The Unpardonable Sin

It is not some moral sin. This sin, the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, the sin that can never, never, never, never be forgiven is a sin that one may commit and will commit, knowingly, willfully, with his eyes wide open, and then forever, shut. What a joy to think of God's amazing, incredible, indescribable grace and love that he's poured out on each of us. But the sad, sad, sad truth is that many in this building are not going to get into the grace of God unless they turn from the sin and receive Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, and many are very close to a deadline. And if they cross that deadline, they will have committed an unpardonable sin, and they will be just as bound, just as destined for hell in this life before they die, with no chance whatsoever of redemption. Just as much bound for hell as if the iron gates of hell had already closed shut behind them. They will have crossed the deadline. They will have committed an unpardonable sin. Now, what is the unpardonable sin? We're going to see in a moment that it is attributing to the devil the work of the Spirit of Almighty God. Now, let's look at the background for the warning that Jesus Christ has given. Matthew chapter 12, "Wherefore I send you all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men, but the blasphemy against the holy ghost shall not be forgiven unto men, and whosoever speak the word against the Son of Man," that's the phrase that Jesus used for Himself, "it shall be forgiven him, but whosoever speaketh against the holy ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world nor in the world to come, not in this age or in the age to come."

Now, I want you to notice the story. Jesus is in His public ministry. There comes a man who is afflicted with a demon. It is a demon of blindness and a demon of dumbness. Dumbness means the ability to speak and to articulate. Not all people who are blind are demon possessed. Not all people who are dumb are demon possessed, but this man was. And this was his problem. He was bound with his Spirit. When Jesus saw this man, Jesus supernaturally, miraculously, wondrously healed him. His eyes were open. He could speak. People standing around said, "Look, this is the Son of David. This is the Messiah." Now, the Pharisees saw their own power and their own influence now, slipping away and going to Jesus. And they could not deny the miracle because it's obvious. Everybody knew him before he couldn't see it. Now he can see it. Before the man could not speak and now he can speak. So, since they cannot deny the miracle, they determined to explain it away. Here's what they say, "Oh, yes, sure, yes." He performed the miracle. Now, let us tell you how he did it. He did it in the power of Satan. In the power of Satan, he did this by Beelzy Bubba. That's what they said about the Lord Jesus. And it was then that Jesus gave the teaching that he gave to show

the great wickedness of this sin. Now, it was sort of a threefold sin. And I want you to notice it because it builds to climax. First of all, they send against redemption. They send against redemption. Here was Jesus working against the devil. Here was Jesus taking a man who had been afflicted by demons. is loosing dumb tongues. His great love and his great mastery over Satan is being poured out, redeeming love. But not only did they sin against redemption, secondly, I want you to notice they sinned against reason. They knew better. Look if you will in verse 24, but when the Pharisees heard it, they said, "This fellow does not cast out devils, but by bills above, the prince of the devils, and Jesus knew their thoughts and said unto them, every kingdom divided against itself is brought into desolation, and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself. How shall then his kingdom stand?" Now what is Jesus saying? Jesus is saying what you are saying doesn't make sense. You are saying that I by Satan are casting out Satan. Jesus said, "Common sense tells you that is not true. A house divided against itself cannot stand. How does Satan cast out Satan?" These men were intellectuals, but they crucified their reason in order to crucify Jesus Christ. They sin not only against redemption, they sinned against reason. I am speaking to some here today. You may be a banker, a lawyer, you may be a professor, you may be an entrepreneurial businessman or woman, but yet you are going to crucify your reason and say no to Jesus Christ. I have been a pastor too long not to understand this, that there are many who trample reason to death in order to have their own way. For example, have you ever heard anybody say I am not a Christian because they are hypocrites in the church? Have you ever heard that? Let me see your hand. Hold your hand. I have some majority. I have some majority. We have all heard that. Now that is a sin against reason. Anybody with a modicum of intelligence knows that is not reasonable. There may be some Christians who were hypocrites. Judas was a hypocrite. Sometimes people tell me, "Pastor, did you know they're hypocrites in the church?" Oh, no, man. Don't tell me that. You think I could be a pastor for these years and not know that? Of course they're hypocrites

in the church, but be reasonable. Some doctors are quacks, but if you get sick, you still seek a doctor. Some lawyers may be shysters, but if you need legal advice, you'll find a lawyer. Some eggs may be rotten, but you probably had some for breakfast this morning, not the rotten kind. Some money may be counterfeit. If you saw a counterfeit bill, would you burn all the rest of your money? I just don't believe in hypocrite bills there. I'm going to get rid of my money. You know better than that. It is the hypocrite that proves the worth of wildness and the validity of the real. Why do men counterfeit $50 bills? Because of the worth of $50 bills. Every counterfeit is a testimony to the validity of the worth wildness of the real. Men don't counterfeit gum wrappers. Think about it. No, you know better. They sinned against reason, but sinning against redemption and sinning against reason is not the unpardonable sin. It only set the stage for it. Now let me tighten the focus a little bit. Not only did they sin against redemption, and not only did they sin against reason, but friend they sinned against revelation. They sinned against revelation, and there is the problem. Look if you will in verse 28 of this same chapter and see what the Lord Jesus said, but if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, underscore that, then the kingdom of God is coming to you. There was the king standing in their midst, Jesus Christ, and there was the Holy Spirit of God working through him and testifying by those very works that he was indeed. with the Holy Spirit. Jesus did what He did by the Spirit of God. You know a man may blaspheme God the Father, and he could say there is no God. He may blaspheme Jesus Christ and say He is a false prophet or a fictitious person. But oh, when the Holy Spirit of God comes, He demolishes those things. The Holy Spirit of God pulls away the veil of darkness. The Holy Spirit of God that opened that blind man's eyes, opens the eyes of the Spirit so that people can see so that they can understand. And here what these were doing is this, they were sinning against light. And when men and women stand before God to be judged, they're not going to be judged primarily by the sin they committed, listen, but by the light they rejected. What is the unpardonable sin? It is the sin against light. It is attributing to Satan the work of the Holy Spirit when one knows better. And what are the consequences of this sin? Why did Jesus say this sin is an unpardonable sin? Well there is the deceiving power of this sin. A person who commits this sin opens himself up to deception. One of the most terrifying verses in all of the Bible is found in 2 Thessalonians, the second chapter,

verse 11. And for this cause, God shall send them strong delusion. Wait a minute Adriene, read it right. You didn't read it right. God doesn't send people delusion. The devil does that. No, I'm reading it right. For this cause, God shall send them strong delusion. Well why would God do that? That they should believe a lie. Wait, it's getting worse. God is sending delusion that people would believe a lie. That's what it says. Well why would God send delusion that they might believe a lie? Well let's continue to read that they all might be damned. We're sinking fast, aren't we? God is sending people delusion that they would believe a lie, that they all might be damned. Why? I'll tell you why. He goes on to say, "Who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." They had the truth. They wouldn't believe the truth. Why would they not believe the truth? Did they have intellectual problems? No. They believed not the truth because they had pleasure in unrighteousness. Now look up here and let me tell you something. In this passage, the opposite of truth is not error. The opposite of truth is sin. They believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. They wanted their sin. And so when they say, "I don't want the truth," there is the light. God speaks to them. They have the truth. They believe not the truth. It's not that they've never heard the truth. They believe not the truth. Why? Intellectual problems, no moral problems. They had pleasure in unrighteousness and for this cause, God will send them strong delusion. They cannot have their sin and have God's truth at the same time. You see, when you hear truth, you don't just say how interesting. I'll put that in my pocket and spend it if I ever need it, but in the meanwhile I'm going to live it up in sin. No. No. When you choose sin, the baggage that comes with that sin is error. And God will send you strong delusion when you have seen, when you've known, when you understand, and you willfully sin against the light. Let me give you an example how that works. I'm preaching here at Bellevue Baptist Church and a man decides for whatever reason he's going to come to Bellevue. Maybe his wife is begged him. Maybe he comes that one Sunday when I preach on stewardship and giving. That Christ is the Lord of all. That men ought to give. I hope you agree with that. That one, who owns the sheep owns the world, isn't that correct? And so I, and he owns us. And so I might be preaching on that. Now "Money, money, money, that's all that bunch of money grubbing, badness and badness preachers preach about.

I knew I shouldn't have come here. All they want to do is just fleece me. I can hardly wait to get out of here. All they're interested in is my money." Well, number one, that's a lie. That's not true. That's a lie. And in his heart, he really knows it. He knows it. But you see, this man is an idol in his heart. Do you know what his idol is? Money. His God is gold. His creed is greed and his motto is get all you can and can't all you get. Sit on the lid and poison the rest. I mean, this man, this man has an idol in his heart. And so he attributes to what the preacher might do that day. When he's preaching what the Bible has to say about stewardship, he attributes that to the work of the devil. He turns around and walks out and says, "I'll never be back." Says wife and kids are down here one Sunday. He's sitting at home reading the sports page. Good whiskers have grown out in, shaved yet. Got a carton to cancel one side and a six pack of embalming fluid on the other side. Sitting there smoking and drinking, watching the sports. Somebody comes and knocks at his door. Who could that be? Does the door open? And so after a little talk, they say to him, "We're here to tell you there is no hell." He says, "Come in.

And his mind now swisted." And he begins to believe a lie. Why? Because he received not the love of the truth, but had pleasure and unrighteousness. His rotten greed. And with that comes strong delusion. And he'll believe a lie. And it's a part of the righteous judgment of God when a man willingly says, "This is the way I'm going." God says, "I'll give you a shove." When a man says, "I want God." God says, "I'll give you a shove." What happens is this? That there are people who with eyes wide open, knowing better. Sin not only against redemption and reason, but they sin against revelation. They sin against light. What happens is this? There is the deceiving power of that sin. And when you talk to one of these people, he'll say to you who's committed and part of all sin, he'll say, "Well, I just don't see it. He's not lying. He doesn't see it." Romans 11 verse 8, "According as it is written, God has given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear until this day." There is the deceiving power, there's the deadening power, and therefore there is the damning power of this sin. It's the sin that puts you beyond the pale of redemption. Hebrews chapter 6 warns about this sin, beginning in verse 4. God says, "For it is impossible." Well, when God says something is impossible, we ought to pay attention.

Listen to it. It is impossible for those who were once enlightened. Remember now that the sin against the Holy Spirit is a sin against light, who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost. The great means they have gone along with the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good Word of God. Not ingested and digested, but tasted, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away to renew them again under repentance. Shorten the sentence, "It is impossible to renew them to repentance." Why? Because they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh and put Him to an open shame. You can come to a place where it is impossible for you to be saved. Why? Because with eyes wide open, you crucify Jesus afresh. Now look up here and let me tell you a story. Over here in Arkansas, there was a preacher, a gifted man of God. He's in heaven now. His name was Joe Henry Hancans. He preached like Jeremiah. He wept when he preached. Joe Henry Hancans told this story, "I shall never forget, I think. I shall never forget it." He said, "I was preaching in a service. I tore my heart out of my heart. Spirit was moving just like that fire that I was talking about." He said, "I saw young man sitting up in the balcony, and I could tell he was under conviction. He was gripping the back of the pew with one hand, holding the hymnal with the other. And so as others were coming, I just tried to catch his eye." I said, "Young man, come to Jesus." Hank had said, "It looked like he was going to step out, but then he stepped back and started

to sing again." Again, we sang another stand and I said, "Young man, come to Jesus." He said, "Young man, close this hymnal and turn and started moving." I said, "Thank God. I'll allude you." He's coming to Christ. He's coming to Christ. But rather than coming down the aisle, he turned and went out the back, out the door and was gone from the service. In just a matter of days, Hankins was called to that young man's bedside because the man had been diagnosed with a disease he did not know he had when he was in that service. And the doctor said he's dying. Hankins went to see him. He said, "Son, have they told you the nature of your sickness?" He said, "Yes, preacher. You don't have to be delicate about it. I know I'm dying." Well, son, I won't ask you a question. Were you in the services on us in such a day? Yes, preacher, I was. Well, I was watching you, son, and it seemed to me that during the invitation, you were under conviction that you felt your need of Jesus. Is that right? He said, "Preacher, when you were preaching and you gave that invitation, I wanted to get down there where you were so badly I felt I could jump over the balcony rail to come down there to where you were." Well, son, why didn't you come? He said, "Every time I started out, I remembered my favorite sin and I wrestled and I made up my mind I wanted my sin." And preacher said he felt a chill go over him. And he tried to reason with the young man. He said, "But now, son, if you're going to die, you can't have that sin anyway. Don't you think you better give your heart to Jesus Christ?" Joe Henry Hankin said, that young man looked at me and he said this. He said, "Preacher, you don't understand. When I close my hymnal and willingly and deliberately walked out of that service, something died within me. I can't believe." He said, "Son, God will save you. He wants to save you." He said, "No, I'm telling you I can't do it. Something died within me." Hankin said he wept and prayed and cried for that boy until he died without Jesus and slipped into hell. If you're here today and you feel the slightest desire to come to Jesus Christ, I beg you come to Him. Don't be like that old stump. Don't let God send you strong delusion. Don't cross the deadline. Don't sin against such light. There are millions of people in this world who would shout for joy to hear what you're hearing today, that God loves you, that Christ died for you, that He invites you and that the Bible says, "Whosoever will may come." If you think that you've committed an unpardonable sin, I'll tell you this. If you want to be saved, you have it. Hahaha, hallelujah. Anybody

who wants to come will, and Jesus said it, "If any man will come unto me, I will never turn him away." [MUSIC PLAYING]