ARE YOU QUALIFIED FOR GOD’S REJECTION? — PART 9
ARE YOU QUALIFIED FOR GOD’S REJECTION? — PART 9
THE REJECTION OF CHRIST AND THE UNPARDONABLE SIN
Main Text: Hebrews 6:4–6 (KJV)
Hebrews 6:4–6 (KJV)
Hebrews 6:4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
Hebrews 6:5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
Hebrews 6:6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
1. WHAT ABOUT SOMEONE WHO SAYS, “I REJECT JESUS”?
This is where the warning becomes even more serious. Hebrews 6:4–6 describes people who have experienced significant spiritual privileges and then fall away, treating the Son of God with contempt.
The passage must not be reduced to an ordinary believer committing a sin, struggling with temptation, or experiencing a season of doubt. It describes a much more serious situation involving falling away after substantial exposure to the truth.
Consider the language of the passage:
They were once enlightened.
They tasted of the heavenly gift.
They became partakers of the Holy Ghost.
They tasted the good Word of God.
They experienced the powers of the world to come.
The writer describes people who have encountered the realities of God's revelation. The warning concerns what happens when people turn away from the truth they have encountered and treat Christ with contempt.
There Is No Alternative Sacrifice for Sin
Hebrews 10:26 (KJV)
“For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,”
Notice that the issue is not merely that a person has committed a sin. The wider context of Hebrews 10 concerns the rejection of Christ's once-for-all sacrifice and the danger of turning away from the only provision God has made for sin.
The Christian faith does not teach that we can reject Christ's sacrifice and then find another sacrifice that will accomplish what His sacrifice alone can accomplish.
Jesus is not one of several ways to God. He is the way God has provided.
John 14:6 (KJV)
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Jesus is the only way to the Father. His sacrifice is sufficient, and there is no other sacrifice that can replace it.
Therefore, deliberately rejecting Christ and His sacrifice is not a minor matter. It is a rejection of God's provision for reconciliation.
However, we must also understand that a person who has sinned, struggled with unbelief, or even spoken rashly against Jesus should not automatically conclude that they have committed an irreversible sin. The warning must be taken seriously, but it must be interpreted in its context.
2. WHAT ABOUT THE UNPARDONABLE SIN?
To understand this subject correctly, we must examine what Jesus actually said and the circumstances in which He said it.
Matthew 12:22–32 (KJV)
Matthew 12:22–23
“Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.
And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?”
Jesus performed a remarkable miracle. A man who was blind and unable to speak was healed and delivered. The people witnessed what had happened and began to consider whether Jesus was the promised Son of David, the Messiah.
But the response of the Pharisees was very different.
Matthew 12:24 (KJV)
“But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.”
Instead of acknowledging the work of God, they attributed Jesus' work of deliverance to Beelzebub, the prince of devils.
Jesus then exposed the error in their reasoning. If Satan were casting out Satan, his kingdom would be divided against itself. Jesus explained that He cast out devils by the Spirit of God, demonstrating that the kingdom of God had come upon them.
Matthew 12:28 (KJV)
“But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.”
The issue was not simply that the Pharisees had misunderstood a miracle. They were attributing the work of God's Spirit to Satan.
What Did Jesus Say About This Sin?
Matthew 12:31–32 (KJV)
Matthew 12:31 “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.
Matthew 12:32 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.”
These words must be taken seriously. Jesus distinguished between other sins and blasphemy against the Holy Ghost.
But we must pay attention to the context.
The Pharisees had witnessed the work of deliverance and attributed it to Satan. Their response was not a simple question asked in ignorance or an ordinary mistake made by a sincere believer. They were opposing the work of the Spirit that Jesus identified as evidence of God's kingdom.
The passage therefore warns against hardened opposition to the Holy Spirit and the deliberate misrepresentation of His work.
We should not casually label every expression of doubt, every intrusive thought, every moment of anger, or every past statement against God as the unpardonable sin. Jesus' warning arose from a specific confrontation, and we must interpret it accordingly.
3. PAUL: AN EXAMPLE OF GOD'S MERCY
If someone asks whether a person who has spoken against Christ can ever receive mercy, Paul's testimony is important.
1 Timothy 1:13 (KJV) “Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.”
Paul described himself as a former blasphemer and persecutor. He had opposed the Christian faith and persecuted believers. Yet he obtained mercy from God.
How could this happen?
Paul acted in ignorance and unbelief, and God's mercy reached him. His testimony demonstrates the greatness of God's grace toward someone who had seriously opposed Christ.
However, we should not use Paul's testimony to dismiss Jesus' warning about blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. Paul's circumstances and the Pharisees' response in Matthew 12 are not identical.
The lesson is that we must not confuse Paul's former persecution of Christians with the specific conduct Jesus condemned in Matthew 12.
Paul's testimony gives us a powerful picture of divine mercy. It reminds us that a person's past opposition to Christ does not automatically mean that they are beyond God's mercy.
4. DOES THIS MEAN THAT GOD IS EAGER TO REJECT PEOPLE?
No. The warnings in Hebrews must be read alongside the wider testimony of Scripture concerning God's grace, mercy, and provision through Jesus Christ.
John 3:17 (KJV) “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.”
God sent His Son so that the world might be saved through Him.
The Gospel does not present God as delighting in the destruction of people. It presents Him as providing salvation through Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:8 (KJV) “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Christ did not wait for us to become perfect before He died for us. He demonstrated God's love while we were still sinners.
This is the foundation of the Gospel of Grace: Christ accomplished the work of redemption, and salvation is received through faith, not earned through human merit.
Ephesians 2:8–9 (KJV)
Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Ephesians 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
These verses do not cancel the warnings in Hebrews. Rather, they remind us that salvation is God's gift and that our confidence must rest in Christ, not in our own ability to earn acceptance.
Grace is not permission to despise Christ or treat His sacrifice as worthless. Grace reveals the goodness of God and calls us to trust the One through whom salvation has been provided.
5. A PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
Imagine two people.
Person A is a believer who falls into sin, feels convicted, and turns to God for mercy. This person may struggle with weakness, fear, and questions about their spiritual life. Their struggle should not automatically be classified as the rejection described in Hebrews 6 or the blasphemy described in Matthew 12.
Person B has heard the truth about Christ, understands the claim being made, and deliberately rejects His sacrifice, treating Christ with contempt and insisting that God's work is evil. This is much closer to the serious attitude addressed by the warnings we have examined, although the person's complete spiritual condition cannot be determined from a brief description alone.
The difference is not that Person A has never sinned while Person B has sinned. Both descriptions concern people who need to be understood in light of Scripture.
The important distinction is between a person who struggles with sin and seeks God's mercy and the deliberate repudiation of Christ and the truth He has revealed.
We must not offer false assurance that makes the warnings meaningless, nor should we frighten sincere believers into thinking that every failure has placed them beyond God's mercy.
6. WHAT SHOULD WE LEARN FROM THESE PASSAGES?
There are several important lessons.
First, Christ's sacrifice is sufficient. There is no alternative sacrifice that can replace His work of redemption.
Second, the warnings in Hebrews are serious. We must not treat falling away from Christ as an insignificant matter.
Third, the unpardonable sin must be understood in its biblical context. Jesus addressed people who attributed the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan. We should not automatically apply this condemnation to every believer who has struggled with doubt, fear, or careless speech.
Fourth, God's grace must not be confused with permission to despise Christ. Grace reveals God's provision for salvation; it does not make Christ's sacrifice unimportant.
Fifth, our confidence must rest in Jesus Christ. We do not obtain salvation by boasting in our own goodness. We trust in the finished work of Christ and receive God's gift through faith.
Sixth, we must allow Scripture to interpret Scripture. Hebrews warns against falling away, Matthew 12 addresses blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, and Paul's testimony demonstrates God's mercy toward a former persecutor. Each passage contributes to a proper understanding of the subject.
7. CONFESSIONS OF FAITH
Dear Father, in the Name of Jesus Christ,
I believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father.
I trust in the finished work of Christ and the sufficiency of His sacrifice.
I receive salvation by grace through faith, not by my own works.
I will not treat the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as something ordinary or worthless.
I choose to trust God's Word rather than live under condemnation based on fear and speculation.
I acknowledge the seriousness of Scripture's warnings and desire to walk in the truth of Christ, in Jesus' Name. Amen
My confidence is in the grace of God revealed through Jesus Christ.
I will continue to grow in the knowledge of God's Word and the riches of His grace.
CONCLUSION
Are you qualified for God's rejection?
Hebrews 6:4–6 warns us about the seriousness of falling away after experiencing the privileges associated with God's revelation. Hebrews 10:26 warns against turning away from the only sacrifice God has provided for sins. Matthew 12:22–32 records Jesus' solemn warning concerning blasphemy against the Holy Ghost.
These passages must not be weakened, but neither should they be used carelessly to condemn every believer who has sinned, doubted, or experienced spiritual weakness.
The central truth remains that Jesus Christ is God's provision for our salvation. There is no other sacrifice that can replace His work. Our response must be to take His Word seriously, trust in His finished work, and refuse to treat His sacrifice with contempt.
The Gospel of Grace does not make Christ's work less important. It reveals how completely we depend on Him for salvation.
Our confidence is not in our own perfection, but in the sufficiency of Jesus Christ and His finished work.
Amos Iguma
Salvation Ground Ministry Int’l