The Unforgivable Sin

Some of us grew up paralyzed in fear by the mere thought of committing the "unforgivable sin", though, oddly, nobody could really give us anything but a vague definition as to what this sin actually was or how to avoid committing it. I just got a message on FaceBook about this particular issue yesterday, and have many times before. Lets take a look at this sin and come out of this thing more in love with God rather than being scared that there is something we could do that isn't covered by the Blood of Jesus. We have not been given a spirit of fear, but power, love, and a sound mind.

There was the one particular sin Jesus seemed incredibly concerned about. It is called the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, and first mentioned by Isaiah in Isaiah 5:20. According to Jesus, one of the most serious things we could do is blaspheme the Holy Spirit by attributing His works to the devil. He said that it the only sin that was unforgivable (Matthew 12:31). According to the context in Matthew 12, the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is simply when we call evil good and good evil.

First off, let me just say that anytime we read a scripture in a way that causes us to be fearful, we likely are not reading it the way Holy Spirit desires it to be interpreted. In other words, don't worry...you are not more powerful than God; your ability to sin is not greater than the blood of Jesus. It would be ridiculous if we had the capability to be more effective at sinning than God was at taking care of it. If all sin doesn't fall under the umbrella of Christ's sacrifice, then in the end none of it does.

With that being said, there is something serious taking place in a person’s life when they see what is good as evil. People who see that which is good as evil, people that attribute that which is God to satan, hold to this observation tighter than anything in their lives. They clench it with their fist so tightly that their knuckles turn white. No amount of talking to them will change their mind. They are willing to cut off relationships for it, willing to divide churches over it, willing to crucify other’s lives over it. It is very important to them. I wonder what it will be like for that person the day they stand before God and His angels. Will they see God as He is, or will they think they see satan, disguising himself as an angel of light? To this person, God can show up in simplicity and splendor, yet they discard Him, sure that satan was who appeared to them, not God.

But how could a completely compassionate, loving, and gracious God not forgive someone for a specific sin? If He is incapable of total forgiveness, then He is not completely compassionate, loving, and gracious. If there is a loophole to His love, then it was never really unconditional love to begin with.

Here is the answer. The prerequisite to forgiveness is to acknowledging that what was done was wrong. The people that commit this unforgivable sin aren’t wondering in the least bit if what they are doing is wrong, let alone then taking the leap of humility to ask for forgiveness. Because these people hold to their belief about something being evil with such tenacity, they never allow themselves to be forgiven. This is why Jesus said it was the unforgivable sin. It isn’t that God won’t forgive them, it is that they won’t allow themselves to be forgiven. We know that God forgives any sin, even rape and murder. But God cannot force man to ask for forgiveness for something that man does not acknowledge as wrong.

This is why attributing the things of the Spirit to the devil is very dangerous. You begin to sit in on judgment of God Himself, and because you have judged God, you will not go to Him to ask for forgiveness. You begin to be so sure of yourself in your judgment that the possibility of your asking for forgiveness becomes an impossibility. God would forgive a person for blaspheming the Holy Spirit, but the people who commit this sin do not want to be forgiven. As a result, forgiveness becomes an impossibility.

The Pharisees, the most studied in religious matters of the day, completely missed God when He came to the earth. They mistook Him for a normal man, or even worse, a tool of beelzebub. They didn’t just reject His words, they took it into their own hands to kill this Man, because He contradicted their belief system so violently. And yet, He was God.

I have a hunch that things aren’t as they seem, and that if Jesus showed up today (which is more than plausible), many of us would not recognize Him. Let us see that which is of God, be from God, and that which is from the enemy, from the enemy. God, give us eyes to see and ears to hear.

And like Stephen, those that get a hold of the revelation of Jesus, offend those around them that are still stuck in the old way of thinking about God. A person that is more ingrained in the traditions of man rather than the Spirit of God will see that which is of heaven from hell. If you are full of God, they will disagree with you, abhor you, and will even throw stones at you, because their drive is to rid the world of that which is not of God. If they only knew who God was and what He does, then they would throw their stones in the right direction.

(Excerpt from "How To Raise The Dead")