The meaning of this?

[Orthodox Andrew]

Could somebody tell me what the Church has to say about this verse? Thanks

Matthew 12


(1) 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."

 

[CopticOrthodox]

All sins can be forgiven if we repent of them. The sin which cannot be forgiven is the sin that we don't repent of. The Holy Spirit works in us to prompt us to repent. If we suppress the working of the Holy Spirit and persist in our sins, not cooperating with His grace at all, this is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. So the unforgivable sin is an entire life led in opposition to the Holy Spirit ending without repentance. If one starts down this path, but later repents, this is not the unforgivable sin since they did not resist for thier whole lives but repented. So any sin can be forgiven, as long as we repent. If we suppress all working of the Holy Spirit within us, we blasphem against Him, and be not repenting but continuing in our sins we reject forgiveness.

 

[Orthodox Andrew]

Thank you very much, that cleared so much up for me. God bless you.

 

[Alfred M]

One other way to think of this would be to think of the willful hardness of the heart. When the hardened heart refuses to accept God's forgiveness and mercy, it will be because the soul has failed to respond to the Holy Spirit within. It is this sin that cannot be forgiven.

It follows right along the saying that all of hell's doors are locked from the inside. Our sin against the Holy Spirit is when we do not use the Holy Spirit as the key to unlock those very doors. True repentance, though, will unlock them every time.... but do not underestimate satan and his ability to harden a heart to the point that your soul will not seek the spirit to open the locks and leave your soul condemned in hell.

Sorry for rambling, hope I didn't confuse somebody even more.

In the love of our Saviour,

Alfred

 

[Orthodox Andrew]

Don't be sorry at all. That post helped to shed even more light on the situation. Thank you.

 

[MariaRegina]

If today you hear the voice of the Lord, harden not your hearts.

 

[Orthodox Andrew]