Question:

74.1—What is the unpardonable sin? I read through Matthew 12:22-32 and the parallel occurrences in the other gospels.  I just don’t know what the Lord is saying exactly.  Is it as simple as saying something is from Satan when it is really from the Holy Spirit?  For example, a car accident, a death, some supernatural event….  I think some people see that as what it’s talking about.  I looked around some places and most Christians say that it can’t be done anymore and that it was only for the miracles that Jesus did.  I don’t see where they’re getting that from in the text.  I see where it is talking about that in this case, but from what He says, I don’t know how people limit the warning to only that.

Answer:

74.1—Your question has bothered many, but the Lord tells us that the unpardonable sin found in Matthew 12:22-32; Mark 3:22-30; and Luke 12:10 was committed by “the scribes” of the Old Testament Scriptures, and “the Pharisees,” who of the various sects of the Jews, adhered the most closely to the Scriptures. So they should have known better than to make such a horrible accusation against their Messiah and to spread this falsehood to others as they traveled from Jerusalem into Galilee.

They made two false accusations against the Lord in Mark 3:22 (JND). They said (1) “He has Beelzebub.” The Hebrew interpretation of Beelzebub is “Lord of the Flies” or “dung god.” It was the Philistine god (2 Kings 1:2). They also said (2) that “by the prince of the demons [Jesus] casts out demons.”

The Lord answers their accusations with the question: “How can Satan cast out Satan?” Then He refutes both of their accusations by using two short parables, and the analogy is very clear: Satan is the strong man, and his house is the unfortunate beings who are controlled by demoniac power. But the Lord is the Stronger One, who by the enabling of the divine Spirit, has defeated Satan, and has the mastery over demons.

Then He gives a most solemn declaration and warning, “Verily I say unto you, that all sins shall be forgiven to the sons of men, and all the injurious speeches with which they may speak injuriously; but whosoever shall speak injuriously against the Holy Spirit, to eternity has no forgiveness; but lies under the guilt of an everlasting sin; because they said, He has an unclean spirit” (Mark 3:28-30).

The Greek word the Lord used, translated “injuriously” above, was not arneomai (“to deny”), but blasphemeo (“to blaspheme”). We think of blasphemy as taking the Lord’s name in vain, but blasphemeo is not the use of swear words in the New Testament (see 1 Timothy 1:20; 6:1; 2 Peter 2:2) but is a denial of the faith. This blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not idle words, but a denial of the Spirit’s testimony to the Lord Jesus. Apart from accepting the testimony of the Spirit there can be no new birth (John 3:3-7), so a person who rejects His testimony “lies under the guilt of an everlasting sin” (Mark 3:29 JND).

The particular sin the Lord said is unpardonable is: “Because they said, [Jesus] has an unclean spirit” (Mark 3:30). He tells them that “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matthew 12:34), and He knew that in their hearts they had refused the Spirit’s testimony as to Himself. Therefore, in a certain sense this particular sin cannot be done today, because Jesus is not on earth doing miracles by the power of the Spirit of God.

However, the unpardonable sin today is to reject the Spirit’s testimony, as recorded in the Bible, to repent of our sins and trust Christ as our personal Saviour and Lord. Twice the Lord repeats the words: “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3 and 5). The apostle Paul preached: “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). And Revelation 21:8 tells us that unbelievers are second on the list of the classes of sinners who will be in the Lake of Fire for all eternity: “The fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

We trust that if you, dear reader, have “blasphemed” the Saviour by rejecting Him, that for your eternal blessing you will wait no longer to come to Him. The door of grace will soon be closed to you forever, but we are so thankful that we can still tell you at this moment: “Behold, NOW is the accepted time; behold, NOW is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name” (John 1:11,12).