There are many sins recounted in the Hebrew Bible but none are ever called unforgivable sins. So, what is the unforgivable sin?
In the Bible, there are three verses that take up the subject of the unforgivable sin. In the Book of Matthew (12: 31-32), it says:
Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation—because they said, He has an unclean Spirit.
The same idea that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is unforgivable is found in Luke 12:10 and Mark 3:29.
This paragraph has been the source of great misunderstandings in Christendom. To arrive at the correct interpretation, we have to begin with the last phrase, which explains why Jesus made this statement. He gave this teaching because His foes were accusing Him of having an unclean spirit (verse 22). Our Lord was telling them, in essence, “There is a sin that you are on the verge of committing. You should be very careful because you’re about to do something for which there is no forgiveness.”
It's a huge deal because the Spirit of the Lord is right and just, and claiming that the Holy Spirit is "unclean", is basically calling God an unrighteous Being and that, according to the Lord's standards, is unpardonable.
The unforgivable sin isn’t something that someone commits randomly. The scribes who came from Jerusalem didn’t just do this on a whim. If you follow the references to these scribes throughout the book of Mark you’ll see there is a progression to their unbelief. They were initially curious about Jesus and His ministry. Then they had questions. In time, they grew indifferent; but then their indifference metastasized into a malicious attitude that became so hateful and vengeful that it ultimately nailed Jesus Christ to the cross.
When God convicts us of sin and presents us with the Gospel, it’s dangerous to neglect it, especially if our procrastination becomes chronic. We resist and resist and resist. After a while, we can become so hard-hearted and sin-hardened that we grow calloused of soul. Our ears can’t receive the truth. Our minds shake off the conviction of the Spirit. We become cynical of conscience. And although the grace of God is still available to us, we push away from it.
We can go to church and read the Bible so much that the words no longer register with us. The scribes had come to the place where they were so familiar with religious things that when the Son of God showed up, they didn’t know who He was and they accused Him of being from Satan.
By ascribing the miracles of Jesus to Satan, the religious leaders were denying the deity of Jesus Christ. They were saying He could not be God. Yet by His miracles, He was showing Himself to be nothing and no one less than God. Only God Himself could do what He had done. His followers believed in His deity.
So when you refuse to accept the ministry of the Holy Spirit or you ascribe His ministry to Satan, you give up the final opportunity to be saved. You must believe in Jesus as the Son of God. We have to accept the witness of the Holy Spirit and act upon the conviction He brings.
The thought of an unforgivable sin has haunted sensitive people in every Christian century, and maybe it has haunted you. I want to be clear in saying that if you’re bothered in your spirit that you may have committed a sin God will not forgive, the very fact that you have anxiety over that is evidence you’ve not committed the sin. If He is still working in your heart, it’s not possible to have committed the unpardonable sin. The very fact that you’re reading this article is a tremendous indication you’ve not committed the unforgivable sin described in the Gospel of Mark.
The Bible is completely true it has no contradictions. So if the Bible says you can confess your sins and be forgiven, one who confesses his or her sins must not have committed the unforgivable sin. In other words, one who has truly blasphemed the Holy Spirit will not ask for their sins to be forgiven.
In its essence, the unforgivable sin is hardening your heart against God and repeatedly refusing to respond to His entreaties to your soul. By continuing to resist and reject the Lord, you build calluses on your soul until the conviction of the Spirit of God no longer registers on your heart. Over a period of time, you become hardened. You hear the Word of God and it makes no impact on you. If you die in that condition, there’s no further forgiveness available. For those who reject Jesus Christ, there’s no forgiveness anywhere else, anytime, either in this world or the next. He died for you, and if you reject that, there’s no other sacrifice for sin.
So don’t worry that you’ve committed the unpardonable sin. But if you don’t know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, be concerned that you might.
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