Warnings by nature aren't very pleasant. That's a bit of a truism. And scripture is full of warnings. Some of these warnings are simple and they seem less unpleasant to us because they're somewhat general, although helpful. An example would be Proverbs. Chapter 12, 26, that warns, the righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray. But some warnings in scripture are so forceful and sobering, and they deal so plainly with matters of eternal damnation and threats of immediate ruin for the soul, that they come powerfully And they can threaten to take away even the confidence of a Christian well-grounded in Jesus Christ. And the passage that I want to look at this morning is really of the latter kind, clearly. It's a warning in Scripture that has plainly troubled many Christians throughout the ages. It's the warning that is known as the unpardonable sin. So turn, if you would, to Matthew's account of this in chapter 12, because Mark and Luke also write of the same sin, the same warning. But I want to focus on Matthew this morning. The title of this sermon is Unpardonable Speech and Unspeakable Pardon. John Bunyan, we'll get to the text in a moment, but John Bunyan wrote an autobiography. I know some of you have read it and treasure it. It's called Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners. And he documented his early days as a Christian, well, much of his life, but especially those early days and his experiences best summarized by the word tumultuous. He constantly wrestled with a fear that God would not forgive him. a fear even that God could not forgive him. He wrestled with the sense that Christ's death wasn't sufficient to cover the sins that he had committed in particular. And he was greatly concerned that he had done things in particular that were unpardonable, to reference his own word. Our passage today is one of the few passages, along with some in Hebrews, that particularly weighed him down with fear nearly constantly in those early days. So let me quote a memorable portion of this autobiography, where he recounts at least one of these times of doubt. Here are his words. John Bunyan. I found it a hard work now to pray to God, because despair was swallowing me up. I thought I was, as with a tempest, driven away from God. For always, when I cried to God for mercy, this would come in, this thought. Tis too late. I am lost. God hath let me fall, not to my correction, but my condemnation. My sin is unpardonable. And I know, concerning Esau, how, that after he had sold his birthright, he would have received the blessing, but was rejected. Then Bunyan, just shortly after, states, then should I be struck into a very great trembling, insomuch that sometimes I could for whole days together feel my very body as well as my mind to shake and to totter under the sense of this dreadful judgment of God that should fall on those that have sinned that most fearful and unpardonable sin. And that is the dramatic description of the inner turmoil that Bunyan was going through, very characteristic of those early days. He found these warnings of scripture, especially those dealing with the rejection of men and this concept of the unforgivable sin to be like a festering wound that kept opening up and reopening and being a sore oppression on him. Now, for all I know, there might even be some among us now, unknown to me, struggling with the same kind of thought and the same struggles. I don't know. And maybe that's God's purpose in bringing it particularly to my mind to preach and our attention this morning. But before we get to the text, let me try to provoke all of our thoughts in the right direction with another question. Why does God give us such warnings in Scripture? Why are there such grave and sobering warnings that instill even fear in us as true Christians? And I think it could be summarized simply as two reasons, two purposes in these things. One is the condemnation of those that God will reject. And two, for the help of those that God has chosen in His grace. If you're struggling with this passage as a Christian, please consider that if you are sincerely in Christ, I can say confidently it is for your good that God has given you this. And I hope you'll understand it better today as we look at it. So let's look at Matthew chapter 12. The verses that I'm referencing are particularly verse 31 and 32, but I want to read starting in verse 22 for the immediate context, which is very important. Matthew 12, verse 22. Then one was brought to him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute. And he healed him so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. And all the multitudes were amazed and said, could this be the son of David? Now when the Pharisees heard it, they said, this fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons. But Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. And every city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they shall be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house? He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters abroad." And our text. Therefore, I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men. But the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come. Amen. Now before we consider the text, let me say this passage is controversial. The exact interpretation and identification specifically of what the unpardonable sin is that Christ is referencing has been argued by many men, good men even, for ages. There have been attempts to detail the specifics of it, to harmonize it, we could say. Some even less good men have tried to justify it as if they could stand in judgment of whether the passage can truly mean what it says. I didn't choose to preach on this passage because I claim to have some sort of hidden insight that's going to solve the two millennia of discussion about it. I don't. But the real reason I wanted to look at the passage is I was particularly appreciating the incredible promise given in it to Christians, the application to Christians of these things. And I dare say, I think this passage, after meditation, is unmatched in Scripture in its uniqueness and comfort to the Christian soul. Maybe that thought's intriguing, and I hope it is, because we'll get there. But understand that we need to understand the warning better first before we understand the promise in greater detail, before we consider its application to us as Christians, believers. So bear with me as we spend more of our time first on the more sobering side of this text. So my outline is very simple. We'll consider the warning and then the promise. Consider first, the warning. It's given in verses 31 and 32. And let's just reread it to refresh our understanding of it. Therefore, I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men. But the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come. The warning is explicit. There is no forgiveness for something in particular. Something won't be pardoned. And the sin mentioned is plainly called the blasphemy of the spirit. Blasphemy is a transliteration of a Greek word, blasphemos. And the root words there seem to mean, basically, injury by speech. That is, at least we attempt to injure God in particular with our words. And the English term blasphemy has carried mostly that strict religious sense. We use it the same way, to mean hateful, maligning speech about God. Verse 32 of the text explicitly says, whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him. So this passage is clearly focusing us, at least on the externals, on speech sin. In fact, the context later, and if you look at the other passages in Mark and Luke, there seems to be multiple types of speech sins that Christ is discussing. So it's almost a category that Christ is teaching on. The different gospel accounts that I referenced there, they show us different details concerning what Christ was teaching. And they help us to interpret it. Luke, for example, adds an important detail immediately preceding this. And he says that those who deny him before men will be denied before the angels of God. Another speech sin. That is, they will be condemned, sentenced to destruction for denying Christ, at least in its externals, in speech. That's a similarly grave warning. And it points us in the direction of a broader interpretation of what it means to blaspheme the Spirit as well. It can't just be uttering certain words in other words. So we need to be careful how specific we attempt to constrain the definition of what the sin is. J.C. Ryle wisely said, it's far easier to say what the sin is not than what it is in its particulars. But there is much that could be learned from it. Now I want to, I have several sub-points concerning the warning that we'll look at. I want you to consider, one moment. Sorry for the interruption. Is that better? So the first sub-point about this warning, I want you to consider that this warning is about a permanent condition. A permanent condition. Look at verse 32. That specifically says... I think if you turn the amplification down a bit, it seems pretty high to me. Consider that this warning is about a permanent condition. Verse 32 says explicitly, anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him either in this age or in the age to come. Let's put away the idea here that Christ is setting up some sort of idea of men being converted and saved from their sins in heaven or in the new heavens and the new earth. That's not what he's teaching. He's simply saying that the future day of final judgment, when it comes, such a one that commits this sin will still remain eternally condemned. Mark 3 uses that phrase and explains clearer that one is subject to eternal condemnation if they commit this sin. Now I ask, isn't this idea of being permanently fixed in this condition what makes this passage so troubling to so many people, such as Bunyan? It isn't just the idea that men aren't forgiven, per se, but it's the idea that that state can't be changed. It's fixed. It's permanent. And that idea of permanency is so appalling to the sensibilities of some that they try to argue something non-literal in the statement that Christ makes, as if he really isn't talking about every case or permanency. Some have argued, for instance, that what Christ means is someone is merely not likely to be forgiven. But you can't soften the blow of the passage. Christ is explicit. This condition is permanent. It's fixed. And he doesn't provide an exception there. But I think more subtly, more to the point, what troubles most is not just this idea of permanency, but the further added idea that one could sincerely seek forgiveness all they want and yet not obtain it. Isn't that really why so many are disturbed with this passage? The idea that God will deny forgiveness to those who earnestly, sincerely seek it in repentance. That's a bothered bunion, it seems. He was over and over caught up with this idea that Esau sought forgiveness with tears, scripture says, yet was rejected. And a concern that his repentance was reflective and similar to Esau's. Yet, let's be clear, it is unbiblical, the idea that God will deny forgiveness to those who sincerely seek it in repentance and turn to Christ on His terms. It is unbiblical. The text is not teaching that. And it's not because there isn't an idea of permanency in the text, but especially because it's speaking about different persons in a different state than those who do seek forgiveness in Christ. And we'll get to this more in a moment and clarify it. But let me ask on a similar vein, why is the thought that men are permanently fixed in an unpardonable state so troubling to us? When we consider what we know of scripture, Is it not true of many already? If we could know the hearts of men around us and know God's purposes concerning them, we would know that many around us are essentially walking dead men. They know nothing of God's grace, and further, more scarily, God has no intention of ever being gracious to them. He says, I will be gracious on whom I will be gracious. And he says, on whom he will, he hardens. There are many, in other words, that have presumably not committed this unpardonable sin, per se. But they are just as truly and essentially under eternal condemnation as those that are guilty in this passage. Basically, we just don't know who they are yet. Only God knows the hearts of men. But they are in a state where they will never have forgiveness because God has sentenced them to this in His wise purposes, even now. And it's sobering as well to think of these things, but it's no less of a reality than the troubling warning and the reality of this warning that Christ is teaching here. So plainly, if your issue with this text is having to do with this permanency and this implication that men lose the ability to change their state, then Basically, your problem is with biblical theology. It reads that way because it's true. Men do not have the ability to change their state as the unforgiven if they have unchanged hearts and they're in staunch rebellion against God, and He doesn't change that. They are God-haters, as Paul explains, as all of us were at one point, but God intends to leave them so. And I say, that is the state of the majority of people. Why does the path that leads to destruction Christ taught? Many enter it, he says. And this is a sobering and serious warning in our text that troubles many. But it should be no more shocking to us than the desperate condition of the sinful world as it is around us. So consider it's permanent. Now consider, secondly, that this warning is a consistent warning. That is, it's consistent with Scripture as God has revealed himself and his purposes as he's revealed himself in Scripture. And we could spend much time on this. I'll try to be brief. The passage is consistent, for instance, with scriptural promises of forgiveness of sin and mercy, if we confess it, in particular. 1 John 1, 9, very familiar. If we confess our sins, he is, what? Faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Proverbs 28.13, a little less known, says, he who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. So any conclusion from this passage that true repentance and confession of sin will be rejected by God is contrary to the very promises of God that He has given us in Scripture. And for God to go against His promises would amount to injustice in God, which is unspeakable and impossible. For He, as the text we read says, is both faithful and just. Now, the warning in this passage is also consistent with promises of eternal life, even now, that are realized now, in part, for us. And the fact that God preserves His people in that state of life, even now, and preserves us from serious soul-damning sins. Philippians 1.3, Paul addressing the church in Philippi says, I thank my God upon every remembrance of you. And in verse 6, He says concerning the church, being confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. Paul realizes that that which God has started cannot be in vain. And he's confident in this, and he assures the church. Another passage of help on this point is 1 John 3.9. says, whoever has been born of God does not sin, for his seed remains in him, and he cannot sin because he has been born of God. This has no doubt been misinterpreted by many. It's not teaching Christian perfection, for sure. Obviously, Christians continue to commit sins in this life. But John means, if you read the context, that those born of God cannot be living in sin. They cannot be in a state of lawlessness, to use a concept earlier in the passage. They cannot be in a sinful state apart from the lordship and justifying work of Christ. It's an impossibility that one that God has renewed and born again, has been redeemed, could become truly lawless again. So the Bible is teaching in that passage and others this idea of not permanency in condemnation, which is true, but in redemption as well. Now as we move on, this passage is consistent, the warning is consistent also with the idea that forgiveness in Christ is fully capable of satisfying God's justice for the vilest of sins. We can't conclude from the text that there is even one sin, even if it be the one mentioned in the text, that is too great for Christ's atoning blood to satisfy. 2 Corinthians 5.21 says, simply, Christ became sin for us. It doesn't teach most sins, save one. Christ has become sin entirely for us. And as a result, we are declared entirely righteous. And He has become a complete and a full substitution for us. So forgiveness extends entirely to satisfy all sins the Christian could possibly commit. We can't worry that his atonement falls short in any way. If we weren't forgiven for one sin, it would mean we are not forgiven for any sins, brethren. In Christ's atoning death, which covers our sin, a bad analogy would be to say it's not like some small blanket that we have to pull up over our shoulders and our toes start to stick out. That's barely large enough to cover us. Christ's atonement is better to think of like a bottomless pit. in which the heavy weight of our sins is hurled into it, and we can no longer see them or ever imagine to fill it up. And it's along these lines that Psalm 103.10 says that He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy towards those who fear Him. as far as the East is from the West. So far has he removed our iniquities from us. There's no iniquity has not dealt with. In other words, there's no distance that could be thought up in poetic terms to represent just fully or represent fully how completely Christ has separated you from your sins. And we could keep going on this exercise, but scripture is full of such clear indications of the infinite and the whole satisfaction of Christ's atonement for his people that we can't entertain any interpretation of Jesus' words in this unpardonable sin passage that do damage to this doctrine, or we're guilty of misinterpreting it. So if you've fallen into any of these contradictions in your mind, abandon them. For Christ has revealed His whole purpose through Scripture, and these things are all consistent. Now let's consider more concerning the warning, that the warning in the passage is of a sin that is expressly against the Spirit. Seems obvious, but it needs to be discussed in more detail. It reads, the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. And it's put in contrast to blasphemy, words spoken against Christ, who he references himself as the Son of Man, an exalted title. This statement about the Spirit leads us to ask questions. Maybe you've asked them before and never come to any conclusion. They might ask us, what is so significant about the Spirit, in particular, that blasphemy against Him, that person of the Trinity, is so much more worse than blaspheming Christ himself? Is this suggesting, for instance, that Christ is not God? Of course not. Or a lesser God in some sense? Of course not. Does this have something to do with Christ and his incarnate flesh being in a humble form here? Is there some sort of complex explanation like that? I don't think so. Would it also be acceptable to blaspheme God in general other than the Spirit or the Father, but still not the Spirit? Such questions come to our mind. But let me appeal to doctrine that I trust you already know to help correct and steer you in the right direction. God is three persons. The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Spirit is God. Yet all are one God and one essence. They are one essence. They are the same in deity, in glory, and in power. And the Spirit is no more God than Christ, even when we consider Christ as the incarnate God-man. So then, if these things are all true and we believe them as orthodox statements, how can the seeming penalty for this particular sin of blasphemy against the Spirit seem to run so differently? And the answer that many good men have, and I agree with, is that this sin clearly has more to do with the economy of the Trinity than the persons of the Trinity. And that's maybe a new term for you. And what I simply mean is that it has more to do with what the Spirit does, the work that is attributed to the Spirit, what he represents, his role, his function, especially in what we call the economy of salvation and God's work on earth and his kingdom here on earth, rather than just the Spirit's person as one yet distinct from the other persons of the Trinity. So this is in agreement with Calvin, as one example, who says, blasphemy here does not refer merely to the essence of the spirit, but to the grace which he has bestowed on us. That is just to reword it. That is to say, this blasphemy isn't just an attack on the spirit as a person, but upon what he has done, especially the work of grace. So we need to be careful how specific we try to be in limiting the scope of this sin, but the sin spoken of by Christ cannot simply just be words spoken about the Spirit, divorced from all other considerations of what the Spirit has done, and man's heart and motives in response to it especially. Keep in mind that speaking blasphemous words about the Son or the Father or the Spirit, they're all heinous speech sins. And we have in Scripture, scriptural examples that we don't have time to go to, where good men have said awful things about God, even as godly men, and yet have found pardon and grace with the same God they were essentially blaspheming. And Peter and Paul are just some of the most obvious examples to us. Paul in his pre-converted state especially, and Peter even at the point before the cross there that we're familiar with. So the comments in Luke about denying Christ, the proper reasoning of all the truth that God has revealed to us in Scripture, all these doctrinal truths that we hold to be correct. And the context concerning the Pharisees earlier, they all point us towards the conclusion that this is not simply words spoken about the spirit, but it is a deeper sin involving the operations of the spirit, and especially men especially, I think, the light and the understanding of the work of the Spirit, and man's heart response to those things, and man's involvement and response in the obvious light of the kingdom of God at work among men that's attributed to the Spirit. So this is a particular warning about a particular sin concerning the Spirit. But we've looked at it being a permanent condition, it's consistent with Scripture, and it's against the Spirit. So now consider, fourthly and lastly about this warning, that this warning is primarily about the ungodly. It's about the ungodly. It's not to say it isn't for our use or edification, but it is about and concerning the ungodly. Verse 31 begins with the words in the New King James, therefore I say to you, or wherefore. I prefer therefore, because you can say the helpful reminder, why is therefore therefore? It works better. But the word therefore triggers us to the context. There's a context here about a demon-possessed man earlier, and it motivates this warning. And consider in Mark 3, if we were to turn there, it explicitly tells us in verse 30 of that chapter that Christ uttered this warning because they said He has an unclean spirit. It links the two very clearly for us. So there's no doubt that the warning was given in response to the Pharisees and their unbelief, recorded earlier, and their hatred of the belief of the crowds concerning what they were seeing. Look at the statement, if you didn't notice that, in verse 20. Yeah, verse 23, we'll read. And all the multitudes were amazed and said, could this be the son of David? Multitudes, many, seeming very convinced by what they were seeing. What did the Pharisees respond, or how did they respond? Now, when the Pharisees heard it, what did they hear? They heard the crowds saying these things. They said, that was their motive. They said, this fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons. gross sin being committed here, and it's easy to pass over it and think it's just simply words being uttered, but there is much going on in their hearts in those moments. It seems likely here that Christ, in this warning, was particularly condemning the Pharisees in this statement they made. He was explaining, in other words, that they, this is likely, good men like Sproul are a little more hesitant to go this far. But I think it's clear, and most commentators agree, that Christ is basically commenting, suggesting they had been the ones to commit the sin. Sproul, for instance, says maybe it's better to say they came very close to committing this sin, but I don't think it squares with much of what is being said here in the context. Many Christians, however, At this point, as we read this, take this warning as a personal warning, as if Christ is suggesting to them that there is a sin that Christians can step into that is so bad, that has eternal damnation as its consequence, that it will erase all hope for them. That's how some Christians interpret this. They interpret it basically moralistically. that perhaps our response should be then to that thought that we should put all of our effort into avoiding this sin. If it's so bad, shouldn't this be our primary focus at the highest part of our list of what to avoid? But I ask you, is that why Christ is providing this warning to his disciples? Is he really warning them that they could lose their salvation if they're not careful enough? Of course, they do need to guard their hearts. But I think the clear motive for giving this warning is rather to point to the wicked, unbelieving world as seen and represented in this incident by the Pharisees in their unbelief, and show as true disciples what wicked unbelief looks like, and to explain the grave and eternal consequences of those in that fatal condition. It's a commentary, in other words, more large picture, in a larger picture sense, of the dynamic of Satan's kingdom and God's kingdom at war in the midst of that scene. Christ is drawing a line between those who are forgiven and those who are lost as evidenced by serious speech sins. and sins evidencing their heart disposition to the work of God's kingdom in their midst that they likely were convinced of and yet hated. So understand that the warning, I say, is primarily about the ungodly here. It's a condemnation of the Pharisees and their unbelief and all that would likewise align with them and those earlier than them in this hatred of God's kingdom. And it was intended, it was pointed out here, to be a help to Christ's disciples, to witness and understand the eternal significance of fatal unbelief in the souls of wicked men here. I believe it's given to us primarily to see this eternal significance of unbelief and to contrast it with the eternal promise of forgiveness of sins for us as Christians. This all has to do with Christ's kingdom, but before we move on... consider again the context of Christ's kingdom here, that throughout the New Testament, it is the Spirit that is attributed with the special work of ushering in and establishing and maintaining Christ's kingdom on this earth. It's the Spirit that's responsible for revealing and working in the hearts of men this light to bring about sincere faith and to essentially enroll them in the ranks of the spiritual kingdom. So let's consider how Christ speaks of the Spirit and His role in the Kingdom of God here, in contrast to the ungodly, before we move on to the promise. Because this is how we should be thinking. And I direct you just to the context of Matthew 12, we'll read verse 25. in a few verses. But Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. And every city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And I pause you for a moment. He's calling their attention to Satan's kingdom in their midst. 27, he says, and if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they shall be your judges. And in verse 28, but if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Christ is explaining. It is the Spirit of God that has cast out these demons. And that is a valid and clear evidence that the kingdom of God is at work in your midst. So before the Pharisees, in front of them was this striking and obvious evidence of who was at work. And the crowds, even some of the unbelieving crowds, perhaps, were still believing what they were seeing to be a work of God, it seems. And yet the Pharisees fought it and resisted and tried to pervert the minds of the crowds to not believe these things. Do you see what's going on here? They're striking at the obvious evidence of the Spirit of God at work. Now, I want to look at one more passage. I believe we have time. And it's in Acts chapter 7. Let's return to Acts chapter 7. Just for time's sake, we'll at least summarize a bit of the context. I trust you are at least familiar with the account as a whole. Chapter 7 of Acts documents the address that Stephen makes to the crowd that would soon kill him. And in this mini sermon, he skillfully summarizes God's work in Abraham and Jacob and his 12 sons and Moses and Joshua and David and finally Solomon as we come to the text I want to read. And he explains, basically, that God does not dwell in temples made with hands. Look at verse 47, Acts 7, verse 47. But Solomon built him a house. However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands. As the prophet says, heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool. What house will you build for me, says the Lord? Or what is the place of my rest? Has my hand not made all these things? So he's convincing them that even in Solomon's day, that God was spirit then and was not confinable to one location, as Solomon evidenced in his prayer at the dedication. But moving on, in that context, Stephen condemns the crowds. And this is where they turn on him, clearly. You stiff-necked and uncircumcised and hardened ears. You always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it." Stephen is showing great light in his understanding of all of God's works in Israel's history, from Abraham to the present day, coming to this great point of Christ on earth. And he's explaining that God doesn't dwell in a house, and yet he has been at work in all these places. And he characterizes their sin in times past as a sin against, or basically as resisting the Holy Spirit, resisting that work of God, that establishment of his kingdom, yes, instrumentally through Israel in those times, but through believing Israel. And he's arguing that God is spirit, and God has been dwelling with his people through history and revealing himself through the spirit, through the prophets, the instrument of the prophets. And so he condemns the crowd, and ultimately Israel as a whole, for the repeated rejection of the Holy Spirit. You see the significance of that statement for all of, basically, biblical history. He's teaching us how to think. And it's possible that Stephen is essentially accusing them of, at least we could say, maybe of the same type of sin that Christ is warning of in Matthew. That is a rejection and a hatred of the Holy Spirit. And it might be too far to say that all of Israel in all these times of rejection were necessarily guilty of the blasphemy of the Spirit in particular, but they clearly hated and resisted the Spirit of God always in every generation, Stephen is teaching. So fatal unbelief rages not just against God through malicious, blasphemous words. It rages against the knowledge and the revelation of God through his word and his prophets and scripture as we have it. So the Pharisees weren't some ignorant men with some degree of true zeal for God that was misplaced. They were seeing the clear witness of the goodness and the power of God before them, and actively rejecting the very light that had been shown into their souls, it seems, in those moments. Not just rejecting Christ, but rejecting the very work of God on earth before them. They hated the Kingdom of God, in other words. And Christ is proclaiming, then you shall not be part of it. There's no forgiveness for sin for those that are excluded, that malign such a clear working of the spirit upon their own souls in this case. Now, we have to make the very important caution that there are many Christians that fear they have blasphemed the Holy Spirit in their former or perhaps even current unholy and unrighteous thoughts But a sensitivity to sin, a sensitivity to our need for confession and sincere seeking of that, an awareness of the goodness, the desirability of the kingdom of God is a sure sign that such ones haven't committed this sin. This is a warning about the ungodly that know nothing of a desire for the kingdom of God and never will truly. Those who react to the knowledge of it being worked out in front of them with nothing but hatred and evil unbelief, and they persist in that to their own destruction. Christians truly can't commit this sin if they are in Christ. And there are many easy evidences to show that they haven't. It shouldn't be a sticking point for us if they have desires for holiness and confession and love God's church and all such things we could list. Take comfort that you haven't committed this. Now, that's all time will allow us to do to consider the warning. I hope you're convinced it warns of a permanent condition, a condition that is consistent with God's goodness and mercy and promises, a condition that's pertaining to the ungodly, not Christians, in the ungodly's wicked response to the work of the Holy Spirit. And it cannot apply to those in Christ with the sensitive hearts and proper desires that come with that work of the Spirit. So let's consider now the far more pleasant aspects of this text, the promise that Christ gives here. Secondly, the promise. In the context of this warning, Christ gives this promise, and he's speaking about the ungodly, but he seems to be directing this teaching especially to the disciples. And so many have been awestruck as they read this passage with the warning and the sobering, scary nature of the warning that they breeze over the statement that precedes all these, but he shall not statements. Christ says in verse 31, therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men. But, and he gives a statement in verse 32, anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. And then he provides the but statement that follows it. These are great and should be comforting promises to us. You have to stop and you have to meditate on them in the context to appreciate them fully, though. And I hope we can do that here in the brief time that remains. So consider first about this promise that it is given in the context of the kingdom of God here. The warning is primarily directed towards those who are outside Christ's kingdom, but this statement of promise is directed towards those who are inside Christ's kingdom, Christians. He's drawing this line. There are those who have no forgiveness, and there are those who do have forgiveness. There are those who are eternally condemned, and there are those who are eternally blessed. And this promise, I said, was unlike any promise we have in Scripture because of the graciousness and the scope and the certainty Christ gives us in it because it's being illustrated in contrast with the wicked example of the spirit-hating kingdom of God, or darkness, rather, in contrast to the kingdom of God. The very fact that it's contrasted with this unpardonable sin is what makes the promise shine so brightly. It's like an artist shows brightness through stark contrast with darkness. So we can see the brightness and the wonder of Christ's mercy to us in contrast to the darkness of those he withholds it from. There's also a point of similarity in the comparison, which is subtle but very important. Let me put this as simply as I can. There's a lot in common between the blasphemy of the Son of Man and the blasphemy of the Spirit. And we want to think of these as completely separated and far apart, but I don't think Christ intends to do so. There is something evil and malicious in the blasphemy that Christians can commit that is alike in many ways to that of the wicked world being warned here of no forgiveness. But yet, because it does not contain this aspect of spirit hatred, those in Christ are even forgiven of that great heinous sin. It's part of the comfort and the wonder of this passage, that Christ would forgive even the most wretched of sins that comes as close as possible to that of the God-hating world who God has no intention of delivering and saving, that has committed this unpardonable sin. So can you understand the subtlety and see how it should bring greater comfort here? So, second, consider that this promise is inconceivably gracious. Verse 31, Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven them. Christ is assuring his disciples that every sin will be forgiven. This isn't just an exception, as if Christ is actively forgiving men's sins up until they get to this one, and then this remains the one, and they've stepped into it, and so the forgiveness is all undone. No. There are two classes of people. There are those that have every one of their sins forgiven, and those that have none of their sins forgiven eternally. And for the Christian, we can take comfort that every sin is forgiven. And what makes this verse so comforting is, and listen carefully, how broadly Christ opens the net and stresses how gracious and how large His forgiveness is. It catches even the most wicked of sins, blaspheming the Savior Himself. So how many Christians have wrestled with the remembrance of some serious sins in their life, committed either before they were Christians or committed, and even more likely to cause them grief, committed while they were Christians? How many true Christians with sincere faith have been sunk into despair and depression as Bunyan was, with the thought that there was some specific sin that Christ was not willing to pardon for them? How many of us have at least understood with head knowledge this concept that Christ promises to forgive every sin, but in the practice of Christian experience, we've wavered and doubted to the point of despair, not fully accepting and fully leaning upon this promise that Christ gives us. And there are, no doubt, many sins. Even here in our midst, we could cite that we could say trouble us, that we'd be ashamed to be publicly known. We have perhaps committed verbal blasphemies. We've perhaps had very wicked thoughts we've kept to ourselves of God himself, thinking perhaps that he's not good or gracious or that his purposes are evil. And we have, no doubt, committed presumptuous sins of hatred, and lying, and lust, and stealing. Some Christians are in jail for such sins. And we may have ruined relationships. We've caused divorces. We may have committed literal adulteries. There are Christians, perhaps in prison again, that have committed murders. There are Christians that have had abortions. There are Christians that have denied Christ before men like Peter at the smallest threat of embarrassment in social situations. There are Christians, maybe in our midst, that have said even this week great and wicked things in bitterness and unjust anger to our spouses or our children, perhaps about God himself. And these are the types of things that weigh upon our hearts, that bring despair like no other sins to a sensitive soul. And yet, for all these things, and all their heinousness and wickedness, and all of its deserving to cast us into hell forever, yet Christ fully opens the net of His pardon here, triumphing over the greatest of our sins and forgiving us. Are you, in your experience, doubting Christ's Word that says to you here in this passage, every sin and even blasphemy against the Son of Man will be forgiven then? Do you doubt that even this blasphemy of Christ, this speaking against the Son of God will be forgiven by Him? Is it possible that you doubt Christ's Word here? Is your sin greater than Peter's, I ask? who's standing, it seems, at some point within eyesight of Christ himself, yet in vulgarities and lies and swearing he had nothing to do with his Savior. And yet when he went again to the risen Christ, what did he find? He found him to be compassionate and forgiving. Is your sin of a different type than David, who committed adultery, who killed the woman's husband, who stood then defiant and rebellious against God for some time? It might have been a long time. And yet, in repentance and confession, went to God and worshipped God and could sing rejoicing in Psalm 51, a broken and a contrite heart. These, O God, you will not despise. That confidence of God's acceptance. Sincere Christians don't commit the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. They don't. So if you are trusting in Christ, I ask, what is that sin that stands between you and a stronger sense of the pardon and grace of Christ that has forgiven you? Is there a greater example in Scripture that Christ could lay at your feet than to say that you can blaspheme His very dear name? and speak hateful and bitter words against the Son of God's love, the Redeemer of your soul, and yet there is pardon and forgiveness assured to you if you come to Him in repentance and faith. I tell you, you ought to worry less about being in some minefield of unpardonable sins like Bunyan, and you ought to glory more in the Savior that has saved you. You ought to glory that his pardon is incomprehensible and unspeakable. And so the application of this text to us as true Christians struggling, perhaps, in the assurance of the pardon of Christ is simply, look to Christ in faith. Sink your whole confidence in him. Take him at his word that he will forgive you. Confess your sins to him. Trust him in his forgiveness. Pray also that God would preserve you from serious sins. We ought not to take them lightly, but pray as David did in Psalm 51 after his great sin. Do not take your Holy Spirit from me, in verse 11. And restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me by your generous spirit. That is how the heart of a sincere Christian thinks of the Spirit in response to his own sin. Now thirdly, and the shortest point yet, is consider about this promise that it is graciously open. It's graciously open. And verse 32 in particular begins, anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. Anyone or whosoever in the KGB. If you've been focusing on this passage incorrectly and you missed the point of the promise given there, let me point it out. There is a promise that whosoever is in one group will be forgiven. It's very open. Those who come to Christ confessing their sins cannot possibly be those that are excluded from this promise. It's so graciously open to all who hear it. Just as Christ promises full forgiveness to those who are His, He promises full forgiveness and acceptance to all that come to Him. It doesn't matter if men have lived a bitter life of hatred to God and and blasphemies, even of the Son of God Himself. For that matter, it doesn't matter if they think they have committed the sin of blasphemy against the Spirit. Come to Christ and you'll know you haven't. You'll find forgiveness in Him. There is no sin that will not be forgiven for those whom Christ has effectually called. And there is also no sin that will prevent those He has effectually called from coming to Him. If men are guilty of this blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, they simply will never come to Christ. So it's this very call of Christ, this bidding us to come to Him and find forgiveness for every sin that echoes in our hearts that Christ has changed them. Those that are His hear His voice and they come to Him, Christ assured us. And they may know sincerely that they are in that former group of those that Christ has saved and has forgiven all their sins. He has saved them from eternal condemnation. He will declare on God's great judgment day that they are justified in Him of all. So if you're hearing these words and you are not in Christ, I ask, why aren't you? He calls you, He promises a blessing that is beyond words. He warns you of a fate of those that stubbornly stand against His kingdom. Take your stand. Will it be in His kingdom of grace and unspeakable pardon? Or will it be out of it? An unforgivable, eternal condemnation with the wicked world that hates the light and the grace that He offers you in Scripture, even today in this passage. So like Joshua, as we read earlier, let us all say, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Let me close now with a brief quote from William Guthrie. And really, it's a beautiful work called The Christian's Great Interest. And it deals much with this topic if you're struggling with it. If you would be above the reach of that sin and secure against it forever, then go work up your heart to approve of salvation by Christ Jesus and so close with God in Him, acquiescing in Him as the sufficient ransom and rest, as we have been pressing before, and yield to Him to be saved in His way Do this in good earnest, and you shall forever be put out of the reach of that awful thing where with Satan doth affright so many poor seekers of God. Amen.