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Is Divorce the Unforgivable Sin?

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divorce unforgivable sinSome believe that divorce is the unforgivable sin.

This view is not as common as it once was. After all, a large percentage of Christians have been divorced. Common “sins” such as divorce usually make poor candidates for the unforgivable sin since such a position would disqualify many Christians from eternal life.

However, there are still some who believe that divorce is unforgivable.

Why some believe Divorce is the Unforgivable Sin

The logic of this view is primarily based upon Malachi 2:16, where God says, “I hate divorce.”

Those who quote this verse usually overlook the fact that Scripture lists other sins which God also hates, such as pride, lying, and discord (Prov 6:16-19).

Nevertheless, divorce is singled out as particularly bad, because it is thought to be a sin that people cannot properly repent of, for if someone gets divorced and then repents of it, they are still divorced. The sin still remains. For this reason, people think that divorce is unforgivable because it can never properly be repented of.

Refuting the View that Divorce is the Unforgivable Sin

There is much to be said against the idea that divorce is the unforgivable sin.

First, as with most views about the unforgivable sin, those who hold this view reveal a deep misunderstanding about the grace of God and what was accomplished by Jesus on the cross for the sins of the whole world.

An improper understanding of the grace and forgiveness of God is the root cause of most of the wrong views about the unforgivable sin.

The topics of God’s infinite grace and forgiveness will be looked at in later posts, and so nothing more will be said about it here except to say that God’s grace covers even divorce.

God Forgives Divorce

The idea that divorce is unforgivable is also disproven by various Scriptures.

For example, it is critical to recognize that God Himself is a divorced person. In Jeremiah 3:8, God gives Israel a certificate of divorce. In other words, God divorced Israel.

One could argue that God was not exactly married to Israel the same way that a man is married to a woman, but against this it could also be argued that the covenant relationship God has with Israel is far stronger and far more binding than the relationship shared between a husband and wife.

Some might also say that it was okay for God to divorce Israel because of her numerous acts of infidelity to Him, and infidelity is the one basis by which divorce is allowed (cf. Matt 19:9). Of course, Jesus says that the only reason for this allowance was because of the hardness of people’s hearts (Matt 19:8). Ideally, not even marital infidelity should result in divorce, as in God’s eyes, the marriage union lasts as long as both people live. This is even more true of God, whose patience and long-suffering are nearly without limits. Yet the limit was reached, and God gave Israel a certificate of divorce.

So God is a divorced person.

There is also evidence in Scripture that Moses was divorced. First, we learn from Exodus 18:2 that Moses had separated from his wife, Zipporah. This likely had something to do with Zipporah’s disgust at having to circumcise her sons (Exod 4:24-26). After Moses leads the people out of Egypt, Jethro, Zipporah’s father, tried to get the two of them back together, but was unsuccessful, for later in the Pentateuch we learn that Moses had married an Ethiopian woman (Num 12:1).

One wonders if the allowance by Moses for the Israelites to divorce and remarry was because he himself was divorced and remarried (Matt 19:8).

Regardless, everybody expects to see Moses in heaven, and in fact, at the Mount of Transfiguration, Moses is one of the two heavenly beings that speaks with Jesus (Matt 17:1-4).

So divorce is not the unforgivable sin. If you have been divorced, there is grace and forgiveness for you.

Do you fear that you have committed the Unforgivable Sin?

Fear not! You are forgiven. You are loved.

Fill out the form below to receive several emails from me which explains how you can know that you are loved and forgiven by God.

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Have I committed the Unforgivable Sin?

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Most Christians have wondered at one time or another if they have committed the unforgivable sin.

I remember being terrified as a child that I had committed some unknown sin which would separate me eternally from God, and so several times a day, I would ask God to forgive me of all known and unknown sins, and would once again ask God to save me and give me eternal life. I was scared that I had committed a sin which was unforgivable.

What bad things had I possibly done as a youth? Nothing too serious. I fought with my siblings, stole candy from the supermarket, and disobeyed my parents.

But there were a few particular sins which terrified me most. They were terrible and I hesitate even to write them here, as I have never told anyone about them before. But to show you that I too have struggled with the unforgivable sin, let me share one of my more terrible sins.

Unforgivable Sin

My Most Terrible Sin

As a teenager, I remember kneeling at my bed late one night, and praying to Satan that he would come into my heart.

This is a terrible thing to pray for, but let me explain my rationale. I had been told as a child that one became a Christian by asking Jesus into their heart, which I had done. In fact, as I indicated above, I had done this numerous times.

But one day, someone told me that God was stronger than Satan, and once Jesus was in your heart, nothing could remove Him; not even Satan.

So I decided to test it.

I once prayed to Satan that he would enter my heart.

I also prayed that if he was successful, he would make me the antichrist.

I figured that if I was going to go down in flames, I might as well make it count.

I remember waiting for something to feel different, but nothing seemed to change, and so I decided that Jesus must have been successful in keeping Satan out of my heart.

Have I Committed the Unforgivable Sin?

Nevertheless, even though I did not feel Satan enter my heart, for many years afterwards I had an unshakable fear that maybe Satan had been successful, and since he was the great deceiver, I would not know that he ruled my heart until I actually became the antichrist. So I began to pray night and day that God would keep me from becoming the antichrist. One of my greatest fears at that time was that I would grow up to be God’s greatest enemy on earth.

You can imagine that among the theories on what the unpardonable sin is, one of the top contenders is asking Satan to kick Jesus out of your heart and take up residence there himself so that you can become the antichrist. If there is any unforgivable sin, this is it.

If anyone has committed the unforgivable sin, it is me.

If I had gone for counseling from a pastor who warns others about the unforgivable sin, I believe he would have told me I was doomed forever; that there was no forgiveness for me.

In fact, such a pastor would probably also say that since I committed the unpardonable sin, what I write in these posts about the unpardonable sin is not from God, but is the heresy of a reprobate heart darkened by Satan’s lies.

I hope that after you read these posts, you will feel differently.

I hope that you will come to see how much God loves you and forgives you. I have seen this for myself, and frankly, I cannot imagine how it would benefit Satan to teach others that God is loving and forgiving.

I hope that these posts will help you determine for yourself — in the light of Scripture and through the guidance of the Holy Spirit — that you also have not committed the unforgivable sin.

The content of these posts contain some of the things I have learned over the years about the unforgivable sin, and how I gained freedom and deliverance from my sins of the past. Like me, I trust that as you also will come to to an understanding of God’s infinite love, grace, and forgiveness.

Do you fear that you have committed the Unforgivable Sin?

Fear not! You are forgiven. You are loved.

Fill out the form below to receive several emails from me which explains how you can know that you are loved and forgiven by God.

(Note: If you are a member of RedeemingGod.com, login and then revisit this page to update your membership.)

 

Are you afraid of the Unforgivable Sin? Don’t be. You have NOT committed it!

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Most Christians have wondered at one time or another if they have committed the unforgivable sin. Have you?

If this is your fear, be encouraged. You have not committed the unforgivable sin.

You are not eternally damned.

You are not forsaken by God.

You are not hated by God.

You are not outside the bounds of His love and grace.

Quite to the contrary, you are loved by God more than you possibly know.

unforgivable sin

You are forgiven. You are accepted. God loves you!

When I first became a pastor, the very first counseling session I had was with a member of my church who was afraid they had committed the unpardonable sin.

I had personally struggled with fear about this sin in my own life, but I sort of thought that I was alone in this struggle. As I talked with this church member, I clearly remember feeling a sense of relief that I was not alone in being afraid about this sin. There were two of us!

A month later, a high-school student in the church asked me about this sin. He was angry with God and said some things to God that he regretted. He wanted to know if he was now doomed to hell.

Then I received an email from a single mother in the church who had gotten pregnant out of wedlock. Twice. The first pregnancy had been aborted. Someone told her that she was now a murderer and God would never forgive her. She wanted to know if that was true.

I began to see that fear about committing a sin that God would never forgive was a common fear in the lives of other people. So I decided to preach a sermon about the Unpardonable Sin, and what I believed the Scriptures taught about God’s love and forgiveness for us – no matter what we say or do.

To this day, this sermon on the Unforgivable Sin is still my most popular sermon on this website, and I get weekly emails from people all over the world who are afraid they have committed the unforgivable sin and want to know if God still loves them and if there is hope for them.

I do not know if you struggle with fear about the unpardonable sin. But if not, I guarantee that you know people who do. They may not express this fear to you, but there are people in your life who have done something they fear God will never forgive.

If you are afraid you committed the unforgivable sin, I have created a short series of emails you can receive about this sin (You can sign up below).

These emails explain what this sin is (and is not) and how to know that you have not committed it.

Even if you do not personally struggle with fear about this sin, you might want to get these emails anyway, since you almost certainly will encounter somebody who is afraid of it, and it would be helpful for you to have a way to encourage them and give them hope about God’s love and forgiveness.

In this series of emails on the Unforgivable Sin, I show why you have not committed this sin, and you can know that you have not committed it.

If you struggle with fear about committing the unforgivable sin, this free series of emails is for you.

This series of posts begins by surveying the various views about the unforgivable sin, which is also called “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.” This survey includes an examination of Matthew 12:31-32 so that we can understand what Jesus meant when He talked about the unforgivable sin.

The most common theories about the unpardonable sin (also called the unforgivable sin) include the sins of adultery, divorce, murder, and even cursing the Holy Spirit. None of these are the unforgivable sin.

Not even suicide is the unforgivable sin.

While many churches and pastors teach that those who commit since like those listed above can never be forgiven, this series of posts reveals that all such sins are forgivable by God.

If you have committed adultery, you are forgiven!

If you got a divorce, you are forgiven!

If you had an abortion, you are forgiven!

If a friend of yours committed suicide, this does not mean they automatically went to hell.

If you are afraid that you blasphemed the Holy Spirit, do not worry — God has already forgiven you for whatever you said or whatever you did.

Even if you cursed God, cursed the Holy Spirit, or said some terrible things to them, God still loves you and still forgives you.

Yes, it is true… There is a sin in the Bible which is “unpardonable.” Yes, the Bible talks about a sin which cannot be forgiven.

But there is so much bad teaching in the church about what this sin is, how it is committed, and whether or not there is hope for those who commit this sin, but you do not need to worry about committing it.

Some churches teach that there are seven unforgivable sins in the Bible, or that there is one thing you can say which will cause God to hate you forever, or that if you have done something terrible in your past there is no hope for your eternal soul.

All such teachings are unhealthy! They do not reflect the heart of God, His great love for you, or the infinite forgiveness He has provided to you in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

If there is a sin you have committed which you think is unforgivable, or which makes you think God does not love you, or makes you feel like you cannot be forgiven, do not worry any longer. This series of emails will give you hope for your future and reveal to you the infinite love, grace, and mercy of God for you.

In the end, you will learn that you have not committed the unforgivable sin.

If you fear you have committed the unforgivable sin, or if you simply want to learn what this sin is (and is not), sign up below to receive a series of free emails about this sin.

Do you fear that you have committed the Unforgivable Sin?

Fear not! You are forgiven. You are loved.

Fill out the form below to receive several emails from me which explains how you can know that you are loved and forgiven by God.

(Note: If you are a member of RedeemingGod.com, login and then revisit this page to update your membership.)

 

The Two Most Beautiful Words in the Gospels

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Peter wept bitterlyWhat are the most beautiful words in the Gospels?

These two right here:

…and Peter…

These two words are found in Mark 16:7 and I find them to be the most beautiful and moving words in the Gospels. Every single time I read them, they get my heart beating. They give me shivers and chills. Sometimes I even choke up in tears.

…and Peter…

Why?

We all know what Peter did. He was one of the three closest companions that Jesus had. He was the spokesperson for the twelve apostles. He was the one who promised He would never deny Jesus.

And when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter was the only one who tried to defend Jesus.

When Jesus was escorted away to His trial, Peter was the only apostle who followed. The rest scattered into the night and hid.

…and Peter…

Peter denies ChristYet despite all this zeal for Jesus, it was only Peter who verbally denied Jesus. It was only Peter who cursed Jesus. Not once. Not twice. But three times. (Possibly even six times.)

This is certainly the low point of Peter’s life. He feels abandoned and betrayed. And Peter even betrays and denies Jesus. He probably feels that all is lost, and that whatever happens, He is lost for eternity. He is done for. God will never forgive him.

All of us have felt this way from time to time. Like we have done something or said something so terrible that Jesus could never forgive us.

…and Peter…

So when Jesus rises from the dead, I find it terribly comforting that when the angel tells the two women who first witness His resurrection to go and tell His disciples that Jesus has risen, the angel emphasizes that they must also tell Peter. He singles Peter out. “Go tell the disciples,” the angel says, “and Peter…”

Yes.

…and Peter…

The resurrection of Jesus is for all of us. It is for the Mother Theresas of the world and the Hitlers.

The resurrection is for John the beloved disciple, and Judas the traitor.

The resurrection is for you, me, …and Peter.

If you ever doubt or wonder about Jesus’ love for you, just remember these two words which tell us so much about our own sin, the heart of Jesus, and the complete forgiveness and love offered to us through His death and resurrection.

…and Peter…

The cross of Jesus is CENTRAL to everything!

Transform your life and theology by focusing on the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus:

Fill out the form below to receive several emails from me about the death and resurrection of Jesus.

(Note: If you are a member of RedeemingGod.com, login and then revisit this page to update your membership.)

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What is Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit?

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blasphemy against the Holy Spirit I receive a lot of emails and Google search hits about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and the unpardonable sin.

One of the more popular search strings has been “Is adultery the unpardonable sin?”

Let me answer that question quickly:

NO. Adultery is not the Unpardonable Sin

And while I’m at it, neither is suicide.

But please, don’t do either of these things. If you are thinking about doing either, and fear of hell is the only thing keeping you from doing it, please contact me through the contact form on my About page.

Here is a link to a short paper I wrote on the subject:  The Unpardonable Sin and Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Below is an excerpt from this paper:

If you, or your friend or relative is not a Christian [and are worrying about having committed the sin], then be encouraged. Almost nobody who commits the blasphemy against the Spirit wonders if they have. They don’t care about such things anymore. The unbeliever who commits this sin has become so morally and spiritually blind that their heart is hardened to the point that they no longer care about spiritual things and will never believe in Jesus.

But nevertheless, some people are afraid they have. To them, I would simply say, “Worrying about it pretty much proves that you haven’t. So in order to make sure you never will be able to, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. Whatever sin you may have committed, you are still being convicted by it, which is good. God’s grace will cover over that sin, and all other sins if you will just believe in Jesus for eternal life.”

Are you afraid of committing blasphemy against the Holy Spirit or the unpardonable sin? Don’t be.

God isn’t out to get you, or set traps in your way so He can shout in triumphant glee, “Aha! Another one who will never experience my grace! Off to hell you go!”

No.

That is not the God of the Bible. That is not what Jesus was teaching in Matthew 12:31-32. That is not the message of Hebrews 6:1-8. God’s grace and what Jesus accomplished on the cross is greater than anything you can say or do. It is only when you come to understand the perfect love of God that all fear vanishes and you can start living for God out of love for Him, rather than fear about Him.

So what is the Unpardonable Sin or the Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit? I have a series of about 20 emails that shares more:

Do you fear that you have committed the Unforgivable Sin?

Fear not! You are forgiven. You are loved.

Fill out the form below to receive several emails from me which explains how you can know that you are loved and forgiven by God.

(Note: If you are a member of RedeemingGod.com, login and then revisit this page to update your membership.)

 

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