The Unforgivable Sin
The Unforgivable Sin
A lesson
by Stephen D. Edwards
If you haven’t heard of the unforgivable sin, it is to blaspheme the Holy Spirit.
Jesus tells us about this in Matthew, Mark and Luke, but here I use Mark 3:28-29.
28 “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.” (Mark 3:28-29 ESV)
So what does it mean to blaspheme the Holy Spirit? How would we ever do that?
I think it’s good that there’s only one unforgivable sin, but the idea seems to leave a hidden hole to fall into. Doesn’t it? So I needed more clarity, because I didn’t want to fall into that hole.
To learn more about this, we need to look at the context in which Jesus said this. So we roll back to look at verses 22 to 27.
So here’s a summary: Scribes say, Jesus “is possessed by Beelzebub,” and “by the prince of demons He casts out demons.” In answer to them, Jesus uses parables, saying, “How can Satan cast Satan out? A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.
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Neither can a house divided against itself stand. If Satan has risen against himself, he is coming to an end. No one can break into a strong man’s house to rob him, unless he binds the strong man first.
Basically He is saying that no one in his right mind would fight against himself. Satan is probably the last one who would ever work against his own purposes to kill, steal and destroy.
So now let’s clear up where the blasphemy is. Jesus relies entirely on the Holy Spirit to cast demons out from those who are possessed. So Jesus tells the Scribes through these parables that they blaspheme the Holy Spirit by crediting evil spirits for the work of casting out demons.
Before I ever understood this, a pastor told me that whatever Jesus did, whether it were casting out demons or healing, as long as I prayed in faith without doubting for that to happen in Jesus’ name, it would be done for me. Years later, after making plans for suicide, I sensed that I had the evil spirit of suicide in me.
Remembering what that pastor said, I prayed in the name of Jesus for that spirit to leave, and I had peace. Had I tried to cast them out by the prince of demons, I would have had a triple-whammy of problems! I say that because not only would that have been the unforgivable sin, I might not ever have cast that demon out.
So on top of that I probably would have followed through on the plan to kill myself. I have yet to meet anyone else who cast a demon out of himself, but I believe I will meet such a person one day.
By simple logic, it doesn’t make sense to even try to cast demons out by Satan or Beelzebul, because evil spirits are happy to make the possessed feel good while not fulfilling the request. After all, fulfilling the request would defeat the purposes of the evil spirits and bring about their destruction.
Read Also: God’s and Devil’s Patience
We should never give the devil credit for anything that the Holy Spirit does for us, through us or even merely in our presence. It is the unforgivable sin. But to err on the side of caution, because there is an unforgivable sin, we should not give credit to the enemy for anything good in our lives, just in case it was the work of the Holy Spirit.
By Stephen D. Edwards
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Stephen D. Edwards is the author of “The Branch and the Vine” a memoir of long-term depression and hope. He also writes novels and short stories with Christian themes. Edwards’ most recent work has been published in Agape Review, Faith on Every Corner, Calla Press and OpenDoor Poetry.
stephen@stephendedwards.net
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