Is there anything God can't forgive? | FAQ Series | Week Two

Is there anything God can’t forgive?

Sin  

·         It’s a condition that we are all born with.

10  …“There is no one righteous, not even one;

Romans 3:10 (NIV)

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 3:23 (NIV)

·         Is an archery term that means “to miss the mark”

Citation from an article called “The Fading of Forgiveness” by Tim Keller says:

While all other cultures have stressed the importance of community and the need to forge a personal identity that negotiates and aligns with the common good, modernity stresses looking inward to forge one’s own identity based on our desires, and then moving outward to demand that society honor our individual identity and interests. A recent interview with an actress in Global Heroes, a magazine insert in The Wall Street Journal, perfectly exemplifies the therapeutic turn. When asked, “What is one good choice that everyone can make to improve the world around them?” she answered, “Look for your own truth, LIVE your own truth instead of repeating anyone else’s.” She elaborated: “What’s crucial to me is to make my audience . . . [question] old beliefs.” She counsels her fans to engage in a daily practice of asking, “What do I need today?” and then to go and get it.

Forgivable – Romans 7

  • Doubt - John 20:24-29

  • Secret sin – Psalm 139:1-2t

  • Sexual sin – 1 Corinthians 6:18-20, Galatians 2:20

  • Habitual sin – 1 Corinthians 10:13

  • Severe sin – 2 Samuel 12:14-31, Acts 9:4

  • Children (Matthew 18:14), Mental Illness (2 Corinthians 12:7-10), Suicide (Romans 8:38-39), Those who haven’t heard the gospel (Romans 2:12-16)

What could remain Unforgiven 

22 Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. 23 All the people were astonished and said, "Could this be the Son of David?" 24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.”…31 And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

Matthew 12:22-24, 31-32 (NIV)

28 I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin."

Mark 3:28-29 (NIV)

8 "I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. 9 But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God. 10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

Luke 12:8-10 (NIV)

Disrespectful speech or even actions, concerning God, are outward signs that there is an inward problem.

The inward problem is a hardened heart.

The ONLY thing that God can’t forgive: Consciously, persistently, deliberately, and maliciously rejecting the testimony of the Holy Spirit!

Tim Keller “The Fading of Forgiveness” (Citing a comment on Danielle Berrin’s post in The New York Times) - Growing view in our culture: The notion that victims of crime, oppression and even sexual assault could forgive their oppressors is absurd. It actually piles more oppression and harshness on the victim. . . . “Insisting” they should forgive . . . plays into the sickness of patriarchal misogynistic male-supremacist religions that blame women. Forgiveness is overrated. It heals [neither] the body or mind. . . . Let the criminal ask his gods, if there be any, for forgiveness. . . . Instead of talking about victims forgiving, we should be talking about “tattooing the names of the perpetrators sins” on their foreheads—this would actually help make us all safer.

Brandy Crampton