These are exerps from a sermon by C H Spurgeon on unbelief. It is profound truth and I wish I could shout it from the housetops. Read at your risk. It will shake you.

Oh! sirs believe me, if you could roll all sins into one mass, if you could you take murder, and blasphemy, and lust, adultery, and fornication, and everything that is vile and unite them all into one vast globe of black corruption, they would not equal even then the sin of unbelief. This is the monarch sin, the quintessence of guilt; the mixture of the venom of all crimes; the dregs of the wine of Gomorrah; it is the A1 sin, the master-piece of Satan, the chief work of the devil.


1. Unbelief will appear to be extremely heinous
when we remember that it is the parent of every
other iniquity.There is no crime which unbelief
will not beget.

We must remember, it was in this point that the
devil tempted Eve. He said to her, "Yea, hath God
said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?"

He whispered and insinuated a doubt, "Yea, hath
God said so?" as much as to say, "Are you quite
sure he said so?" It was by means of unbelief—
that thin part of the wedge—that all other sins
entered. She touched the fruit, and destruction
came into this world. Since that time, unbelief has
been the prolific parent of all guilt.

2. Secondly; unbelief not only
begets, but fosters sin. Methinks the tale of Calvary
is enough to break a rock. Rocks did rend when
they saw Jesus die. Methinks the tragedy of
Golgotha is enough to make a flint gush with tears,
and to make the most hardened wretch weep out
his eyes in drops of penitential love, but who now
weeps over it? Who cares about it?

Sirs, ye sit as unconcerned as if it did not signify to
you. Is it nothing to you that Jesus should die? Ye
seem to say "It is nothing." What is the reason?
Because there is unbelief between you and the
cross. If there were not that thick veil between you
and the Saviour's eyes, his looks of love would melt
you. But unbelief is the sin which keeps the power of
the gospel from working.

3. But there is a third point. Unbelief disables a man for
the performance of any good work. "Whatsoever is
not of faith is sin," is a great truth in more senses
than one, for "Without faith it is impossible to please
God."

Faith fosters every virtue; unbelief murders every
one. Thousands of prayers have been strangled in
their infancy by unbelief. Unbelief has been guilty of
infanticide; it has murdered many an infant petition;
many a noble enterprise conceived in the heart has
been blighted before it could come forth, by unbelief.
Once make a giant unbelieving, and he becomes a
dwarf.

Faith is the Samsonian lock of the Christian; cut it
off, and you may put out his eyes—and he can do
nothing.

4. Our next remark is— unbelief is severely punished.
Do you not know that unbelief kept Moses and Aaron
out of Canaan? They honored not God; they struck
the rock when they ought to have spoken to it. They
disbelieved: and therefore the punishment came
upon them, that they should not inherit that good
land, for which they had toiled and labored.

Let me take you where Moses and Aaron dwelt—to
the vast and howling wilderness. There lies a carcass
whitened in the sun; therelies another, and another.

What means these bleached bones? What are these
bodies—there a man, and there a woman? What
are all these? How came these corpses here?

Surely some grand encampment must have been
here cut off in a single night by a blast, or by
bloodshed. Ah.... no, no. Those bones are the bones
of Israel; those skeletons are the old tribes of Jacob.
They could not enter because of unbelief. They
trusted not in God. Spies said they could not conquer
the land and unbelief was the cause of their death.

5. And now to close this point— Unbelief is the
damning sin. There is one sin for which Christ never
died; this is the sin against the Holy Ghost.

Mention every crime in the calendar of evil, and I will
show you persons who have found forgiveness for it.
But ask me whether the man who died in unbelief
can be saved, and I reply there is no atonement for
that man.

You may turn over this whole Book, and you will find
that there is no atonement for the man who dies in
unbelief; there is no mercy for him. Had he been
guilty of every other sin, if he had but believed, he
would have been pardoned; but this is the damning
exception—he had no faith.

Devils seize him! O fiends of the pit, drag him
downward to his doom! He is faithless and
unbelieving, and such are the tenants for whom hell
was built.

It is their portion, their prison, they are the chief
prisoners, the fetters are marked with their names,
and for ever shall they know that:

"he that believeth not shall be
damned."

[PastorFranszwa]

What is the unpardonable sin and how can I be certain that I have not committed it?


It is sobering to realize that the One who introduced the subject of a sin that can never be pardoned is the only Person in the world who is capable of forgiving sin — our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of all men.
In Matthew 12:31,32, the Lord Jesus declared that "blasphemy or speaking profanely against the Holy Spirit" is the sin for which there was neither forgiveness in this world or the world to come. Thus, whoever is guilty of committing such a sin is "subject to eternal condemnation" (Mark 3:29, NKJV).
It is vital that we understand the role of the Holy Spirit in God’s plan of salvation in order to grasp the Savior’s meaning of how one sins against the Holy Spirit. Only through the ministry of the Holy Spirit can a person know conviction of sin (John 16:8), be drawn to God (John 6:44; Revelation 22:17), and receive a revelation of the saving work of the cross of Christ (1 Corinthians 1:18; 2:14).
Those who deliberately reject the only means by which God’s grace is mediated to lost sinners remove themselves from the only source of pardon provided by divine mercy. When Christ is willfully rejected, the Scripture states, "There no longer remains a sacrifice for sins" (Hebrews 10:26). Such a sin is called unpardonable because the basis for pardon has been rejected.
Blaspheming the Holy Spirit is described as "insulting the Spirit of grace" (Hebrews 10:29). For when a person with full understanding of what he or she is doing "tramples the Son of God underfoot, and counts the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing," the Holy Spirit is denied the opportunity to administer the grace and pardon of Christ.
Regarding the unpardonable sin, J. Oswald Sanders wrote in his Bible Studies in Matthew’s Gospel: "These things should be noted: (1) It is a calculated sin, not one of impulse. (2) It is a sin of knowledge, not ignorance, but a sin against spiritual knowledge and light (Hebrews 10:26,32). (3) It is not an isolated act but a habitual attitude. (4) It is a sin of the heart, not merely of the intellect or the tongue. (5) It is a sin of finality — complete rejection of Christ." The harsh term "blasphemy" indicates a deliberate and godless rejection of the saving power and grace of God.
Unfortunately, the devil has led some people to believe they have committed the unpardonable sin. People who are fearful they have committed such a sin would do well to heed the words of William Barclay: "The person who cannot have committed the sin against the Holy Spirit is the person who fears he/she has, for the sin against the Holy Spirit can be truly described as the loss of all sense of sin" (The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 2, p.50). The capacity to have concern regarding whether or not one has committed the unpardonable sin is a certain indicator the person has not done so.

1 Corinthians 3:16Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and [that] the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1. Note 7 at 1 Cor. 3:16: One of the greatest differences between the New Testament believer and the Old Testament believer is the fact that New Testament saints are the temple of God. God Himself actually indwells us.
In the Old Testament, the Spirit of God would come upon men and anoint them for service. He even came within Old Testament prophets to inspire them to write the scriptures, but this was temporary. In the New Testament, the Lord indwells us through the new birth and we become His permanent abode (see note 26 at Jn. 14:16, p.491).
During the days of the Old Testament, man made God an elaborate temple in Jerusalem and God said He would cause His name to dwell there so that men could pray to Him in that place (2 Chr. 7:12-16). But now, in the days of the New Testament, God does not dwell in a building made by man's hands. He now lives in the hearts of those who make Jesus their Lord (Rom. 10:9).
This is why there is no need for fancy buildings for the New Testament church to meet in. The building is no longer the temple of God. The believer's spirit has become the temple of God. However, the New Testament is clear that Christ, by the Holy Spirit takes up permanent residence in all believers
If we had a real revelation of the reality of Christ in us (Col. 1:27), it would drastically change our attitudes, emotions, and actions.
This is not speaking of God totally damning someone who defiles the temple of God. However, no degree of punishment from God is desirable and therefore, this is a very stern warning to those who would defile the body of Christ through their wrong teaching.
Therefore, Paul's teaching here about defiling the temple of God is not speaking specifically to an individual about doing something to defile himself, but it is rather a warning against anyone defiling the church with wrong teaching. This would include Paul and Apollos (1 Cor. 3:5-6), but it also would refer back to those individuals who Paul rebuked in the first chapter for causing division in the body at Corinth.
This is a warning, especially to ministers, that they had better make sure they are speaking God's Word for they will have to give an account to God.

[Amadeus]

But unbelief is only unpardonable if we die unbelieving. While we still live in this flesh, even though we walk in death, there is still hope until the hope is gone when the dirt in shoveled onto us in the grave.

Any sin is unpardonable, if in spite of being aware of it before our natural death, we failed to repent of it.

John,

Originally Posted by Amadeus

But unbelief is only unpardonable if we die unbelieving. While we still live in this flesh, even though we walk in death, there is still hope until the hope is gone when the dirt in shoveled onto us in the grave.

Any sin is unpardonable, if in spite of being aware of it before our natural death, we failed to repent of it.

John,

You are absolutely right John, and the fact is we do not know when day arrives that will be our day. There is nothing more beautiful and comforting than a funeral for someone bound for glory, and nothing harder to get through than a funeral for someone who always thought they would repent and give the Lord His rightful place tomorrow.

[Windsong]

There is a point in a person's life when they make a choice - they may think they have made it before and we don't know how long God is patient with us. God will keep giving us a choice as long as there is a chance (God is not willing that any should perish) however yes there is one sin which Christ's blood couldn't cover and that is rejecting His forgiveness of sin - how can His blood cover that? Rejecting the gift of God which is presented to each soul by the Holy Spirit. Hence the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit title - but it comes from the free will of man who hardens his own heart against God and the wonderful gift which He is willing to give us.

In Christ
Windy

Originally Posted by Windsong

There is a point in a person's life when they make a choice - they may think they have made it before and we don't know how long God is patient with us. God will keep giving us a choice as long as there is a chance (God is not willing that any should perish) however yes there is one sin which Christ's blood couldn't cover and that is rejecting His forgiveness of sin - how can His blood cover that? Rejecting the gift of God which is presented to each soul by the Holy Spirit. Hence the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit title - but it comes from the free will of man who hardens his own heart against God and the wonderful gift which He is willing to give us.

In Christ
Windy

Excellent post, Windy. We must remember to not harden our hearts as in the day of provocation in the wilderness with the children of Israel. Repentance is something that is granted. God turns our hearts, and it is up to us to take advantage of it while it is called today. We cannot repent "whenever we want" for if sin finally hardens our hearts enough, we become so blind to the consequesnces that we simply do not care any more. As long as we still are hearing His voice, the day of repentance and turning is still here.....today. We do not have any guarantees for tomorrow.