Anything is forgivable except . . .

Jesus spoke of a sin that could not be forgiven. Theologians debate the identity of this sin, maybe because the simple answer is too simple? It can be found in this passage:

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” (John 3:17–21)

Those who refuse the Son of God after being given all they need to know about who He is and His offer of salvation are unforgivable — unless of course their minds are changed and they decide light is better than darkness. God will forgive their unbelief as soon as it is confessed as sin, but while it remains, their sin of unbelief in the face of knowing the truth is unforgivable.

Tozer says that anyone concerned about having committed the unpardonable sin may be sure he or she has not! Consider the opposite, those Pharisees who believed themselves to be righteous. They felt no need for repentance, no sorrow for sin, no guilt for unbelief. They had seen Jesus in action doing what only God can do and still said NO. They were in a state of unforgiveness.

My prayer list has many names of those who do not believe in Jesus. Some of them seem clueless about sin and their need for salvation. Some know the Gospel but insist, “don’t need that.” Not everyone is at the same place, but what can God do with people who know He exists, know that they are sinful, know that Jesus offers salvation, yet they refuse to accept it? they love darkness and are in that place of rejecting the Lord. They might change their minds if certain things happen to persuade them, but only God knows what that would require.

I’m convinced that salvation by grace happens when people hear the Gospel and are granted faith to believe it because the Spirit of God puts in them His new life. This happens in an instant and is totally a work of God. No one earns or deserves it. Grace is freely bestowed, and how God does it and even who He chooses to bless with it is a mystery. None of us deserve it and all of us are oblivious to our need until He opens our eyes. To me, it is also a mystery why anyone would say NO to God’s grace.

This means two practical things. One is to pray to God for people by name. Only He can give them new life. Prayer is part of the battle for that to happen.

The other is to share the gospel whenever I can — because faith comes by hearing. That new life is a gift received through hearing God speak. He might use the mouths or pens of His servants. He can also use the whispers of the Holy Spirit. Whatever He uses, those who love their sin and plug their ears are already condemned.

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Lord Jesus, because of Your great grace, You forgive all sin, except that sin of rejecting this good news, of saying no to the gift. Yet also, because of Your great grace, You are able to overcome all resistance and bring sinners to the foot of the Cross and out of that dangerous place. You are amazing!

Is there a ‘worst’ sin?

God does not think the same way I think. In my mind, the people responsible for bombs and destruction of young lives will suffer the very worst condemnation because that is such a horrible sin. But that is not what His Word says.

The big picture is that everyone sins because we are all sinners. Sin is going our own way, which can lead us to simple ignore God or far worse. Either way, sin is sin and not measured like we measure it.

However, John 3:16 is wonderful. It says God loves us so much that He sent His Son into the world so our sin could be forgiven and we could receive eternal life. Yet even this well-known verse has a caveat: God’s holy nature cannot tolerate sin and merely save sinners. Something must change — our attitude toward Him and toward sin. This pivotal point is about who we trust, not about sinning less and less.

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:17–18)

“The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” (John 3:35–36)

Today’s devotional from Donald Fortner is strong. He says that the greatest sin in all the world is the sin of unbelief. I agree. The Bible is clear that God can and will forgive any sin, even the worst we can do or imagine, but not that one. Since our salvation is based on believing in the Son, there is no salvation for those who refuse to do so.

Fortner says that unbelief makes God a liar. Unbelief says the gospel is a lie. Those who do not believe it have determined that the Son of God is not worthy of their trust. Unbelief exposes a prideful distain of God. It says, “I will do as I please. I will be religious (or not) as I please. I do not need Jesus.”

Here is where faith in Christ slams against my natural inclination. I assume horrid sins ought to fall under the wrath of God more than other sin, and normal people caught in the blast of horrid sin do not seem to fit in the same category. Human judgment assumes that those who do the unthinkable evils in this world are worse sinners than those who simply go about their lives without God.

However, this is not what Jesus said. Again, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God . . . Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

My eternal destiny is not about my sins of word and deed because they can be (and are) forgiven. It is decided on the basis of faith, on the basis of what I do with Jesus Christ.

The stock response is: “But what about those who have never heard of Jesus?” My response is: God knows the human heart. If a sinner acknowledges their sin and their need of salvation, God is perfectly able to reveal to that person whatever they need to know and believe. Evangelism is important, but it is also useless without the work of the Holy Spirit. In other words, God is not limited; He can save whoever calls out to Him.

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Jesus, my desire for justice so easily overrides Your desire for faith. I know that folks who go deep into sin are abhorrent to You, but also realize that those who merrily go their way without giving You a thought are in grave danger as well. No matter if I rate sins on a scale — unbelief is the universal sin. Give me a broken heart for the lost, whoever they are, but also the ability to hope. Help me to speak up when I must, but to trust You — I cannot open hard hearts. Also, keep me aware that without You, we are all under the same condemnation, but with Your grace, whosoever will may come and receive the gift of everlasting life.

Little sins and a limitless Savior

Numbers 11:1–12:16

John 18:1–24

Psalm 11:1–12:8

Traditional quilts are made up of many small pieces, which means many seams. The seam allowance is ¼ inch. If each seam is a tiny bit off, the quilt will not fit together. In fact, I discovered today that if the weight of thread changes, even if the seam allowance stays at ¼ inch, then the sewn together pieces will also change in size and not fit together properly. Hold that thought . . .

In the journey in the wilderness, the people of God complained a lot. They complained about their misfortunes and the Lord heard it and became angry. He sent fire and burned some outlying parts of the camp. The people cried out to Moses, he prayed, and the fire died down. (Numbers 11:1–2)

A few verses later, the rabble among them craved meat, and soon the people were crying about no meat to eat. They lamented over the fish they ate in Egypt, the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic, and expressed their displeasure with the manna God gave them where they were. Moses heard them, and so did God. He was angry with their attitude. (Numbers 11:4-6, 10)

His solution? He gave them meat and said, “You shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected the Lord who is among you and have wept before him, saying, ‘Why did we come out of Egypt?’” (Numbers 11:19–20)

It worked, but the people were never happy. They complained about Moses, they complained when God divided this godly man’s load among others. Even his brother Aaron and sister Miriam complained. God called Moses “my servant” and said to them, “. . . He is faithful in all my house. With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”

The Lord was angry and departed, removing the cloud from over the tent, and Aaron turned toward Miriam, and she was leprous. (Numbers 12:7–10) She was then shut outside the camp seven days, and the people did not set out on the march till Miriam was brought in again. (Numbers 12:15)

The people grumbled. Aaron and Miriam grumbled. And God’s people were not moving forward because of this sin. One sin or many, it didn’t matter. Sin kept them from setting out until the sin was punished. One stitch too wide, one thread too big?

In the NT, we know that Jesus died for our sin. We are forgiven. No fire, no getting what we complain for until we hate it, no leprosy, but does the sin of one person (or many people) still hold back the advancement of the people of God?

Do the “rabble” among us who like to complain still have the potential to drag us all into a grumbling spirit? Do we complain that we don’t have the “good stuff” we used to enjoy when in the bondage of sin? Do we still reject the Lord by wishing we were back there? Do the small sins of each of us mean that the entire Body of Christ will not fit together properly? Just asking, just asking.

The second reading brings us to Jesus in the garden before His arrest. The soldiers arrive, and I’ve been told that a legion was at least 600 of them. “Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, ‘Whom do you seek?’” He knew, but He asked and they answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.”

“Jesus said to them, ‘I am he.’ Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, ‘I am he,’ they drew back and fell to the ground.” (John 18:4–6)

The Jews in this group would know that Jesus was saying “I AM” (the ‘he’ is not in the original), which was what the LORD said to Moses at the burning bush when Moses asked for His name. The Roman soldiers would not know that, yet they fell on the ground anyway — at the name, the amazing name, of God Almighty. His name has power. What’s with Judas betraying this man who claimed to be God? Judas didn’t like serving Jesus, so he sold his soul and Satan took charge of him. I wonder what Judas complained about? Cucumbers and melons?

The last reading asks a different question, this time a big broad one: “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3)

What is my foundation? Who is my God? People often say that the OT God is violent, but the NT God is loving. I don’t see two different gods. The Bible says He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. What I do see is that “The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man. The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.” (Psalm 11:4–5)

Yes, God shows mercy on some and not on others. I cannot figure out all of it, but I do know that all sin deserves wrath, whether it is the sin of rejecting God’s care for me because I’ve no onions to eat, or grumbling about those God puts in authority over me, or being a whiner who says ‘I don’t like it’ without any real reasons. Do I know the consequences of even those “little sins” as well as I know the results of sewing the wrong size seam, or using the wrong size thread?

The amazing thing is that all my foolishness is forgiven in Christ. The only sin that God will not forgive is the sin of rejecting the One He sent to mercifully forgive all those other sins.