The Unpardonable Sin

Introduction and Prayer for Understanding

0:03 This sermon was preached on Sunday morning, September 30th, 1984, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. Now may I urge you to turn with me in your own Bibles to the third chapter of Mark's Gospel as we continue our consecutive expositions of this inspired record of the life and ministry and ultimately of the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Mark's Gospel, chapter 3, and I shall read the passage beginning with the last statement of verse 19 and conclude with verse 30.

0:53 Referring to our Lord, Mark writes, And he cometh into a house, and the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. And when his friends heard it, they went out to lay hold on him, for they said, He is beside himself. And the scribes that came down from Jerusalem said, He has Beelzebub, and by the prince of the demons casteth he out the demons. And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan?

1:32 Cast out Satan. And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan hath risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.

1:56 But no one can enter into the house of the strong man and spoil his goods, except he first bindeth the strong man, and then he will spoil his house. Verily I say unto you, All their sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and their blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme. But whosoever shall blaspheme against the Holy Spirit hath never forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin, because, they said, he hath an unclean spirit. Now let us again plead for the gracious gift of the Spirit to whom we have sung this hymn of praise, that he would come to us and be our teacher and instructor and give us understanding in this portion of the Word of God. Let us pray.

3:02 Our Father, we do again thank you that the Spirit has been given as the crowning, as the crowning gift of the Ascended Christ, given to the Church ever to abide and remain with the Church until the consummation, and then for all eternity when the Church is perfected. But we thank you that though He has been given and is with us, that we have not yet begun to know and experience all of the dimensions of His mighty and great love. And we thank you for that promise that if we who are evil know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more will you, the Heavenly Father, give the Spirit to those who ask. So though He has been given, we ask that He shall be given in copious measures during this hour, given to us that we may understand, believe, and heal to the pressure of the Lord. But this word upon our own hearts and consciences grant us the answer to our plea for our good and for your praise. Amen.

Review of the Accusation, Refutation, and Explanation

4:23 Now in this passage read in your hearing, we have the astounding record of our Lord being accused, first of all by His friends and relatives of insanity, and then by His enemies, as being one possessed of the devil and doing His mighty works by the power of the Prince of Darkness. In our previous expositions, we've attempted to open up the significance of the accusation that came, first of all, from His friends and His relatives, namely, the accusation of insanity or aggravated mental and emotional disturbance. And we are in the process of opening up this second and even more frightening accusation made by His enemies, namely, that our Lord was both possessed by the devil and did His work in league with the devil. In our previous study, two Lord's Days ago, we examined, first of all, the accusation recorded in verse 22. We noted in the examination, the circumstances are very precisely described

5:50 in the parallel passage in Matthew 12, 22-24. Not only was our Lord doing His mighty works in the entire region of Galilee, upper Palestine, but He had just cast out a demon who had made a man both blind and speechless. And this miracle so impressed the multitudes that they were beginning to believe and to form a consensus of tentative understanding and conviction that indeed Jesus of Nazareth might be the long-promised Messiah. And it was in those peculiar circumstances that these particular people, scribes from Jerusalem, began to perpetrate this accusation, namely, that Jesus was possessed of the devil, He had Beelzebub, and He was accomplishing His work in the power of the devil. And then we noted the refutation given by our Lord in verses 23-26. He gives His refutation, first of all, by asking a question that shows how utterly illogical and stupid this accusation was. Satan does not go about to destroy himself.

7:14 Can Satan cast out Satan? And then He uses two illustrations of the divided house and the divided kingdom to show the utter impossibility of their accusation having any basis in reality. And then He gave the true explanation of His miracles in verse 27 under that imagery of the strong man and the stronger than the strong man who binds him and spoils him, spoils his goods. And I trust you remember the analogy I used of the pirate who has all of his goods obtained in piracy, safely stored, guarding the place of storage until a stronger than he comes and subdues him and then is able to take his goods. But now the passage concludes with verses 28-30 and they all form one fabric and that's why I've given, a more extensive review in which our Lord gives what I'm calling the concluding declaration and warning. So we had the accusation recorded in verse 22, the refutation given in verses 23-26, the explanation made in verse 27 and now the concluding declaration and warning

The Solemn Preface: 'Verily I Say Unto You'

8:41 verses 28-30. And this section, if you were listening at all when I read it in your hearing, obviously constitutes one of the most sobering, one of the most frightening, disturbing, as well as one of the most difficult passages in all of the Word of God. Here again, this concluding declaration and warning of our Lord. Verily I say unto you, all things, their sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men and their blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme, but whosoever shall blaspheme against the Holy Spirit hath never forgiveness but is guilty of an eternal sin because, they said, he has an unclean spirit. Now in conscious dependence upon the Holy Spirit, to whom we have sung a hymn of praise acknowledging him to be the true teacher of God's truth and with a desire for spiritual profit not the satisfaction of idle curiosity let us give ourselves to an honest attempt to understand this concluding declaration and warning of our Lord Jesus.

10:10 And as we do, note with me in the first place the solemn preface to this declaration and warning. The solemn preface to this declaration and warning. The text begins with the words Verily I say unto you. Now this terminology Verily I say or as we find it in the Gospel of John Verily, verily I say is terminology which is found frequently in the Gospel records.

10:49 It is the first time that we encounter it in the Gospel according to Mark. And the word translated verily is our common word Amen. And unlike its usage in the Old Testament, it is found upon the lips of our Lord at the beginning of particularly solemn and vitalizing statements. It occurs some 13 or 14 times in Mark, some 30 times in Matthew, 6 times in Luke and the double formula approximately two dozen times in the Gospel of John.

11:28 So as you read the Gospels you will encounter it again and again. Now what is its significance? Well when our Lord says verily or Amen I say unto you the use of the word Amen or verily or truly is pointing in the direction of the absolute truthfulness and trustworthiness of what He is about to speak. In other words, this word is the seal of Christ upon the truth of that which He is about to say.

12:08 And then when He says I say unto you the construction in the original underscores that He is pointing the attention to His person and in particular to His capacity as God's final prophet to men. Truly, I even I God's incarnate Son God's anointed prophet as well as priest and king I say unto you and as the word verily or truly is the seal upon the truth of what is to follow the words I say unto you constitute the seal of His unique authority with respect to what follows. So whenever you find this terminology in the Gospels verily I say unto you or verily verily I say unto you it's a kind of verbal shorthand used by our Lord to underscore that He is speaking something of particular solemnity something of unusual concern and He speaks it with His own seal of truth and authority upon that which follows. So when we come to it in this passage

13:35 and in subsequent passages our Lord as it were is calling peculiar attention to what He is about to say to us. For example the Nichols and my wife and I made the trip up to Albany on Friday to take part in the ordination of our brother Scott and Steenburg and as we drove up the New York Thruway there were certain places where they were doing construction work and we were duly warned by orange signs narrowing to one lane or two lanes ahead and there would be sufficient warnings but then generally as you came up upon that section there would be a set of lights lined up in the configuration of an arrow bright yellow lights that would flash so if you had missed the message of the signs all of which were true you finally would get it with those flashing lights if you had been asleep or engaged in conversation I hope you weren't asleep if you were driving but if you were getting a bit drowsy that arrow with the blinking lights did not invalidate any of the truthfulness of the message of what was said on the other signs road narrows road narrows to two lanes or one lane but it called peculiar attention at the critical point where you needed to slip over into the left lane or right lane now that's what these words do everything that Jesus said is truth

15:03 every word was truth but when he says Amen truly I say unto you it is the yellow light blinking to get the attention of our dull minds and saying something important lies ahead pay attention and so the passage then begins with what I have called the solemn preface to the declaration and warning now notice in the second place the specific recipients of this solemn declaration and warning the specific recipients of this solemn declaration and warning in verse 22 we read the scribes that came down from Jerusalem said he has Beelzebub verse 23 he Jesus called them unto him that is the scribes who made the accusation and he said unto them and everything that follows is spoken directly to the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said obviously in the hearing of at least his more intimate followers possibly before some of the multitudes

The Specific Recipients of the Warning

16:32 but it is specifically directed to the scribes from Jerusalem who had made the accusation and that's vital in understanding the meaning of our Lord's words the group is introduced as a specific group and the text is clear right down through to verse 28 verily I say unto you I have no right to read that text and preach it as though there is a one to one equivalent between Jesus saying them to the scribes who came down from Jerusalem and Jesus saying them to you sitting here this morning they were specific words spoken to specific recipients in the church in the church in the church in the church in the church in the church in the church in the church in a very specific setting in response to very specific accusations now granted as we've already intimated others heard them granted they are written for our learning all scripture is profitable for our teaching reproof correction instruction in righteousness however we must never make the leap to asking the question what does it say to me until we have first of all answered accurately the question what did it say and mean to them in the original setting in which it came and the responsibility of a responsible expositor

18:01 and teacher of the word is to insist that we carefully recognize that principle in our handling of God's truth while having directed your attention to the solemn preface the specific recipients of this declaration now the heart of our study in the third place note the substance of this solemn declaration and warning the substance of this solemn declaration and warning and there are three elements that form the very substance of the declaration and warning it begins with a glorious affirmation and then it begins it is followed by a frightening exception and it is concluded with a succinct explanation the substance then of this solemn declaration and warning begins with a glorious affirmation look at it verse 28 verily I say unto you the yellow lights are blinking I speak with the seal of my own hand upon me upon the truth and the authority of what I say all their sin shall be forgiven unto the sons of men and their blasphemies

The Substance: Glorious Affirmation of Forgiveness

19:29 wherewith soever they shall blaspheme I say these words are nothing less than a glorious affirmation and of what are they an affirmation though they are a glorious affirmation a glorious affirmation of the truth which lies at the very nerve centers of the gospel Mark began his record by saying the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God and what is the good news that makes the gospel good news well how can it be expressed more positively than it is expressed in this glorious affirmation namely that there is available for all manner of sin and blasphemy full and complete pardon and forgiveness look at the language truly I say unto you all that is all manner of sins that's the general term shall be forgiven unto the sons of men and now more specifically all manner of , blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme in other words this solemn

20:58 declaration and warning begins with a glorious affirmation that all kinds of sins imaginable shall be and can be forgiven in general and all forms of blasphemies in particular shall be can be forgiven now I need not weary you with a word study on sins in general but when our Lord said and their blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme what are we to understand as the precise meaning of the word blaspheme well in order to save time let me just read a couple of sentences from Hendrickson's commentary on Mark in which he distilled the teaching of the New Testament with reference to the use of this word this rule holds with respect to the very heinous sin namely blasphemy in this connection we must be careful however to bear in mind that scripture at times uses this word in a broader sense than we do among us blasphemy is usually defined as defiant irreverence if someone goes out and makes fun of the president we don't call that blasphemy we may call it sick humor but if someone goes out

22:27 and mocks God we call it blasphemy if someone goes out and makes fun of a group of cheerleaders we don't call that blasphemy but if they make fun of a preacher and religious worship we call it blasphemy generally we associate with the word blasphemy mockery of God or things sacred or things pertaining to God his worship his works his ways his people in this connection we think for example of such crimes as cursing God or the king who reigns by the grace of God or willful degradation of things considered holy pulling them down to the realm of the secular or claiming for the purely human or secular the honor that belongs alone to God the Jews who regarded Jesus merely as a man when he claimed to be God what did they say this man is blasphemy so when we pull holy things down to the realm of profane we call it blasphemy and so does scripture or when we elevate the merely human and profane to the divine scripture calls that blasphemy and so do we however the word has an even broader use in the New Testament in a more general sense this word is used of insolent language directed either against

23:55 God or man defamation railing or reviling Ephesians 4 31 Colossians 3 8 and 1st Timothy 6 4 accordingly Jesus assures us that all things will be forgiven to the sons of men all their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter he is using this term in its broadest sense and I agree with Hendrickson's conclusion you see what our Lord is doing in this glorious affirmation is stating the heart of the gospel that there is no sin committed by man no blasphemy uttered or fought by man that cannot be forgiven and cleansed and purged in the in his own gracious way of appointment now our Lord is not teaching that the forgiveness of all sins in general and all kinds of blasphemies in particular will be conferred or granted universally or unconditionally or arbitrarily though the text does not explicitly state it we know from even previous studies in the gospel of Mark when Jesus came preaching the gospel of forgiveness Mark 1 tells us he came preaching repent ye and believe

25:25 in the gospel so this forgiveness of all manner of sin all manner of blasphemy from God's side is forgiveness rooted in the vicarious curse bearing of the son of God without shedding of blood there is no remission he was already identified by John the Baptist as the Lamb of God who was bearing away the sin of the world so when our Lord made this glorious affirmation all manner of sins can be forgiven the sons of men even all manner of blasphemies wherewith they blaspheme either directly profaning God his servants his name his word his people or elevating things profaned in merely human to the place of deity or in the broadest sense every defaming of the character of another human being anything that is reviling and abusive in speech every manner of blasphemy can be forgiven from God's side forgiveness rooted in the substitutionary curse bearing of the Lord Jesus which he will himself accomplish about a year hence from this very passage in Mark and then from man's side

26:53 a forgiveness conditioned upon repentance and faith and dear people that's the heart of the gospel and it's interesting isn't it that in one of the most sober frightening warnings in all of the word of God it is introduced by one of the most glorious affirmations of the free pardon of God offered in the gospel I have been amazed as I've meditated upon this passage and God gives us every encouragement in scripture to believe that this is true it records the forgiveness of a wicked king like Manasseh it records the forgiveness of David who with all of his privileges sinks to the depths of murder and adultery and hypocrisy it records the forgiveness and restoration of a Peter who curses with oaths and swears that he has no identity with Jesus of Nazareth it records the forgiveness of Saul of Tarsus who says I was a murderer and a blasphemer and injurious I persecuted the church am I speaking to someone this morning who's sitting in this building has perhaps heard the gospel many many times but is not but when the heart of the gospel is proclaimed namely

28:23 that there is full free pardon and forgiveness for all of your sins based upon the person and work of Christ offered to you in the way of repentance and faith you've secretly said ah yes but preacher if you only knew the sins that I've indulged you'd have to qualify your message you don't know what only God and I know the deep dark secret of my own complicity in my sexual violation as a child when I knowingly willingly indulged in an incestuous relationship with my father with my mother with my brother my sister my cousin am I speaking to someone who sits here this morning and says yes sins can be forgiven but not the sin of incest you don't know I've dabbled in homosexuality I've dabbled in bestiality I have found myself when reading my bible cursing the name of God blaspheming his holy name father son and holy ghost preacher you don't know my sin grant I don't but the God who does says all men of sins and blasphemies shall be forgiven

29:51 that's the gospel when the Lord Jesus upon the cross voluntarily submitted himself to be the recipient of the unleashed fury of his father against sin cried out to my God my God why have you forsaken me then cried in triumph tetelestai it has been enraged it remains accomplished what he is saying is all that was necessary for the Lord Jesus to be able to make this statement has been accomplished oh how the sober warning begins with the most glorious affirmation of full free complete pardon of all manner of sin and blasphemy and my friends if you leave here unforgiven uncleansed unpardoned this morning it will be for one reason alone wicked horrible damning unbelief that will not credit the testimony of Jesus all manner of sin in general and even all manner of blasphemy in particular shall be forgiven

The Substance: Frightening Exception and Succinct Explanation

31:19 the sons of man then from the glorious affirmation our Lord goes on to speak of the frightening exception verse 29 the frightening exception but against the backdrop of that glorious affirmation now the frightening exception but but whosoever shall blaspheme against the Holy Spirit hath never forgiveness but is guilty of an eternal sin amen look at the words who so blasphemes that is he that thinks and speaks mocking vicious things against the Holy Spirit and this is the settled disposition as we shall see in a moment of the mind and heart will never attain to the forgiven state rather he is guilty and here is a phrase found only here in scripture he is guilty of an eternal sin that is this sin as it were attaches itself to him and he lies under the guilt that it brings and therefore will receive the punishment due to that sin for its

32:47 guilt and that for all eternity but he is guilty of an eternal sin he hath never forgiveness and I say this is a frightening exception it is the only exception mentioned by our Lord but it is a frightening and horrible exception and we are warranted to say without answering or attempting to answer all of the questions as to the precise nature of the sin to say this there is one sin which Jesus mentions as accepted from that sweeping glorious affirmation all manner of sin all manner of blasphemy shall be forgiven the sons of men and it is this blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and then the frightening exception is followed by a succinct that is a brief pity explanation verse 30 and this is unique to Mark because because here is an explanation because they said he has an unclean spirit in other words this solemn declaration and warning

34:17 was based upon the fact that these Pharisees were saying a form of the verb is used which indicates it is not something they said in passing in a moment of what we would call unrighteousness unholy carnal enthusiasm oh he has a devil it could be translated because they were saying it was their settled commitment of perspective and judgment that they were mouthing repeatedly and imperfect is used that speaks of past action of a continuous nature for they were saying and what were they saying they were saying he has and notice the terminology an unclean spirit Beelzebub who is equated with Satan as we saw in our previous study here called an unclean in contrast to the Holy Spirit now follow closely remember the setting Jesus is in Galilee everyone is astounded at his mighty works they are coming to him all the way from Jerusalem they are coming to him from all parts of Judea they are coming from Tyre and Sidon the multitudes are seeing this plethora of his mighty works in those cities in the region of Galilee

35:46 now he has just cast out this demon that caused the man to be blind and speechless and in Matthew's gospel and I want you to turn there for a moment and notice what Jesus said how did he do this by what power was he accomplishing these works here is the parallel passage verse 28 but if I Matthew 12 28 but if I by the spirit of God cast out demons then is the kingdom of God come upon you they were saying he is casting out demons that we cannot deny but he is doing it by the power of the evil spirit that unclean spirit Beelzebub the prince of evil spirits the devil himself Jesus said no I by the spirit of God in other words the agency by which all of those miracles were accomplished was the direct almighty operation of God the Holy Spirit who rested upon Christ the anointed one now what is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit are you following blasphemy against the Holy Spirit in the setting of Mark's account of it

37:15 is precisely this here the scribes from Jerusalem have come up into that area they have the witness of general revelation they can see as they look at the world without all that any man can see of God's fingerprints smothering his creation the heavens declaring his glory they have the witness of general revelation in the world without and the world within their own conscience that accuses or excuses furthermore they had the scriptures they were the scribes from Jerusalem their life was taken up in writing in transcribing making copies of the scripture and in teaching the scriptures but now follow closely they had in addition to general revelation and in scripturated revelation they had direct revelation God incarnate was right before their eyes and by the power of the spirit was performing the miraculous casting out demons healing the sick and he was doing it how by the agency of the Holy Spirit and they were so perverse at this point that though they could not deny that he was doing what he was doing by the power of God and their own consciences

38:44 affirm that what he's doing he's doing by the power of God they are so committed to rejecting his claims and refusing to submit to him that they would rather come up with this illogical stupid perverse blasphemous accusation he's doing this by the power of the devil it contradicts all reason does Satan cast out Satan it contradicts all common sense a house divided against itself falls a kingdom divided against itself falls and though it contradicts common sense reason and the testimony of their own conscience they are committed to it they were continually saying he has Beelzebub he has an unclean spirit and so blasphemy against the Holy Spirit was nothing less than taking the final culminating affirmations of the identity of Christ and refusing to yield to the pressure of that affirmation and perversely attributing it to the power of the devil now in that sense it is my own present albeit tentative but present conviction that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is a sin which could only be committed in that context of that three-fold chord of revelation general revelation inscripturated

40:13 revelation and special miraculous direct revelation and in that sense it is my tentative present conviction that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit in terms of its description in this passage is not a sin that can be committed in this present state of God's dealings with us in which we have general revelation and we have inscripturated revelation we have God's presence in the church the inward miracle of regeneration and transformed life but we do not have the attestation of miracle as our Lord did and as the apostles did well then you say pastor I spend all the time expounding the passage if you say it has nothing to say to us oh I didn't say it has nothing to say to us you've made a leap beyond me I've simply said it is my tentative conviction that technically blasphemy against the Holy Spirit according to verse 30 could only be committed in that context they these scribes who saw his miracles were saying he has an unclean spirit having said that I do not believe at present according to the light I now have that there is a one to one equivalent

Demolishing False Notions: No Universal Salvation or Annihilation

41:42 there is an abiding message in this passage for us and the more I've meditated upon it the more I'm convinced that the devil has gotten people so tied up with trying precisely to identify the nature of blasphemy against the spirit and to make a final decision as to whether or not it can or cannot be committed in this present age that they have failed to feel the overwhelming weight of what is abundantly clear in the passage why occupy our minds with what is not clear when what is clear is sobering enough in what is clear in the passage well I suggest three things number one this passage demolishes all notions of ultimate salvation of all men or the annihilation of the wicked this passage demolishes all notions of the ultimate salvation of all men or the annihilation of the wicked the text says there are certain men who commit certain sins and that those sins will be attached to them for eternity look at the text he is guilty of an eternal sin and

43:11 pray tell if all men are ultimately saved how can anyone be guilty of an eternal sin if men are annihilated and brought to non-existence how can they be guilty of eternal sin you say pastor why do you make that point so forcefully you and I live in a day when evangelical publishing houses are publishing books in which responsible respected Christian scholars have both resurrected ancient heresies on this point and one has concocted one of his own I refer to such men as John Wenham a respected British scholar who in his book the goodness of God published by InterVarsity Press on page 41 tentatively suggests the possibility of annihilation and on page 78 affirms his commitment to the doctrine of the ultimate annihilation of the wicked InterVarsity Press now if you go down to the books for and see an Ivy Press book don't immediately assume it's full of heresy but what I'm saying is that there's been such an erosion of the historic biblical position on this matter that an evangelical press would be bold enough to print such stuff and there's a book called The Sovereignty of Grace by Arthur

44:39 Custance a marvelous treatment of the five points for the first three hundred and fourteen pages but from page three hundred and fifteen to page three hundred and fifty eight he propounds a doctrine tentatively but nonetheless propounds it not of ultimate annihilation but the ultimate restoration of all sinners not through the blood of Christ and the regenerating work of the spirit but what he has is ultimately a protestant purgatory after they suffer enough in hell they pay the debt for their sin then they're released and sent to heaven and I'm not saying that because someone told me that I've read the material over at least two or three times key sections of it to make sure that I know where I speak dear people don't let anyone trifle with your soul there's nothing a convicted sinner who's trying to run from the claims of Christ would rather believe more than this that there is no hell that somehow I'll be alright whether I yield to Christ or not or somehow I'll ultimately be just blotted out and become a nothing like I was before I was conceived in my mother's womb my friend don't believe it there is such a thing as an eternal sin eternal sin with eternal punishment and conscious eternal torment in that horrible place

Demolishing False Notions: No Unconditional Forgiveness

46:08 called the lake of fire but secondly this passage negates all notions of unconditional forgiveness this passage negates all notions of unconditional forgiveness now what do I mean by unconditional forgiveness the idea that God forgives simply because he's a God of love and grace and mercy and it's part of his nature to forgive and we should be like God so if your kid comes up kicks you in the shin spits in your eye you just say oh you lovely little sweet dear I unconditionally love you would you like to have your day daddy do that son kick him in the shins and spit in his eye and have him tell he loves you some of you know that your daddy had freaked out if he ever did that but that's what we're told we ought to do and we're told furthermore not only is God like that and we ought to be like that but the church ought to be like that let people live like the devil but if they whimper and say I'm sorry no discipline not even a slap in the hand we're all sinners anyway aren't we we're just a community of sinners so we just lovingly receive everyone no discipline no public reproof no rebuke no suspension no admonition this passage I say negates all such notions of unconditional love and forgiveness why look at the text

47:36 when Jesus said all manner of sin shall be forgiven and all manner of blasphemies he's saying that in the context of the text of people finding that forgiveness in the way of repentance and for some in whom there can be no repentance because there is no work of the spirit they have so utterly blasphemed the spirit as to have crossed a line and are abandoned that's why the sin is unforgivable not that it goes beyond the capacity of the grace of God and the power of the blood of Christ to forgive it's unforgivable and unpardonable because it takes people out of the way of repentance within which way alone God's forgiveness comes except he repents he shall perish he that covers his sin shall not prosper but who so confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy how we need this mentality of our Lord not only with reference to our relationship to God my friend don't sit here this morning and absolve yourself and say all is well because you went to God and went with a smarting conscience unless you are prepared to repent since his dearest right hand and right eye to cut off and pluck out repentance is not whimpering to God when the pressure

49:06 of the conscience gets to the place where you need a safety valve and you go and have a little whimper before God and a little cry and a little I'm sorry with no inward resolution to be done with your sin and to step into the contrary path of obedience and holiness and a horrible abuse of grace my friend if you're not a penitent believing sinner you are an unforgiven sinner there is no unconditional forgiveness with God but this needs to be true in our relationship to one another Luke 17 if my brother sin against me just go love him up unconditionally is that what God says you read your Bible it says this if my brother sin against me repent if he repents forgive him if you sin against me I don't wish the wrath of God to come upon you vengeance is mine I will repay but there will be an alienation of communion until you've repented and sought my forgiveness now I must extend forgiveness in my spirit but I cannot confer it until you repent that's what the scripture says if thy brother sin against me suppose your brother happens to be your husband or your wife or your son or daughter and angry words have been spoken and what are you to do unconditionally love no go and say dear you spoke harshly to

50:35 me and I have ought against you and if you say huh too bad the wall is there your duty is not to just throw your arms around your husband and say oh well you impenitent critter I'll love you anyway uh uh until he repents you're under no obligation to confer forgiveness that's what my bible says I didn't write it Jesus said it and this is true in the life of the church this catechism of unconditional love is filled the church with unholy and impenitent people what is church discipline but the expression within the covenant community of god likeness god holds at a distance those who cling to their sins that's why god says cast out the unclean man from your midst those that walk disorderly mark them have no company with them is that cruel no it's being like god you want a church that's like god or like the world you see the world's view of unconditional forgiveness panders men in their sin and encourages them to go on in the way that leads to destruction is that love but when the church is like god it says no repentance no forgiveness no restoration it's telling men we're a little bit like god because god says to the church whosoever sins ye remit they are remitted and whosoever

52:05 sins ye retain they are retained and we don't remit and retain ultimately but we do administratively and ecclesiastically with our ecclesiology within the church ecclesiastically that's the language of the bible jesus said to men whosoever sins ye retain they are retained this notion of unconditional love this passage strikes at the heart of it unconditional forgiveness unknown our lord speaks of a certain sin that has no forgiveness for all eternity why because there has been a removal of the influence which alone can produce that repentance essential to forgiveness but then my final point of application and i trust you'll gird up the loins of your mind and seek to lay hold of it is this may god give us ears to hear this passage directs us to the only safe position in the presence of christ and his and his well attested identity this passage directs us to the only safe position in the presence of christ and his well attested identity we've been reading in the book of mark the mighty works of christ by which he attested in that period his identity

The Only Safe Position: Immediate Yieldedness to Christ

53:32 as god's son and god's only savior now what happened to these scribes they saw the attestations of his identity yet they knew if we acknowledge him to be what he appears to be in the light of what he's obviously doing then there's only one course for us and that's to yield ourselves to his claims and his claims are these unless we are born from above though we be scribes from jerusalem though we have abraham's blood coursing through our veins as to our parentage we are so filthy and undone and unclean and unfit for heaven that apart from the moral and spiritual renovation of the new birth we'll never see or enter the kingdom of heaven if we acknowledge him to be who he says he is in the light of what he's doing that proves he is what he is then we've got to yield to his claim that we need the moral transformation of new birth that we're unclean that we must repent of our sins of pride and externalism and empty religion and a mere formal relationship to jehovah that was humbling business you see my friend as you sit here this morning

55:00 christ claims are well attested in your conscience aren't they well attested in the scriptures that's why you're here that's why some of you are a mystery to yourself you think why in the world do i keep going back to that place why in the i know that sooner or later somewhere in the sermon that preacher is going to look me straight in the eye and he's going to say things that make my heart beat increase and he's going to speak of things that in myself i'd love to cast off and yet you're here this morning now why why why don't you say well mom and dad make me come true enough but others you are not here by the constraint of parental force and oversight you're here because your conscience attests the truth of what's in this book christ is who he claims to be oh but listen to me listen you know that he has claims over you he demands the place of supreme affection in your heart he says that your sins the most darling of them must be repented of and turned from you must humble yourself and come naked and stripped and empty handed to lay hold of his own grace and mercy offered freely on the basis of his own shed blood and that is withering to your pride oh my friend listen to me though I have said that I believe this specific sin of blasphemy against the holy spirit could only be committed in that context it's

56:29 in a larger family of sins that is taught in old and new testaments and it's the sin of the gradual hardening of the heart in the presence of truth and there's only one safe position in the presence of God's truth attested in the life and ministry of Jesus further attested to your own conscience by the holy spirit even as I preach my friend listen if you would be certain that you never commit this sin for there may be the possibility it can still be committed I have not been dogmatic but if you would be certain not to commit its kindred sins of which we heard in the previous hour falling away irremediably irreversibly being given up the only safe place is present immediate unreserved yieldedness to Jesus Christ and to all of his claims over you you want to be sure you never blaspheme the holy spirit you want to be certain that you never commit a sin that is an eternal sin then here and now this morning yield yourselves up to Christ and to every dimension of the claims of his truth over your life and your country that's

Illustration and Final Exhortation

57:58 the only safe position let me illustrate as I close you may have heard the illustration before but I can't think of a better one so I'll use it again back in the days when men did not have their Buicks and their Chevys and their Cadillacs and their Pontiacs but they drove horse-drawn coaches there was a particularly wealthy man who wanted a new coach , driver for one reason or another he had lost his coach, driver and he wanted a new one and so he advertised for a good handler of horses and a competent coach, driver and when men came and applied for the job he asked them you claim to be a good coach, driver yes sir and a handler of horses yes sir how close do you think you can drive my coach to the edge of a sheer precipice on a certain road in this particular county and not have the horses step off or have the wheels slide off well sir I think I can come within two feet fine next man came to the interview he asked him the same question he said ah sir I have such control over horses and such a feel for the width of the carriage I can come within one foot of the edge of the precipice he said thank you third man came and he said ah sir for years I've sat behind a coach just like yours I know it as much as an extension of my own body I can drive consistently within six inches of the edge of the

59:27 precipice never have the horses step off or have the wheels slide off then the fourth man came and he asked him the same question he said sir it is my policy whenever I'm driving my master's coach to stay as far from any precipice as the width of the road will allow me you know who he hired to be his driver you see the point you see the point listen listen listen listen oh hear me don't sit there saying well I wonder what is the sin that grounds me against the Holy Spirit I wonder what I'd have to do to commit it I wonder how often I'd have to go back to that sin back to that relationship dabble with that area of carnality dabble with that sin that I'm not really dealt with my friend listen the safest place is as far from the precipice as the width of the road will take you and that's pressed up against the side of Jesus bound to him in bonds of unquestioned loyalty bound to him in present despising of all sin all worldliness all flirtation with the flesh and the devil my friend in that posture you need never fear that the carriage will slip over the precipice to the ruin of your soul

60:57 that's the message of this Jesus is warning oh if he stood here today he might not warn in these same words surely he would warn in these words today if you hear his voice harden not your heart harden not your heart oh but you say pastor that's just a little conflict I've not resolved with my wife my friend listen it can be but a little sin that is the first inch toward the precipice and once you've gone the first inch and felt comfortable you feel a little more comfortable with the second until the inches become feet and the feet become your arms and no one ever went tumbling down the precipice saying this is what I intended when I moved the first inch away from the other side of the road this blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not a sin committed in a moment not committed in a passion not committed unconsciously it's the ultimate result of resolute determination to resist light and the pressure of truth upon the heart and upon the life and all of its kindred sins are the same may God grant that this morning we shall hear the word of Jesus all manner of sins shall be forgiven all manner of blasphemies there's your hope run to Christ run to the fountain open for sin and

62:27 uncleanness and if you're tempted to linger here is warning Bob there are sins that will attach themselves to some men for eternity they put themselves out of the way of forgiveness because they're out of the way of repentance and you can't repent at your leisure you repent when God by the spirit is bringing the word home to your conscience as he is this morning dear people these are things of life and death don't trifle with your soul don't trifle with your soul

Closing Prayer

63:11 walking with him at any cost let us pray oh our father when we in some little measure are made to taste the powers of the world to come to sense the felt realities of heaven and hell and forgiveness and pardon non forgiveness guilt damnation oh lord these are awesome reality we pray that the holy spirit would so fast in them upon our hearts that we may not be able to escape their pressure that we may yield to that pressure and in so yielding find the joy of a cleansed conscience and communion with yourself may the great day of judgment reveal that it was no mere happenstance that in the sunday school hour and in this hour these sobering portions should have been brought to bear upon us oh god oh god we plead may this mark the day when many change the direction of the carriage away from the precipice and into the direction of the lord jesus hear our cry

64:41 oh hear our cry we plead for the good of our souls and for the glory of your beloved son amen