The Unpardonable Sin (Part 4)

For the past three weeks I have been trying to share my thoughts on the subject of the “Unpardonable Sin.” Next week I hope to conclude this work with the posting of (Part 5). It is my continued desire that these words will give comfort, and inspiration, to those who have chosen to separate themselves from their brethren. It is my true belief that they are not lost to us forever!

The Resurrection of the Saints

If there is a single point I want to make to you it is this: I believe that no one who experiences true repentance, true conversion, true baptism, and is truly begotten of the Spirit will ever be rejected by God! I sincerely believe that the promise of salvation is the wonderful and freely-given gift of God and I cannot believe He would ever allow the begettal by his Spirit of anyone whom He would later reject as one of His children.

On the other hand, I do believe that those who have been begotten of God (in this lifetime) will be given the opportunity (after their resurrection) to either accept or reject God’s gift of salvation. This potential rejection of the Spirit “at that time” is what I have come to accept as the only sin which cannot be forgiven! It is my belief that rejection of the Spirit is by definition “The Unpardonable Sin”!

We have already determined that whereas salvation is an unmerited gift, there is also the promise of a reward for good works. Those who truly understand the message Jesus brought to this Earth (i.e. “the Good News of the soon-coming Kingdom of God”) they wait in anticipation for that Kingdom with the certain hope of a position of responsibility during the millennial reign of Jesus and his brethren. The position of authority the individual child of God may or may not be given in the Kingdom will depend on the value of the works and development of character of that individual during this lifetime.

It is unfortunate, but it is also a fact of biblical truth: those who (for whatever reason) “fall away” and fail to return to God and His “church” will lose any chance of reward during the coming Millennium! When I think back to the deacons mentioned earlier; no one in the Church had any doubt whatsoever that they, of all others in the congregation, would one day assume positions of great honor and responsibility in the Kingdom. If they have indeed fallen away and have remained unrepentant, then the rewards they had earned for themselves will have been lost: “…but they themselves shall be saved…”

When they rise up in the resurrection and realize what they have forfeited by not being able to “endure unto the end,” I fear their immediate reaction will be one of devastation! If I remember rightly their true worth and strength of character (and I’m sure I do) then I must believe they will quickly overcome their disappointment and will work twice as hard from that time on. Within the scope of everlasting life, the first thousand years will pass for them like the blink of an eye -- their destiny as the children of God throughout what remains of eternity will beckon them on towards perfection!

There are others many of us have known in the Church who will not be nearly so understanding. Whether they were ministers, elders, deacons or lay-members, there are those whose opinion of their own worth, or of the position they effected in the Church, was so lofty that anything less than rulership in the Kingdom would be seen as an insult. For them to accept that they had followed wrong doctrine or had preached a false gospel may be too terrible for them to even consider!

For them to be rejected from all positions of authority during the Millennium may be more than they would willingly endure. Eternal life that must begin with 1,000 years of menial servitude may be seen by them to be totally unacceptable. In these circumstances, it is conceivable that some would rather embrace eternal oblivion than accept what they perceive to be a deep and abiding personal shame. For such individuals, rejection of (or refusal to accept) the life-giving power of the Spirit of God may be seen as their most desirable option -- rejection of the Spirit would be the ultimate, and the unpardonable sin!

The Rite of Baptism

The rite of baptism is wholly symbolic -- it is therefore our responsibility to determine what the Bible does or does not teach about the meaning of those symbols. While we attempt to more perfectly understand what the rite of baptism “does mean,” we should also try to understand “what it does not mean”!

I have discussed my thoughts concerning the inception of the rites of baptism in a previous posting to this blogsite; it is entitled “By Water and by Blood” and is available in the “Archives.” I hope you will take the time to read and consider that which I have come to believe.

We are told that the water of baptism cleanses us from our mortal, carnal sins, and removes the penalty of death for those sins: however, “...it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” All men must die! If water baptism does indeed remove the penalty for past sins, it is a reprieve of infinitely short duration; lasting only as long as our next carnal sin. It is my belief that water baptism does not remove the penalty of death -- it symbolizes our resurrection from death -- cleansed from carnal sins!

We are told that to be baptized is to symbolically bury one’s carnal self in a watery grave; thereafter to be symbolically resurrected from death as we emerge from the water:

Colossians 2:12 “[You were] buried with [Jesus] in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.”

On this singular point I agree completely with the teaching of the ministry, but will go one step further in pointing out that following baptism the individual rises from his or her watery grave cleansed from sin -- but not yet having been spiritually begotten! According to the symbolism of baptism, the Spirit of God has not yet been given and will not until during or after the laying-on of hands of the minister!

John 1:32-34 “And John bore witness, saying, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and [it] remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ This I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”

Jesus was baptized! And yet, as he rose from the waters of baptism in a symbolic resurrection -- he had not yet received the Spirit of God! It was not until sometime after his symbolic resurrection that the Spirit of God, in the form of a dove, came down from heaven and landed on Jesus -- “at that time” a voice from heaven said: “You are my beloved Son; in you I am well pleased.”

The ministry of John the Baptist was one of repentance from sin. John was the one spoken of by the prophet Isaiah: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: prepare the way of the LORD…” Nevertheless, the rite of baptism, as taught and practiced by John, was imperfect -- because it was incomplete!

Matthew 3:11 “I [John] indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit…”

Did John come to his understanding of the rites of baptism (as he was to practice them) from a conversation he had with his cousin Jesus? I believe that he did! But however he came to understand the rites he must follow, those rites lacked perfection in that they did not have the ability to impart to the individual the power of the Spirit of God.

This does not in any way denigrate the ministry of John. We need to remember that Jesus also carried out baptisms as part of His ministry -- and the rites Jesus used were those of the baptism of John!

Two Separate and Distinct Baptisms

Acts 19:1-6 “And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples he said to them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’ So they said to him, ‘We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.’ And he said to them, ‘Into what then were you baptized?’ So they said, ‘Into John’s baptism.’ Then Paul said, ‘John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.’ When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them…”

On the Day of Pentecost, shortly following the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Spirit of God was first given to the disciples. The event referred to in the previous passage between the Apostle Paul and the people of Ephesus shows that the baptism of John (i.e. water baptism alone) lacked perfection. It was necessary for Paul to “lay hands on them” so that the Holy Spirit of God may come upon them.

Q…Did these people of Ephesus need to go through the whole process of water baptism again? It is my belief they did not!

I believe that Paul went to each and every one of these previously baptized individuals and laid his hands upon their heads, baptizing them in the name of the Lord Jesus that they might receive the Holy Spirit of God. They had already received the water baptism of John; it was only necessary that they receive the further baptism of the Spirit!

The Begotten Child of God

There is a need for us to more perfectly understand why Jesus requested that John baptize him; we can discuss this more fully at a later time, but for now it is enough for us to realize that -- Jesus was baptized!

Mark 1:10 “And straightway coming up out of the water, [Jesus] saw the heavens opened, and the spirit like a dove descending upon him.”

Q…Can it be true that Jesus was not “spiritually begotten of God” until “…the heavens opened, and the spirit like a dove descended upon him?”

When can we expect to be given the gift of God’s Holy Spirit? Acts 2:38 tells us “…be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins “and you shall receive” the gift of the Holy Spirit.” This seems to say quite clearly that we shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit following baptism but it doesn’t tell us how long after! It also specifies that we shall “receive” the gift of the Holy Spirit -- but what we need to realize is that “to receive” does not necessarily equate to “being begotten” of that Spirit!

If the symbols described in the rite of baptism are prophetic of things to come, then it is not beyond reason that “the dead in Christ” shall be raised from the dead (as Jesus may have been) in a physical resurrection, with flesh uncorrupted. Thereafter to be offered the gift of eternal life when he was “…presented to the Father.” We need to always keep in mind “…it is appointed unto men once to die -- but after this the judgment!”

What an incredible experience it would be if (some time following our physical resurrection) our Savior then said to us as individuals: “Come, you blessed of Our Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Then to have him (as our High Priest) put his hands upon our head that we may receive eternal life by the power of His Spirit -- could anything be more wonderful?

Those who failed to endure in this life would be asked to stand aside until the positions of responsibility were distributed: this will be a time of great pain and sorrow for many of our brethren. They will be made to wait for a portion of (or for all of) the Millennium to be completed before they can begin to serve in any position of importance; something they had once hoped for, and had once strived for, but had lost by “falling away.”

Physical or Spiritual Resurrection

We are told by our ministers that as a spirit-being Jesus had the power to transform from spirit to flesh and bone and then back to spirit again; in this way he was able to move through stone walls into a locked room. However, we are also told that if our own faith is strong enough, even as physical, mortal, human beings we can say to a mountain “…be removed and be cast into the sea, and it will be done.”

Why does it seem necessary that Jesus must change from physical to spirit in order to enter a locked room? If a physically resurrected Jesus wanted to enter a closed room, surely it would happen without the need for anything other than his desire to make it so! Jesus said he was not spirit! Jesus said he was flesh and bone! Why do we find it necessary to question His words?

If Jesus was flesh and bone after his resurrection, how could he also be spirit-born? In John 3:6 Jesus said, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Following his resurrection, how could Jesus have been a spirit-born Son of God and still be flesh and bone? Perhaps the answer lies in extending the thought raised by the following two scriptures:

1) Genesis 2:7 “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life…”

2) Leviticus 17:11 “For the life of the flesh is in the blood…”

It is the clear teaching of the Bible (with a few innocuous exceptions) that a resurrection from death is simply that; a resurrection from death into life! What we need to consider is not the composition of the risen Christ (for he clearly said “he was not spirit”); what we need to consider is -- the life-force that powered his existence!

The Bible tells us: “The life of the flesh is in the blood…!” God and the Bible, scientific knowledge, and good old common-sense, all tell us it is the oxygen in the air we breathe which keeps us alive. If we stop breathing or if there is no oxygen in the air we breathe, we’ll die; it’s as simple as that! However: if our life-force was by the power of the Spirit of God we would have no need to breathe air whether that air was rich with oxygen or totally lacking in it.

Note: Next week I hope to complete my thoughts on “The Unpardonable Sin” by posting “Part 5” of this series.