Unpardonable

““Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation”— because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.””
‭‭Mark‬ ‭3:28-30‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Unpardonable

When I was but a baby Christian, I was overly cautious to avoid anything that would cause the Lord to pull my salvation and send me to hell. I thought these things in my ignorance, having been raised to believe that I could lose my salvation for the slightest sin. I was in a constant sin/confess cycle, running to the confess when I felt I had fallen short.

In the back of my mind, I harbored a fear of the of the unpardonable sin, that one act of belief that would send the to hell without recourse. No one I knew really had a sense of what it was, and could not assuage my fears. Being the hungry, growing follower of Jesus that I was, I looked for answers, poring through commentaries and listening to a vast array of pastoral sermons.

At some point I looked back at the passage in Mark, where Jesus tells of that sin, and how it can not be forgiven. The Pharisees were actively questioning the power behind the things that Jesus was doing. He had done the temporally impossible, as He had healed the sin, cast out demons, and raised the dead. Yet, these learned leaders, who ;purported to know God, condemned Him and all that He had done.

They were denying the overwhelming evidence being laid right under their very noses.

In the modern sense, blaspheming the Holy Spirit is different than it was in that time with Jesus. Today, at least for now, we cannot behold Him with our eyes. But even so, His presence is near. The Holy Spirit is in the world, convicting people of their sins, creating in them a sense that the sins to which they have given themselves over, is wrong. Those who resist say no to that calling by the Spirit.

I was like that. For years I resisted the call of Jesus, until finally the conviction became more than I could bear, and I surrendered on Resurrection Sunday 1998. If I had not surrendered, I would have committed the unpardonable sin, and would have died unsaved and without Christ.

At some point, the draw of God would have diminished, and the Lord would have given me over to my debased mind.

““He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”
John 3:18-19 NKJV

“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭1:28‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Rejecting the draw of God, is like standing on the edge of a building, and denying the existence of gravity. One step and reality comes in the form of the sudden stop at the bottom. Then it is way too late. In Jesus the light has come into the world. Around us there are many examples of people who have come to a saving knowledge of Christ, whose lives have been changed. People have moved from darkness to light, and their transformation is evidence placed right under our noses.

Brothers and sisters, I am sure you have noticed that it is getting harder and harder to reach people today. The evil one has blinded those we hope to reach, by inundating them with an ongoing cacophony of loud noises and blinding lights. Under the barrages it is easy to say no to the pull of the Holy Spirit.

You might be one like me, who worried about the possibility of doing that one thing that could cause you to forfeit your salvation. Be at rest: if you are concerned, you need not worry. Those who have said no to the Holy Spirit live lives counter to those who have heard the call, and have no regard for God.

The mere fact that you have made a profession of faith, means that you have said yes.

As we go and tell people of Jesus and this great Gospel, we will inevitably encounter people who have actively said no, and they will attack us, and seek even to kill us. For them we are the fragrance of death and a reminder that eternity in hell is coming.

“For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.”
II Corinthians 2:15-17 NKJV

Let us go and boldly proclaim the Good News, even at our peril for we have been given a mission and a passion, to bring with joy the message given us.

Have a blessed Sunday!

https://www.allaboutgod.com/the-roman-road.htm