Pastor Rick Warren
Many Christians are scared, understandably, about a sin they read in the Bible called the “unforgivable” or “eternal sin.” In one New Testament scene, Jesus’ critics accuse Him of being in association with the Devil. When answering His critics, Jesus refers to the “unforgivable sin.” This is what Jesus says.
“I promise you that any of the sinful things you say or do can be forgiven, no matter how terrible those things are. But if you speak against the Holy Spirit, you can never be forgiven. That sin will be held against you forever.” — Mark 3:28-29
This confuses many Christians because they think it contradicts verses like 1 John 1:9-10, which state that God can forgive any wrongdoing. However if you are worried you committed this sin, you most certainly haven’t. Having concern about it reveals the complete opposite of what the sin is about – those who are guilty wouldn’t care because they have no stress over the possibility.
Jesus didn’t address the comment He made to His disciples or the crowd. He was talking specifically to Pharisees, who had witnessed Jesus’ miracle of transforming a blind and mute demon possessed man. Instead of acknowledging the fact that Jesus had incredible divine powers, Pharisees attributed that His power was from Satan. Pharisees willfully rejected God and deliberately refused to believe in His abilities, despite being shown direct evidence. “He has an unclean spirit” (Mark 3:30).
Blasphemy against the Spirit is not just a one-time offence, but rather an ongoing attitude of rebellion against God by continually rejecting, insulting and resisting the Holy Spirit. Blasphemy against the Spirit is not unforgivable because of something done unintentionally in the past, but because of something being done deliberately and unrelentingly in the present. Herein is the state of a reprobate, when a person who cares not for Christ, obedience or anything of God and He turns you over to your heart desires, which are true worldly worship and thus the world is your your reward, and nothing else, you are lost for eternity.
The Lord is ready to forgive us of our sins; all we have to do is ask. The Bible is very clear that God is ready to give us! He wants us to be able to come to Him and celebrate in heaven. You can acknowledge your sin, feel legitimate remorse for your actions, work towards turning away from sin and cast yourself upon the mercy of God.
