I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin. He said this because they were saying, “He has an evil spirit.” Mark 3:28-30
There are many sins. Jesus says only one is unforgivable although to the human mind there are many things that are unforgivable. For instance, solicitors’ bills, or sports events being on Sky TV, reading Geoffrey Archer, slurping your tea, navel fluff, buying a nicer car than mine, or supporting Manchester United. Toleration is a wonderful thing isn’t it! We are called to patient forbearance with other people and all circumstances - you can see that I’m still working at it.
I suppose one shouldn’t make light of this subject because it can be the cause of much heart-searching and pain for some Christians. Dick Lucas (erstwhile Rector of St Helens, London) tells of a senior executive in a City firm who went through four years of great distress because he was convinced that he had blasphemed the Holy Spirit and thus committed the unforgivable sin. I’m sure most of us don’t lose sleep over the matter, but this sad tale shows that some of our brethren (sisters incl.) can become convinced that they have lost their salvation.
It appears that Jesus was all too aware of the potential for this statement to torment Christians down the ages. And so he prefaced it with another statement that we tend to overlook when we read this rather gloomy chapter of Mark, “I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them.” The keen Bible student would pick the Lord up on this, objecting that there is a contradiction in the two sentences: if there is one sin that cannot be forgiven then Jesus should not make the promise that all sins will be forgiven. Clearly we must find a way through this apparent contradiction - the Lord does not make such mistakes!
Chapter 3 of Mark concerns itself with opposition to Jesus’ ministry. The religious authorities and the political administration plot to discredit and kill him, and even his own family call him crazy and come to take charge of him. John says, “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him,” (John 1:11) meaning that Israel, God’s chosen people, rejected their long-awaited Messiah when he came. Jesus responds to their rejection by establishing a new kingdom, replacing the foundation of twelve tribes with twelve apostles (Mark 3:13-14) – new wineskins for new wine (Mark 2:22). Indeed, the Christian faith is an apostolic faith and anything that deviates from apostolic teaching is to be rejected. The heavenly city, New Jerusalem is built on foundations (ethical principles) that bear the names of the twelve (Rev. 21:14). However, I digress.
This next bit may seem a bit out of place but stick with it – it will make sense eventually, I promise. Firstly, in Luke 12: 51-53 Jesus says, “Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division…” There is no sitting on the fence about Jesus: either you love him or you reject him, you are saved or you are damned. Secondly, let’s consider the Trinity. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are one and the same with God the Father. To reject Jesus is also to reject the Holy Spirit, and reject God. That is the ultimate blasphemy. To have your mind set so firmly against God utterly precludes any possibility of God being able to forgive you. Rather he must judge and condemn you for your sin. (that last statement will require another article for a full explanation).
I’m sure you will see where we are going with this now. It is a matter of faith. You may slip and blaspheme God, for example by using his name in an unsuitable way, but if you are a saved Christian, then you can, and will be forgiven. But if you remain a non-believer, then you blaspheme the Holy Spirit and cannot be saved. Jesus is giving his hearers a choice: either you can have all your sins forgiven or none of them.
The highly respected Christian teacher Don Carson brings comfort to those who fear they have damned themselves by blaspheming the Holy Spirit when he says the very fact that it bothers them in the first place is a sure sign that they have not committed the eternal sin.
Now that is good news.