The Unforgivable

I have been a selfish rotten soul for most of my life and it should have been extremely difficult for God to forgive me and accept me with all my tangles and mess. I may be the worst sinner to have ever walked this earth; but I put my trust in the mercy of Jesus’ salvation, His love. Because of the grace of God, I am able to wake up everyday, inhale, exhale and ignore the voices of despair that call out to me ever-so-often. God is infinitely merciful. His mercy is freely available to those who ask for it. It is that simple. Ask and you shall receive…..- Matthew 7:7. But, is there a limit to His mercy? Is there such a sin that is unpardonable by this merciful God? The history of mankind is a labyrinth of immense and diverse sins. There is nothing God has not seen. And I really don’t think there is any undiscovered sin secretly lurking in the shadows of mankind’s misery. Well sure, a lot of us are trying to play God with technology, playing with life and death etc. But, apart from the new toys we use, every generation has attempted to emulate the powers of God, rather unsuccessfully. Well, what about prostitution…is that forgiveable? Yes! How about murder? Yes! And rape? Yes! What about sorcery, witchcraft, evil/black magic, condemning an innocent man to death, coveting another’s spouse, adultery, bearing false witness, the seven deadly?….yes, yes, yes, yes, yes and yes. So all mortal sins are forgivable? Yes. Then I guess there must be no such sin that is not redeemable by the blood of Christ, right? No….you’re wrong there. There is one sin. Are you intrigued now? Even worried that you may have accidentally or unknowingly committed that sin? Oh my, how terrible that would be! Let us take a look at scriptures, the life-breathed Word of God.

“Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.” -Matthew 12:31-32

“Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.” – Mark 3:28-29

“And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him.” – Luke 12:10

So, three out of the four Gospels reiterate and caution believers about this most abhorrent sin. Surely, it is something I would not want to be accused of before the heavenlies! But, really is blasphemy worse than rape and murder! Let’s consider the nature of God here. We must read between the lines to comprehend this. What is this ‘blasphemy against the Spirit’? Blasphemy against the Spirit is actually hardening your heart towards God. A hardened heart repeatedly pays no heed to the voice of God. It repeatedly refuses correction when the Spirit condemns a recurring sin. A hardened heart is not created overnight. God calls out to his people often. His is the voice they refuse to hear, the one they shut inside. He is patient and merciful. If you resist and reject Him constantly, His path, His invitation to righteousness through Him, if you disapprove of His correction, your sin will grow and fester. The nature of sin is such that it desensitizes man in the absence of guilt. You probably started off rationalizing your sin and justifying the need etc. Eventually, the person ceases to see that sin as a bad thing. Remember, sin fascinates before it assassinates. Let me give you a personal example. I can think of few sins I struggled with. Few I overcame…well, I’d like to believe so. 😉 And then, there are those on-going battles. As a woman, gossip seemed rather harmless to me. I felt like I was born with the right to exercise this stereotypical trait that balances my double X chromosomes. Well in reality, nothing drastic happened. The heavens didn’t roar at me in attempt to chastise me. But, once I gave my heart to Jesus, I just began to despise myself every time I indulged in reckless slander. Yes, it was a struggle. It was something I was accustomed to… and pardoned without seeking apologies all through my life – just because it’s regarded as an innate feminine attribute. Nobody ever condemned me for this sin. It’s not even one of the big ten {commandments}. But, it would bother me, unlike before. I tell you this Jesus dude – He likes to disrupt your whole being. I’m not saying I’m perfect. I blurt out impulsive utterances every now and then. But, He won’t let me be happy until I seek remission. You see… my sin bothers me. I am not indifferent to it. I don’t rationalize it anymore. I recognize it as evil/wrong/bad/negative. When your heart is hardened, you are unable to recognize the evil in sin. Whatever’s your poison…. let’s consider you are a prostitute by choice. Maybe you started out because you were in dire need of funds. You despised your existence. You were so bothered that you could not even see yourself in the mirror. Let’s consider you are no longer in a needy situation. But, maybe you moved on to liking the extra cash, tax-free too, eh? You then promised yourself you’ll quit when you make x amount of money. Maybe you are collecting for college/a car/your dream wedding. Then you rationalize by telling yourself that this is where your talent truly lies. You glorify yourself saying it is the oldest profession in the world for a good reason. Slowly, you lose moral culpability. You probably don’t believe in good and evil anymore. It’s just this world spinning around. You paid no heed to the Spirit weeping within your soul. It cautioned you several times before. You rebuked that voice and hardened your heart all-the-more. You will most definitely reject the Spirit altogether eventually. It’s no longer real to you because you cannot hear it. And when you do, you blaspheme against it, rubbishing it as gibberish. Well, now your heart is hardened…that too, only if you’re absolutely incapable of repentance.

Now, let’s consider this : you die in this arrogant state denying God’s existence to pacify and rationalize your sinful deeds. You blasphemed against the Spirit when it attempted to reroute you towards the grace of God. This becomes the unforgivable sin. I have read several theories where preachers and priests explain how a hardened heart can never be forgiven. I respectfully disagree. I’m a nobody. But, the God I serve….I tell you solemnly, I have seen Him pour out mercy in abundance. All you have to do is ask. All He needs is your freewill. There are innumerable citations in the Bible where God has been merciful to the repentance of a hardened heart….the prodigal son, St. Paul, St. Agustine(non Biblical) etc. Let me elaborate on just one. Remember the thief crucified next to Jesus? Well, he would not have been a mere petty thief. To be condemned to a verdict of crucifixion, he would have been quite some thief, right? In his last moments, he repented. All he said was this one sentence, “Jesus, remember me when you enter your kingdom.” Do you know what Jesus did. Did He scorn him for a lifetime of offences? Did Jesus ask him to say the Lord’s prayer a hundred times? Did Jesus tell him to find a priest so he could make a proper confession? Did Jesus ask him to give a sin offering in the synagogue? No! Luke 23:43 tells us, ‘And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”‘ Look at that -absolute remission for a lifetime of sins in a split second! This is the God I know. He sits on the throne of mercy. There is no sin you can commit that the blood of Christ has not already redeemed. All you need to do is accept this divine gift of salvation. God does not coerce anyone. He has given you freewill. You have to make that choice. I believe as long as you have breath, you have hope.

So, wouldn’t it be great to enjoy a lifetime of wickedness and keep contrition for the last moments? There are two ways to look at this. What if you die in an accident and you lose all consciousness without even a second to realize you are departing your mortal state? What if you die as an old man/lady blissfully in your bed, without memory or comprehension skills and the ability to confess? Would you risk your soul? That’s one way to look at it. But, in reality the truth is : once you really tasted God’s love – nothing else quite matches it. Nothing can charge you. Nothing can give you peace, the kind of peace that comes from heaven, the one that Jesus gives…..the kind of peace that you can have even in the midst of a storm. Today, I no longer do these things out of fear. I do it out of love…because I have felt the love of God. No, I’m not romancing in Narnia. God’s love is real to me. I feel it. It is also true I have never heard/seen God. I do not possess the charisms of the Spirit; so I do not hear God’s voice per se. But, I feel Him steering me and hinting at things many times. Like I said, you can reconcile with God and seek redemption out of fear, or it could be out of love. But, I understand very well how difficult it is to love God. It’s like having a one-sided telephonic conversation, like talking to a wall. You need to taste His love first. It has to become real to you, right! We love because He first loved us. – 1John 4:19. Ask, seek, knock. God won’t deny you a taste. Be persistent. Come near to God and He will come near to you. – James 4:8

Going by the logic I have been ranting about, suicide would be unpardonable, right? The misery of human life is incessant. Everyone is hungry for peace or love or acceptance or recognition or actual food. It never ends. The cycle of life, worrying about the next generation all over again, legacy etc. It just never ceases. Suicide seems like a great shortcut to end this misery, right? And even if there were repercussions, that’s one mistake you wont live to regret. But you know what?… it’s also one sin you won’t live to repent. That being said, 1 Samuel 16:7 says, ‘Humans do not see what the LORD sees, for humans see what is visible, but the LORD sees the heart.’ Judgement is God’s right, not ours. My heart goes out to all suicide victims. I’m certain they had their reasons. But to succumb to despair and not trust in God’s ability and grace is the actual sad bit. I have resorted to momentary despondency that lasted more than a smidge at times, but the grace of God preserved me.

Worried? Are there secret unrepented mortal sins lurking in the shadows of your heart? Is there something you have deceitfully camouflaged and got away with easily with no human aware of it, nobody there to condemn you, yet you feel restless and tormented in your soul? Is there a pattern of sin that has become an addiction that you worry about? Well, if your’e anxious about your sin at even some miniscule level, there’s hope for you, my friend. Your restlessness may be the Holy Spirit attempting to reach out to you, to keep you from recklessly pursuing your rotten path and languishing obstinately in sin, from your heart being hardened beyond His softening, from committing the unpardonable sin. Don’t rebuke His voice; harken to His instructions. Fall back, retreat. It may seem like you lost your peace. You may be torn within yourself. It’s just the Holy Spirit trying to carry you home to God’s grace and mercy. Tomorrow may never come. Repent today before it’s too late. Remember all three citations in the Gospel begin with, ‘I promise you that any of the sinful things you say or do can be forgiven, no matter how terrible those things are.’

Never too late to turn back,

Ruelha