Mark 3 Lesson

THE ONE SIN THAT WILL NOT BE FORGIVEN 

There is a sin that is so horrible, that it will never be forgiven.

It is not stealing.

It is not greed.

And it is not murder.

Mark writes about this sin beginning in Chapter 3of his Gospel.

To provide a little context, we will begin today’s lesson with the following scripture:

• “The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.” And He called them to Himself and began speaking to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.  If Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished!  But no one can enter the strong man’s house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house.  Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.” – Mark 3:22-30.

SEEING THE UNPARDONABLE SIN THROUGH GOD’S EYES

To properly understand what Mark is writing about in the above scripture, we need to be able to answer the following two questions:

1. What did the scribes do that was so offensive to God?
2. Why is that sin so offensive to God?

We will answer both questions in today’s lesson. 

WHAT SIN DID THE SCRIBES COMMIT?

This is what the scribes said:

• “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.” – Mark 3:22.

Let us break that down further into two parts. 

First, the scribes said:

• “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” - Mark 3:22.

They were saying that God’s Son was possessed by Satan! 

According to Google Dictionary, the word “possessed” means, “Completely controlled by an evil spirit.” 

To say that His own Son, is completely controlled by Satan is something that God will not forgive. 

The second thing the scribes said is:

• “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.” - Mark 3:22.

We know from the following scripture that Jesus had healed many.  We also know that Jesus encountered unclean spirits along the way who fell down before Him and shouted, “You are the Son of God!” (Mark 3:11)

• “He told His disciples that a boat should stand ready for Him because of the crowd, so that they would not crowd Him; for He had healed many, with the result that all those who had afflictions pressed around Him in order to touch Him. Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they would fall down before Him and shout, “You are the Son of God!” – Mark 3:9-11. 

For the scribes to credit Satan for the work that Jesus was doing steals the glory from God. 

And that is a Sin that God will not forgive. 

The more we read the Bible, the more we understand that during our time on earth we are asked to do two things:

1. Glorify God,
2. Serve others. 

For the scribes to give the glory to Satan and try to sway others to do the same is a sin that will not be forgiven. 

CONCLUSION

We serve a God that is compassionate, merciful, and forgiving, and a God that teaches us to be the same way. 

Consider the following three scriptures:

1. "Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” - Ephesians 4:32,
2. “Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.” – Luke 6:36,
3. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” - 1 John 1:9.

There are many sins mentioned throughout the Bible.  God loves us and will forgive almost all of them if we repent and turn away from that behavior.

This is true no matter what the sin is, with one incredibly important exception, the “Unpardonable sin.”

The unpardonable sin is giving credit to Satan for the works that God has done. As we have seen, this sin, God will not forgive! 

We will end today’s lesson with the following scripture. 

It reminds us to praise God and glorify Him in all that we do:

• “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.” -Hebrews 13:15.