What is the Unpardonable Sin? Can a Believer Commit the Unpardonable Sin?

WHAT IS THE UNPARDONABLE SIN? CAN A BELIEVER COMMIT THIS SIN?

By Ezekiel Kimosop

Matthew 12:31-32 says "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 in the age to come."

This is a difficult Scripture. It is exclusive to the Gospel of Matthew and is the subject of heavy theological debate. I do not purport to have a precise answer to the question. I will nonetheless put my thoughts across and welcome critical responses from readers.

In order to critically examine these questions, I wish to introduce three further questions to guide our discussion.

1) Was Jesus addressing the Pharisees or the disciples (church) in this context?

2) If He was reacting to the Pharisees' statement in Matthew 12:24, [which appears to be the natural deduction from the passage context], what exactly was the issue with the Pharisee statement?

3) Can a believer commit this kind of blasphemy? If so, under what circumstances?

PASSAGE ANALYSIS

My view is that in Matthew 12:22-32 Jesus was reacting to the blasphemy committed by the Pharisees who had stubbornly rejected Christ's Messianic authority and His divinity as God incarnate despite two key affirmations standing in Christ's favor:

1) The Old Testament Scripture clearly spoke of Christ's incarnate coming and of His Messianic works (Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 9:6-7; 61:1-9).

The Pharisees were religious scholars of high repute who sat on the seat of Moses. They ought to have sufficiently understood the Scriptures that touched on Christ's coming.

2) Jesus performed several miracles in the presence of the Pharisees, including the immediate case of the demon possessed, blind and mute man which is captured in the passage of context (Matthew 12:22-24). The man was fully restored, leaving no doubt that God was at work.

Despite the glaring facts that authenticated Jesus Messianic authority and power, the Pharisees not only rejected Him; they went ahead and mocked His works, attributing them to Beelzebub (Satan), the ruler of the demons  (Matthew 12:24).

Jesus discerned their evil hearts and their sworn opposition to the things of God. He took the opportunity to proclaim that the rebellion and wickedness of the Pharisees was beyond redemption. They had committed the unpardonable sin.

They rejected the conviction of the Holy Spirit and blattantly misrepresented the works of God by attributing them to Satan. There can be no greater act of treason against God!

Jesus went on to demolish the theory advanced by the Pharisees. He taught that it was impossible for Satan's kingdom to be divided and fight against itself.

This is similarly true of the kingdom of God. Those who are in Christ will inescapably pull from the same end of the rope. They cannot cross the middle line and join the adversaries of God.

Simply put, Jesus was confirming the obvious: that His divine works were from God and that the claims by the Pharisees were not only false but utterly blasphemous, and inexcusable on earth and in the life to come. The Pharisees had committed high blasphemy!

In their stubbornness, they had crossed the Rubicon, the point of no return.

Jesus used their case to warn that anyone who walks after the manner of the Pharisees will be guilty of crossing the red line.

He taught that those who commit the kind of blasphemy will face eternal damnation. There will be no more opportunity for such brazen rebellion to be forgiven. To sin against the Holy Spirit is to persistently and blattantly deny God's sovereignty and His divine works of the cross. It is an insult against the very person of God even after opportunity has been presented for conviction and repentance!

CAN A BELIEVER COMMIT THE UNPARDONABLE SIN?

Now to examine the million dollar question...

Can a true follower of Jesus Christ commit the kind of blasphemy contemplated in this passage?

My view is that it is impossible for a true believer to commit the kind of blasphemy identified in the above passage.

Here is why....

A true child of God cannot and will never misrepresent God or deny His works of righteousness that Christ accomplished. They can discern the presence of Christ and distinctly identify His divine voice through the word of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus taught in John 10:14-16 "I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. 15 As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd."

It is therefore impossible for a true believer to deny the Master or persistently resist the convictions of the Holy Spirit to the point of no return.

This is not to suggest that a believer is to be sinless or perfect. A believer cannot attain spiritual and moral perfection on earth (1 John 1:8-10). However, he is open to the grace of God by reason of the covenant relationship written in Christ's sinless blood (2 Cor. 5:21; Hebrews 4:14-16).

The Bible teaches in John 1:12-13 "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

In Ephesians 4:30, the Bible says "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."

My view is that those who are in Christ cannot rebell against the Father in the manner associated with the conduct of the Pharisees or blaspheme God or reject the authority of the word of God.

They may fall into moral disobedience but never shall they insult the works of God or fail to discern the authority of Scripture or the leading of the Holy Spirit. They will find their way to the narrow path whenever they err and will walk therein.

Allow me to conclude with one key Scripture:

1 Corinthians 12:3 says "Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit."

© Ezekiel Kimosop Teaching Series 2019