"UnForgiven" 4-14-24

Overview

The Unforgivable Sin: A Hard Saying Made Clear

Among the most troubling words our Lord ever spoke are these: "People will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven" (Matthew 12:31-32; see also Mark 3:28-29 and Luke 12:10). Honest believers hear this and tremble: Have I done it? Could I do it? To answer rightly, we must hold three truths together—sin, pardon, and the specific context of Jesus' warning.

Sin and pardon. Scripture leaves us no escape from the diagnosis. "Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness" 1 John 3:4. Paul confesses, "I can will what is right, but I cannot do it" Romans 7:18, and James adds that knowing the right and failing to do it is itself sin James 4:17. Yet the Lord "does not deal with us according to our sins" Psalm 103:10-12. He blots out our transgressions for His own sake Isaiah 43:25 and, while we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ Ephesians 2:4-5. Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more Romans 5:20-21.

The context of the warning. Just before Jesus' words about the unforgivable sin, He had healed a demon-oppressed man, and the Pharisees credited the work to Beelzebul Matthew 12:22-24. To call the unmistakable work of the Holy Spirit the work of the devil—knowingly, persistently, to the end—is to reject the very power by which sinners are brought to faith. As Luther confesses in the Small Catechism, "I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to Him, but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel." To blaspheme the Spirit is to refuse, finally and without repentance, the only One who gives faith.

Pastoral comfort. Those who fear they have committed this sin have, by that very fear, shown they have not. A heart troubled over sin is a heart the Spirit is still working upon; the truly hardened are not disturbed at all. If you are gathered with God's people, confessing your sins, longing to hear the words of absolution, and coming to the Table to receive Christ's body and blood—you are not unforgiven. You are forgiven. Keep praying, too, for the doubter, the angry skeptic, the loved one who has walked away. As long as breath remains, the Spirit may yet soften the heart, just as He did for the thief on the cross Luke 23:42-43. Rejoice, beloved, that your names are written in heaven Luke 10:20.

Transcript

If you would have opened your Bibles to the Gospel of Matthew, the 12th chapter, if you're 3s

using a Pue edition of the Bible, you can find this on page 11 in the New Testament, 10s

we're in Matthew chapter 12. 17s

Scripture is filled with very difficult sayings, or difficult passages, for us to understand, 21s

and we are going to look at some of these hard things. 28s

I think of the saying similar to what we find in Genesis the 22nd chapter when Abraham 33s

is given the command to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. 40s

That's a hard saying for us to understand or in due toronomy the 21st chapter, where parents 46s

with rebellion children are told to take those rebellious children to the elders of Israel 54s

so that the elders can purge Israel of the evil in their midst. 60s

Purging the rebellious child, that they difficult or hard saying for us to understand, 68s

or even in the Gospel of Luke when Jesus says that he did not come to bring peace, but 78s

came to bring division and he goes on to explain how father will be against son and mother 83s

against daughter and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law. 90s

We read these difficult passages and we can't make sense of it or it's difficult to make 94s

sense of they are hard sayings, but we know that God's word is God's word. 102s

We know that none of it is to be ignored, none of it is to be passed by and there must 109s

be a reason for these and they must be held together in the fullness of God's word. 115s

So how does this work? 123s

When this next several weeks coming up, we will be diving into a new sermon series called 125s

Hard Sayings where we look at passages such as these and figure out how they work, 131s

how they maintain God's consistency of who God is, loving who God is merciful and who 139s

God is as our just God will be examining these various or various hard sayings within 148s

scripture. 157s

I have a book from seminary, a book that's all about sin and the book was fine. 160s

I wrote a paper on it that's not the point of this story, but they in this book the author 167s

has my favorite dedication I have ever seen written in a book. 172s

He dedicated it saying to three mentors and friends who continue to teach me with their words 179s

and works. 186s

May they know whenever I think of sin, I will always think of them. 187s

My favorite dedication, thin is a very familiar idea or concept thin is something that 196s

we know about every Bible study that we enter into every sermon that we hear, every class 204s

that we take here at living where Lutheran Church we talk about thin, we're all relatively 212s

familiar with thin. 219s

We get two familiar with it in our lives perhaps, but we are all familiar with thin. 223s

We are also familiar with forgiveness. 232s

As often as we hear about thin, as often as we confess our sin, we hear forgiveness, 237s

we hear the beautiful word of absolution proclaimed this morning we have already gathered 245s

as a people confessing our sins in the presence of God and of one another and we hear 251s

the beautiful word proclaimed to us that word of absolution that in Jesus Christ 257s

your sins are forgiven. 264s

We are very familiar with thin, we are very familiar with forgiveness and we believe it. 268s

We are a people who believe that we are forgiven. 277s

But then we leave and the weak progresses and the weak creeps in, 285s

and we find that we're in a state of thin that we're sinning once again, sometimes 294s

before we even get out the door, we find that we have once again gone against God's 301s

word, gone against God's will and we come back and we come back to hear that word again 310s

proclaimed that word of forgiveness proclaimed over us and to us because when we go out 320s

into the daily life into the world around us, we forget at times that we're forgiven 329s

or we begin to wonder, am I? 338s

Am I forgiven? 342s

Is this the weak? 346s

Is this the weak when I won't be forgiven? 348s

And then we get attacked? 352s

We get attacked like we have this morning if you would please look at the gospel of 354s

Matthew the 12th chapter beginning in verse 30, where Jesus says whoever is not with me is 360s

against me and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 367s

Therefore I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but blasphemy 371s

against the spirit will not be forgiven. 377s

Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven but whoever speaks against 381s

the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven either in this age or in the age to come and this 386s

This unparadable sin is not in the gospel of Matthew only in Mark the third chapter. 397s

We hear Jesus say truly I tell you people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever 404s

blasphemy is they utter but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have 409s

forgiveness but is guilty of an eternal sin. 416s

In the gospel of Luke the 12th chapter again Jesus says everyone who speaks a word against 422s

the Son of Man will be forgiven but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 429s

Have I? Have I done this? 440s

Have I blasphemed against the Holy Spirit? 447s

Will? Will I commit this unparadable sin? 453s

We outskar selves reading and hearing this text how? How do I keep? 462s

From this unparadable sin? How do I keep from being un forgiven? 468s

Well first first we need to understand sin in the letter that John wrote. 485s

His first letter we read everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness. 493s

Sin is lawlessness. 501s

In Deuteronomy chapter 9 we hear you have been rebellious against the Lord from the day you came out of the land of Egypt 505s

until you came to this place. 512s

And in Romans chapter 7 Paul writes I know that nothing good dwells within me that is in my flesh. 515s

I can will what is right but I cannot do it. 524s

We have been given in God's grace his holy and perfect law. 531s

We have the commandments laid out before God promises that he writes them on our hearts and any one of us on any day at any given point can look at those commands and see. 536s

I'm a sinner. 553s

I am lawless. 556s

I rebel against God. 559s

I don't want to in theory but I do. 562s

James in the fourth chapter writes anyone then who knows the right thing to do and fail to do it commits sin. 572s

There's not a person in here. 587s

Not a person amongst us who could claim to be without sin. 590s

We are all in that same boat. 597s

We are all found guilty under the perfect law of God. 600s

And there is nothing that any one of us can do to climb or work our way out of our guilt. 606s

Under God's holy and perfect law we stand absolutely condemned, justly and rightfully so. 618s

But God does not leave us. 628s

Standing condemned we understand sin. 630s

But we also need to understand pardon. 635s

In Psalm 103, the Psalmist writes he does not deal with us according to our sins nor repay us according to our inequities. 641s

For as the heavens are high above the earth so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him as far as the east is from the west so far he removes our transgressions from us. 651s

The prophet Isaiah writes I, I am he, this is speaking for the Lord. 665s

I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake and I will not remember your sins. 671s

In Ephesians chapter 2, Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit writes God, who is rich in mercy out of the great love with which he loved us. 679s

Even when we were dead through our trespasses made us alive together with Christ. 691s

We have, we have sin ever before us. 701s

We know we are sinners. We know that we rebel against God. We know that we do not live up to the Holy imperfect law that God has placed before us. But we also know that this. 706s

This does not stand against us because we have been claimed through the righteousness of Jesus Christ washed and cleansed through his blood. 722s

He went to the cross for the very purpose of not dealing with us, according to our transgressions. He went to the cross in order to take upon himself the punishment that we have so rightly earned and deserve. 732s

So that in exchange he can give us his own righteousness so when the Father sees us before him, he does not see a sinner. 751s

But he sees his own righteous son and he sees us through the righteousness of Christ and through the sacrifice that was made for our sin. 762s

Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father, interceded in and day out for his people, those who he has called as his own. 778s

And as we confess our sins, every time we're promised in Scripture, every time we confess our sins, we repent and turn to the Lord we are promised. 789s

Forgiveness, we are promised to be pardoned because God does not deal with us, according to our transgressions, but he deals with us, according to the richness of his, 801s

we are promised to be mercy. So we understand sin. We understand that we are pardoned from our sin through Jesus Christ and Christ alone. 818s

How then is there an un pardonable, an un forgivable sin? 832s

Well, we have to understand the context of which Jesus is saying that there is a sin that is un forgivable. 846s

If you look, please, with me at chapter 12 verse 22 of the Gospel of Matthew, it says that they brought to him that is to Jesus, a demodiac who was blind and mute and he cured him so that the one who had been mute could speak and see. 856s

The crowds were amazed and said, can this be the son of David, can this be the Messiah, the one that has come to save? 874s

But when the Pharisees heard it, they said it is only by beelseable, the ruler of the demons that this fellow cast out demons. 882s

In the context we see that Jesus, Jesus is saying they are blasphemy, the Holy Spirit, they are denying the work and the power that God has done. 895s

Jesus, in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus, in the Gospel of Matthew, he says, you can, you can blaspheme the Son of man, you can blaspheme me, you can have unbelief or misbeliefs of who I say I am pre-resurrection. 911s

His brothers didn't believe that he was the Messiah, the Son of David, those around him were questioning, is this him, even his best friends, as he called them, said, can anything good come out of Nazareth or the prophet doesn't come out of Galilee. 927s

Jesus said that is forgivable, but to forgive what has been done. 947s

As the divine second person of the Trinity, to say that Jesus worked with the power of the devil, that is to blaspheme the Holy Spirit, that is to deny the very work that God was doing. 953s

It is to deny the work that God continues to do in our midst. 970s

In the small cataclysm, the third article, we confess every single week that we believe in the Holy Spirit. 981s

And we confess a belief in who the Holy Spirit is and what the Holy Spirit does. 990s

In the explanation of the third article, Martin Luther says, I believe this is what that means. 997s

I believe that I cannot, by my own understanding or effort, believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to Him. 1004s

But the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened me with His gifts and sanctified and kept me in true faith. 1012s

We believe it is by the grace of God through the work of the Holy Spirit that we can even believe. 1025s

Because when left to ourselves, we can't. 1034s

We won't and we don't. 1039s

So how do we know? 1047s

How do I know if I stand forgiven? 1051s

How do I know that I'm not committing the unforgivable sin? 1059s

How do I know that I am not blaspheming the Holy Spirit? 1065s

Because I know in my heart of hearts that I've questioned. 1070s

I know in my heart of hearts that I've had doubts. 1074s

I know the extent and not even the extent of my sin, the things that I've done, the things I've left undone, the words that have escaped from the my lips, the thoughts that I've held in my mind. 1078s

How can I be sure that I am not guilty of the unforgivable sin? 1093s

As I studied for this sermon, the answer to that question came up so often. 1108s

And the same answer or a variation of the same answer was given over and over and over again. How do I know? 1117s

It's a word of comfort as one author writes those who are disturbed in their minds that they might have committed this sin have definitely not committed this sin. 1132s

Because their fear proves that there is no spite and malice in their hearts. Those who have committed this sin are not in the least disturbed about it. 1144s

Those who have committed this sin are not in the least disturbed about it. 1157s

My brothers and sisters, you are here. You are here today, you have confessed your sins. You are here today expecting longing for wanting and cherishing that word of forgiveness that has been proclaimed to you and spoken over you. 1164s

In Romans, Paul, the sixth chapter of fifth chapter, excuse me, writes, therefore, just as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all so one man's act of righteousness leads to justification and for and life for all. 1185s

For just as the one man's disobedience, the many were made sinners so by the one man's obedience the many will become or will be made righteous. 1202s

But law came in with the result that the trespass multiplied but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more so that justice sin exercised dominion in death. 1212s

So grace might also exercise dominion through justification leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord, the death and resurrection of Jesus is greater than the sin in your life. 1224s

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the grace of God is greater than the greatest of our sins. 1243s

There is no sin that you have confessed, that is not forgiven, you are promised that when you confess your sins you are indeed pronounced, plain pronounced righteous pronounced forgiven. 1254s

And that's the promise that we cling to, the promise that we have been given by God that when we turn to him, when we confess our sins, we receive full forgiveness. 1273s

We cling to the promise that he does not deal with us according to our sins, but he deals with us according to his mercy and grace. 1287s

The unpardonable sin is the sin which denies the work that God has done and does continue to do for us denies what we know to be true. 1300s

This person who lives in the unforgivable sin who commits the unforgivable sin persists even into death persists in denying who God is and what he has done denying the very power of the Holy Spirit. 1320s

That person rejects forgiveness does not seek after forgiveness, but continues to resist what has been made known. 1344s

This does not mean that every atheist is going to be left condemned eternally. 1357s

If they repent, if they turn once again to the Lord, they indeed will be forgiven. 1370s

I think of the comedian, the comedian Sam Canneson, he was a pentacostal preacher. 1380s

He had dedicated his life formerly to preaching God's word to sharing the gospel. 1387s

And I don't know what exactly happened, but at some point he rejected all of that and his entire comedic career was built on the foundation of rejecting God. 1396s

It was built on the foundation of the one unforgivable sin blasts beaming. 1412s

Who he knew God was blasphemy, the work that God had done and the power of God's Holy Spirit. 1420s

But I think that Sam Canneson, he was not one who persisted. 1434s

I think that he was one of those atheists that's actually an angry Christian. 1441s

I don't know what happened in his life, but I know that we have all met the atheist who is really an angry Christian who has been hurt has been damaged in some way. 1447s

Can't find reasons why something has been so in their lives and so that person blames God. 1459s

Don't stop praying for that atheist, don't stop sharing the gospel with that atheist. 1469s

Because Sam Canneson is one of those atheists. 1478s

And even though he denied denied denied, it is told that he was in a car accident and as he was dying, he repented witnesses. 1482s

Witnesses recount his repentance turning to the Lord asking for forgiveness for his entire comedy career, his entire career where he denied who God was. 1496s

I don't know, I wasn't there. 1514s

But I do know that God's grace abounds. 1518s

I do know that we are promised if we confess our sins, we indeed will be forgiven. 1525s

We know that the thief who hung guilty for his sins next to Christ asked for forgiveness in his last moments. 1531s

And we know because we have it in God's own word that he was forgiven. 1541s

And that even today he is in paradise with Jesus. 1548s

So continue to pray for that atheist that you know continue to pray for the one who struggles. 1555s

Because this side of heaven he or she may still be called into repentance and we can pray, earnestly, for that. 1563s

And we can continue to share God's word for that very purpose that the Holy Spirit would reach out and soften the heart and call them once back. 1573s

To life in Christ. 1586s

Have I committed the unforgiven, the unforgivable sin? Am I in danger of committing the unforgivable sin? 1593s

My brothers and sisters, you are here. 1606s

You are here today. You have confessed your sin before the Lord and you have received that beautiful word that you are indeed forgiven. 1609s

In moments we will come to the altar and receive the tangible gift of forgiveness through the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1622s

You have no need to fear of standing before the Lord unforgiven. 1633s

Because you are forgiven. 1642s

You have been forgiven through Christ and Christ alone as as Jesus says, two His disciples in Luke, he says, 1645s

For a joist that your names are written in heaven. My brothers and sisters rejoice. 1654s

Because your names are written in heaven and you stand eternally before the Lord. 1661s

Forgiven. 1670s