What is the unpardonable sin?

A church member once wrote to me that she “ran across this Scripture last night and it troubled me so much I could barely sleep.”

The passage is Matthew 12:31-32, dealing with “blasphemy against the Spirit.”

The reader continues:

“Am I to interpret this to mean that if you have blasphemed God you can never be forgiven? I have not always been a Christian and have had times in my life when I did not walk with God and doubted his power and authority. I have also doubted God’s intercession in certain events, like miraculous healings. Does this mean that I have blasphemed the Spirit and thereby am not saved?”

She asks very real, personal, and important questions.

So, what is the unpardonable sin?

Let’s discuss this difficult subject and learn what difference the answer makes to our lives today.

What is this sin?

We’ll begin by understanding Jesus’ words on our subject.

Our Lord has just healed a demon-possessed man; the crowds think he might be the Messiah, but the Pharisees say that he drives out demons by the devil himself. So Jesus responds, “Blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven” (v. 31). He repeats his warning: “Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come” (v. 32).

Peter could deny Jesus, Thomas could doubt him, and Paul could persecute his followers, yet they could be forgiven. But “blasphemy against the Spirit” cannot be forgiven, now or at any point in the future. This is the “unpardonable sin.”

So, what is this sin? Let’s set out what we know.

We know that Christians cannot commit this sin.

1 John 1:9 is clear: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” “All” means all. No sin is unpardonable for a Christian.

We know that this sin…