“This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
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“And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
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“All manner of sin and blasphemy,” the Lord said, “shall be forgiven unto men; but the blasphemy against the spirit shall not be forgiven.” God speaks, as it were, in this manner: “I forgive you everything. Not a word more shall be said about your sins—only come out of them; come out of the darkness of your exile; come into the light of your home, your birthright, and do evil no more. Love your neighbor as I love you; be my good child; trust in your father. I am light, come to me, and you shall see things as I see them, and hate the evil thing. I will make you love the thing which now you call good and love not.” And if his child should say, “I prefer staying in the darkness: forgive me that, too,” the Lord will reply, “No, that cannot be. The one thing that cannot be forgiven is the sin of choosing to be evil, or refusing deliverance. He who chooses to go on sinning annihilates my forgiveness. If a man refuses to come out of his sin, he must suffer the vengeance of a love that would be no love if it left him there. Shall I allow my creature to be the thing my soul hates?” There is no excuse for this refusal. God passes by and forgets a thousand sins, forgiving them all—only we must begin to be good, to do evil no more. He who refuses must be punished until he gives way, repents, and come to the light, that his deeds may be seen by himself to be what they are, and by himself reproved. Who knows but such sin may need for its cure the continuous punishment of an eon?
Commentary
by Earle Canty
Forgiveness is a concept that perplexes many because it is not a natural act of man and the principle is not intuitive. How many people do you know who cannot forgive a transgression? This text {Matt 12:31} addresses forgiveness of man by God. The Father is holy, righteous, and just. Who He is and His consistency and perfection do not allow Him to practice injustice (i.e., forgive those who repent and also forgive those who do not repent). Jesus, in this explanation, conveys that God forgives man of all sins and blasphemy with one exception, blasphemy of the spirit. The Holy Spirit, the part of the triune God that indwells believers, is like a navigator. It keeps us on course and tries to correct our course when we accidentally or deliberately leave it {Gal 5:16}. The Holy Spirit is God’s gift to those who accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and are reconciled to The Father.
All people sin. They may be relatively good people, but they still sin. The one blasphemy that cannot be forgiven by God is to refuse His reconciliation. God has given man free will and He will not overrule a decision made by a person. When a person chooses to not repent and accept the reconciliation of God, nothing can be done by God for that person; His forgiveness is of no value because the person does not want to be forgiven. God has done all He can in providing a means of reconciliation based on the forgiveness of all sins and blasphemy. When a person chooses not to repent of their sin and accept the reconciliation offered by the Father, they cannot be forgiven, and they must endure the consequences of that decision.
The hymn “Because He Lives” is a wonderful song regarding the reconciling work of Christ.