Introduction
Many Christians are troubled when they hear that there is an unforgivable sin. They wonder if they have committed this sin or if they might commit it at some time in the future. And over the years there have been many ideas circulating about what this sin is. Some think it is murder, others think it is adultery, others think it is suicide and still others think it is calling your brother a fool. But what is it really and can a Christian commit it. To answer these questions, we must examine the scriptures.
We find Jesus talking about the unforgivable sin in two of the Gospels (Matthew and Mark). They both cover the same event where Jesus spoke about it and they both tell us what it is. So, for this teaching I have chosen to use Mark’s version of the story.
Mark 3:22-30
22 The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.” 23 And He called them to Himself and began speaking to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 If Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished! 27 But no one can enter the strong man’s house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house.”
28 “Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” – 30 because they are saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”
Overview of the Text
In verse 22 we see the scribes (religious leaders) accusing Jesus of being possessed by Beelzabul (Satan) and that He has been casting out demons through the power of Satan. Then in verses 23 to 27 we see Jesus putting up a defence against the accusations. And then, in verses 28 to 30 Jesus tells the scribes about the unforgivable sin.
Points of Note
We know from earlier in Mark’s Gospel that Jesus was empowered by the Holy Spirit. This came about when He was baptised by John the Baptist (see Acts 10:38). But the scribes were making the false claim that it was the Devil working in Him and not the Holy Spirit. They did this knowing perfectly well that it wasn’t true. They had witnessed for themselves that Jesus was the Messiah and that it was God’s power that was at work in Jesus.
In response to what they have said, Jesus tells them that all sin shall be forgiven with one exception; blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Notice the use of the word, ‘all’ in verse 28. (See 1 John 1:7; Isaiah 43:25; 1 John 1:9).
The scribes made this false accusation against Jesus because they had rejected Him as their Messiah. They were unbelievers. It was these unbelievers who were in danger of committing the unforgivable sin.
I say that they were in danger of committing it because of verse 29 the King James Version of the Bible correctly translates the end of verse 29 as saying, ‘but is in danger of eternal damnation’ because that is what is in the original Greek. This will make sense when I explain later what the unforgivable sin is.
Notice that when Jesus talks about the unforgiveable sin He makes no mention of murder or adultery or suicide or calling your brother a fool.
A Closer Look At The Unforgivable Sin
So, what is the unforgivable sin? The answer is found in verses 29 and 30 where Jesus tells us what it is. It is ‘blasphemy against the Holy Spirit’. It involves calling the work of the Holy Spirit the work of Satan. To fully understand what He is saying we need to examine it more closely. The first thing we see is that it is a verbal sin, committed either by saying it or writing it. It is in effect a confession. The second thing we see is that it is blasphemy. Blasphemy occurs when we say something that desecrates the holy character of God. And finally, we need to look at who Jesus was speaking to. He was speaking to the scribes who were His enemies. The scribes did not believe in Jesus and they were actively working against Him. They were the ones who were in danger of committing the unforgivable sin, not those who believed in Jesus. This sin would only become unforgivable if they persisted in it until death. In other words, if they never believe in Jesus. By blaspheming the Holy Spirit, they were rejecting Him as their Messiah. They blasphemed the Holy Spirit in order to justify their rejection of Jesus.
Conclusions
So, what we have learnt from examining the scriptures is that a true Christian (a believer) cannot commit the unforgivable sin. Instead, we have learnt that this sin can only be committed by an unbeliever who is unrepentant. To put it simply, the unforgivable sin is committed when someone does not believe in Jesus. Unbelief is the only eternal sin that a man can commit.
"This occurs (the unforgiveable sin) when a man deliberately rejects Christ and glories in his rejection of Him. It is someone who doesn't believe in Christ and doesn't want to believe Him."
Dr Martyn Lloyd Jones