What is the unforgivable sin?

[amandita]

I'm confused about what the unforgivable sin is? How do you know if you've done it or not? The other day, after getting very frustrated with God about some things, I told Him that I was tired of Him, to leave me alone, and that I quit. I didn't mean these things and regretted them after I said them. They were rash things to say.

I don't want Him to leave me alone and I don't want to quit. I've asked for forgiveness of this sin, but the thought is in my head that I may have blasphemed the Holy Spirit. Did I? What should I do now?

 

[Sketcher]

The one and only unforgivable sin is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:22-37). The only account we have of this sin is that some Pharisees did it - they saw a miracle of God, but since Jesus did it, and they hated Jesus, they said that Jesus tapped into Satan, rather than God, to do it. Jesus explained why this accusation was both false and nonsensical, which highlights the sheer hatred and rejection of God that it takes to commit this sin. And of course, they knew better (John 3:1-2). They saw his miracles.

Satan likes to deceive Christians into thinking they did it. But since our hearts are not where the Pharisees' hearts were at, and God knows this, we don't do it. We have the Holy Spirit in us, convicting us of sin (John 16:8). If somebody did it, that person wouldn't care - at least until the Last Judgment. And remember, the Holy Spirit represents an eternal investment that God has made in us (2 Corinthians 1:21-22, 1 Peter 1:23). Why would God plant that imperishable seed into someone who he knew would just fall away? Remember, the seed is imperishable, not perishable. Those who appear to lose their salvation, according to John, never had it (1 John 2:19). Satan knows this. He knows he can't take God's children through force or guile (John 10:28-30). So the least he can do is damage control by making our lives miserable, by tempting us so that we will not effectively be used by God to put even more souls out of his reach, etc. This "have I committed the unforgivable sin" thing is just part of his bag of tricks. Don't be deceived by it.

 

[RobertZ]

The one and only unforgivable sin is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:22-37). The only account we have of this sin is that some Pharisees did it - they saw a miracle of God, but since Jesus did it, and they hated Jesus, they said that Jesus tapped into Satan, rather than God, to do it. Jesus explained why this accusation was both false and nonsensical, which highlights the sheer hatred and rejection of God that it takes to commit this sin. And of course, they knew better (John 3:1-2). They saw his miracles.

Satan likes to deceive Christians into thinking they did it. But since our hearts are not where the Pharisees' hearts were at, and God knows this, we don't do it. We have the Holy Spirit in us, convicting us of sin (John 16:8). If somebody did it, that person wouldn't care - at least until the Last Judgment. And remember, the Holy Spirit represents an eternal investment that God has made in us (2 Corinthians 1:21-22, 1 Peter 1:23). Why would God plant that imperishable seed into someone who he knew would just fall away? Remember, the seed is imperishable, not perishable. Those who appear to lose their salvation, according to John, never had it (1 John 2:19). Satan knows this. He knows he can't take God's children through force or guile (John 10:28-30). So the least he can do is damage control by making our lives miserable, by tempting us so that we will not effectively be used by God to put even more souls out of his reach, etc. This "have I committed the unforgivable sin" thing is just part of his bag of tricks. Don't be deceived by it.

Well said and only an unbeliever can commit the unpardonable sin.

 

[salida]

Agree with everything here thats been said.

 

[chilehed]

I'm confused about what the unforgivable sin is? How do you know if you've done it or not? The other day, after getting very frustrated with God about some things, I told Him that I was tired of Him, to leave me alone, and that I quit. I didn't mean these things and regretted them after I said them. They were rash things to say.

I don't want Him to leave me alone and I don't want to quit. I've asked for forgiveness of this sin, but the thought is in my head that I may have blasphemed the Holy Spirit. Did I? What should I do now?

I heard Steve Brown put it pretty well once, something to the effect that the Holy Spirit's job is to convict us of our sin and enable us to have the impulse to turn to God. So then blasphemy of the Holy Spirit in this context refers to refusing to turn to God, and what makes that sin unforgivable is that by definition you don't want to be forgiven.

I'd say it this way: the unforgivable sin is final impenitence, dying in the state of rejecting Christ. It's was unforgivable because you didn't want to be forgiven, and now that you've passed on your will has become fixed on evil.

If you haven't passed on yet, then the possibility of repentance remains and God is eager to forgive. If you're really concerned that you've commited the unforgivable sin then you probably haven't. If you had, you wouldn't care.

 

[Peripatetic]

The one and only unforgivable sin is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:22-37).

This should not be confused with a fleeting moment of weakness where you may speak badly against God (or the Holy Spirit). Most scholars believe that this passage has to be taken in context. Here is the interpretation from the Bible Knowledge Commentary:

The nation, because of its leaders, was on the brink of making a decision that would bring irreversible consequences. They were about to attribute incorrectly to Satan the power of the Holy Spirit exercised through Jesus and thus to commit the blasphemy against the Spirit. This specific sin cannot be reproduced today, for it required Jesus’ presence on earth with His performing miracles through the Spirit’s power. If, however, the leaders, acting on behalf of the nation, concluded that Jesus was empowered by Satan, they would commit a sin that would never find national or individual forgiveness (in this Age or in the Age to come). The consequences would bring about God’s judgment on the nation and on any individual who persisted in that view.

And the ESV Study Bible says:

The sin is attributing to Satan what is accomplished by the power of God, and doing this through the flagrant, willful, and persistent rejection of God and his commands. This sin is committed today only by unbelievers who deliberately and unchangeably reject the ministry of the Holy Spirit in calling them to salvation.

In other words, don't be overcome with worry about a sin being unpardonable if you said something to God that you regret. That is not what is meant. If you have faith in Jesus' saving power from the cross, and have accepted God's grace, your sins will be forgiven.

 

[razeontherock]

The other day, after getting very frustrated with God about some things, I told Him that I was tired of Him, to leave me alone, and that I quit.

I don't want Him to leave me alone and I don't want to quit. I've asked for forgiveness of this sin, but the thought is in my head that I may have blasphemed the Holy Spirit. Did I?

Welcome to CF! The very fact that you even care about this at ALL is proof positive that you did NOT. What you should do now is take comfort in Peter, who having denied our Lord 3 times, was not cast off.

1 John 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God"

Amazing stuff, the Love of G-d is. If you ever plumb it's depths, do let me know, ok?

Ray

 

[nathan_r]

I agree with whats been said previously. Perhaps you could say that the only 'unforgivable' sin would be to willfully and knowingly reject forgiveness?

 

[The Narrator]

I have done extensive study on this subject, and this is one of the best things I have read:

It is the common view of theologians that persons who are guilty of the sins warned about in the Epistle to the Hebrews do not express their fears with these kinds of comments. The reason is that it is the very nature of apostasy to ridicule the warnings of the Bible, not to tremble at them. Therefore A. H. Strong refers to this state of apostasy as the Sin of Final Obduracy.
The sin against the Holy Spirit is not to be regarded simply as an isolated act, but also as the external symptom of a heart so radically and finally set against God that no power which God can consistently use {here I think is meant the common influences of the Spirit in striving with the sinner} will ever save it. This sin, therefore, can only be the culmination of a long course of self-hardening and self-depraving.
He who has committed it must be either profoundly indifferent to his own condition, or actively and bitterly hostile to God; so that anxiety or fear on account of one’s condition is evidence that it has not been committed. – A H Strong – Systematic Theology pp 650, 651
Strong continues:
“The sin against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven, simply because the soul that has committed it has ceased to be receptive of divine influences, even when those influences are exerted in the utmost strength which God has seen fit to employ in his spiritual administration.”

 

[seashale76]

The unforgiveable sin is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 12:31-32 (NKJV)

31 "Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.
32 "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 the age to come.

From the commentary in The Orthodox Study Bible (p.35):
"12:32 Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is blasphemy against the divine activity of the Spirit--the accusation that Jesus healed the demoniac by demonic power (v.24) rather than by the power of the Holy Spirit (v. 28; see Mark 3:29, 30). Every sin against the Son of Man can be forgiven, because the Jews do not yet know much about Him. But blasphemy against the Spirit, whose divine activity they know from the OT, will not be forgiven. This blasphemy is willful hardness of heart. It attributes the saving action of the Spirit to Satan and refuses to accept God's forgiveness and mercy."

 

[razeontherock]

I like the fact that my response above paraphrases A.H. Strong, who I never read. Here's a different translation of Mark's passage on the subject:

"There's nothing done or said that can't be forgiven. But if you persist in your slanders against God's Holy Spirit, you are repudiating the very One who forgives, sawing off the branch on which you're sitting, severing by your own perversity all connection with the One who forgives. He gave this warning because they were accusing Him of being in league with evil."

 

[PROPHECYKID]

I heard Steve Brown put it pretty well once, something to the effect that the Holy Spirit's job is to convict us of our sin and enable us to have the impulse to turn to God. So then blasphemy of the Holy Spirit in this context refers to refusing to turn to God, and what makes that sin unforgivable is that by definition you don't want to be forgiven.

I'd say it this way: the unforgivable sin is final impenitence, dying in the state of rejecting Christ. It's was unforgivable because you didn't want to be forgiven, and now that you've passed on your will has become fixed on evil.

If you haven't passed on yet, then the possibility of repentance remains and God is eager to forgive. If you're really concerned that you've commited the unforgivable sin then you probably haven't. If you had, you wouldn't care.

This is the answer right here. That is why the bible says, today if you hear his voice harden not your heart. If you harden your heart to the Holy Spirit's voice eventually he will stop speaking to you and God will give you over to your own lusts and desires (Romans 1: 24 - 27).

 

[Biff]

Matthew 12:31 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.

Don't attribute the works of the Holy Spirit to those of Satan!

Biff

 

[The Narrator]

What helps is to see that the unpardonable sin is unpardonable simply because the person who commits it never meets the conditions for pardon. He is obdurate and so can no longer have sorrow. So we might say that the door is not closed upon the impenitent except that he first willingly closed it on himself. An old writer, Jeremy Taylor, 1617-1667 once wrote about the progression of sin in the sinner.

“First it [sin] startles him, then it becomes pleasing, then easy, then delightful, then frequent, then habitual, then confirmed! Then the man is impenitent, then obstinate, then resolves never to repent, and then he is damned.”


Notice, he is not damned the moment he willfully sins - a misunderstanding of Hebrews 10:26, but he is damned only after he resolves never to repent. If you want to see an example of an apostate who has hardened himself against grace and light, look up Dan Barker.


In Matthew 12 is an encounter with religious enemies of Christ who are so dead set against him that they attribute the Spirit's work to the devil. This argues the utmost contempt and vitriol towards His person. Whether at this point they had crossed the line is unclear, but when He rose from the dead and they told people to spread the lie that someone had stolen His body, this showed that their hearts had become so adamant that no external witness was going to make an impression on them, even something as notable as the resurrection from the dead. At that point, I would argue, their condition was very precarious if not fatal.

 

[harringtonfamily3]

To everyone well said. In Christ we find forgiveness. My favorite quote is by C.S. Lewis "To be a Christian is to forgive the unforgivable becasue Christ forgives the unforgivable in us." A main precept of Christian faith is the forgiveness of sins. All Sins and since part of being a Christian is the accepting of the Holy Spirit into our hearts, how can we blaspeme? Only a non believer, as stated above is capable of this sin. But even then, if the unbeliever turns to Christ with repentence in his or her heart and truly accepts Christ, as it clearly states in: 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!