Unpardonable Sin

What is the Unpardonable Sin?

(And What Does It Mean to Be Saved?)

Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”

But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.”

Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?  And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

“Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.

“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”

Matthew 12:22-32 (NIV, Emphasis mine)

The verses contained here in Matthew 12:31-32, (and also in Mark 3:28-29, and Luke 12:10) have caused much debate among theologians throughout the ages.  Some have said murder or adultery fall into that category, but King David committed adultery with Bathsheba and then tried to cover it up by having her husband killed, and he was described as a man after God’s own heart.  Plus, in the verses above, it says that every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, except this, so these theories don’t make Biblical sense. 

This was a subject that I studied at length after giving my life to Christ out of fear that I had already committed it somehow without even knowing it.  I was asked again recently about this and did further research, including a sermon on Matthew 12 by Pastor Brett Maedor.  (Please see link to full sermon below under “Resources”.)  In his sermon, Brett discussed three primary theories, including the one that I support.  I would argue that the other two are actually a part of the first.  I will discuss all three here, but to really understand what this means, we first need to look at the role of the Holy Spirit.

“And when he [the Holy Spirit] comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged.

“There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me.”

John 16:8-14 (NLT)

In this passage, Jesus tells us that the job of the Holy Spirit is to speak truth, convict people of their sin, warn the unrepentant of impending judgment, give glory to Jesus, and point them to Jesus as their salvation.  It says that the world’s sin is that they refuse to believe in Jesus.  The Holy Spirit speaks the truth of Jesus:

So what is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit?

Theory 1:  Dying in Unbelief

In the verses above, Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit convicts the world of its sin and that the world’s sin is refusal to believe in Jesus.  John 3:16 tells us this:  “‘For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.’”  (NLT)  But what does it mean to believe in Jesus?  Does it simply mean to believe he existed or even that he was the Son of God?  Even the demons believe that.  It means that you believe in the whole Jesus – the Jesus of the Bible.  Too many people today believe that Jesus is one of many ways to Heaven, that he was just a “good man or prophet”, or even that he didn’t really die on that cross.  This is not believing in Jesus, but instead believing in a false god of your own making.  The Holy Spirit speaks the truth of Jesus, as noted above, and urges people to repent (or turn away) from sin, accept that Jesus already paid the penalty for sin, and accept the free gift of grace.  

There is also confusion about what it means to be saved.  First, here is what it is not:

  1. It is not getting baptized.  Making a conscious choice to be baptized is a command and a good thing to do, but it is not a matter of salvation.  The thief on the cross was never baptized, yet Jesus told him that he would be with him in Paradise.  (Luke 23:40-43)  Also, infant baptism is never found in the Bible, because it was a ritual created by man. An infant can not make a conscious decision to accept Jesus.  Spiritual baptism occurs when someone accepts Christ as their Savior and the Holy Spirit comes to live in them.  Water baptism is an outward sign of that inward decision.  It happens after salvation.  
  2. It is not membership or attendance in a church.  While these are good things, they don’t save you.  Matthew 7:21-23 warns us that in the end, many will cry out to God that they preached in his name and even cast demons out, but God will say, “I never knew you!”  This is a terrifying verse that is a good reminder that we need to have a true and saving relationship with Christ.
  3. It is not performing rituals or saying a “magic” prayer.  The Pharisees of Jesus’ day had entire books of rituals and said elaborate prayers, yet in Matthew 23, Jesus called them “white washed tombs”. They had mastered their man-made rituals but had completely missed the point.
  4. It is not doing good works.  Good works are the natural outcome of someone who has accepted Christ as their Savior. When you understand grace, you want to do things to please God.  (Romans 3:10-18, Isaiah 64:6, Philippians 3:9, Ephesians 2:8-10)

These are all good things for the most part, but they do not save you. We will talk more about what a saving belief in Christ looks like, but first I want to look at the other two theories outlined in Brett’s sermon, as I believe they play into this.

Theory 2:  Practicing Sin

Over and over, we are told that repentance is necessary for salvation.

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.

Acts 3:19 (NIV)

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

2 Peter 3:9 (NIV)

From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Matthew 4:17 (NIV)

“I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

Luke 15:10 (NIV)

Repentance means to change your mind about sin.  It is a desire to turn away from sin and follow Jesus.  The result is not only a saving belief in Christ, but it is a freeing decision that allows you to make healthy life choices and be free from sin’s bondage.  

This theory says that those who continually sin, blowing off the Bible and willfully continuing to practice sin, are committing blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, since one of his roles is to convict the world of sin.  No human is perfect, and all of us, regardless of how long we’ve been saved, still sin.  That will continue until we are resurrected to perfect, sinless bodies.  But one has to question whether someone who decides that things the Bible calls sin are ok, celebrates them, practices them, or even encourages them is actually saved.  The same can be said for someone who uses the grace of God as an excuse to sin.

For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Galatians 5:13-14, 19-21 (NLT)

Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NLT)

They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.

Romans 1:32 (NLT) 

Paul is not saying that people who have done these things or struggle against these things are going to hell.  Nor is he saying that salvation is based on works.  But he is issuing a dire warning to those who take what the Bible calls sin and practice it, celebrate it, and try to influence or encourage others to do the same. 

The Bible also tells us that if someone continues to ignore the Bible, the actual Words of God, and continues to brush off the promptings of the Holy Spirit who convicts the world of sin, their conscience will be seared, and they will be blinded to truth.

Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy.

Romans 1:28-31 (NLT)

Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead.

1 Timothy 4:1-2 (NLT)

How sad I am for those who have turned away from the truth of the Bible and created their own religion and their own version of Jesus.  This is not a saving belief in the true God, but a false religion.  Not only does it have terrible eternal consequences, but it blinds them to truth and takes away their peace and joy in this life.

Theory 3:  Spoken Word

In the passage above in Matthew, the Pharisees were openly speaking out against Jesus. They had been given proof after proof that he was the Messiah, yet they rejected him and claimed that he was of Satan.  

The act of speaking is very important.  God spoke the world into existence, and the Bible tells us that we have the power to speak life or speak death.  

“I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak.”

Matthew 12:36 (ESV)

For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.”

1 Peter 3:10 (ESV)

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.

Proverbs 18:21 (ESV)

Speech is also a part of the salvation process.

If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” Jew and Gentile[f] are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Romans 10:9-13 (NLT)

The Holy Spirit testifies the truth about Jesus and brings him glory in all things.  When someone tries to say that Jesus is just one of many ways to Heaven, that he was not really God, that he didn’t really die on that cross, or anything else that takes away from who Jesus really was, they are contradicting the Holy Spirit.  

This was the sin of the Pharisees when they attributed the miracles of Jesus to Satan.  In doing so, they were denying the truth of his Messiahship.  In the passage in Matthew, Jesus may be warning them that they are coming perilously close to crossing a line that should never be crossed.  

We, too, should choose our words carefully.  In Matthew 16:13-17, Jesus asks the disciples who people said he was.  The responses were various prophets of God.  Then, he asked who the disciples said he was.  Peter correctly identified him as the Messiah, Son of the living God.  Jesus commended him and told him that this had been revealed by the Holy Spirit.  

If we deny Jesus as the Son of God, or if we say that Jesus is anyone other than who he claimed to be, we are in very dangerous territory.  I do not believe that someone who has made false statements, then repents and desires to follow Jesus, is eternally damned, as that is inconsistent with the rest of the Bible and the very nature of God.  But, the more we engage in this belief system, and the more strongly we vocalize these false beliefs, the harder it will be to come to repentance.  Pride is a terrible thing, and publicly admitting that you were wrong gets harder the longer and louder you vocalize lies.  

So How Are We Saved?

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Salvation is a gift that is freely given, but which was bought at a tremendous price.  We cannot earn it, but we do need to accept it.  Here is how you can be saved today:

  1.  Admit you’re a sinner in need of a Savior.  Romans 3:22-26 tells us that all of us have sinned and that we are unworthy of Heaven, but that we can be made worthy through Jesus. (See also 1 John 1:5-10)  We need to accept the free gift that was purchased at a tremendous price.
  2. Declare Jesus as Lord.  Declare that Jesus is who he said he was – God in the flesh, the sinless Son of God, who paid the penalty for our sins through his death and resurrection.  Understand that Jesus is the only path. (Romans 10:9-13, 1 Corinthians 15:3-8)
  3. Repent and ask forgiveness.  1 John 1:9 tells us that if we confess our sins to God, he is faithful to forgive them.  Our slate is wiped clean.  Repentance means to turn away from sin.  It means to accept what the Bible calls sin as sin, and to make a conscious decision to obey God’s commands.  You will not be perfect, and you will struggle with sin, but you will no longer desire to practice, celebrate or encourage it.  
  4. Thank God for his goodness!  God hates sin because of how it hurts people.  God loves people and knows that they are going to sin.  He always knew that people would rebel, and he always had a plan for the redemption of humanity through Jesus.  Jesus left Paradise to live as a human on earth and willingly accepted the punishment that we deserved. (1 Peter 1:3-5)

Your prayer could sound something like this:

Dear God,
I confess that I am a sinner in need of a Savior.  I believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that he himself is God; that he came from Heaven and lived a sinless human life; that he took the sin of humanity on himself at the cross; that he died and was buried; and that he rose from the dead, defeating sin and death.  I accept the finished work of Jesus on the cross and put my faith in you.  Forgive me for my sin.  I choose to accept what the Bible says is sin and turn from it.  Help me to walk in the light of your salvation, rejecting sin and embracing a life that will bring you glory.  Thank you for saving me!  Amen.

If you prayed that prayer today, I urge you to find someone to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God, and to read God’s Word, asking the Spirit to reveal it’s truth.

Resources

“The Unpardonable Sin” by Pastor Brett Meador

“Why is Jesus the Only Way to God?” from Josh McDowell Ministries 

“Is the Bible Still Relevant?” by LuAnne Barnet

“How Do We Know Christianity is True?” by LuAnne Barnet

Songs of Victory

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