Unspoken Sermons · Chapter
It Shall Not Be Forgiven explained
This chapter explores the nature of divine forgiveness, the sin against the Holy Ghost, and the process by which God's love works to perfect forgiveness in the human heart.
What happens
This chapter explores the nature of divine forgiveness, the sin against the Holy Ghost, and the process by which God's love works to perfect forgiveness in the human heart. It emphasizes that forgiveness is not a mere passing over of sin but an active, loving destruction of evil, and that the unforgivable sin is a persistent rejection of the Spirit of Truth within.
Themes in this chapter
God as Loving Father
The chapter portrays God as a father whose love is ever active, seeking to perfect forgiveness by destroying sin and drawing the sinner to repentance.
Inner Transformation and Perfection
Forgiveness is presented as a process of inner cleansing and growth, culminating in the complete removal of sin and union with God.
Critique of Religious Legalism
The author warns against misinterpreting Scripture in a way that causes fear and torture, especially in children, and emphasizes understanding the spirit over the letter.
Characters to notice
- Jesus Christ
Referenced as the Son of man and the source of truth; his words and being contain depths of truth, and he leads into all truth.
- God the Father
Described as the loving Father who forgives daily, sending sunshine and rain, and whose love works to perfect forgiveness in the sinner.
- David
Cited as an example of one who, when confronted by Nathan, awoke from moral lethargy and found he was still with God.
- The Holy Ghost
Central to the discussion of the unforgivable sin; the sin against the Holy Ghost is a sin against the truth itself, not merely against an embodiment.
- The Child
Mentioned as an example of a child who feared she had committed the sin against the Holy Ghost over a trivial matter, illustrating the tenderness of Jesus toward little ones.
Key passages
“It shall be forgiven to him that speaketh against the Son of man; for He may be but the truth revealed without him. Only he must have shame before the universe of the loving God, and may need the fire that burneth and consumeth not. But for him that speaketh against the Spirit of Truth, against the Son of God revealed within him, he is beyond the teaching of that Spirit now.”
Speaking against Jesus as a historical figure can be forgiven because one may only be rejecting the external revelation. But rejecting the inner witness of the Holy Spirit cuts one off from the very means of repentance and truth.
The author distinguishes between misunderstanding the outward Christ and rejecting the inward Spirit, the latter being the unforgivable sin.
“Forgiveness can never be indifference. Forgiveness is love towards the unlovely.”
True forgiveness is not a cold dismissal of wrongdoing but an active, loving engagement with the sinner.
The author defines forgiveness as the movement of love toward the unworthy, not a passive overlooking of sin.
“God is forgiving us every day—sending from between him and us our sins and their fogs and darkness. Witness the shining of his sun and the falling of his rain, the filling of their hearts with food and gladness, that he loves them that love him not.”
God's forgiveness is a continuous, daily act of removing the barriers of sin, shown through his ongoing kindness even to those who do not love him.
The author illustrates God's proactive forgiveness through the natural blessings of sun and rain, which are given to all.