I think I may have committed the unpardonable/eternal sin

[blackstrawberry]

Okay, I know this might sound a bit cliche, but I think I've committed the unpardonable sin and I do this with a good reason. My family, stretching from both my dad and mom's grandparent(s) to almost everyone in my family, are Christians. When I was young, I spent a lot of time at the Church where my uncle happened to be pastor there. For some unknown crazy reason, I did not fully immerse myself into Jesus at the time. In my teen years, I had to move away from my previous home and my family attended the Church where my cousin attended. The Church was a pentecostal/assembly of God one and as some of you may have guessed, they mainly stress on the topics of spiritual gift, rapture, Holy Spirit, and etc. Then this one day, a pastor from another pentecostal congregation came to our Church as a guest. He apparently had received the gift of healing. My mother, who suffered pains on her back, went through the process of spiritual healing and felt better afterwards. She then asked the guest pastor to lay his hands on the foreheads of both my brother and I to perform spiritual healing on us as well. As he laid his hands on my forehead, I said in my heart things that were in relation to how Pharisees may have spoken against Jesus back when Jesus cast out demons from the possessed. I confess that I did this because, at the time, due to my personal struggles, I hated my pentecostal pastor as well as anyone within that Church. I still remember how I asked God to bring His wrath upon this fake place of worship, as I believed anything and anyone that's in association with this pentecostal stuff were maddening in their own nature and that they were against God. Though I do not remember this clearly, I could have said something that may relate to devil accusation to the entire pentecostal group. Later, I've read topics of unpardonable sin on the web and was freaked out about it. Initially, I wasn't that much concerned as I am today, but as the time went by, my concerns got bigger and bigger to the point where I could no longer contain this possible sin that may eternally condemn me. If possible, I'd like to confess and make amends with this pastor. I pray and pray to God about this sin that I've committed and tell Him to give me a sign that that was not the act of severance of the bond between Him and I. Yet, I still struggle to this day that I might have lost my chance of salvation.

 

[Autumnleaf]

You didn't eat yellow snow and you didn't take any wooden nickels so I'd say you are safe for now.

Pray to God and ask him to be with you so you can know his will for your life.

 

[blackstrawberry]

You didn't eat yellow snow and you didn't take any wooden nickels so I'd say you are safe for now.

Pray to God and ask him to be with you so you can know his will for your life.

I'd like to thank you for your concern towards my case of doubt, but how can I know specifically whether or not I am in danger/doomed for the commitment of this sin? This is a very delicate matter, rivaling that of the topic, "How certain are you of your status of salvation through the promise of Jesus?" More so, since the recipient to this question is very desperate; not trying to attempt troll or anything like that, I am just really desperate to gain some assurance for this matter.

 

[Albert J]

everything you can be forgiven for. Besides one thing.... which is cursing against the Holy Spirit.

 

[whitetiger1]

You wouldn't ask if you committed it, you would know and would not care. If you look in Scriptures Christ was referring to the pharisees they were rejecting God standing in front of them and calling Him Satan

 

[Pal Handy]

The unpardonoable sin is rejecting the Holy Spirits witness
that Jesus Christ is the Son of God sent to save all those who by faith
receive Christ as their savior and the DIE IN THAT SIN OF REJECTION.

Matthew 12
31 “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men,
but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.
32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him;
but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit,
it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.

Basphemy against the Holy Spirit is calling the Holy Spirit a liar and rejecting
His testimony of the Christ and salvation in Him alone through Faith
and then dying in that one unrepented sin.

The Holy Spirit is the one that draws men to Christ and so when men hear
the gospel and reject it, they are rejecting the witness of the Holy Spirit
that comes to each man when they hear the truth of the gospel.

If men reject the Holy Spirits witness that what they are hearing the truth
of God in the gospel and die in that rejection, there is no remedy for them.

As long as that person is alive the Holy Spirit will work with them
if they are willing be open to or to search for the truth.

I rejected the witness of the Holy Spirit many times before I accepted Christ
so you have to die in this rejection of the witness of the Holy Spirit to
make it an unpardonable sin.

Saying that Jesus was working miracles by the devils power was not the
unpardonable sin because they were speaking against Christ and not the Holy Spirit.

Saying that men in the church are not doing the work of God and are faking it
is not speaking against the Holy Spirit but the men you suspect of being false.

Jesus told them that every sin and balsphemy will be forgiven so
there is only ONE sin or blasphemy left and that is
rejecting the Holy Spirits witness that Jesus is the savior,
sent by God and then you have to die in that sin of rejection of Christ.

1 John 5:7
For there are three that bear witness in heaven:
the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.
8 And there are three that bear witness on earth:
the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.


If you can say that Jesus Christ is your Lord then it is only by the Spirit
of God within you that you could make that declaration.

Romans 10:9
that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart
that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

1 Corinthians 12:3
Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed,
and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.

Confess before God and man that Jesus Christ is Lord and
receive forgiveness for your past and go on with the Lord.

 

[blackstrawberry]

You wouldn't ask if you committed it, you would know and would not care. If you look in Scriptures Christ was referring to the pharisees they were rejecting God standing in front of them and calling Him Satan

Thank you, whitetiger1. While that reasoning can be acceptable to a certain degree for it mainly refers to a person's hardened heart, something that is mentioned multiple times throughout the Bible, I don't think you can win me over with just that. The hardened heart may render an individual unable to come back to God, but the one who commits the eternal sin, according to the Bible, cannot repent for his sins. Now, this troubles me as it opens up multiple possibilities: 1) One's hardened heart makes it unable for the Holy Spirit to come to his life, thus the latter. 2) The commitment of this sin automatically puts a person in a position that, no matter how many times a person may try to repent for his sins, he won't be able to seek forgiveness from God. I am in much confusion right now, as the Bible doesn't provide us enough info. on the said topic.

 

[Autumnleaf]

I'd like to thank you for your concern towards my case of doubt, but how can I know specifically whether or not I am in danger/doomed for the commitment of this sin? This is a very delicate matter, rivaling that of the topic, "How certain are you of your status of salvation through the promise of Jesus?" More so, since the recipient to this question is very desperate; not trying to attempt troll or anything like that, I am just really desperate to gain some assurance for this matter.

If you don't know if you did it then you didn't do it. There is a finality to the unforgivable sin that you would know and understand if you were guilty of it. Satan and his minions knew the full glory of God and they turned their back on it. That is the unforgivable sin. To know God and to reject Him. I doubt you would fall into that category.

 

[whitetiger1]

As long as you live it is never to late. When you look at the Bible you must remember context and not transpose that to our century. It was very specific what happened then so don't be so hard on yourself. You want the Bible to do something it wasn't meant to do. Christ came into the World for forgiveness and to bridge the gap to the Father don't make it more complicated now, there will be time for that later

 

[blackstrawberry]

Alright, thanks everyone for much of your support in response to my troubles. This conversation really has helped me by a lot. I guess I will pay a visit to the pastor sometime in my life and talk to him about my problems. Though it's true that it's a matter that's really between God and I to settle, I think doing so would help me getting this heavy load off of my mind. Thanks again and have a wonderful, blessing day everyone.

 

[znr]

Alright, thanks everyone for much of your support in response to my troubles. This conversation really has helped me by a lot. I guess I will pay a visit to the pastor sometime in my life and talk to him about my problems. Though it's true that it's a matter that's really between God and I to settle, I think doing so would help me getting this heavy load off of my mind. Thanks again and have a wonderful, blessing day everyone.

Really...rejecting the Holy spirit requires at the very least a great deal of effort or a great deal of indifference--you may think you've done it but the fruit of God's goodness is in you still as your actions bother you because He is still within you. Think about it, expressing your anger in the heat of some moment is not the same as repeatedly rejecting the Holy spirit.

 

[Crusader knight]

I also went to a pentecostal church / school in my youth. I was kind of a cut up, and frankly, was still too young to grasp the enormity of it all. One day, during a chapel service , everyone was allowed to come to the front of the church , have the pastor/ staff lay hands on them , and you would be "slain in the Spirit." I wanted to meet God. As I was walking up there I saw other kids, who were supposedly "slain", whispering and cutting up. I asked God for a REAL touch, but I was not going to "act slain" just to fit in. When they started praying for me, I stood there with my eyes closed and hands raised, truly hoping to meet God. Nothing. Apparently, this was an affront to the pastor's "spiritual power." He started "praying" harder and actually pushing me backwards and down. After a few minutes, the disappointment that God did not want to meet me, or I was some how unworthy, got the better of me. I brushed the pastor's hand off my head and said " Forget it, God's not coming for me." IMMEDIATELY the pastor started in with "I was filled with the spirit of Satan, and Satan had asked for me by name to sift me like wheat." Wow, that was a sagacious judgement to an impressionable kid. I felt officially excommunicated from God, and it set in motion the rejection of Christianity in my life for another 25 years. In that "anti - Christian era" of my life, I said some really bad things about the God who had rejected me, His people, ect., ect. Anyone of which convinced me further I was blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Yet, in my heart of hearts, I longed for God. Finally, after many wasted years, I ran smack into God. He picked me up, dusted me off and said, " Come, let us reason together..." I don't know all the super holy sounding theological phrases, but I will say this. The fact that you are worried about this shows me you have a tender heart towards God. That is PRECISELY what he is looking for. In my understanding, blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is the only unpardonable sin. It is the total rejection of the completed work of Christ. You have not committed that sin, and God has not completed the good work He has started in you. You need to ask God's forgiveness for the foolish rantings made in your youth, and tell Satan, that great prosecuting attorney, to bugger off. You need to forgive yourself. It's a new day of freedom in Christ. Be free,accept His love. ++CK++

 

[Angelfrog]

Hon- it really comes down to something very simple.

If you're in the least bit worried that you may have committed it..... you didn't!

You wouldn't give a hoot- you'd be in such a state of rebellion that you really wouldn't be bothered.

It's a little sad to see you say that you can't 'be won over' with Pal's comments that easily. Don't make the mistake of thinking that everything has to be incredibly intellectual and you need to throw around a ton of translated Aramaic and have a degree in theology before you'll be satisfied with any answer.

God is NOT as complicated as we silly people have tried to make Him.

Do you WANT to commit an unforgivable sin against God?

If you say 'no' then you haven't.

Are you worried about the idea of having done so?

If you've said 'yes' then.... yep, you've guessed it.

You haven't.

 

[NewUser777]

I don't know all the super holy sounding theological phrases, but I will say this. The fact that you are worried about this shows me you have a tender heart towards God. That is PRECISELY what he is looking for. In my understanding, blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is the only unpardonable sin. It is the total rejection of the completed work of Christ. You have not committed that sin, and God has not completed the good work He has started in you. You need to ask God's forgiveness for the foolish rantings made in your youth, and tell Satan, that great prosecuting attorney, to bugger off. You need to forgive yourself. It's a new day of freedom in Christ. Be free,accept His love.

blackstrawberry, you need to re-read this over and over. Committing the unpardonable sin means the Holy Spirit will draw back from you. You will never again hear the voice of God. You will never again have any inclinations toward God. You will never again have the desire to sing a praise to God. A person in this state is truly lost.

It is the Holy Spirit who draws us to Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:3 says "no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost". So, if you love Jesus, have any desire to forgive someone who has hurt you in the past, accept that God has forgiven you (which He says He has throughout the entire New Testament), then you can have 100% assurance that God IS with you, because these things are fruits of the Spirit.

So, everything is going to be ok.

 

[wayfaring man]

It doesn't sound like you committed the unforgivable. You may have felt or thought some things which are minimally similar though.

To fully commit the unforgivable sin, one would have to succeed in speaking evil of The Spirit of Christ to the point that another/others were turned away from receiving Salvation, due to that vehement, persistent, and persuasive blasphemy.

For then The Just Lord could not allow such a person to find Salvation for them self, if indeed they successfully prevented another/others from finding their's.

Hence, most anything we do to each other is potentially forgivable, unless it causes/leads to another being eternally lost.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yet, the idea that one can know that they haven't gone too far, if they indeed presently feel bad or worried about what they may or may not have done, is not altogether sound, from a Scriptural perspective.

Judas the traitor felt deep regret after betraying Christ, yet apparently to no avail. (Matthew 27:3-5 + Mark 14:21)

Esau the elder brother of Jacob also sought repentance with tears, but found none, according to Hebrews 12:16+17 + Genesis Chapter 27.

And we are warned in Proverbs that there is a point where continued hardening of oneself against The Lord will result in irremediable destruction. (Proverbs 29:1)

But it simply doesn't sound like you've gone that far, or that long, with the negative thoughts/feelings.

There may even be justification for doubting/disbelieving/disagreeing with those who occupy positions of authority...but generally not in a vilely disrespectful/muttering evil under one's breath kind of manner.

May The Lord Be Pleased to Bless !

wm

 

[Peripatetic]

Before his conversion, the apostle Paul was a self-proclaimed Pharisee of Pharisees. He persecuted Christians and had a part in killing Steven, the first martyr after Jesus' death. He was not only forgiven, but called to write a large portion of the New Testament. God has forgiven much worse "sins in the mind" than yours...

 

[riverhooks]

The unpardonable sin is simply rejecting Christ. Either by passively or actively not seeking relationship with God . Jesus told the Pharisees except you believe that I am He you shall die in your sins. The ministry of Holy Spirit is convince someone of sin righteousness and judgement Jesus said no man can come to me except the Father which sent me draws Him. The Holy Spirit woos the soul leads and guides into all truth. When someone is beyond salvaton God has given them over to a reprobate mind. Their conscience seared as with a hot iron the last thing they would worry about is God and what God thinks, or worry about committing a sin or an unpardonable sin. Yes all sins and blashemies shall be forgiven men. You obviously have not rejected Christ. But Alas there is an Adversary , the Father of Lies, the accuser of the brethren . Without a doubt is getting you to fret , exploiting your ignorance of scripture and the positive steps to live without fear and condemnation. There is therefore NOW no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. If we walk in the light as he is in the light we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I think I experienced condemnation as a Christian to learn how to have faith in God's Word. It is after all Believing in Him that it is impossible for Him to lie and He says forgiven . You confess He is Faithful and Just to forgive your sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Memorize 1 John 1:7 and 1:9 Amigo.

 

[Thankful For Grace]

Dear blackstrawberry,

Like many of the other posters, I do not believe you have committed the unpardonable sin. Please pick up a Bible and begin to read the Word of God. If you will read five Psalms a day, you will read through the entire book of Psalms every month. I highly recommend this for any believer, but especially for you--since you will see how God lovingly deals with His children who stumble, doubt, and/or fail.

Also, begin in the gospel of John and read through the NT, then go back and read Matthew, Mark, and Luke. There, you will discover that Jesus died to save sinners--and that He wants to save you, personally. If you feel like you need to speak to the pastor you referred to, do so--but base your faith on what Jesus says about you--not about what any human being, subject to his or her own frailties and weaknesses, may or may not say. God, Alone, knows your heart--no man has the right to judge you re: your salvation.

If you choose to repent and follow Jesus with all your heart, you can be saved. It is not too late, as long as you cry out to Him. The following statement is not original to me, but it is true: God loves you so much that He would rather die than live without you.

The Blood of Jesus Christ suffices for all of your youthful doubts and irrational, momentary verbiage.

Come unto Jesus and be saved.

TFG

 

[lemon-aid stand]

Okay, I know this might sound a bit cliche, but I think I've committed the unpardonable sin and I do this with a good reason. My family, stretching from both my dad and mom's grandparent(s) to almost everyone in my family, are Christians. When I was young, I spent a lot of time at the Church where my uncle happened to be pastor there. For some unknown crazy reason, I did not fully immerse myself into Jesus at the time. In my teen years, I had to move away from my previous home and my family attended the Church where my cousin attended. The Church was a pentecostal/assembly of God one and as some of you may have guessed, they mainly stress on the topics of spiritual gift, rapture, Holy Spirit, and etc. Then this one day, a pastor from another pentecostal congregation came to our Church as a guest. He apparently had received the gift of healing. My mother, who suffered pains on her back, went through the process of spiritual healing and felt better afterwards. She then asked the guest pastor to lay his hands on the foreheads of both my brother and I to perform spiritual healing on us as well. As he laid his hands on my forehead, I said in my heart things that were in relation to how Pharisees may have spoken against Jesus back when Jesus cast out demons from the possessed. I confess that I did this because, at the time, due to my personal struggles, I hated my pentecostal pastor as well as anyone within that Church. I still remember how I asked God to bring His wrath upon this fake place of worship, as I believed anything and anyone that's in association with this pentecostal stuff were maddening in their own nature and that they were against God. Though I do not remember this clearly, I could have said something that may relate to devil accusation to the entire pentecostal group. Later, I've read topics of unpardonable sin on the web and was freaked out about it. Initially, I wasn't that much concerned as I am today, but as the time went by, my concerns got bigger and bigger to the point where I could no longer contain this possible sin that may eternally condemn me. If possible, I'd like to confess and make amends with this pastor. I pray and pray to God about this sin that I've committed and tell Him to give me a sign that that was not the act of severance of the bond between Him and I. Yet, I still struggle to this day that I might have lost my chance of salvation.

ya.. you didn't commit the unpardonable sin.. the unpardonable sin is not what you think it is.. it is the quenching of the Holy Spirit.. and if you truly quenched the Spirit of God.. the last thing on your mind would be whether or not you were saved.. i tell you that the demons would have taken over your house.. that means you.. your faculties would be nil.. but the fact that you are convicted is evidence that the Lord still resides in you.. say listen.. don't you honestly think that the Lord would have forseen you committing this sin and possibly decided to pass you up just knowing that it would be a waste of time saving you. only to leave you.. nope.. he will never leave you.. see, in order to commit this unpardonable sin. you would not have been saved to begin with.. it would be impossible to commit once you are saved..you are thinking about the teachers of the law stating that Christ had a demon.. they are condemned because they wanna be judged by the mosaic law.. they deny Christ His Diety.. also they didn't know Him and then when they finally believed. in order to maintain their positions of authority. they accused Him of having a demon and this is blaspheming the Holy Spirit.. but, you didn't.. so don't beat yourself up.. again.. if you were damned.. God would be the last thing on your mind.. its the conviction that is by the Holy Spirit that tells you that He still dwells in you.. hope this helped.. in Jesus Christ..... dale

 

[homeofmew]

I am not sure about this entire thing.
I am someone who is skeptical about things like the gift of tongues and healing myself.
From what i understand the only unforgivable sin is not receiving Christ as your savior for all your sins. As per calling what you saw "bad" I don't know if was a sin or not.