What IS the “Unpardonable Sin”?
Is there an “unforgivable
sin”? What did Jesus Christ mean when He said
“All manner of sin and
blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blas-
phemy
against the Holy Spirit shall NOT be forgiven unto men”? What sin
is this -- and how does one commit it? Can one
sin after they have been “saved” and fall away, and lose salvation?
Did Judas Iscariot commit the “unpardonable
sin”?
Here is the shocking TRUTH!
William F. Dankenbring
The "unpardonable sin"
has mystified and confused millions! Is there a "sin" which is
unforgivable in the sight of God? If so, what is it? How does one commit it?
Just what is the so-called "unforgivable sin"?
Before; answering this question,
we need to understand, "what is SIN?" No question is more confusing
and debated among religious folk than this one. To some, singing in Church
constitutes "sin." To others, the taste of alcoholic beverage would
be "sin" -- even a sip of wine. To still others, movie-going,
dancing, or card-playing would be "sin. "
Still other people would say it is a "sin" to marry outside one's own
race.
Some claim that "sin" is something
which only involves "spiritual" things -such as transgression of one
of the Ten Commandments. To them, if one breaks any "physical law" of
God. that is not "sin. " Thus, if you break
the law of gravity, or laws of nutrition, or overeat, or even smoke cigarettes,
even though such actions may lead to your DEATH, they do not constitute sin,
unless you also break the spiritual law which says "Thou shalt not covet" Churches, such as Worldwide Church of
God, deny the existence of such a thing as "physical sin.
" To them sin is either "spiritual" or it is not sin at
all! And by "spiritual," they refer to the clear breaking of one of
the written statutes and laws of God as delineated in the Scriptures.
What is the truth? Just what is
"SIN," anyway?
The Scriptures clearly give us three precise definitions of "sin." All three are found in the New Testament In one place, the apostle John writes, "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for SIN IS the transgression of the LAW" (I John 3:4).
The Greek word translated "sin" in
this verse is halnartema and the full meaning
of the word is, "to miss the mark (and so not share in the prize)," " to err," "trespass," "fault,
" "offence."
This verse clearly tells us that contrary to
the opinions and definitions of mere men, or various church organizations, the
Biblical definition of sin is to transgress or break the laws of God. If the
Word of God forbad card playing, then it would be a sin, clearly. If the laws
of God forbad wine or alcohol, then the consumption of such would constitute
"sin. " If the Word of God forbids adultery,
or stealing, or murder, or lying and deception, then they would clearly be sin
-- which they are, since the Word of God does proscribe such behavior.
Since “sin” is by definition in the Bible the
transgression of the laws of God, then those churches who claim the laws of God
were abolished by Christ and nailed to the cross, face the unenviable position
of having no true definition of sin. If the law is done away, as they say it
is, then ANYTHING GOES! If there is no "law" against adultery,
stealing, lust, murder, idolatry, or the like, then a Christian could do any of
those things, and it would be all right In fact, there would be no need for
anybody to become a Christian, or to repent -- if the death of Christ did away
with the LAW! For there would be no "sin" to repent of!
Such reasoning, of course, is tom-foolery and
falderal and nonsense!
The very definition of sin in the Bible shows
that the LA W OF GOD is still very much in force and effect "Sin"
means to "err" in. keeping the law, to "miss the mark" in
observing it and keeping it, 'to "fall short" or to "break"
it -- that is, to TRANSGRESS the law!
Jesus Himself verified this truth when He told the young rich man who asked Him what he must do to have eternal life, Jesus responded: "If thou wilt enter into life, KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS" (Matt.19:17).
Which commandments was Jesus talking about?
He explained it Himself, after the young rich man asked, "Which?"
(v.18). Jesus
replied: "Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt
not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness. Honor
thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself' (vs.18-19).
What
commandments was Jesus referring to? Obviously, the TEN
COMMANDMENTS, and the overall law given in the Old Testament, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (Lev.
Contrary
to the teachings of some supposed "Christian" churches, the law of
love thy neighbor is NOT merely a New Testament innovation -- rather, it was
the law of God for ALL TIME, and is specifically commanded to ancient
Notice the words of Christ Himself! "Do
not think that I have come to ABOLISH the Law or the Prophets; I have not come
to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and
earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will
by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished"
(Matt5:17-18, NIV).
The other definition of sin, as found in the
Bible, is found in the writings of the apostle James. He wrote, " Anyone,
then, who knows the good he ought to do, and doesn't do it, sins" (James
In this case, the sin is not an explicit breaking of a commandment of God, but the failure to do what is good and right in the sight of God To know that you ought to do something, and to fail to do it, constitutes SIN. This is the sin of "ornmission," whereas the sin of breaking a specific commandment is a sin of "commission."
A Third Definition of Sin
The apostle Paul also explained a manner of
"sin" which many people overlook. He wrote to the Romans, ". . .
everything that does not come from faith is SIN" (Romans
The just, the righteous, those pleasing in
the sight of God, are to live by "faith. "
As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "We live by faith, not by sight"
(II Cor.5:7). Paul also quotes the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk, "The
righteous will live by faith" (Rom.l:17; Hab.2:4).
Faith is the key to pleasing God and keeping
His commandments. People who don't believe God, who don't believe in His Word,
will not keep His commandments. They illustrate their lack of faith by their
disobedience. But those who have faith, who believe God, prove their faith by
their works -by their obedience to the laws of God!
Thus we learn three major truths:
"Sin" is the transgression of the
laws of God.
Failure to do what you know is
"good" is also "sin. "
Whatever you do without, or outside of,
faith, is also "sin."
Sin, then, is disobedience to our Creator,
Father, and Maker. It is violation of any of His laws, whether physical laws
governing our bodies, and physical relationships; and violation of any of HIS
SPIRITUAL LAWS, the penalty of which is death.
As Paul wrote, "For the wages of sin is
death" (Rom.6:23). Adam and Eve ate the wrong fruit from the wrong tree --
and it resulted in their death. .
They "sinned. "
If you eat anything which is poisonous, such as arsenic, you will very probably
die -- unless you receive an antidote quickly. Thus eating something which you
know is harmful is "sin" -- you could not do such a thing without
sinning, since it would be failure to do what you know is "good."
Furthermore, you could not do such a thing in "faith," so it would still
be "SIN."
Therefore, those who claim there is no such
thing as "physical sin. " such as the
Worldwide Church of God, miss the point entirely. Sin involves the
transgression of any of God's laws, as well as doing what you believe to be
wrong, failure to do what you know is right, and failure to live by "faith. "
A person who drives a car recklessly, or
carelessly, "sins." A person who smokes a
cigarette, which is over a period of time lethal to his body and health,
"sins." There is no question about it. Those who say such “physical” acts are not
sin fool themselves and deceive innocent, naive people. Sin can be far more
than just the explicit breaking of a specific commandment of God.
Jesus put it plainly: Any time you fail to
show love for your neighbor, the result is SIN, and the penalty is DEATH!
Similarly, anytime you do something which is harmful to your own life or body,
or defile your body (as by smoking, improper diet, breaking health laws
or nutritional laws, or continuously miss sleep), you commit SIN!
The apostle Paul wrote: "Do you not know
that the wicked will not inherit the
The apostle John was told further in the book of Revelation, "But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magical arts, the idolaters and all liars –their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulphur. This is the second death" (Rev.21:8).
The laws of God are obviously still in power and force and effect! .Those who violate them will suffer the second death – unless they repent of their deeds, and become righteous through the shed blood of Christ, and through repentance and forgiveness and the gift of God’s Spirit, they live obediently to the laws of God and develop holy, righteous, spiritual character.
But What, Then, Is the
"Unpardonable Sin "?
Let us, now, notice exactly what Jesus said
about the so-called "unpardonable sin." Jesus declared: "And so
I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy
against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the
Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone "who speaks against the Holy
Spirit will not be forgive either in this life or in
the age to come" (Matt.12:31-32).
Let us notice the context of Jesus' remarks.
Jesus had just healed a demon-possessed man who was both blind and mute. The
people were astonished at this miracle. But when the Pharisees heard about it,
they declared with a sneering reproach, "It is only by Beelzebub, the
prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons" (Matt
Jesus then explained that if Satan cast out
Satan, his kingdom would be divided. He said- " And
if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So
then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God,
then the kingdom of God has come upon you" (Matt 12:27-28).
Under these conditions, then, Jesus explained
that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the one sin which God will not
forgive men. What was He talking about? He went on to say, "Make a tree
good and its FRUIT will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad,
for a tree is recognized by its fruit You brood of vipers, how can you who are
evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.
The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil
man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that
men will have to give account on the day of judgment
for every careless word they have spoken. “For by your words you will be aquitted, and by your words you will condemned” (Matt.
The self-righteous Pharisees were condemning
a good work of Jesus, done by the power of the Spirit of God. It was a good
work -- the fruit was good. Yet they spoke against it, and condemned it,
sneering at the miracle He performed. They refused to look at the good. They
insisted, despite the evidence before them, on condemning an excellent, good
work! That is to say, they were or the verge of blasphemy against the Spirit of
God, by which Jesus performed the marvelous work He did!
That is why Jesus, in this context, issued
this dire warning against those who would presume to judge and sneer at a
righteous, good work! Such an act betrays an attitude of blatant hostility
toward what is good. Such a thing cannot be done in mere "ignorance,"
or because one is deceived. It betrays an attitude of hostility toward the good
fruits of God’s Spirit. It is a
deliberate sin – an act of premeditated, deliberate and carefully reasoned
wickedness, without any temptation or excuse.
It is an act of PRESUMPTUOUS sin -- and this is the kind of sin
God simply will not forgive! It was the sin of the devil; the sin of Judas
Iscariot; and the sin of those Pharisees who refused to accept the truth even
when they knew better!
The unpardonable or unforgivable sin, then,
is -- without temptation or deception --
to deliberately and with knowledge of what you are doing and the consequences,
to "say or do something totally contrary to what is good and right in the
sight of God -- including to condemn the righteous for their righteous deeds
and good works. Such a sin is what God calls “presumptuous.” The penalty for this kind of sin, in the Old
Testament, was “death.” No sacrifices
could expiate it; it was not forgivable. The penalty of this kind of deliberate
act of evil, or condemnation of the good, is the SECOND DEATH!
The actual "sin" itself is not the
point It could be the deliberate act of adultery, or murder, or stealing, WHEN
YOU KNOW BETTER AND DO IT ANYWAY , and have no thoughts of repentance or
remorse or sincere contrition. It could be the sin of LYING, and COVERING UP
SIN, without any intention of revealing the sordid truth but keeping it buried
under the carpet. It can be the
habitual, continuous act or sin of committing adultery, on and on, without true
repentance, deliberately doing
it, even though you know better -- but you engage in it PRESUMPTUOUSLY. It is willful sin -- where the person's will
is totally intent upon the evil. It’s his choice, deliberate and malicious.
The "Presumptuous Sin "
David prayed to God, "Keep back thy
servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then
shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent of the GREA T TRANSGRESSION"
(psa.19:13). The NIV has this verse, "Keep your servant also from willful
sins . . ." The
Hebrew word zed or zadown means,
literally, "arrogant. proud." Pride can lead one to willful, deliberate
disobedience against God's laws, and the unforgivable sin! It was pride that led the Devil into condemnation! Human
beings also can be "lifted up with pride" and "fall into the condemnation of the devil" (1
Tim.3:6).
God says of the devil, "Your heart
became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because
of your splendor" (Ezek.28: 17). Pride leads to lawlessness, disrespect
for the rights of others, and deception, violence, and every other sin and
dishonesty (see Ezek.28:12-19; Isah.14:12-15).
The unforgivable sin is the sin of
unrestrained pride and arrogance, which obviously will not be repented of. It
was the downfall of the powerful spirit being, Lucifer, who became the Devil,
or Satan, our Adversary .It has been the downfall of many who followed the
example of the devil, in becoming arrogant and proud.
Peter speaks of those wicked ministers who
have this same unrepentant, proud, willfully disobedient attitude. He writes:
"Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to SLANDER celestial beings,
[or true servants of God, by condemning their writings or works behind their
backs, to their entire Church ministry]; yet even angels, although they are
stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such
beings in the presence of the Lord. But these men BLASPHEME in matters they do
not understand. They are like BRUTE BEASTS, creatures of instinct, born only to
be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish" (II
Pet.2:10-12).
There have been, and are, even ministers
today, supposedly in the true Church of the living God, who have done likewise.
They have been guilty before God of slander, and malicious wickedness, out of a
stubborn heart of arrogance and pride. They have falsely condemned the
innocent, and justified the wicked. They care not for righteousness, but only
for subservience and submission to their own authority. They despise any man
who would stand up for the laws of God, and demand that all men submit to their
own supposed authority, like a tyrant Such an attitude is the precious and
exact copy of the attitude of Satan himself, whom they inadvertently serve,
while pretending to be true ministers of God!
A few years ago a very powerful Church, with
hundreds of millions of dollars, began to blaspheme the name of God and Christ
They published a magazine and books which contained profanity, and which
advocated life-styles opposed to the way of God, and which used scurrilous and
obscene language, using the names of God, and the precious Saviour
Jesus Christ, in connection with filthy sexual words and profanity, swearing
and cursing, and using God’s Holy Name in vain. They supported such evil
works by plunging millions of dollars of faithful tithe-payers' donations into
the cesspool of swill and murky filth and obscenity.
Such an act was very close to being, if it
was not, the unpardonable sin. For this thing was not done in a
"corner." It was not hidden from view. The ones involved KNEW what
they were doing, and they pern1itted it anyway. Who was actually responsible?
All who had a part in it, who knew about it, and who did not protest, were
guilty before God of being part of this diabolical conspiracy! MANY may well
have comri1itted the unpardonable sin! And certainly, those at the top of the
Church organization, who collaborated and endorsed it, were guilty before God,
and will have much to answer for!
At the same time, these same evil-doers were
condemning the good fruits and works of Triumph Publishing, and the books
written by William F. Dankenbring -- such good books
as The First Genesis, Beyond Star Wars, The Last
Days, Overcoming Satan and Escape from Annageddon.
They first of all simply "ignored" these good books. But when
Church members asked them about them, they condemned them, saying the author
(who was still a member of the Church) was "no longer with them," and
said the books "were not approved," any more than the hamburger stand
at the corner of the street, and implied they were disapproved. Eventually they
came out and slandered the author, saying his selling his books was tantamount
to the money-changers in the
Even if had been were Herbert W. Armstrong
himself who said such a thing, then he would have come perilously close to
committing the unpardonable sin!
Deliberate Sin
God told His servant Moses, "But if a
man schemes and kills another man deliberately, take him away from my altar and
put him to death" (Exo.21:14). .'.There was no sacrifice available for
such deliberate, premeditated sin. Such
a one could not even claim sanctuary at the altar of God!
Again, God told Moses, "But anyone who
sins DEFIANTLY , whether native-born or alien,
blasphemes the Lord, and that person must be cut off from his people. Because
he has despised the Lord's word and broken his commands, that person must
surely be cut off, his guilt remains on him" (Num.15:30).
Do we not fear God? The defiant, self-willed,
presumptuously wicked man has no fear of God before his eyes. He is proud and
arrogant and deliberately evil. Such
sins, by one who knows better, are surely very close to the unpardonable and
unforgivable sin Jesus referred to!
In the book of Deuteronomy we read this
instruction from God: "The man who shows CONTEMPT for the judge or for the
priest who stands ministering there to the Lord your God must be put to death.
You must purge the evil from
"No More Sacrifice
for Sins. . ."
Deliberate, premeditated, defiant,
contemptuous sins -- these are the kind that are unpardonable and unforgivable
in the sight of God In other words, the basic sin being discussed here is the
deliberate and defiant attitude of refusing to obey God's law, and refusing to
live by faith, and refusing to acknowledge the good done by the Spirit of God,
even when you plainly and clearly know better. It is the attitude of deliberate
unrepentance -- deliberate continuing in sin, and
making sin habitual and a permanent fixture of your character!
This same kind of sin is discussed by Paul in
the book of Hebrews. He declares, "It is impossible for those who have
once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in
the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers
of the coming age, IF THEY FALL AWAY, to be brought back to repentance, because
to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God allover again and subjecting
him to public disgrace" (Heb.6:4-6).
Such people, Paul says, are like barren soil,
that produces nothing but thistles and thorns. He writes, "Land that
drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those
for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God But land that produces
thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed In the end it
will be burned" (verses 7-8).
Paul explains more about the character of
such worthless, defiant, unproductive, proud individuals in chapter 10 of Hebrews. He goes on: "If we
DELIBERATELY KEEP ON SINNING after we have received the knowledge of the truth,
no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and
of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone
who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on
the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a
man deserves to be punished who has TRAMPLED THE SQN OF'GOD UNDER FOOT, who has
treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and
who has insulted tile Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, ‘It is mine to
avenge; I will repay’ and again, ‘The Lord will judge his people.’ It is a
dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Heb.10:26-31).
Those who have the Spirit of God do
not continually and habitually practice or engage in acts of sin over and over
again, in essence defying God to do anything about it. They do not continue as
adulterers, and incestuous\child-molesters or whoremongers. They do not persist
in gambling, and fornicating, and committing adultery with other men's wives. They do not curse and swear and rail at
people, and say, “I am above the law!”
The apostle John wrote, "Everyone who
sins BREAKS THE LAW; in fact, SIN IS LAWLESSNESS. But you know that he
appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him KEEPS ON SINNING. No
one who CONTINUES TO SIN has either seen him or known him" (I John 3:4-6).
John goes on, explaining: "Dear
children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is
righteous, just as he is righteous. He who does what is sinful is OF THE DEVIL
[make no mistake about it!], because the devil has been sinning from the
beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.
"No one who is born of God will CONTINUE
to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he CANNOT GO ON SINNING, because he
has been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who
the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a
child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother" (I John
3:7-10).
Consider these profound statements carefully.
They will help you identify a man, or even a minister, who does serve God, and
one who only pretends to do so, but who is really a child of the
"devil." And like his father the devil, he is a liar when he says he
is a servant of God, and a minister of Jesus Christ. At one time he might have been. But now he is
in the ministry only for the prestige, power, and money, like Balaam the false
prophet! And if that is the case, he has committed the unpardonable sin. But
God may allow him to continue in his ministry for years, before He brings
disaster and destruction upon him!
Those who challenge the goodness of God, and
continue in monstrous sins after having been repeatedly warned, by high and low
alike, are like the ones mentioned in the prophecy of Jeremiah, who said:
"Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Neither can
you dg good who are accustomed to doing evil. I will scatter you like chaff
driven by the desert wind" (Jeremiah
Such a one, if he ever repents, must truly
prove his repentance by his works and deeds and the continuous change in his
life. But the prognosis is not good. As
Jeremiah wrote, those who have deliberately and repeatedly engaged in knowingly
and premeditatedly SINNING simply will not normally change; they may
"profess" repentance; they may even shed tears, and put on a show or
act of :repentance!
But they don’t seem to know how to truly repent. They are like a heroin or cocaine addict.
They just can't seem to give it up. They
just won’t give it up. They are SLAVES
of their fleshly desires!
God calls such people – even ministers of the gospel -- "hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been SEARED AS WITH A HOT IRON" {I Tim.4:2). "They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the HARDENING OF THEIR HEARTS. Having lost all SENSITIVITY, they have given themselves over to SENSUALITY so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more" (Eph.4:18-19).
In their arrogance and pride and venality,
they have become incorrigible. They have plunged into the depths of the way of
Satan, and have become wicked beyond hope, sinful beyond redemption. It is not
merely that they verbally refuse to repent; they may even pretend repentance
and contrition for their sins, and make excuses for them. But when the chips
are down, they will strive to get away with their sins, and keep them secret,
and cover them up, for as long as possible. They will not freely admit them,
and forsake them, and abhor them, and turn away. But they will try to cover
them up and hide them from public view, and will DENY that they committed them
unless or until confronted with undeniable evidence. Then they will shed
crocodile tears, and weep on cue.
The
Attitude of
Such a person, whom I will not name, but who
shows every indication of having sinned repeatedly and continuously, and never
coming to true repentance, was once found to be guilty of repeated acts of
adultery and seducing young college co-eds, virgins, into committing immoral
acts with him. In some cases, he later threatened them with being cast out of
the church if they ever said anything about it, or told their parents! He even
forbad them "in the name of Christ" to say anything about it, on pain
of eternal death in the lake of fire.
Such tactics worked to perfection for a
while, as the young women were too afraid to say what had occurred to them. In
some cases they even thought they were in "love" with the man.
But as Moses wrote in the book of Numbers,
"You may be sure that your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23).
Eventually, his long history of sexual abuse and sins became known. At the time
of disclosure, however, he claimed it was only one woman, one case of
adultery. And at a meeting of employees
of his church organization, he was reacting strongly against professed
"rumors" of his immoral escapades. At this meeting, which occurred in
1973, he denied the prevalent rumors and literally commanded any present to
come to him personally if they had any doubts.
One young and naive individual took him at
his word He worked for an evangelist in the church, and while his boss was out
of town, he wrote a note to the man in question, to set up a meeting to discuss
the matter. He wanted to know if the man had repeatedly engaged in adultery
while a minister, as minister after high-ranking minister had told him
personally. If so, he felt, the man could not continue to be a minister
according to God's qualifications for the ministry listed in I Timothy, chapter
3.
Since the individual who was suspect was out
of town at the time, a meeting was set up between the young man and two of the
assistants of the evangelist in question. After the meeting occurred, and he
told them of his doubts and questions, they did not give him any definite
answers. When the individual returned to town, however, they reported to him
what the young man had said.
The individual flew into a rage. With fury
and volcanic temper, he immediately called the young man on the telephone. He
shouted that he and his father were above the qualifications for the ministry
as given in I Timothy 3, and that if the man had any more questions about his
conduct, he would have to present them before him and his father personally. He
said that anyone who would ask such questions was out of a job and out of the
Church!
The young man who
went through this harrowing experience, later wrote, "1 have never shaken
so much in fear. I went home and fasted and prayed for three days." His
immediate superior was subsequently put on a year's "sabbatical,"
ostensibly "for health reasons." The young man who dared to challenge
the morality of the evangelist lost his job, but was later reinstated to church
membership, but left again within a few years due to doctrinal changes in the
Church.
The attitude of thinking one is "above
the law" of God, and "above the qualifications for the
ministry," is an attitude of supreme contempt for God's law, His truth,
and His Word. It is an attitude of defiance, arrogance, pride, and
presumptuousness. Such an attitude comes very close to being the unpardonable
sin that Jesus spoke of, if it is not totally rooted out and completely repented
of, before it is too late!
What is the "unpardonable" sin? It
is more than just "sin of unrepentance," as
some have suggested in the past. It is
the sin of knowing the truth, and then putting oneself ABOVE THE LAW OF GOD AND
THE TRUTH, -and consequently living a life of adultery, wickedness, immorality,
lying, sedition, cruelty, and malicious, self-serving evil. It is the ATTITUDE OF BEING “ABOVE THE LAW”
OF GOD!
It is the sin of turning one's back on Jesus
Christ, His way, His example of humility, and obedience, and becoming proud,
arrogant, and filled with ego like Satan the devil himself, and trampling on
the blood of Christ, and condemning the Spirit. of
grace. It is the sin of becoming a traitor of God and His Messiah, knowingly,
and deliberately, as Judas Iscariot did.
Because Judas betrayed Christ, the Messiah,
he lost his position as an apostle. He did not repent, as Peter did who denied
Christ Although he felt a worldly sorrow at his own
loss, he went and hanged himself (Acts 1:20; Matt27:1-5). His kind of sorrow
resulted in suicide, not true
repentance (compare II Cor.7:8-13). The man who commits the unpardonable sin,
who betrays innocent blood, is
described in Psalm 109, a type of Judas Iscariot, and which Peter quoted in
Acts 1:20 as referring to Judas in principle.
Notice! He is the kind of person who speaks
with a "lying tongue" and "words of hatred," and who, David
wrote, "attack me WITHOUT CAUSE" (psalm 109:2-3). In exchange for
friendship, they respond with accusation (verse 4). David declared, "They
repay me evil for good, and hatred for my friendship" (v.5).
The attitude of such a person, David
described, beginning in verse 16: "For he never thought of doing a
kindness, but hounded to death the poor and the needy and the brokenhearted
[demanding and extorting tithes from ~m, and threatening them with disfellowshipment, or spiritual "imprisonment" or
punishment, for refusal to pay!]. He loved to pronounce a curse - may it come
on him; he found no pleasure in blessing --may it be far from him. He wore
cursing as his garment; it entered into his body like water, into his bones
like oil" (verses 16-18).
Woe To Those Who Cause Offences
Jesus Christ had severe warnings for those
who would continue to sin, and engage in serious conduct unbecoming of a
Christian, thereby bringing offences or causing offence to others who learned
of their despicable conduct.
Jesus declared: "1 tell you the truth, Unless you CHANGE and become like little children,
you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself
like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
"And whoever welcomes a little child
like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones
who believe in me to SIN, it would be better for him to have a large millstone
hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
"Woe to the world because of the things
that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through
whom they come! If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and
throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to
have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal life. And if your eye
causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter
life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of
hell" (Matthew 18:2-9).
May the Almighty God help us all to take
these warnings seriously, and to learn to stand in awe of God, and His eternal
Law, and to .love and appreciate the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins.
May God help YOU to love and serve Him, with all your heart, and soul, and
mind, and strength, and to fear to commit sin or to engage in sinful acts or
conduct, lest you become proud, and arrogant, and fall into the snare of the devil.
May God help us all, who love Him, so that we
will not commit the presumptuous, defiant, premeditated, deliberate or willful
sin that leads to eternal death and fiery destruction!