2004-03-23 - Two Sins

John 3:36, "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

You might think me a heretic, but I am going to suggest that there are two sins that are unpardonable. Traditionally Christians speak about the unpardonable sin, namely, the sin against the Holy Ghost. We find this mentioned in Matthew 12:31, "Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven." Based on this verse, and others like it, we speak of the unpardonable sin.

Today I would like to suggest that there is another sin that is unpardonable. That sin is the sin of unbelief. If "he who believes in the Son has eternal life," then the negative of the positive is that, "he who does not believe in the Son does not have eternal life." We see this again in 1 John 5:12, "He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life." If we proceed and enter our graves with unbelief in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we have committed a sin that will not be pardoned.

Unbelief is a sin that leads to damnation. It is a sin that Christ never died for. We are all without excuse. If you read these devotionals or have access to them, then you have access to the gospel and "I didn't know" will not be an excuse that leads to salvation. There remains and always will remain, a debate about just what the sin against the Holy Spirit is, but there is no debate about this sin. Christ never died for those who live and die in unbelief. Mention any great sin you can ponder: murder, drunkenness, stealing, infidelity, deception, or any other, and there are those who have found forgiveness for that sin. However, no one has ever found forgiveness for the sin of unbelief.

We can go to church, attend Bible study, go to prayer meetings, even seek to win others for Christ, and yet still be those who lack belief and faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ. Look at the example left for us in Judas, or Esau in the Scriptures. It is not the quantity of what we do that saves us, but rather it is the quality of Who we believe. We can sit under the most wonderful preaching of God's Holy Word and remain unmoved, uncalled, and unsaved.

Let us be careful to assure ourselves that we do not suffer from the sin of unbelief. Unbelief has many colors, it is like a chameleon and it changes colors so that we might not find it out. The chief work of satan is to fool us into thinking that things are well when they are not. Let us be careful that we are not fooled in this area.

Soli Deo Gloria,
T-

tim@cfdevotionals.org
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