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The Worst Sin
What's the worst sin of all? What's the deadliest sin?
Romans 6:23, Matthew 12:31-32
What’s the worst sin of all? What’s the deadliest sin? And as we think about that question, we should remember that the Bible tells us that
the wages of sin is death, (Romans 6:23)
and it doesn’t delineate grades of sin. It just says that any sin against God can kill the soul. Any sin that we refuse to repent of and to turn away from can lead us to be separated from our God. One sin, though, is spoken of in the Bible as coming with a horrifying warning. In the 12th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, our Lord Jesus said,
Therefore I tell you, people will be forgiven every sin and blasphemy, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven—either in this age or in the one to come. (Matthew 12:31-32 EHV)
What is it that’s so deadly about the sin against the Holy Spirit? Or, as Jesus speaks of it, blaspheming against the spirit? It’s deadly because it is God, the Holy Spirit, who works in us by the means of grace, by the Word of God, which we read and hear, and our baptism and in Holy Communion. And so it’s the Holy Spirit who works in us, that ability to see our sins and repent of them, to turn from them, and then trust in the forgiveness and the life eternal we have through our dear Savior.
To blaspheme the Spirit, what does that mean? We assume that that involves, perhaps in some more public way, acting against the Spirit, speaking against him, seeking to persuade others also to do the same thing. To set themselves in opposition to God, the Holy Spirit. And as we lead others to do that, we would lead them to hell also.
We regard, though, from our human perspective, all people as candidates for conversion to restoration with God so long as they’re alive. The Bible speaks of our time here on earth, whatever that length is, as our time of grace, our time to receive all the blessings that he wants us to have through Christ. But do we ever ponder, maybe in a quiet moment, have I committed that sin? Have I unknowingly committed the sin against God, the Holy Spirit, am I currently outside of the sphere of God’s forgiveness? We hate to think of that. Troubles our hearts to wonder if we’ve disqualified ourselves in that way. And when we do feel a fear, as we naturally would over that question of have I committed the deadliest sin, then we should remember that only one who still is under the guidance and the control of God, the Holy Spirit, would ask that question. The person who’s committed that sin probably would not be at all interested in even thinking about whether that’s a problem or not.
But for the one who’s troubled by that prospect, we should remember that’s a sign that the Holy Spirit is still with us in our lives, taking care of us and directing us as we should go. And so we ask that God would always keep us and protect us from falling into that unforgivable sin Jesus speaks of by mocking God the Spirit’s grace, or by urging others to do the same. And when we’re troubled, remember it’s the Spirit who leads us to think, “the one who comes to me, I will never drive away,” as Jesus himself said. (John 6:37) And as it says elsewhere in scripture, all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. (Romans 10:13) Thanks and praise to him for his goodness. Amen.
