Hope Abandoned

Wednesday, September 6, 2023

“So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven—except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven.  Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come.  Matthew 12:31-32

At the beginning of the 14^th-century, Dante Alighieri wrote a description of hell, based on Scripture, in which he described the abyss as having an inscription over the entryway:  Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.  Years ago I watched on TV the sentencing of serial killer Ted Bundy as the judge looked him in the eye, and said, "What you have done is unforgiveable." 

The question comes to us all:  Is there is something we could possibly do that is totally unforgivable?  I want to state unequivocally that human free will includes choosing to step past the line of even God’s forgiveness!  Many folks would rather deny that fact, or ignore it.  It tends to make one uneasy to think about it, but to the person who is more inclined to face truth and be prepared for reality, the words of Jesus ring a bit harshly, but without a doubt…true!

As a pastor, whenever I surveyed a congregation about topics to preach on, this is invariably the most requested topic.  The usual reason is fear that they, or a loved one or friend, may have committed this sin, and be lost forever.  That fear is reasonably-solid ground for drawing the conclusion that you HAVE NOT committed the unpardonable sin. 

John Bunyan was a drunkard and worse.  He was afraid that he was beyond redemption.  Yet the Lord forgave him, and he wrote Pilgrim's Progress, the world's second-best seller of all time, behind the Bible.  (Yes, even more than Harry Potter).

For You Today 

I have been asked if I've ever known someone who's committed the unpardonable sin.  I must answer honestly that I cannot look in another's heart and judge.  But I have been around some who exhibit every indication that if it can be known to a human mind, they are beyond redemption. 

We can be freed from all doubt.  That way is to give our life to Jesus.  William Cowper was a sensitive young man.  He loved the Lord, but he was afraid that he'd committed the unpardonable sin, and that he was lost…forever.  All hope was abandoned.  The thought of it drove him to attempt suicide several times.  By the third time, he became convinced that if he hadn't committed the unpardonable sin before, certainly the attempts at taking his own life removed all doubt.  He became filled with the darkest of despair and grief.  Then someone lovingly showed him the reality of the cleansing of blood by the Lord Jesus:

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.  1 John 1:9 

Cowper accepted Christ, took Him at his word, and was saved.  Was the transformation complete?  Did Cowper have assurance against the devil's lie of an unpardonable offense in his life?  Listen to the words of William Cowper in 1771:

There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Immanuel's veins;

And sinners, plunged beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stains.

Lose all their guilty stains, lose all their guilty stains;

And sinners, plunged beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stains.

Scripture tells us to not harden our hearts against the day of judgment.  So….soften…soften…repent, and be forgiven.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,600 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road library. 

Title Images:  Wikipedia.org   Images without citation are in public domain. Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©