The unpardonable sin occurs when there is nothing more that can be done to save a person. The Holy Spirit is the only Agent that can facilitate any true repentance, and once He takes leave of a person, it then becomes impossible for one to repent. There is no more reserve power for salvation, and there is nothing more God can do, when the work, and the Person of the Holy Spirit is rejected.
God respects our freedom to choose and whenever that freedom is continually exercised in rejecting God’s merciful overtures to save, our choice finally becomes set in stone, and becomes permanently irreversible. In very many cases, individuals may be permitted to live after such an event takes place, but additional years do not change the fact. Thus, wherever it is possible, this grievous sin should be avoided.
Now, it is important for us to understand that there are several different triggers, that set in motion the unpardonable sin. A persistent rejection of light and the continuous quieting of one’s conscience, when wrongs and sins are brought to our attention. Then, there is the habit of deliberately crediting the work of the Holy Spirt to satanic agencies and there is the practice designating evil as being good.
Also, the habit of sinning deliberately, after one has been made aware of the truth, will cause the voice of conscience to gradually go dead. All of these, or any combination thereof will eventually bring folks to the point of no return, for it is not so much that God stops speaking, it’s that we stop listening. Thus, several passages of scripture caution us against any of these indulgences which could result in the sin of no return. Let’s read:
Isaiah 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
2nd Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables.
Hebrews 6:4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh and put him to an open shame.
King Saul was given ample opportunity to do right, but on several occasions, he either disobeyed the voice of God, or offered partial obedience. Like all others, he was not expected to render service that’s acceptable to God without the wherewithal to do so and therefore he was given the Holy Spirit to enable him to do right. Let’s read:
1st Samuel 11:1 Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the Lord hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?
6 And the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.
When the Holy Ghost is given to a person, He then enables him or her to put good choices into action, but throughout one’s lifetime the freedom to do good or evil remains intact. Force is rarely used to coerce the will, hence the reason why we see in the scriptures, where at times holy men may have fallen into sin.
It’s not that persons did not have the Holy Ghost, it’s just that He respected their choices, for a person, having the Holy Spirit dwelling within, does not prevent anyone from sinning.
Thus, it was that Saul, being loaded with The Holy Spirit would on many occasions, make choices that he was consciously aware, were contrary to God’s will. And, having thus indulged in willful sin after he had received the Holy Spirit, his choices culminated in permanent rebellion, which becomes incurable, and ultimately ends in destruction.
Several opportunities were granted him so that he could redeem the time if he would, but Saul often got angry when reproved, and he came to hate the prophet Samuel, for showing him his sins. The Lord speaks to us through His word, through ordained prophets, through the pastors and elders who have been selected by Him for that purpose.
He also speaks through His Spirit in our consciences, and through His providences which are designed to appeal to our intelligence. Sometimes, God tries to reach us through sacred song, as He did with Saul, when David would play skillfully on his harp.
At other times, God may speak through a friend, a co-worker, or even a neighbor. In some extreme circumstances He may use donkeys to reach us, but no matter how God tried, Saul just would not listen. Thus, it reached a point where it became useless to try to redeem him, and he was finally left up to the other leader he had chosen. Let’s read:
1st Samuel 16:14 But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him.
15 And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.
16 Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well.
1st Samuel 28:6 And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.
Again, the unpardonable sin occurs when we credit the work of God deliberately, as being that of the devil, and that against the most conclusive evidence to the contrary. When the truths God would have us know are brought home to our consciences with unusual clearness, and when we cannot bypass and reason away the truth, but yet say it is from satan, then there’s nothing more God can do to save us.
The human conscience is naturally distorted, so that we cannot of ourselves distinguish right from wrong perfectly. Therefore, The Holy Spirit is imparted to enlighten the conscience and bring the truth of God home to our minds. When this is done, and we then call that work as coming from the devil, we do insult to The Holy Ghost, and if this is done over, and over again, the voice of God will go silent in our minds.
This is what was occurring when Christ was casting out demons from a certain man, and the Jews who witnessed the event with their own two eyes, and who were convinced in their heart that God was at work, then made a conscious decision to call it the work of Beelzebub. Christ then issued a warning that is echoed by Isaiah against putting darkness for light, and light for darkness. Let’s read:
Matthew 12:22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.
24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:
31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
33 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.
This same stubborn refusal of the truth was also the undoing of many of the Hebrews in the wilderness, after God gave them conclusive evidence that they were in the wrong. On one particular occasion, the people had been deceived by Korah, into believing that Moses and Aaron were usurpers, and that it was mismanagement on their part that had delayed the entrance into Canaan.
Even though they well knew that this was not the case, the matter ripened into open rebellion, and was brought to The Lord for final resolution. God then showed by His providence, who was right and who was wrong, because Korah, Dathan and Abiram who were the leading men in the rebellion, were destroyed from among the congregation in what can only be understood as the direct judgment of God.
At this time the general congregation who were not the instigators, were allowed to see with their own two eyes the unnatural demise of those who set up themselves against the leaders of God’s choosing. It was an irresistible interference from heaven which was designed to appeal to the conscience, and in response to the judgment, the people fled in terror. Let’s read:
Numbers 16:26 And he spoke unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of their's, lest ye be consumed in all their sins.
27 So they got up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children.
28 And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the Lord hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind.
29 If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the Lord hath not sent me.
30 But if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the Lord.
31 And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them.
32 And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.
33 They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.
34 And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.
35 And there came out a fire from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.
Thus, the congregation was given time to change their attitude. The main rebels were gone, and now if the people would reason intelligently from cause to effect, they would clearly see that they had been misled, and the right thing to do would be to repent by acknowledging that they were wrong, and asking God to forgive by renewing a right spirit in them.
But they deliberately chose not to do this, for they spent the night grumbling about what had recently transpired, reasoning that Moses, and Aaron had been the cause of the untimely deaths of really good men. This attitude would put them on a fast track to the unpardonable sin, for there is nothing else that God could do to convince them.
The same stubborn resistance of clear evidence was also manifested in pharaoh, who would not listen to God, to Moses, or to the Holy Spirit’s appeals to his conscience and intelligence. Pharaoh wouldn’t even listen to satan, for he had gone so far, and so long in the rejection of truth that even his magicians could not reason with him. When a person wouldn’t even listen to satan, then there is no hope for him or her.
Thus, as the Hebrews rejected every evidence that God gave, and as they deliberately chose not to believe what they had seen and heard, the voice of conscience went permanently dead, never more to be reawakened. Whenever this occurs, a person is rendered permanently incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong, for by their own choice they have closed the door to reason. Let’s read:
Numbers 16:41 But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the Lord.
42 And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared.
[Patriarchs & Prophets pp 405] Notwithstanding they had had the most convincing evidence of God's displeasure at their course, in the destruction of the men who had deceived them, they dared to attribute His judgments to Satan, declaring that through the power of the evil one, Moses and Aaron had caused the death of good and holy men.
It was this act that sealed their doom. They had committed the sin against the Holy Spirit, a sin by which man's heart is effectually hardened against the influence of divine grace. There is no reserved power by which God can work to convict and convert the sinner.
Thus, it is of great importance that those of us who have been granted opportunity to be saved in God’s kingdom, not follow in the footsteps of those who committed the unpardonable sin in times gone by. The following, therefore, are several pointers which would guard against us taking that fatal step.
[1] Whenever we hear the voice of God appealing to us to turn from our wicked ways, and when God gives us clearest evidence that we are in the wrong, let us not fight against The Spirit. Let’s read:
Proverbs 29:1 He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
Hebrews 3:14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end;
15 While it is said, Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.
[2] Cultivating skepticism and unbelief is anathema to faith and will result in the unpardonable sin if a deliberate choice to the contrary isn’t made. Let’s read:
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Romans 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
2nd Chronicles 20:20 And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
Hebrews 3:12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
18 And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
[3] Continual indulgence in sin, against a knowledge of the truth, will culminate in the sin of no return, because every sin committed contributes to the deadening of one’s conscience. Let’s read:
Hebrews 10:26 For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries.
[4] A persistent, and deliberate rejection of the Holy Ghost would result in demon possession by default.
Matthew 12:43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.
An interesting commentary is written pertaining to demon possession by default. One does not have to deliberately invite the devils in, for them to take up residence in a person’s heart; they squat by default whenever God’s Holy Spirit is rejected. No man can serve two masters, so it is either one, or the other who will be in control of a person’s mind, and if it’s not Jesus, the default setting of demon possession is the only other option on the table. Let’s read:
[D.A. pp 324] Unless we do yield ourselves to the control of Christ, we shall be dominated by the wicked one. We must inevitably be under the control of the one or the other of the two great powers that are contending for the supremacy of the world. It is not necessary for us deliberately to choose the service of the kingdom of darkness in order to come under its dominion.
We have only to neglect to ally ourselves with the kingdom of light. If we do not co-operate with the heavenly agencies, Satan will take possession of the heart, and will make it his abiding place. The only defense against evil is the indwelling of Christ in the heart through faith in His righteousness.
We may leave off many bad habits, for the time we may part company with Satan; but without a vital connection with God, through the surrender of ourselves to Him moment by moment, we shall be overcome. Without a personal acquaintance with Christ, and a continual communion, we are at the mercy of the enemy, and shall do his bidding in the end.
We therefore end with two scriptural exhortations for us to make the best of God’s gracious efforts to save us, because “TODAY” is always the best time to receive Christ. Let’s read:
Isaiah 55:6 Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
2nd Corinthians 6:1 We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.
2 For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
God Bless!