Verily I say unto you, all sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.
Mark 3:28-30
The word “verily” is like the Old Testament’s “Thus saith the Lord.” The words are divinely self-authenticating and guarantee the truth and importance of what Jesus would say next. No longer was Jesus reasoning with his accusers; he was giving them a solemn warning. Jesus had just been accused of being in league with Satan and had soundly refuted those charges. Here he had a few words for these so-called teachers of the law, the Jewish leaders.
First he made the incredible promise that people will be forgiven all sin and whatever blasphemies they utter who confess their sins to God. Too often people miss this promise and worry about the warning in the next verse. But the fact is, those who believe in Jesus will be forgiven of all sins (evil acts, wrong actions, good actions not done, evil thoughts, evil motives, etc.) and of all blasphemies (evil words said against God). When there is confession and repentance, sin is not beyond God’s forgiveness.
There is one sin that cannot be forgiven—blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
Jesus’ words were addressed directly to these teachers of the law. They had blasphemed the Spirit by attributing the power by which Christ did miracles to Satan instead of to the Holy Spirit. This is the unforgivable sin—the deliberate refusal to acknowledge God’s power in Christ. It indicates an irreversible hardness of heart. Deliberate, ongoing rejection of the work of the Holy Spirit is blasphemy because it is rejecting God himself. The religious leaders accused Jesus of blasphemy, but ironically, they were the guilty ones when they looked Jesus in the face and accused him of being possessed by Satan. (LAB)
Friend, it is always best to honor God in all that we say and do. When the Holy Spirit is at work let’s reverently glorify our Lord. If we keep our heart right, perhaps we will keep our words and actions right. Can you say amen?
