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PERPLEXING PASSAGES
UNFORGIVEN . . . ! |
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By Co-Editor Richard M. Bradley |
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This regular feature of Truth Matters deals with many of those hard-to-understand passages which are common to us all. I will be the writer/contributor for this offering with the sole purpose of being a help to the body of Christ, the church.
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death. We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen (1 John 5:13-21).
I am a fan of western movies. John Wayne, Randolph Scott, Joel McRae, Ben Johnson, Clint Eastwood, and Tom Selleck are the western actors I enjoy the most. There is one film entitled “Unforgiven,” which I have only seen once because of the language. Its premise is that the main character has led a sordid life and has been struggling for years to put it
behind him, but it haunts him. After a tragedy in his life, he falls back into the old way. It ends with him being haunted by the same old ghosts, and unable to forgive or be forgiven, he just fades away never to be seen or heard from again.
Our text is verse sixteen of the passage I presented to you: “If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.”
That final sentence sums up the fading away of the main character in the film I just mentioned, and is our focus for this Perplexing Passages article. Sin is a germ of infinite expansion. The preacher who speaks lightly of sin sends a multitude to a godless eternity. Such persons align themselves with Satan, the arch-deceiver, instead of with God, saying in effect, “Ye shall not surely die” (Genesis 3:4). Unforgiven sin is the worst of all states. It generates pollution, condemnation, fear, foulness—and physical death does not bring relief. It ends only in “the resurrection of damnation” (John 5:29).
There is always the last lie to be told. This was so for Ananias and Sapphira. There is always the last rejection. This was so for Herod, as we read in Acts 12:23, “And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.”
All sin ultimately reaches flood stage, but in most of those instances forgiveness is possible this side of the grave. Paul was guilty of blasphemy—yet he was forgiven, as he wrote in 1Tim. 1:13-15, “[I] was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.”
Those who mocked and taunted the dying Savior on the cross could hardly have been guilty of a more despicable act of blasphemy, yet, “. . . said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).
However there is that fine line which, when and if people step across, would seal their eternal destiny. Some call it “the unpardonable sin.” The writer to the Hebrews speaks of it as “wilful sin” in Hebrews 10:26, “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.”
For a right understanding of this Scripture we must apply sound hermeneutic principles to the passage. (Hermeneutics is the branch of theology that deals with the principles of Biblical exegesis.) Contextual interpretation is vital here. I use the “Six Little Friends” formula. Dr. Lillie McCutcheon shared this with a group of preachers many years ago in the form of a poem: “I have six little friends, who’ve taught me all they knew; Their names are How, and What, and Why, When, Where and Who.” The writer of Hebrews is not addressing himself to the Gentiles here. How can a Gentile crucify Jesus Christ again? The priests of the Temple (Jews) were daily offering sacrifices for transgressions. They continued their practice after Calvary and the Resurrection. Jesus had put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. The writer says in Heb. 10:11, “And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, [he quickly adds] which can never take away sins.”
Masses, hail Marys and Our Fathers, rosary beads, psychiatric analysis, reform, church ritual can never remove sin. Cleansing is not in the cup, the candle, prayer beads, and promises or resolutions to do better, church joining, or generous gifts. There is one Lamb, and only one, that avails, as John cried, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
Jesus is the Lamb, and not a lamb! You can perform religious rites, but only Jesus can forgive sin. Nothing else and no one else can accomplish that. Many teachers disagree, but the Word is clear—and that Word is the final authority in all cases: “. . . there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin” (Hebrews 10:26).
God says clearly In Matthew 3:17, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. . . .” Now, if God is pleased—satisfied—with Calvary, then what is His displeasure with those who advocate and substitute another way? Thousands in Jerusalem, therefore, “trod under foot” by despising God’s Lamb—Christ’s shed blood—the very sacrifice God provided and commanded. This action and attitude counted that blood as an unholy thing. To them that precious blood was just the blood of a misguided zealot, just the blood of a deluded self-educated teacher, just the blood of an average human being, nothing else. This crowd was still echoing, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him” (John 19:15).
Tradition suggests that the Temple priests patched the rent veil which had been torn apart supernaturally and placed it back in service and the daily sacrifices of lambs, goats, pigeons and doves were resumed as if Christ had never died. It was a willful act on the priests’ part. This was in a deeper degree the willful rejection of a nation—for these were the Jewish nation’s spiritual leaders.
The Gentile was foreign to this Temple and priesthood, having no Levitical priests who could offer Old Testament prescribed sacrifices for them. The Gentile was an alien and stranger from the commonwealth of the nation of Israel. He was foreign to the covenant and promise. He was without God and without hope in the world. This charge could not be laid at the feet of the Gentile. He was guilty of crimes and transgressions, to be sure. His sin stank to the highest heaven, but the Gentile had not been to Calvary. He did not know about Calvary—but the Jewish priests did: “At that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12).
True believers can and do violate agreements with heaven. They presume and assume, many times to their sorrow and chastisement; there is no argument about that fact. The unregenerate man lives in sin and loves it; the regenerated man may lapse into sin, but he loathes it. The word “willful” stands to muster. It means intentional and voluntary. No one pressures a person into it—it is their own decision. This attitude is one opposed to sins committed inconsiderately and from ignorance or from weakness.
Jesus met sin of every shade and description. He knew blatant sin, and He knew the sins of unstable souls. Mark records a singular incident. Jesus reveals something on the basis of this incident that He does not repeat, “But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit” (Mark 3:29-30).
Jesus uses a double negative here, translated as “never” to show its strong emphasis. It is eternal. There is no probation or pardon. It is not merely sin against the Holy Spirit; it is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. It is not grieving the Holy Spirit, it is blaspheming the Holy Spirit! They attributed everything unclean to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit may prick your conscience, He may nudge you, agitate you, even prod you, but never under any circumstance is He anything but holy—always the third Person of the Godhead.
The Jewish leaders stated as Israel’s religious authorities, as spiritual shepherds of the nation, as responsible priests before God, that Jesus was energized by Satan. God declares this act treasonable and that it shall never have forgiveness. The reasons for that finality of pronouncement lies with God alone. Jesus said, “And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges” (Matt. 12:27).
The Pharisees took issue, saying from bigoted minds, “This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils” (Matthew 12:24). This was a malicious, unforgivable charge. It renounced the evidence as well as the integrity of Jesus, the Son of God. Jesus states clearly in Mark 3:28-29, “Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: but he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.”
Verse 28 offers abundant pardon. It is explicit: “All sins shall be forgiven.” Then comes the exception in verse 29, telling us what it is to blaspheme. It means to show irreverence, to revile, to abuse. Satan has certainly used this rare incident to his advantage. He bludgeons people with this fear; he drives them to despair. The destroyer uses this as an instrument of terror. Keep in mind that this is the apex of sin. It is abuse that cannot be forgiven. It is blasphemy that degrades God’s holy nature and deity. It is the utmost in treason. It is an offense of enormous magnitude. It elevates man to deity, while mocking God’s only begotten Son. It is in character with the deceiver. Here is a warning: how awful the power of the tongue, the fire it can kindle. The only transgression which has never forgive-ness, the tongue can commit. It is not a grade, degree or class of sin. It is a specific sin. It is not an internal struggle. It is an uprising, an act of final, spiteful rebellion suddenly flung into words. It is different from what Jesus catalogs as “all sins” and “all blasphemies.” It is solitary—it stands alone. It leaps from the lips and when it is uttered, that person is FOREVER UNFORGIVEN.
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