Most Christians of a non-Calvinist background understand that Jesus died for all people and for all sins, but if you ask them whether or not rejecting Jesus is a sin, they will immediately answer, "Yes." If you follow that question with, "Did Jesus die for that sin?" They will usually answer, "No." It seems intuitively obvious to almost everyone that Christ did not die for the sin of rejecting Him. But "without shedding of blood is no remission" of sins (Hebrews 9:22). Blood atonement must occur in order for a sin to be forgiven. Since "it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins" (Hebrews 10:4), only the blood of Christ will suffice (see Acts 4:12). Therefore, this sin cannot be forgiven, because Jesus did not die for it. Now, that is a logical argument. We need to see it more explicitly stated in the Scriptures.
In Hebrews chapter 10, we are warned that to "insult" the "Spirit" is a "sin," and for that sin, there "no longer remains a sacrifice."
For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace (Hebrews 10:26-29, NKJV)?
Here, the sin against the Spirit is clearly described. We see it defined as a "willful" sin, not an accident--an intelligent sin, not a sin of ignorance. It can only be committed "after" having "received the knowledge of the truth." It involves deliberately trampling "under foot the Son of God." It includes a rejection of the atonement--"the blood of the covenant"--and ultimately, it involves disrespect or contempt for the Holy Ghost (i.e., "the Spirit of grace") who enables us to "discern" all spiritual realities. In other words, it involves insulting "the Spirit." The scriptural passage under consideration (Heb. 10:26-29) tells us that for that sin, "there no longer remains a sacrifice." The sacrifice of Christ does not extend to this sin. Jesus did not die for this offence. Therefore, it "shall not be forgiven unto men" (Matthew 12:31). In fact, it cannot be forgiven.
Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, it needs to be clear, is a deliberate, intelligent, persistent, ultimate, and final rejection of the gospel. Every "willful" sin does not constitute the unpardonable sin. That would be bad news indeed. Probably it is safe to say that we have all sinned "willfully" and perhaps even "presumptuously," as did Adam in the Garden of Eden.[1] Yet we have not all "willfully" rejected the gospel of Jesus Christ. The unpardonable sin is a unique and specific offense.
When John the Baptist saw Jesus coming to be baptized in the Jordan, he cried out, "Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). The gospel of Jesus Christ proclaims the good news that God the Father has pardoned the human race. The penalty for our sins has been paid in full by the death of the Lamb. Thus, Christ took away "the sin of the world" (John 1:29). By the death of Christ, our condemnation has been fully reversed. The penalty for all of the sins which are associated with the fall of Adam has been paid in full, and they can now be removed from our hearts through faith in Jesus Christ. However, the act of ultimate refusal to believe in Christ constitutes the sin which cannot be forgiven. Indications of this sin or the precursors to it may be manifested in different forms. Yet it is this sin and not the various acts of its manifestation that cannot be forgiven. This type of rebellion is not of the same category as the "sin of this world," which was taken away by Christ. This sin originated in the heart of Lucifer, in heaven, and this sin is unpardonable. Imagine that Jesus had died for this sin. Then Lucifer and his followers could be forgiven for their rejection of the authority and government of God. Rebellion would continue. Sin would be immortalized. The universe would be in chaos. Righteousness would no longer be the standard, but sin. Thank God that this sin cannot be forgiven in this life or the life to come. Thank God that Jesus did not die for this sin.
Why Different Punishments?
By now we should see that the reason people will be lost is not because they were never "saved."2 Their being lost is not because Jesus did not exhaust the full penalty for their sins--and it is not because Christ's death was merely provisional. The reason many will be punished in the lake of fire and suffer the second death is because they committed a sin for which Jesus did not die. They intelligently and deliberately rejected the gift of salvation in Christ. They will suffer and die, because they have blasphemed the Holy Ghost--they have rejected God's authority and the government of God, which is based on the principle of love. When one accepts this understanding of the atonement, another important question arises. Why will there be differing lengths of suffering in hell before unbelievers die? If all are dying for one and the same sin--blasphemy against the Holy Ghost--why do they not all suffer for the same length of time and all die at the same time?
No such thing as a "small" sin exists. No sin could ever be forgiven, apart from the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Yet, there are differing degrees of guilt. Punishment is proportional to guilt. Jesus said:
And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more (Luke 12:47, 48).
These verses clearly articulate the principle of differing degrees of guilt. In times of ignorance, God "winks" (see Acts 17:30). God does not impute sin to those who are ignorant. However, when one sins against light and knowledge, guilt is either incurred or aggravated. The greater the light one has, the greater the guilt one can incur.
Now, the Scriptures present clearly that all will be judged "according to their works" (see Revelation 20:12, 13), and all will be rewarded "according to ... works" (see Revelation 22:12). This would appear to be inconsistent with the understanding that all are punished because of the sin of unbelief--the one sin for which Jesus did not make atonement. We should note, however, that all who are lost will be punished "according to" works, not for their works. Nevertheless, the two--faith and works--are directly related. Do you remember Paul's prayer request?
Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you, and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith (2 Thessalonians 3:1, 2, NKJV).
Paul prayed for deliverance from "wicked men," but notice that it is those who do not have faith who are "unreasonable and wicked." The Bible teaches that we are "sanctified by faith" (Acts 26:18). Therefore, the greater our lack of faith, the greater will be our lack of sanctification. In other words, the less faith one has, the more "wicked" one will be. The more wicked one is, the more wicked acts one will commit, and thus the greater the punishment. The punishment will be "according to works," but the reason is not because we are saved or lost by works. We are saved by grace through faith, and one is lost because of unbelief (see Mark 16:16). Yet, because our faith determines the nature of our works, punishment will be in proportion to the hardness of the heart. The book of Romans brings this out a little more concisely:
And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God (Romans 2:3-5).
Notice that the unbeliever is treasuring up "wrath against the day of wrath." This is done "after," or according to, the "hardness" of an "impenitent heart." Hardness of heart is a euphemism which means "unbelief." In other words, the wrath will be according to the depth of the unbelief. "He that believeth not shall be damned" (Mark 16:16). He that believeth not will also suffer "wrath" in proportion to the unbelief, which is also in proportion to the wicked works. For this reason, the next verse of Romans says, "Who will render to every man according to his deeds" (Romans 2:6). Clearly, there is a direct correlation between the deeds and the "impenitent heart" of unbelief.
Limits of the Atonement
Not a man, woman, boy or girl has ever been conceived on earth, for whom Christ did not die. Over and over, the Bible assures us that Christ "died for all" (see 2 Corinthians 5:14, 15, Hebrews 2:9, 1 John 2:2). "God is no respecter of persons" (Acts 10:34). Therefore, there is not a single person for whom Christ did not die. Nevertheless, there is a sin for which Christ did not die--the sin of unrelenting unbelief, which is blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. Thus, we must conclude that the atonement is limited--not limited with respect to persons but limited with respect to sins. Jesus Himself clearly articulated the limitation:
Wherefore I say unto you, all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come (Matthew 12:31, 32).
Jesus said, "All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven" (Matthew 13:31). The Arminian tends to read into this text that which is not there. Jesus did not say all manner of sin can be forgiven. He said, all manner of sin "shall be forgiven." When He said this, He was looking forward to the cross, where He would exhaust the penalty for "all manner of sin and blasphemy." When the penalty was paid, the sin of the world was judicially pardoned--forgiven. Every sin was forgiven, every sin, that is, except for one. A limit to the atonement does exist. Christ made it abundantly clear that at the cross, there would be no atonement made for the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Ghost.
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