The Power and Cost of God's Forgiveness

Forgiveness is one of the most difficult yet powerful acts we can witness or experience. When we see someone forgive a deep wrong, it moves us because we know the cost involved. True forgiveness always comes at a cost, and nowhere is this more profound than in the forgiveness God offers us. Yet, we can become so accustomed to the idea of God’s forgiveness that we lose sight of its wonder and scandal. The Bible is full of stories where God forgives even the most heinous sins—idolatry, murder, pride, and even the murder of His own Son. There seems to be no end to God’s willingness to forgive, except for one sobering exception that Jesus Himself names: blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

This warning from Jesus is not meant to create anxiety, but to awaken us to the seriousness of willfully rejecting Him. The context is a dramatic healing, where Jesus restores a man afflicted by blindness, muteness, and demon possession—three afflictions that would have seemed impossible to heal. The crowd is astounded, but their amazement does not necessarily lead to faith. The Pharisees, on the other hand, see the miracle and, rather than denying its reality, attribute Jesus’ power to Satan. Their response is not ignorance, but a willful, conscious rejection of what they know to be true, motivated by a desire to protect their own power and position.

Jesus exposes the absurdity of their accusation and explains that to reject the clear work of the Holy Spirit is to stand on the edge of the unforgivable sin. This is not a matter of ignorance or doubt, but of knowing who Jesus is and deliberately choosing to reject Him. The writer of Hebrews echoes this warning, describing those who have tasted the things of God and yet fall away as being impossible to restore if they persist in their rejection.

Yet, in the midst of this warning, there is a profound invitation. Every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven—except the final, willful rejection of Jesus. If you are anxious about having committed this sin, your very concern is evidence that you have not. The real danger lies in a hardened heart that no longer cares. For those who are merely amazed by Jesus, or who have been around the things of God without surrendering, the call is to move from amazement to faith, from being in the crowd to being a true follower. And for those who have wandered or rejected Jesus, as long as there is breath in your lungs, the invitation to return remains open. God’s forgiveness is scandalously wide, and the only thing He cannot forgive is the refusal to receive it.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Forgiveness always comes at a cost, and true forgiveness—whether between people or from God—requires someone to bear that cost. When we forgive, we are not erasing the wrong, but choosing to absorb its weight or trust that it has been dealt with. This is why forgiveness is so powerful and so difficult, and why God’s forgiveness of us is so astonishing. [01:25]
• 2. There is a crucial difference between being amazed by Jesus and actually believing in Him. Many can be moved, inspired, or even emotionally overwhelmed by the things of God, but never surrender their lives to Him. Faith is not just an emotional response or intellectual agreement; it is a surrender of the whole self to Jesus as Lord. [10:06]
• 3. The unforgivable sin—blasphemy against the Holy Spirit—is not a momentary doubt or a careless word, but a willful, conscious, and persistent rejection of Jesus after the Spirit has revealed Him to you. It is possible to be deeply involved in religious life, to have experienced the things of God, and yet to choose something else over Christ. This is a sober warning to examine not just our actions, but the posture of our hearts. [19:18]
• 4. If you are anxious or concerned that you may have committed the unforgivable sin, that very concern is a sign that you have not. Those who are in danger are not those who wrestle with doubt or fear, but those who have become hardened and indifferent, knowing the truth and yet rejecting it. As long as there is breath in your lungs, the invitation to repent and return to Jesus remains open. [26:09]
• 5. God’s forgiveness is scandalously wide—every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven except the final, willful rejection of Jesus. The only thing that cannot be forgiven is refusing to receive His forgiveness. This is both a warning and an invitation: no matter your past, if you turn to Christ, there is nothing He cannot forgive. [33:46]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:30] - The Power and Cost of Forgiveness
• [01:45] - God’s Scandalous Forgiveness in Scripture
• [03:00] - Wrestling with the Unforgivable Sin
• [03:45] - Jesus’ Healing and the Pharisees’ Challenge
• [04:58] - The Man Afflicted by Three Ailments
• [06:03] - The Crowd’s Amazement and Its Limits
• [09:18] - The Difference Between Amazement and Faith
• [12:00] - The Pharisees’ Willful Rejection
• [13:28] - Jesus Exposes the Pharisees’ Motives
• [16:09] - The Strong Man Analogy
• [18:56] - The Edge of the Unforgivable Sin
• [21:04] - Hebrews 6 and the Danger of Willful Rejection
• [22:25] - Every Sin Can Be Forgiven—Except One
• [26:09] - Assurance for the Anxious
• [28:28] - Examining Ourselves and Others
• [30:41] - From the Crowd to True Faith
• [33:46] - The Scandalous Width of God’s Forgiveness
• [35:57] - Invitation to Pharisees and Wanderers
• [37:41] - Closing Prayer and Benediction

Bible Reading

Matthew 12:22-32 (ESV) — 22 Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw.
23 And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?”
24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.”
25 Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.
26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?
27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.
28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
29 Or how can someone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house.
30 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
31 Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.
32 And 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 age to come.

Hebrews 6:4-6 (ESV) — 4 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,
5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come,
6 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.

Observation Questions

1. What were the three afflictions that Jesus healed in the man brought to Him, and why was this significant to the crowd? ([04:26])
2. How did the crowd react to Jesus’ miracle, and what question did they ask among themselves? ([06:03])
3. What accusation did the Pharisees make about the source of Jesus’ power, and how did Jesus respond to their claim? ([12:00])
4. According to Jesus, what is the one sin that will not be forgiven, and how does He describe it? ([22:25])

Interpretation Questions

1. Why does Jesus make a distinction between being amazed by Him and actually believing in Him? What does this reveal about the nature of true faith? ([10:06])
2. In the sermon, the Pharisees are described as being on “the edge” of the unforgivable sin. What does it mean to be at the edge, and why is this a warning for religious people? ([18:56])
3. How does the passage in Hebrews 6 help us understand the seriousness of willfully rejecting Jesus after experiencing the things of God? ([21:04])
4. The sermon says that if someone is anxious about having committed the unforgivable sin, that very concern is evidence they have not. Why is this the case, and what does it say about the posture of the heart? ([26:09])

Application Questions

1. The sermon says forgiveness always comes at a cost, and when we forgive, we are choosing to absorb the weight of the wrong or trust that it has been dealt with. Is there someone in your life you are struggling to forgive? What would it look like to “absorb the cost” or trust God with it? ([01:25])
2. Have you ever found yourself simply amazed by Jesus or the things of God, but not actually surrendering your life to Him? What would it look like for you to move from amazement to faith? ([10:06])
3. Are there areas of your life where you are holding back from Jesus—places where you say, “God, you can have everything except this”? What is one step you could take this week to surrender that area to Him? ([32:22])
4. The Pharisees’ response to Jesus was motivated by a desire to protect their own power and position. Are there things in your life—status, comfort, reputation—that you are tempted to protect, even if it means resisting what God is doing? ([12:47])
5. The sermon warns about the danger of a hardened heart that no longer cares. How can you guard your heart from becoming indifferent or resistant to God? Are there warning signs you see in yourself? ([26:09])
6. If you are worried about someone you love who seems to have walked away from faith, how can you keep sharing Jesus with them and praying for them, trusting that as long as there is breath in their lungs, the invitation to return remains open? ([29:20])
7. God’s forgiveness is described as “scandalously wide.” Is there a part of your past that you struggle to believe God can forgive? How does this sermon challenge or encourage you to receive His forgiveness fully? ([33:46])