you I had pondered this question many times. Your explanation is like a breath of fresh air amongst the polluted effusive condemnation and fearmongering often espoused by charlatans, and con-men.
I am so grateful; to have heard this – the Holy Spirit has convicted me of this truth – allelujah !
Thank you, and may God bless you
Hello there , first of all I wanna thank you and congratulate for this amazing work that you are doing, your writings are VERY refreshing and full of light in a angle that we tend to don’t see,
I would like to ask you ( if possible) to talk about difference of common sense and Holy Spirit , cause that’s my battle , since kid , in my church I’ve been told that the Holy spirit brings revelation to our mind, but, let’s face it we have our own common sense , and our own thinking, therefore,
How to make sure that what I understand is God or my own opinion, I now might sound easy to understand but it is not for
Me, I don’t want to belief that God talks to me , when in real is not Him,
I would really appreciate help with that, thank you !!
Xavi
Just to say: I’ve send you an email and I’m grateful how the resources I’ve send already have helped you Xavier!
Bas, I used to wrestle with whether I had committed the unforgivable sin, but reached the same conclusion as you years ago. However, I likely grieved the Spirit thinking, what is called, “slain in the Spirit” was of the Devil. Since hyptomists can duplicate what some preachers do with the wave of the hand I now think that is more a manifestation of the human spirit. Beyond that there is obviously a deep experience of Holy Spirit causation that is similar. Just thinking … Great article. Thank you again! Stephen
I think that “how” God touches some one is much less important than “why” and what the results of the interaction are. Jesus healed in a lot of ways- laying on hands, praying over great distance, even spitting and rubbing mud in someone’s eyes! When I see or hear about aome one slain in the spirit, or roaring like a lion, or laughing, or seeing gold dust, I ask “What did accomplish in their lives?” That question is ultimately between them and God. If HE wants to move in mysterious ways, who am I to judge?
Great thoughts BJ. I see it the same way. Thank you for sharing.
I don’t even know how I ended up here, but I thought this
post was good. I don’t know who you are but definitely you are going to a
famous blogger if you are not already 😉 Cheers!
Hi. Famous or not. I love to help people renew their minds and see them set free. Keeping the simple Gospel simple 🙂
I do agree with all the ideas you have introduced to your post.
They’re very convincing and will certainly work. Nonetheless, the posts are
very quick for newbies. May just you please lengthen them a
bit from subsequent time? Thank you for the post.
This is a topic that is near to my heart… Cheers! Exactly
where are your contact details though?
Today, I went to the beach front with my kids.
I found a sea shell and gave it to my 4 year old daughter and said “You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear.”
She put the shell to her ear and screamed. There was a hermit
crab inside and it pinched her ear. She never wants to go back!
LoL I know this is entirely off topic but I had to tell someone!
That’s great! Thank you for sharing 🙂
I know this is a little off subject, but it is about another “unforgivable” sin in the Bible, in Revelation 14, those that take the mark of the beast. What do you think about that and how can it be explained.