There are hard truths in the Bible that we don’t always like to accept. Of course, there are the ones strewn across the Old Testament where God wipes out a bunch of so-called “innocent” people (I put the word “innocent” in quotes because it requires a much longer analysis than I have time for here). Unbelievers love to pull from the Old Testament for this very reason to try to stump Christians, challenging them to refute their accusations that the God of the Bible is cruel and unfair.

But what about the passages that unbelievers don’t seem to care much about, but are possibly even harder for us believers to hear? For example:

And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.”

And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.

“Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.” 
- Mark 3:22-30

Jesus taught that a person may be forgiven if they blaspheme against even Himself. However, if a person blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, that person “never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” (v29). What makes this truth “hard” is that it implies that a person can forfeit any chance of salvation long before they die physically.

The obvious question is, “Well, when is that, exactly?”

My immediate answer is, “Don’t ask me. I’m not God.” But what I can say is that it can and does happen (e.g. Romans 1:18-32). God is the judge. Holy Scripture teaches us that in the case where a person wholly rejects the convicting ministry of God the Holy Spirit regarding the Gospel of Jesus Christ, they have effectively forfeited any chance of salvation. Don’t ask me for any more detail than what is in Holy Scripture. That’s what we’re given, so that’s what we need to believe, even if it may seem like a difficult pill to swallow. The timing and severity of rejection is a scale that God alone owns. We just know that it exists.

For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. 
- Hebrews 6:4-6 

I suppose a reasonably educated student of the Bible might ask, “But what about the thief on the Cross? Wasn’t he saved at the last minute?” Apparently, yes. But what’s he got to do with what I’m writing here? The truth about the thief on the cross is that we don’t know anything about him, how much he knew about Jesus beforehand, or the process of his conversion. For all we know, he could’ve had dinner with Jesus a month prior!

While it’s true there’s always hope from our perspective since only God knows who’s blasphemed against the Holy Spirit, the fact is that apostasy implies forfeiture of any future chance for salvation. As mere humans, we don’t know who the true apostates are in this world. We only know that they exist. 



I’ll share something with you. I don’t want to know who’s past the point of no return as it’d break my heart and I’d have a difficult time looking into their eyes and not weeping. I’d rather just pray for unbelievers and hope for the best.

For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 
- Mark 8:36

Love in Christ,

Ed Collins