10. SIN AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT Mark 3:28-30 28 Verily I say unto you, All their sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men,--This embraces all responsible sons and daughters of men. All sins committed by the different members of the human race will be forgiven, upon proper repentance and obedience, except the one mentioned in next verse. and their blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:--Blasphemy is any kind of injurious speech about another. The scribes blasphemed when they attributed Christ's power to work miracles to the power of the devil. The statement that all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven to men is not an affirmation of universal pardon. But that all manner of sin and blasphemy, with the exception stated in the text, will be forgiven through the blood of Christ, some to one man and some to another, every conceivable sin will be forgiven except the one in question. [Sin is to violate the law or rule given by God to men. Violation of law is sin, and brings the penalty of sin. Intentional and conscious sin intensifies the guilt of sin. Paul sinned and obtained forgiveness because he did it ignorantly in unbelief (1 Timothy 1:13), thinking he was doing God's service. To violate the law, thinking he did God's service, was a sin. To violate it, knowing it was God's law, would have been a greater sin. Blaspheme is to rail upon, to speak evil of. This verse intimates that speaking evil of all other beings, including God and Jesus Christ, should be forgiven men--on their repentance, of course, is meant. In this distinction drawn, to violate the law given by God is to sin against God, to violate a law given by Jesus is to sin against him, to violate a law given by the Holy Spirit is to sin against the Spirit.] 29 but whosoever shall blaspheme against the Holy Spirit --There seems to be three grades or degrees of blasphemy. (1) That against the Holy Spirit. This seems to be the greatest and the most dangerous. (2) That against the Son. (Matthew 12:32.) (3) That against God, the Father. hath never forgiveness,--I take it that Jesus did not charge the scribes had committed the unpardonable sin. He was warning them not to go this far. They had almost reached it when they accused him of casting out demons by the power of the devil, and he warns them not to take the next step of blaspheming the Holy Spirit for this would be the fatal step. [Rath never forgiveness because they cannot repent. So long as man can repent he can find forgiveness. This and corresponding passages in Matthew 12:31 and Luke 12:10 have been the occasion of much controversy and of much trouble and anxiety to despondent minds. Many think they have committed the sin for which there is no forgiveness, and give themselves much trouble over it. Matthew says (Matthew 12:31-32) "Therefore I say unto you, Every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men; but the blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him;but whosoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in that which is to come." From this we see that the speaking against the Son of man may be forgiven, but speaking against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven. Blasphemy, speaking against, and all manner of sin, are placed on an equality. What is the sin, then, against the Holy Spirit? Many think these people committed that sin. But did they speak against Christ or against the Holy Spirit? Clearly against Christ; Jesus, as we understand it, told them, in this you speak against me. For this there is chance for forgiveness. But when the Holy Spirit is come, if you speak against him, if you reject him, as you now reject me, there will then be no forgiveness. It was a warning given on the occasion of their speaking against him that they cannot so treat the Holy Spirit when he shall come, and find forgiveness. The reason is, they speak against Christ during his life, and when the Holy Spirit shall come he will give additional evidence that Jesus is the Son of God, and opportunities to hear God and turn. But when the Spirit shall have come and given his testimonies and revelations, the testimony will be complete, and he who rejects that will have nothing more to move him to repentance.] but is guilty of an eternal sin:--That is, a sin never to be forgiven and will be punished eternally. Both the sin and punishment are eternal. The penalty is eternal because the sin is eternal. This is one of the most fearful sentences ever spoken. With sin, penalty and punishment must ever go; and to be cut off forever from moral remedy, to have no hope of reformation, every one who is capable of thought knows what that means. The terror of an evil life is its final choice, its fixedness of character. There is nothing more sure than that there is an unpardonable sin--a sin for which there is no space for repentance. It is possible to go beyond the reach of God's mercy--bounds beyond which forgiveness never reclaims. "There is a sin unto death: not concerning this do I say that he should make request." (1 John 5:16.) Then let us heed the wisdom of the stage driver, who, in speaking of a dangerous precipice by the roadside, said: "Instead of seeing how close to its edge I can drive without going over, I try to see how far from it I can get." So instead of trying to see how close we can get to the unpardonable sin without committing it, let us see how far away from it we can stay. This is wisdom. 30 because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.-- [He gave them this warning because they thus spoke of him;they must not so treat the Holy Spirit.]