There are some Bible teachers who say that no one can commit the unpardonable sin in this age because they believe that the unpardonable sin is only possible in the face of obvious miracles, perhaps miracles like that of the Lord Jesus when He cast out devils and worked miracles, when the Pharisees said, "This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils" (Matt. 12:24). When Jesus, in our text above, spoke about "the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost" which shall never be forgiven, He inferred that these Pharisees committed that sin. And, supposing that it was the outward words which carried the unpardonable sin, the Scofield Reference Bible over Matthew 12:31, 32 gives this heading: "The Unpardonable Sin: Ascribing to Satan the Works of the Spirit."
Then the learned John A. Broadus, in his commentary on Matthew (The American Commentary on the New testament) said:
"The conditions under which this unpardonable sin of blasphemy against the Spirit of God is committed are: (1) That there shall be a work manifestly supernatural, unmistakably the work of God and not of man. (2) That one shall, in determined and malignant opposition, insultingly ascribe to Satan this which he knows to be the work of God. Now are these conditions ever fulfilled, except in an age of miracles?"
Dr. Broadus believed that this is not the age of miracles, and that therefore sinners could not, in this age, commit the unpardonable sin.
In my judgment, he is wrong in supposing that obvious miracles of god never happen in this age; but that is beside the point. I believe that Dr. Broadus erred first in supposing that the unpardonable sin is simply ascribing to Satan that which one knows to be the work of God.
The beloved Dr. R. A. Torrey, to whom I am indebted more than to any other Bible teacher or preacher, believed that men might now, in this or any age, commit the unpardonable sin, but he still defined the unpardonable sin as knowingly, deliberately, ascribing to Satan the works of the Holy Spirit.
But did Jesus refer to the words of the Pharisees when He solemnly warned that they committed the sin that has no forgiveness? Read the passage in Matthew 12:25-37 carefully and see.
That passage starts out,
"And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them..."
What the Pharisees really said was, "This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils." But Jesus did not accuse that these words were the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit which could never be forgiven. Rather, He knew their thoughts and said that the thoughts which were back of their words were the unpardonable sin.
After the warning of the unforgivable sin in verses 31 and 32, Jesus continues saying:
"Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."
To these Pharisees, Jesus said, "O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." So Jesus judged them, not by their wicked words which came out of their mouths, but out of the abundance of wickedness in their hearts. "Jesus knew their thoughts"; that is why He could plainly tell them that they committed the an unpardonable sin.With their mouths they said that Jesus was possessed of the Devil, that Satan's power was on Him, but in their hearts their sin was far worse. They said to themselves--"These miracles are certainly from God. Men, unaided, cannot work these supernatural works. Jesus must be what He claims to be. But I hate Him! I will not trust Him! I will not turn from my sins! I will not accept Him as the Messiah, the Christ, and as my Saviour!" Deeply moved, enlightened, convicted in their hearts, these Pharisees came to this deliberate and final conclusion: they would reject Christ, once and for all, miracles or no miracles, signs or no signs. Even though He gave evidence of being all He claimed to be, they hated Him, despised Him, and that finally. The unpardonable sin was not in their mouths, but in their hearts. Let us sum up what is wrong with this theory, that men cannot now commit the unpardonable sin.
First, men are wrong in supposing that saying something with the mouth is the unpardonable sin. When Jesus warned the Pharisees, it was of the sin in their hearts. The Scripture says, "Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them..." that they should beware of the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. This sin, this blasphemy, is not in word. It is in the heart attitude, the heart decision, the heart rebellion against the cal of the Holy Spirit to accept Christ.
Second, the unpardonable sin is not "ascribing to Satan the works of the Spirit." The Pharisees pretended, outwardly, that the power of Jesus was the power of the Devil. But their sin was deeper than that, more wicked that that.
Remember that before the flood God's Spirit quit calling men and left them alone, doomed and damned. But we have no hint that they ascribed the works of God to Satan.
Third, it is wrong to suppose that miracles must be involved. The Holy Spirit of God deal with sinners about their sins and about the Saviour just the same when the Gospel is preached, whether there be outward miracles and signs or not. When Noah preached before the flood and God's Spirit called and called until one day He quit striving and left men to their doom, they had seen no miracles. The flood had not yet come. As far as we know, during the one hundred and twenty years of Noah's preaching not a single miracle occurred. Nor is there any discussion of miracles in that solemn warning of Hebrews 6:4-6. In Romans, chapter 1, we are told how God gave people up to uncleanness, gave them up to vile affections, gave them over to a reprobate mind (vss. 24, 26, 28). But miracles are not mentioned and had nothing to do with that sin that insulted the wooing Spirit of God and drove Him away.
Any idea that lost men are in danger of committing the unpardonable sin today is a false idea, based on a wrong interpretation of the Scriptures. Some poor sinner this moment, long the object of mercy, long the sought by the Spirit of God, convicted and enlightened, may be turning down Jesus Christ for the last time. Today you, if you are an unconverted sinner, may cross the deadline to the place of no repentance. no forgiveness, no possibility of salvation.
