Apologeet.nl
THE UNFORGIVABLE SIN: What Jesus Really MeantThere is one sin that Jesus speaks of in an exceptionally serious manner. A sin which, in His own words, will not be forgiven.
And that is precisely why there are people who spend years living with a single fear: Have I perhaps committed the unforgivable sin?
Perhaps you once said something terrible about God. Perhaps you have blasphemed against the Holy Spirit. Perhaps, in a moment of anger, you shouted something you now regret.
And ever since, you’ve been wondering: Am I now forever cut off from God’s grace?
But what if we often misunderstand Jesus’ words? For when you examine the context of this statement, you discover something far more serious than a single misguided remark.
Yet at the same time, you also discover something extraordinarily hopeful for those who seek Christ.
So let’s go back to the moment when Jesus spoke these chilling words.
The context: A miracle becomes a weapon against Jesus
In Matthew 12, we read that people brought a man possessed by a demon to Jesus. He was blind and mute. And Jesus heals him.
The crowd is astonished. They begin to ask themselves:
Is not this the son of David?
In other words: could this be the promised Messiah?
But then the Pharisees come up with a completely different explanation.
They say:
This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
And therein lies the key.
Pay close attention to what is happening here. They do not simply deny that a miracle has taken place. They see the work. They see the deliverance. They cannot easily deny Jesus’ power. But then they attribute that work to a completely different source. What is clearly the work of God, they attribute to Satan.
And Jesus replies:
But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.
Then He says:
Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
And Mark 3 recounts the same event.
There Jesus says:
Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: but he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation
These are extraordinarily serious words.
But why?
What is blasphemy?
We must first understand what Jesus means by ‘blasphemy’. This is not about an unfortunate slip of the tongue. Nor is it a word you blurt out in a moment of anger. Nor is it about a Christian who stumbles, then repents and thinks: ‘Now God has forsaken me.’
The context reveals something much deeper.
God is at work, visibly. The Holy Spirit is at work. And a person looks at that work and effectively says: “That is not from God. That is from Satan.”
That is exactly what the Pharisees do. And that is the terrible thing about this sin. It is not merely that someone says something wrong. But that someone sees the light and calls it darkness. That someone recognises God’s work, but deliberately twists it. That someone not only rejects God’s truth, but twists and opposes it.
This is no accidental slip-up. This is a hardened attitude of the heart.
And it is precisely this state of the heart that I’ve previously made a video/article about: ‘These 3 things mean you are NOT a true Christian’. Because perhaps you’re thinking: if I’ve ever committed a sin, does that mean I’m not a true Christian? Do have a look at that video/article, as I explain this in more detail there.
But why the Holy Spirit?
You might be thinking: “But isn’t Jesus God? Isn’t the Holy Spirit God too? So why is there specific mention of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit?”
Because, in the work of salvation, the Holy Spirit is the one who reveals Christ to us and convicts us of our sin. Jesus says in John 16
And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment
The Holy Spirit convicts. He opens our eyes. He points us to Christ. He brings us to life.
Jesus says to Nicodemus in John 3:
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
And then He speaks of being born of the Spirit.
Paul says that we live by the Spirit. And in Romans 8 we read:
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
The Holy Spirit is therefore not some sort of extra component of the Christian life. He is involved in the whole process by which a sinner is brought to Christ. And that is why it is so serious when someone consciously and stubbornly turns against that work.
Can you commit this sin by accident?
This is where panic often sets in.
“Have I perhaps accidentally committed the unforgivable sin?”
“Have I said something against the Holy Spirit?”
“Have I perhaps done something in a moment of anger that means there’s no turning back?”
Absolutely not! The context in which Jesus speaks gives no reason whatsoever to think that anyone could commit this sin by accident. It is not as though the Pharisees said something wrong just once. They did not accidentally cross a line. They repeatedly witness Jesus’ work. They are constantly confronted with His words, His miracles and His authority. And yet they continue to reject Him.
In fact: they declare the work of God’s Spirit to be the work of Satan.
That is something entirely different from a Christian who stumbles, doubts, gets angry, makes a wrong statement and then returns to God in repentance.
Take Paul, for example. Before he met Christ, he persecuted the church. He was a slanderer and a persecutor. But he was saved. He himself writes in 1 Timothy 1:13
but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
Paul was a terrible sinner. But he was not beyond the reach of God’s grace. His past was terrible, but his past was not stronger than God’s grace.
Why? Because, in the end, he did not persist in his rejection of Christ. God brought him to repentance.
But then comes an even more difficult question
For perhaps you might think: “But if someone hardens their heart to that extent, why doesn’t God simply convert them?”
And this brings us to one of the most difficult passages in the Bible: the hardening of the heart.
In Exodus we read about Pharaoh. And there we see something striking. On several occasions we read that Pharaoh hardened his own heart.
- He saw God’s power;
- He saw the plagues;
- He heard God’s command;
- He was repeatedly given the opportunity to let Israel go.
But each time he resisted. And then something remarkable happens. At first, we read that Pharaoh himself hardens his heart. But then the Bible also states explicitly: ‘The LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart.’
This means that the Bible does not merely speak of a person hardening their own heart. There comes a moment when God Himself can harden someone’s heart. That is a chilling thought. For God can confirm someone in their hardness of heart and even use that hardness within His own sovereign plan.
But how are we to understand this?
Romans 9 says:
For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
And then:
So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
But Paul also says:
Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
That is an awe-inspiring truth. But we must never separate this from the rest of Romans. For a few chapters earlier, Paul writes that people suppress the truth. Romans 1 says that, whilst they know God, they do not glorify Him as God.
because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
And then we read several times (Romans 1:24, 26, 28):
Wherefore God also gave them up…
That is important. God’s judgement does not consist solely of actively punishing sin. Sometimes His judgement also consists of Him abandoning a person to the path they have chosen for themselves.
Man says: “I do not want God.”
And the terrifying judgement is: “Then you will suffer the consequences of your rejection.”
That does not mean that a person is an innocent victim. Pharaoh is not portrayed as someone who wanted to obey God but was made an unbeliever by God against his will.
- He resisted;
- He refused;
- He hardened his heart.
And God then used that rebellion within His sovereign plan. That is precisely the tension the Bible presents us with: God is completely sovereign.
And at the same time: man is truly responsible for his sin.
So the Bible does not say that God merely stands by passively whilst people harden their hearts. Sometimes, in His judgement, God takes the initiative to harden a person further along the path they have chosen.
We need not play these two truths off against one another. God’s sovereignty did not make the Pharaoh’s sin any less sinful; rather, He incorporated that very sinful rebellion into His sovereign plan.
And that brings us back to the unforgivable sin
What happens when a person repeatedly rejects God’s truth? When they are repeatedly confronted with God’s goodness?
- With His truth?
- With His Word?
- With the conviction of the Holy Spirit?
And time and again says: “No!”
Once more: “No!”
And once more: “I do not want Christ.”
At a certain point, sin ceases to be merely something you do. It becomes an attitude. A direction. A hardening of the heart. And that is precisely why the unforgivable sin is so serious.
The problem is not that God lacks grace. The problem is that man continues to reject God’s grace.
So the problem is not that God’s grace is too small. The problem is the sinner who resists that grace. And that is precisely why salvation is ultimately grace: not because we would want to come to Christ of our own accord, but because God brings dead sinners to life and leads them to Christ through His Spirit.
And if anyone rejects Christ to the very end, there is no other way to salvation. For outside Christ there is no salvation.
But have I perhaps already committed it?
Perhaps this is the most important question for you. You’ve sought out this video/article. You’re afraid that you’ve offended God. You long to receive forgiveness. Perhaps you even hate your own sin. And you think: “But what if it’s too late for me?”
Then listen very carefully. Don’t spend endless time searching your conscience to find out whether you’ve ever crossed a particular line. Look to Christ.
The Bible does not say ‘Whoever realises they have never had an unforgivable thought may come.’
Matthew 11:28 says:
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Jesus says in John 6:37
and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
That is the Gospel.
Not: ‘Make yourself worthy first.’
But: “Come to Christ.”
Not: “Make sure you prove first that you are chosen.”
But: “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.”
But take note: this is not a cheap reassurance
Nevertheless, I would like to add something important here. We must also be careful with the statement: “Anyone who fears they have committed the unforgivable sin has, by definition, not committed it.”
That is just a little too simplistic. For our emotions are not an infallible yardstick. The Bible does not teach us that we should base our salvation on how anxious or reassured we feel. Our assurance does not ultimately lie in our feelings. Our assurance lies in Christ.
The question is therefore not simply: “Am I afraid?”
But: “Where am I fleeing to?”
Do I continue to defend my sin? Or do I long for forgiveness?
Do I not want Christ? Or do I long to know Him?
Do I want to harden my heart? Or do I want to repent?
That difference is enormous. For someone who truly hates Christ and consciously continues to reject God’s truth finds themselves in a completely different position from someone who is broken over their sin and flees to Christ.
The biblical warning is, at the same time, an invitation
And perhaps that is the most striking thing about Jesus’ words. The warning against the unforgivable sin is at the very heart of a message about God’s kingdom. Jesus does not warn: “Be careful, you might one day say something wrong and be lost for ever.”
He warns against a heart that sees God’s truth and consciously continues to reject it. A heart that does not merely say: “I do not believe it.” But ultimately says: “What is good in God is evil.”
That is terrifying. But there is also a wonderful other side to it. For as long as you live, the call of the Gospel remains:
- Repent;
- Believe in Christ;
- Come to Him.
John 6:37 says:
‘Everyone whom the Father gives Me will come to Me; and whoever comes to Me, I will certainly not cast out.’
That is perhaps one of the most beautiful promises in the whole of the Bible.
Whoever comes to Christ will not be turned away.
So what is the unforgivable sin?
Let’s be very precise about this.
The unforgivable sin is not: a wrong thought.
Not: a slip of the tongue.
Not: a swear word.
Not: a moment of doubt.
Not: a period during which you are angry with God.
Nor even: a past full of terrible sins.
The unforgivable sin that Jesus describes in Matthew 12 and Mark 3 is the deliberate and malicious attribution of the clear work of the Holy Spirit to Satan — an expression of a heart that hardens itself against the truth of God and His grace. It is a hardening in which a person not only rejects God’s truth, but deliberately distorts and opposes it. And ultimately, the unforgivability does not lie in God’s unwillingness to forgive.
The problem is that a person hardens their heart so much against God’s grace that they refuse to turn to Christ. They do not want forgiveness. They do not want the Saviour. Indeed, they reject the very One through whom they could be saved.
And that is why there is one thing you must do today
If you fear God’s judgement, do not flee from Christ. Flee to Christ.
If you recognise your sin: confess it.
If you are guilty: ask for forgiveness.
If your heart is cold: cry out to God for mercy.
If you are in doubt: seek Christ in His Word.
And if you realise you need Him: come to Him.
For the Gospel does not say that there is a particular kind of sinner who must first put their own house in order before they are allowed to come to Jesus. The Gospel says that Christ came to save sinners.
Paul was a persecutor. Peter denied his Lord. David fell deeply. The thief on the cross had nothing left to build on. But God’s grace proved greater than their sin.
That is why, ultimately, the question is not: ‘Have I ever said anything terrible to God?’
The deeper question is: “What am I doing with Jesus Christ?”
Do I continue to reject Him?
Or do I come to Him?
For Jesus says:
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
And that is precisely where this anxious question must ultimately lead. Not to endless self-examination. But to Christ.
Look to Him.
Flee to Him.
Trust in Him.
For whoever comes to Him, He will certainly not cast out.
And that is a wonderful assurance, but for many it also raises a new question: “If Christ truly saves me, could I still lose my salvation later on?”
If you’re struggling with that question, be sure to read this video/article: ‘Can you lose your salvation as a Christian?’
