What is the unforgivable sin?
For many of the years I have served as a pastor, I have had the privilege to work not only with adults but with students and teens of various ages. Admittedly, there are some unique challenges that come with serving that age group, but there are also tremendous blessings. One of the blessings that become quickly apparent is the inquisitive nature of that season of life and the ways young people make lesson times and discussions very interesting.
While leading the youth ministry at a previous church, one of the girls in her mid-teens asked me a question that had been troubling her for years. She asked, “Can you tell me if I have committed the unforgivable sin?” That’s not a question you receive frequently, so I asked her to elaborate on it a little, and she told me that somewhere along the way, her grandmother told her that it was possible she had committed it because of the careless way she spoke about the Holy Spirit sometime in her childhood.
What would you say if someone asked you that question? Would you have an answer for them? Where does the idea of committing an unforgivable or unpardonable sin come from? Is that something we’re likely to commit today or was that only an issue in an earlier season of history?
In Matthew 12, Jesus spoke of a sin that would never be forgiven. Before we look at His specific statement, let’s look at the context in which He spoke these words.
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. And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” (Matthew 12:22-24)
In this world, there is all kinds of spiritual activity taking place that we frequently ignore or overlook. Satan is actively trying to influence people, cultures, and governments to rebel against God and blaspheme His name. Satan works in partnership with a large group of fallen angels that we typically refer to as demons. Together, they seek to come against humanity because we’ve been created in the image of God. Satan seeks dominion over this world and resents the fact that dominion was offered to Adam, our original forefather.
If your eyes are opened to see it, it’s not very difficult to find demonic activity and influence all around us. I regularly encounter people that I believe are demonically oppressed. I often observe demonic attempts to influence our culture through audio, video, and the written word. People buy into it all the time, but in our secular culture, the demonic influence behind much of the nefarious activity that’s taking place is minimized or ignored because to many people that sounds like folly. Satan and the spiritual forces that work with him are more than happy to be ignored or dismissed because this gives them additional opportunities to work without being detected.
I recently watched a documentary that highlighted the ways human institutions have historically tried to silence the voices of those who follow Jesus and want to make His gospel known. The documentary drew many parallels between the attempted silencing of Christian voices during the 1600s and some of the activity that’s taking place in present day. It’s amazing to me to observe the level that institutions, leaders, and governments will go in order to silence the message of the gospel which many claim to be a fairy tale. I suspect that deep down they actually know the kind of change Jesus can make in life that’s submitted over to Him, and that’s what they’re trying to prevent.
Demonic activity was highly visible during the time of Christ’s earthly ministry. Demonically oppressed and possessed people were often brought to Jesus for healing. In Matthew 12:22, we’re told that a man who was both blind and mute because a demon was oppressing him with these conditions, was brought to Jesus and Jesus completely restored the man’s sight and ability to speak.
How would you respond if you were blessed with the privilege to witness a miracle like that? Would you rejoice, or would you be angered? Would you want to see Jesus do that for more people or less? Scripture tells us that the crowds who witnessed this miracle were amazed and they wondered if Jesus might be the prophetically promised Son of David who would lead them as Messiah and King. But the religious leaders of the day attributed this miracle to the power of the devil. They claimed that Jesus was casting out demons by the power of the prince of demons.
I’m always amazed at how artfully Jesus responded to His critics. He always gave the perfect response. Sometimes He would speak an insightful word. Sometimes He would confront. Sometimes He would allow them to observe Him doing something like writing on the ground with His finger. Sometimes He would speak in a parable. How did Jesus respond to the Pharisees who attributed this miracle to the power of the devil?
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. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 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.” (Matthew 12:25-29)
Jesus started by reminding them that a divided kingdom comes to nothing and that in general, division precedes destruction. If Satan was casting out Satan, he would be undermining his own kingdom, so it doesn’t make sense for Jesus to be casting out demons by the power of Satan. When Jesus performed miracles, there was a much greater power at work.
God exists in three persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This Trinity lives in perfect union and fellowship and has for all eternity. When Jesus carried out His earthly ministry, He didn’t do so alone. His actions and His timeline were ordained by the Father, empowered by the Spirit, and enacted by Him. From the inauguration of His earthly ministry, we see all members of the Trinity present and active in the work Jesus was accomplishing.
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” (Mark 1:9-11)
When Jesus performed miracles, He wasn’t acting alone. He was being directed by the Father and empowered by the Holy Spirit. So when the Pharisees were criticizing the miracle Jesus had just performed, they were attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to the devil. Jesus had something to say about that, and I’m certain His words were not welcomed by the religious leaders who despised Him.
“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 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.” (Matthew 12:30-32)
Jesus invites us to become united to Him by faith. When we place our trust in Him, we become part of the eternal family of God. But those who are not united to Him by faith take the default position which is against Him. Not ambivalent toward Him, but opposed to Him. Instead of walking with Him, they scatter in the opposite direction.
Jesus also made it clear that humanity is being offered forgiveness of sin. Our rebellion against the will of God can be forgiven. The times when we spoke poorly or flippantly of Jesus can be forgiven. But there is a sin that cannot be forgiven, and the Pharisees just committed it. What specifically did they do that was considered unforgivable?
The Pharisees had spoken against and blasphemed the Holy Spirit. Now, at first glance, you might say, “When did they do that? I don’t see any record of them even speaking about the Holy Spirit.” But please keep in mind the ways in which the earthly ministry of Jesus was orchestrated. His miracles were being directly empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Consider the depth of hatred for Jesus that these Pharisees must have possessed to be able to see God the Son right before their eyes, fulfilling the ancient prophesies that spoke of Him, following a divine timetable orchestrated by God the Father, and healing the sick and demon-possessed by the power of God the Holy Spirit, then attributing the miracle they just witnessed to the power of the devil.
There is no more that can be done for a heart that hard. They weren’t even required to believe something they hadn’t seen. Their own eyes witnessed what took place. Some people throughout history have often said, “If only I could see God with my own eyes, or witness a miraculous event, then I would believe.” This just goes to show that it’s possible for the human heart to reach a state of unbelief that isn’t even moved to repentance by an act like that.
As I understand it, for us to blaspheme the Holy Spirit and commit the unpardonable or unforgivable sin would require us to see Jesus in the flesh performing a miracle and then attributing that miracle to Satan.
This is what I explained to that teenage girl who was fearful that she had committed a sin that was unforgivable. Now she’s well into her adulthood, happily married, and the mother of two beautiful children, but at least twice since that initial conversation, she has brought that subject up to me again just to “make sure” she understood it correctly.
With all of this in mind, can I ask you a question about your own inner dialogue? When you think back over your life, is there something from your past that you’ve been treating as unforgivable? Do you think you’ve done something so bad that Jesus can’t possibly forgive it?
“I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Timothy 1:12-17)
That was the apostle Paul’s testimony. He listed a lot of categories that the mercy of Jesus was able to cover. Basically, unless you witnessed Jesus in bodily form performing a miracle and attributed that miracle to the devil, whatever sin you’ve committed can be forgiven. You can be cleansed of your iniquity and forgiven of your mistakes if you trust Jesus to save you.
The only unforgivable sin for us would be to come to the end of our days on this earth having rejected the gift of salvation Jesus is offering us. We don’t know when the end of our days will be, so let me encourage you to trust Him and receive His cleansing today while that option remains available to you.
© John Stange, 2023