Good Morning Friends,
“I tell you the truth, all the sins and
blasphemies of men will be forgiven them.
But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven;
he is guilty of an eternal sin.” (Mark 3:28-29)
I was serving communion in a nursing home
many years ago and when I offered the trays of bread and juice to one woman she
refused. She said, “I’m not worthy to
take communion.” She didn’t think God
would or could ever accept her. In her
mind, the sins that she had committed were beyond the forgiveness of God.
A young woman came to my office to talk. She and her husband had been attending the
church at which I preached for a while and there was something she needed to
talk with me about. She poured her story
out to me through sighs and tears. She
had committed the unpardonable sin. At
least that’s what she thought. She thought
it was impossible for God to ever forgive her and take her back.
There are people who read the words of Jesus
that Mark records above and come to the conclusion that there is some sin that
God will never forgive, even if you ask Him – even if you beg Him.
I think that’s a misunderstanding of the
heart of God and the grace of God. The
Apostle John wrote, “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) John mentions no exceptions – because there
are none. There is no sin that God will
not forgive if we confess it to Him. The
prophet Joel said it first and both Peter and Paul repeated it – “Everyone who
calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21; Romans
10:13) That is the universal offer of
God and it is open to anyone and everyone.
I think that the one sure way that a person
can tell that he has never committed the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is
that if he wants God’s forgiveness then he hasn’t committed the sin God will
not forgive. The only sin God will not
forgive is the one that hardens the heart of man so badly that he will never
ask for forgiveness.
Whatever sin you’ve committed God stands
ready to forgive. Open your mouth to
confess your sin and then open your heart to receive His grace because He is
ready to pour it on you.
His, by Grace,
Steve
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