god – Angels-Aliens

The Unpardonable Sin

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When I was growing up, my mother told me a story that I have never forgotten. From time to time, it comes to mind and gives me pause.

She told me about a young woman she went to high school with, named Carol. Carol was a normal girl in most respects. She was reasonably intelligent, of average height, and didn’t stand out in any particular way, good or bad. This was all true, except for one rather overwhelming thing: Carol was born with a deformity that left her with a very disfigured appearance. Specifically, it caused her face to take the shape of something familiar, yet inhuman.

Carol looked like a horse.

As a result, other children—cruel as they can often be—gave her one of the most dreadful nicknames imaginable: “happy horse.” Fellow students would often make horse sounds and the like when they passed by her in the hallways. Even now, writing of this brings grief to my heart. As the years went on, the abuse hurled at her took its toll. Carol became more despondent, depressed, and anxiety riddled by the day. Ultimately, she could bear the pain no longer.

Shortly after high school, Carol decided that she had seen enough of this world and took her own life.

I mention Carol’s tragic story because, according to many, suicide is the only unpardonable sin. This is never specifically mentioned in Scripture. The thought, I can only surmise, is that suicide is “unforgivable” because the person is no longer here to repent of the sin of taking their life. As Carol’s story shows us, it’s impossible to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes. Not in this way, at least.

Is suicide really unforgivable? Does God make allowances at times, understanding the depths of despair that some people find themselves in? Personally, I do not know. I cannot say and thus, I will not. I am clearly not condoning suicide, nor would I ever suggest that it should be an option. But, again, I do not know the depths of someone’s despair and how God will treat this act under circumstances like Carol’s (and many others).

What I can say is that Jesus specifically mentioned that there is such a thing as an unpardonable sin.[1] I can also say that this horrific transgression is not suicide.

In this article, I will discuss the only sin that is specifically mentioned as being unpardonable.

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The Unpardonable Sin

It’s no mystery that Jesus was often at theological war with the more corrupt Jewish leaders of his day. As Jesus put it to them: “You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men” (Mk. 7:8). This was a day-in, day-out practice.

During one of their more contentious spats, Jesus made a warning unlike any other that he had previously given them; he told them of a sin that leads to certain condemnation and was utterly irreversible. This was the “unpardonable sin:”

“Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven” (Mt. 12:31)

And there it was—all sins and blasphemies will be forgiven except one . . . blasphemy against the Spirit. Note that Jesus did not say that sexual immorality, slander, murder, stealing, suicide, or even murder were unforgivable sins. Rather, it was “blasphemy against the Spirit.” Only this is truly unforgivable. It will send one to everlasting punishment and estrangement from God.

The Pharisees had really pulled on the wrong thread though, even still, they were yet to reach this point themselves. As Elliot’s Commentary rightly recognizes:

“We dare not say, and our Lord does not say it, that the Pharisees had actually committed this sin, but it was towards this that they were drifting.”

They were dangerously approaching the dreaded territory of being beyond forgiveness, but we must now wonder why. What was this abomination of human behavior? What on earth could be that bad?

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Decoding the Mystery

At this point, we already know that “blasphemy against the (Holy) Spirit” is the unpardonable sin. We now need to determine what that really means. If we look at the surrounding context, we see exactly what was at stake.

Just prior to this confrontation, Jesus had healed a demon-possessed man who was both blind and mute (Mt. 12:22). While they should have been astonished at the feat and overjoyed for the man who had been set free, they were instead angry with Jesus (as usual). Not only were they incredulous, but they raised the bar in hurling a most grievous insult at him:

“But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, ‘It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” (12:24).

It is this statement—this ultimate mockery of God’s work—that prompted Jesus to make his powerful declaration that blasphemy against the Spirit is the only unforgivable sin. The truth becomes evident in their statement, as we further examine what really happened here.

The Pharisees had attributed Jesus’ miraculous works not to the Holy Spirit who empowered him, but to none other than Satan. So, the unpardonable sin can be succinctly summarized as attributing the works of God to Satan.

Put another way, it’s the act of calling God “evil.”

Once more, Elliot’s Commentary strikes at the heart of the matter:

“. . . to see a man delivered from the power of Satan unto God, to watch the work of the Spirit of God, and then to ascribe that work to the power of evil, this was to be out of sympathy with goodness and mercy altogether. In such a character there was no opening for repentance, and therefore none for forgiveness. The capacity for goodness in any form was destroyed by this kind of antagonism” (my emphasis).

This leads us to the core issue at hand: the heart that gives rise to such wicked accusations.

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A Heart Problem

As is usually the case with matters of sin and salvation, it is truly the person’s heart condition that either saves or condemns them. Here, we find the same principle at play.

If we investigate the preceding context of this event, we see that Jesus had been performing numerous miracles in succession. Earlier, Jesus had healed a man with a withered hand in a synagogue, in the presence of the religious authorities and his fellow Jews (12:9-14). This event was made far more interesting due to the day all this was occurring: the Sabbath day.

The Sabbath proved to be an extremely contentious issue between Jesus and the religious leaders of the day (I discuss the Sabbath in this article). The short of it is that the religious leaders had made the Sabbath into a day of idleness—and even dread—by laying countless laws on top of the ones God had given them. As a result, even to heal someone from their bondage was an act of sin, as Jesus encountered.

In healing the man born with a withered hand on the Sabbath, the more corrupt Pharisees in the synagogue scoffed at Jesus. As a result, Jesus proposed that doing good was lawful on the Sabbath, pointing out the value of human life and bringing restitution to the sick (12:10-12). Jesus had just given someone a new life in healing his hand, and how did the Pharisees around him respond? They responded not only with indignation but with outfight treachery:

“But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him” (12:14).

Yes—in response to Jesus saving a life, the Pharisees desired to take one. Bear in mind a critical aspect of this: they plotted to kill Jesus on the Sabbath day! While it was “evil” for Jesus to do good on the Sabbath, it was “good” for the Pharisees to do evil on the Sabbath.

Are you seeing the context of this entire issue, and how truly warped their thinking was?

Throughout this entire series of events, it’s clear that the Pharisees’ heart condition was the central issue at work. Their wicked hearts were what caused them to scoff at Jesus for doing good. It’s what made them plot to murder Jesus on the Sabbath, of all days. Most importantly, it’s what led them to say that Jesus was performing miracles with satanic power.

This is precisely why Jesus ultimately responded to them with these words:

“Either assume the tree to be good as well as its fruit good, or assume the tree to be bad as well as its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, express any good things? For the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart. The good person brings out of his good treasure good things; and the evil person brings out of his evil treasure evil things. But I tell you that for every careless word that people speak, they will give an account of it on the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (12:33-37).

The mouth speaks from that which fills the heart. In this, we see that “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit” comes from a truly wicked heart condition, so much to the point that good and evil are being completely reversed. This is also the height of spiritual delusion. It’s just as the prophet Isaiah said in his time:

“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Is. 5:20).

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What About Us?

All this leaves us with some critical questions: How does this apply to us? How could any of us commit the unpardonable sin?

In practical application, this can play out in a multitude of ways. Anytime that God is blamed for the works of Satan, we see this spirit at work. The accusation that “God brings evil upon us” is, in essence, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit; “God is to blame for my woes. God is the culprit for the world’s evils.”

It can also be seen when God is blamed for our sinful failures; “God didn’t help me with my temptations, so I gave in. God caused me to sin.” This, while Scripture clearly declares that it is not in God’s nature to do so, nor does God tempt anyone to sin (Ja. 1:13).

However, we must always remember that such beliefs and words flow from a corrupt heart. It is the heart condition that condemns, as the actions are simply a result of one’s spiritual state.

Such accusations are hardly the things exhibited by those in right standing with God. More than that, they are the accusations offered by those who have a hatred for God in their hearts. As the Pharisees demonstrated, this also involves a hatred of our fellow man.

Any time we rejoice at the sufferings of others or despise the work that God has done in someone’s life, it reveals a truly corrupt heart. When one goes so far as to accuse God of being in league with Satan, or to suggest that God is the Great Purveyor of evil, they have displayed the truly wicked state of their disposition toward the Lord.

Only a truly corrupt heart could lead one to such brazen accusations.

In the end, we must all check ourselves daily, ensuring that no such thoughts are allowed to give birth to sin in our lives. Such things start small but, if we allow them to take root, they can produce the worst kinds of evil; they can even lead us toward the unpardonable sin.

Yes—“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil.”

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Footnotes

[1] This is also sometimes called an “unforgivable sin” or an “eternal sin.”

Love and Wrath (Part Two)

In the previous article, I explained how the Bible describes love. If you have not read part one, then I urge you to start there so that the overall context can be understood for this article.

Perhaps the key thing we learned in part one is that God is love. We are not told that “God is judgment,” “God is mercy,” “God is wrath,” or anything of the sort. It is in God’s character to be merciful, to judge, and to pour out wrath at times, but such things do not literally define His character or essence.

However, we are told that love does; “God is love.”

This means that all God’s actions extend from His loving nature. Again, all God’s actions are done out of love. This simply must be kept in mind when considering the events described in the Bible, as well as how God interacts with His people today.

God either answering a prayer, or seemingly ignoring it, are both done out of love.

God raising a just ruler to lead His people was always done out of love.

God judging Israel throughout the OT was done out of love.

God redeeming the world through Jesus was done out of love.

This probably registers with most of us, but it goes a step farther. Believe it or not, God bringing wrath upon the wicked and unrepentant is also done out of love. Yes, even God’s wrath is connected to His love.

Allow me to explain.

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Examples of Wrath

The Bible is replete with examples of where God pours His wrath out upon wicked humanity.

This first notable time this was seen was in the destruction of the world through the Great Flood. Humanity had become so corrupt that God had no choice but to wipe the slate clean and start over with the few righteous people who remained:

“Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of mankind was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. So the Lord was sorry that He had made mankind on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. Then the Lord said, ‘I will wipe out mankind whom I have created from the face of the land; mankind, and animals as well, and crawling things, and the birds of the sky. For I am sorry that I have made them” (Gen. 6:5-7).

And wipe out the world—all but Noah and his family—God did.

A similar, but more localized, event transpired later with the obscenely corrupt cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. After several times going back and forth, God finally told Abraham that He would spare the city of Sodom if even ten righteous people could be found there (Gen. 18:32). Since the righteous could nowhere be found, God poured His wrath out upon the cities:

“Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord out of heaven, and He overthrew those cities, and all the surrounding area, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground” (Gen. 19:24-25).

Whenever stubborn groups or individuals threatened God’s overall plan to bring salvation to the world, God poured His wrath out on them. This can be seen in Korah’s rebellion, where a particularly dark and unruly sect attempted to overthrow Moses and Aaron’s ministry (and, by extension, God’s plans). God had no choice but to remove the rotten berries from the rest of the patch:

“And as he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open; and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, and all the people who belonged to Korah with all their possessions. So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly” (Num. 16:31-33).

God even poured His wrath out in the New Testament by striking Ananias and Saphirra—two individuals who attempted to cheat the church and then cover up their deed—killing them on the spot (see Acts 5).

While many other examples could be mentioned, we must always remember that God has created hell as the ultimate place of punishment for Satan, the demons, and even unrepentant humanity:

“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you accursed people, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels” (Mt. 25:41).

Hell serves that the ultimate example of God’s wrath being poured out onto the world. As I have discussed in this blog, hell is a place we should not even wish to contemplate, much less be sentenced to. It is certainly true that God’s wrath flows from his hatred for sin and from His righteousness.

However—and as I will now briefly explain—it also flows from God’s tremendous love.

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Wrath from Love

While often missed, it is God’s love that propels Him to take up for His Saints. Just as Revelation provides us with the image of the martyrs crying out to God for justice (Rev. 6:9), we understand that God does and will take up for His people. In fact, it is for this very reason we are told to leave vengeance to the Lord:

“Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Rom. 12:19).

Paul even goes on to further explain how this will work. We are to love our enemies and, in doing so, God will avenge those who love Him:

“But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head” (12:20).

God’s ultimate answer to the persecution of His people is judgment and destruction upon their enemies. God is slow to anger, however, and desires that all truly have a chance to be saved (2 Pet. 3:9). Unfortunately, we know that many will never repent but will continue to do evil. While the wicked will often reap what they sow in this life, we know for certain that they will in the next.

God’s love also means that He will not suffer His good Creation to forever be marred by sin:

“For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now” (Rom. 8:22).

Moreover, this is precisely why God is going to create a new heaven and earth!

Even hell—that is, everlasting punishment and estrangement from God—is a necessary realm, in light of God’s love. Strange as it may be to consider, hell will exist in part as a reminder that God will not tolerate sin and wickedness.

Jesus often—at least 11 times—made reference to a flaming garbage dump that once lay outside of Jerusalem—a place he called “Gehenna”—as an example to all of what will come of the unrighteous.

For the eternity, the real “hell” that he was alluding to will serve as a perpetual reminder that sin will not be tolerated.

Hell will not only serve as a testament to the destructive nature of sin and the incredible righteousness of God, but it will also serve as a testament to God’s love: His defining characteristic.

God loves the saints, the angels, and his soon-to-be restored Creation far too much to allow sin to go unpunished.

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Conclusion

Contrary to the logic of the world—which is foolishness to God—God’s love necessitates that His wrath exists. God punishes the wicked and destroys sin because of His great love for His children: those who follow Him.

Remember, once more, the fundamental reality that God is love. There is no way to divorce any of God’s actions from His very nature. God’s righteousness and hatred for sin is demonstrated in His wrath. However, so is His love. A God who does not punish those who persecute His people is not a loving God at all.

Think about it.

Do you love your children if you do not come to their defense? Do you allow evil within your home at the expense of your loved ones? God doesn’t. Evil is often—though not always—permitted for a time, but “Vengeance is Mine, and retribution, In due time their foot will slip” (Dt. 32:35a).

With all this in mind, I have often heard skeptics make the following statement: “I can’t believe in a god who would send people to hell.” When you understand what Scripture reveals about God’s nature, as well as the nature of evil, then you might just take the opposite view. When I hear people say they “can’t believe in a god who would send people to hell,” I simply reply:

“I can’t believe in a God who doesn’t.”

Praise be to God that we serve a Creator who loves us—and prioritizes us—enough to sacrifice His only begotten Son for our salvation. Likewise, praise be to God that our Creator loves us enough to punish our persecutors.

Finally, praise be to God that Love could never allow sin to remain a permanent fixture of reality.

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Love and Wrath: Part One

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In my time producing literature, videos, and other Christian resources, I have been confronted with many objections.

When I came out hard against the Covid-19 agenda,[1] some told me that I was disgracing the church and that I would have blood on my hands. When I rejected the view that believers die and “go to heaven” as disembodied souls, I was told that I am a “materialist.” When I have spoken against Freemasonry and the rampant Satanism on display in our world, I am frequently told that I’m paranoid or that I am trying to see the worst in things. These are just a couple examples of many that could be mentioned, but there is a point to get to.

Perhaps the most consistent objection I receive—either from alleged believers or nonbelievers—is that my messages are sometimes not loving enough; “You need to worry more about loving people,” I often hear.

Now, a lot of my readers already understand that this is a baseless objection. They understand that I am by no means hateful or unloving, but that I am a realist. I believe in telling the truth and presenting the facts, even if that is uncomfortable for others or even myself.

All this does bring up an interesting question though. With so many people banging the drum of love, do we even know it means from a spiritual perspective? As the artist Haddaway once asked, What is Love?

In part one of this two-part series, I am going to describe what the biblical concept of love truly is. With that in place, we will be equipped (in part two) to understand what God’s wrath is about and how the two are actually connected.

Let’s start with love.

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Understanding Love

Before drawing our own conclusions, it’s always best to allow Scripture to define the terms for us. This will involve looking at passages where the term “love” is used, as well as evaluating the meaning of the original terms being translated.

Scripture plainly states that “God is love” (1 Jn. 4:8b). That is, God perfectly exemplifies and defines what love is. His very character is love, and He displays love in all his actions. His judgment, justice, mercy, redemption and yes, even God’s wrath, are illustrations of His loving nature.

There isn’t a “love part” to God, nor is God’s love seen only in particular actions. All acts of God are acts of love.

1 John 4:7-8 also reveals that one who truly loves is born of God, and those who cannot truly love (like narcissists) are not born of God. Simply put, this means that those lacking in love are indeed children of Satan. Going farther, the next part of the passage reveals something critical to the overall discussion:

“By this the love of God was revealed in us, that God has sent His only Son into the world so that we may live through Him” (4:9).

If we ever wondered what an act of genuine love—divine love—looks like, we understand that it looks like Jesus. God sending his only Son to take upon himself the sins of the world and lay down his life as a propitiation—that is, God took His wrath out on Jesus instead of sinful humanity—is the ultimate act and example of love. Obviously, this is why John also famously wrote:

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life” (Jn. 3:16)

Jesus told us: “Greater love has no one than this, that a person will lay down his life for his friends” (Jn. 15:13). This makes sense, right? God’s ultimate expression of love was to give His Son’s life for the world, and our greatest expression of love would be to give our lives for our friends.

Bear in mind that Jesus said “friends” (philon). That is, “someone dearly loved (prized) in a personal, intimate way; a trusted confidant, held dear in a close bond of personal affection.” He did not say to die for our enemies, though His love is so great that Jesus did that very thing! He died for all (2 Cor. 5:15).

The word for “friend,” used above in John 15:13, leads us to a powerful point and to the meaning of the Greek words themselves. The primary Greek terms that are translated as “love” are agapaó and phileó.

The term agapaó means “to love, wish well to, take pleasure in, long for; denotes the love of reason, esteem.”
Alternatively, the term phileó connotes the “love (of friendship), to regard with affection, to cherish; and to kiss.”

Both, for example, are displayed when Jesus “reinstated” Peter at the end of John’s Gospel (21:15-17). Twice, Jesus asked Peter if he loves (agapaó) him, and Peter consistently replies that he loves (phileó) Jesus. Notice I said twice for Jesus using the word agapaó. This reveals one of the reasons we know the verbiage mattered. You see, Jesus suddenly changed up his line of questioning the third time. Instead of asking Peter if he loves (agapaó) him, Jesus now asks if he loves (phileó) him. This is something akin to Jesus finally asking Peter: Do you even regard me with affection?

Many commentators see no difference between the terms and assert that the clear contrast in the words meant nothing, but I disagree.

Further, such an obvious difference in word placement would have been impossible to miss for early listeners—since most would only have heard, and not read, the NT writings—and would have been just as obvious to later interpreters.

Lastly, we know there is meaning in these terms because Peter, after the third time being questioned, became elypēthē, meaning “deeply grieved” or “excessively sorrowful.”

So, while Jesus was reinstating Peter, Peter’s position toward Jesus was still lacking (at least, at that time). I explain much more about Jesus and Peter’s relationship in this article, for those interested.

The point is, agapaó and phileó are contrasted in Jesus’ interaction with Peter. The word phileó is, by defintion and usage, something of a “lighter” form of love, and agapaó is being used as the deepest form of love.

It is a form of agapaó (ēgapēsen)[2] that is used in John 3:16. Looking deeper into the term, we see an interesting explanation (from Strong’s). agapaó “preeminently refers to what God prefers as He “is love” (1 Jn 4:8,16). We also see it explained in this way: “a discriminating affection which involves choice and selection.”

This makes sense of the passages we have already seen. Agapaó speaks to what is often called “agapé love,” as the two terms are connected. This form of love is a deeply thought out, strongly preferential form of affection toward another person. Put another way, agapé love means to place another as first importance.

Jesus gave his life for the sins of the world because God placed humanity as first importance. As Jesus said in John 15:13, a person who gives their life for a friend is putting that person as first importance. Jesus was asking Peter if he placed his Lord and Rabbi as first importance, a question that caused Peter to leave in disappointment because he had not done so to that point.

Love is to place others as first importance. This is exactly why Scripture consistently reveals that all the commandments—outside of loving God—can be summed up in this one: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself” (Lev. 19:18, Mt. 22:39, Rom. 13:19).

Can we really say that this is what most of us mean when we throw around the term “love”? Not hardly.

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Practical Love

In the previous study, we see the essence of what “love” really means, as the Bible explains things. Love is about prioritizing another above the things of the world or ourselves.

If understood in this way, we can have a better idea of what love is, and also what it is not.

Love is . . .

Warning people about the dire consequences of sin.
Telling the world that there really is a hell and that, apart from giving our lives to Christ, it will become one’s everlasting residence.
Exposing the schemes of Satan and the dark state of the world, in the hopes of leading others to the Light.
Being honest with others about biblical truths, even if that means offending them.
Being kind, humble, and sensitive in calling out sin and error.
Considering others’ needs as being more important than our own, while also understanding that self-care is critical.

Love is not . . .

Making excuses for sinful behavior or pretending that sin is not sin.
Telling someone that hell isn’t real, or that God will not send them there for habitual disobedience.
Ignoring the most important spiritual realities of our time so we can provide theological comfort food to others.
Ridiculing, participating in useless bickering, or berating others because they don’t agree with you.
Giving up on people quickly, out of laziness or because of a simple offense.
Taking endless abuse from someone who does not appreciate you (i.e. becoming a doormat or a punching bag).

For the Christian, these are some of the ways that genuine love plays out. This is how we can practically understand the biblical teachings about the unparalleled and unrivaled term called love.

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Conclusion

Indeed, “love” is often very misunderstood.

Perhaps no word has been more compromised, abused, conflated, and simply taken for granted than love. And still, it is the most important of all words. As Paul said, love is the greatest of all things:

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. . . And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:4-7, 13).

Hopefully, this article has helped you to understand—maybe even for the first time—what Paul was really talking about. If we truly grasp the teachings of Scripture and the character of God, then we see that love is truly the greatest and most powerful force in all reality. It is the very explanation of who God is, how we commune with Him, and who we are called to be.

As I describe in part two, love even explains wrath: the wrath of God.

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[1] This was one of my earliest articles on the matter, and System of the Beast thoroughly revealed the evil scam that was Covid-19.

[2] This is the aorist, active, indicative, 3^rd person singular form of the word. It is past tense to describe that it occurred, but not to suggest that God’s love is not ongoing.