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 14th-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.
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky
Road; have a blessed day!
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©
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