Sermon Series: The Gospel of Mark: Getting to Know Jesus 

The Only Thing That Will Send You To Hell 

Mark 3:22-30

PSBC 1/20/02 AM

In a nutshell: The only sin that will send you to hell is rejecting Jesus Christ.

I. Introduction

A. John Wayne Gacy story

John was born in Chicago in 1942. Many times during his childhood, he was called a "sissy" and suffered countless beatings at the hand of his alcoholic father. He was married to.. and divorced from… his first wife while he was a restaurant manager in Iowa. He remarried a few years later, and settled in a Chicago suburb. John became a community activist, a successful independent contractor, and a leader in the Junior Chamber of Commerce. In 1970, the local Jaycee's elected him "Man of the Year", for his entertainment of hospitalized children as "Pogo the Clown".

But beginning in 1972, John displayed a dark side. That year he began to kidnap, torture and kill young men. His victims ranged in age from nine to 27. He lured some to their deaths with promises of construction jobs. Then he'd offer them liquor and, once he got them drunk, he tied them to a chair and chloroformed them. John also sexually violated each of his victims before killing them. Afterwards, he buried the bodies in the crawlspace underneath his home.

When John was finally caught, the police found 28 bodies in the crawlspace of his home, and five more corpses in a local river.

In 1988, John Wayne Gacy was sentenced to 21 consecutive counts of life imprisonment and 12 death sentences. Six years later, on May 10, 1994, John Wayne Gacy, then 51 years old, was executed by lethal injection at Illinois' Stateville penitentiary.

B. Where is he today?

Where do you think John Wayne Gacy is today? Heaven or Hell?

Jesus is going to give us the answer to that question this morning. If you have your Bibles, please turn with me to Mark, chapter 3. And I want to point you to three verses in that chapter…

Mark 3:28-30 28 I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin." 30 He said this because they were saying, "He has an evil spirit."

Jesus teaches two major, fundamental doctrinal truths in these three verses… 1. All sins are forgiven-we call that the extent of grace. 2. There is eternal damnation (or in Mark's words, an eternal sin)-we call that the extent of justice.

The Bible calls that eternal consequence of sin, hell. The Bible defines it as a place, and it is a frightening place at that.

C. Hell

1. A place of fire… Matthew 5:22 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.

2. That fire is eternal… Mark 9:43 43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.

3. A place of gloom… 2 Peter 2:4 4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment;

4. A place of torment… Luke 16:23-24 23 In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'

5. A place of memories… Luke 16:25 25 "But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.

6. A place of regrets… Luke 16:28 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'

7. A place of being forsaken… When speaking about hell, Jeremiah records God saying… Jeremiah 23:39a 39a Therefore, I will surely forsake you… 8. A place devoid of God Because in the same verse Jeremiah also records God saying… Jeremiah 23:39b 39b … and cast you out of my presence along with the city I gave to you and your fathers.

D. We're headed for Hell

And from other places in the Bible, we also learn that all of us are headed for this place called Hell, that's described in the Bible…

Romans 3:23 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 6:23 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Revelation 20:14-15 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

And friends, if we were to stop at this point, we'd be most miserable. Because what I've just described for you is pure hopelessness. However, the Bible does not contain a message of hopelessness, but a message of hope. Because it tells us with the wonderful truth that no person has to go to Hell.

John 3:16 16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:36 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."

1 John 5:11-12 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Now, I've thrown a lot of Bible verses your way so far this morning. I don't want to overwhelm you, but I want you to see and know that these verses give us a Biblical foundation for three very important things…. -1. There is a place called Hell. -2. It is a place where every person on the face of the earth is headed. -3. There is a way out-that way is through Jesus Christ, and personal faith in Him.

All this leads us to what I want to consider with you this morning. Because I want to answer the question, "What sin or sins will send you to hell?" Let's look again at verse 28…

Mark 3:28 28 I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them.

II. There are many sins which will NOT send you to Hell

So if all our sins will be forgiven, what could possibly send you or me to hell?

A. Will lying?

Could it be lying that sends you to hell? No it won't . Peter lied when he said he didn't know Jesus the night before Jesus was crucified.

B. Will murder?

Could it be murder that sends you to hell? No that won't do it. David, whom the Bible calls, "the man after God's own heart", was a murderer. He killed Bathsheba's husband, Uriah, by giving a direct order to put him in harms way so he would be killed in battle.

And Paul, the great apostle to the Gentiles, consented to, and participated in the murder/stoning of Stephen in the beginning of the book of Acts.

C. Will adultery?

Could it be adultery that sends you to hell? No that won't, either. David also committed adultery with Bathsheba, Uriah's wife. And Samson, the great and mighty judge of Israel committed adultery with Delilah.

And I say that none of those sins will send you to Hell, because all the people I just mentioned are listed in the great roll call of faith in…

Hebrews 11:32 32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets,

D. Will stealing?

Well then, what about stealing? Will that send you to hell? No, that won't either. The thief on the cross was there, obviously, because he stole something-that's what made him a thief. Yet Jesus said to this man… Luke 23:43 43 "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

E. Will excessive partying?

What about wild and excessive partying, drinking binges, or use of drugs? Will that send you to hell? Not it won't. Otherwise we wouldn't have the story of the Prodigal Son as an example of God's forgiveness.

F. Will selfishness?

What about selfishness? Will that send you to hell? Well, if it would, then about 99.9% of us would be going there.

G. Will Pride?

What about pride? Will that send you to hell? Well, if it would, then all of us would be headed there.

III. There is ONLY ONE thing that will send you to hell

Friends, understand this… there is only one thing that will send any person to hell. Jesus identifies it in verse 29…

Mark 3:29 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin."

Now, let's analyze this for a minute… …What does blaspheme mean? Well, according to Webster's dictionary, it means to speak evil of, revile, and rail upon. According to Vine's Expository dictionary of New Testament Words, blaspheme means "speech that defames the Divine Majesty." Saying all that, what does blaspheme mean in practical terms-specifically Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? Let me give you a three part answer to that question.

A. Unbelief toward God

The first part is a refusal to believe God. The scribes were guilty of it here in this third chapter of Mark. Look at verse 22…

Mark 3:22 22 And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebub! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons."

Despite all the proofs they had seen and heard, these religious teachers still refused to believe that Jesus was God's Son.

The Corinthian Jews were another example of unbelief. Look at this verse…

Acts 18:6 6 But when the Jews opposed Paul (and Paul had been teaching a long time about God and God's Messiah) and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, "Your blood be on your own heads! I am clear of my responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles."

Felix, the governor of Caesarea refused to believe because it wasn't convenient…

Acts 24:25 25 As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, "That's enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you."

Agrippa, the king, didn't feel as though he was convinced enough to believe…

Acts 26:28 28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, "Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?"

And as the person in our ride club told me this fall, "Tom, I'm just not interested."

Friends, just because you… …refuse to believe or …are not persuaded to believe, or …don't find it convenient to believe, or …you're not interested in believing… …doesn't change the truth. I saw a bumper sticker a while ago that said, "God said it, I believe it and that settles it." Well, that's wrong. It should say, "God said it, and that makes it truth." It has nothing to do with what you believe.

Illustration: In 1938, a man who had a home on the south shore of Long Island ordered a fancy barometer from Abercrombie and Fitch, the famous New York City sporting goods store. The barometer arrived on the morning of September 21st, and the owner proudly hung it up on his back porch. Half an hour later he took a peek at his new, high priced toy and was irritated to find the needle stuck at "hurricane". Quickly he sat down and wrote and angry letter to Abercrombie and Fitch, demanding a new barometer. When he returned home from the local post office after mailing his letter, he discovered that the barometer was missing…. So was his house! You see, on September 21, 1938, the worst hurricane to ever hit Long Island, New York. Struck the shore.

A person's belief does not make something true. Only truth makes something true. Period. So the first part of Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is a refusal to believe God.

B. Mocking the power of God

Here's a second part to this blasphemy-Mocking the power of God. If you look at verse 22 again, that's exactly what the Scribes of Jesus' day did.

Mark 3:22 22 And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebub! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons."

They refused to believe that it was God at work through Jesus, that caused demons to be driven out from people.

Illustration: Here's another example of what I'm talking about. In the Old Testament, there was an Assyrian king by the name of Sennacherib. This pagan king mocked God's ability to deliver the Jewish king, Hezekiah and the Jewish nation from his attack:

2 Chronicles 32:14-15 14 Who of all the gods of these nations that my fathers destroyed has been able to save his people from me? How then can your god deliver you from my hand? 15 Now do not let Hezekiah deceive you and mislead you like this. Do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver his people from my hand or the hand of my fathers. How much less will your god deliver you from my hand!"

But look at what happened…

2 Chronicles 32:21 21 And the LORD sent an angel, who annihilated all the fighting men and the leaders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king. So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace. And when he went into the temple of his god, some of his sons cut him down with the sword.

Sennacherib mocked God and paid the consequences. Mocking God is also a part of Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

C. Refusing salvation

Now, here's the third part of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit-Refusing God's offer of salvation. Now, how is that possible? Wouldn't you think that people want to be saved from Hell?

During the end times, during that period of time that the Bible calls "The Tribulation", there are going to be many who say, "No" to God…

Revelation 16:11 & 21 11 and they cursed (blasphemed) the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done. 21 From the sky huge hailstones of about a hundred pounds each fell upon men. And they cursed (blasphemed) God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible.

Entertainment mogul, Ted Turner recently said the words that are on the fronts of your WIGs this morning. He stated what many are thinking in our day. When discussing the fact that Jesus died for him, Ted Turner said, "He shouldn't have bothered. I didn't want him to die for me."

That, friends is refusing salvation. And that's the third part of Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

IV. Re-cap

I don't want you leaving here this morning without understanding something of crucial and vital importance. Everything I've said this morning can be summed up like this…, …if you don't have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ you are on the road to ultimately committing the unforgivable sin. That sin is finally committed when you die without having a relationship with Him. Just think about it…

A. Unbelief

…Unbelief is rejecting Jesus Christ. If you believe, you won't reject Him. If you reject Him, you don't believe Him.

B. Mocking

…Mocking His ability to save by not giving it a second thought, is rejecting Christ. If you believe, you won't mock His ability to conquer evil and defeat Satan in your life. But if you mock Him by doubting His power, then you don't believe.

C. Refusing

…Refusing His offer of salvation is rejecting Christ. If you believe, you won't refuse His offer. But if you refuse His offer, you don't believe.

Friends, we can put it like this… The unforgivable sin is the sin of rejecting forgiveness. And without forgiveness you're headed to Hell. Period.

V. Conclusion

We're calling this sermon series in the book of Mark, Getting to Know Jesus. And I hope you understand something very important about Jesus this morning. He doesn't mince any words. From His words we learn the truly awful extent of God's justice.

Mark 3:29 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin."

Of all the sins a human being can commit, there is only one sin that will send you to Hell-it's the sin of rejecting Jesus Christ. That's what the scribes were doing in the verses we looked at in Mark 3, and friends, none of you dare leave here today, in a similar frame of mind, because you don't know when your life will end. Because this sin of Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit is ultimately committed when you die without Jesus as the forgiver of your sins. And none of us knows when that will be. (Dave) (Invitation)

Amen