The Unforgivable Sin--What Is It?

"Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come." --Matthew 12:31

This Scripture has created fear and confusion in a lot of people, primarily because so many do not have a clear understanding of what Jesus was saying. In interpreting Scripture, we always have to remember to keep it in context with the text around it and the rest of the Bible. We should often ask ourselves what this would have meant to the people it was spoken to. So let's examine this verse more closely, using these considerations.

In looking at the rest of the Bible, we see that Jesus died on the cross to cover all sins. A number of verses prove this. See Romans 6:21-26 and Hebrews 8:12. As you have learned in this book, the entire New Testament focuses on the grace and forgiveness we have received through the blood of Christ, which cleanses us from all sin.

What that means for us, then, is that there is more to this Scripture about the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit than it seems. To say throughout the Bible that all sins are forgiven, but then to have it say in one place that there is one unforgivable sin, would be a contradiction.

Let's look at the context. Jesus was talking to the Pharisees. The Pharisees had accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of the devil. Jesus did everything He did under the power of the Holy Spirit, so in making this accusation, the Pharisees were not speaking against Jesus, but against the Holy Spirit. These are the same Pharisees who had spoken against Jesus on numerous occasions. This was the first time, however, that they had spoken against the Holy Spirit.

Previously, when they spoke against Jesus, calling him a deceiver among other things, they were speaking against Jesus as a man. However, when they saw the working of miracles and the casting out of demons, they couldn't deny the power. However, instead of giving glory to God, they attributed the work to the devil. In order to do this, the Pharisees had to harden their hearts against the work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Himself had said that if people didn't believe His words, to at least believe His works. Their refusal to believe His works and the resulting blasphemy against the Holy Spirit demonstrated that the Pharisees were incapable of accepting Christ and being born again. Their blasphemy against the Holy Spirit was a blatant rejection of Christ that stemmed from their hardness of heart. They were determined not to believe. This meant that they would go to their graves without ever being born again. This is what was unforgivable.

There is only one sin that can send you to hell, and that is the sin of living a lifetime without accepting Christ. The blasphemy of the Pharisees proved that they would ultimately die without Christ and one day answer for that sin. In that moment, they had made their decision and sealed their fate.

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