What is “the unforgivable sin” and how do I know if I’ve committed it?

For this month’s column, I have included an E Mail that I sent to a college student in response to some questions he asked me. For this reprint, I changed the student’s name. This was done in consideration of his privacy.

I met “Kevin” in Prescott, Arizona. I had just finished speaking to a group of college students and he approached me afterwards. Kevin was very troubled because he feared he had blasphemed the Holy Spirit and he knew of some scripture which taught that blaspheming the Holy Spirit was an unforgivable sin.

It seems that Kevin had been involved in The Boston Church of Christ. Although they claim to be followers of Jesus, this group is actually a dangerous cult. They teach that they are the only true church and that people who go to other churches are not saved. By God’s Grace, Kevin had come to realize the falsehood of this poisonous organization and he felt bad about the time he had spent with them. More importantly, he regretted spreading their arrogant message about being the “only true church.” Because of bad influence and false discipleship, Kevin had once looked born again Christians in the eye, telling them that they were going to hell. Now, looking back, Kevin was afraid that in making this grave error, he had sinned to a point of no return.

Our time was limited that evening, so I invited Kevin to contact me if he needed to talk some more. He did (via E Mail), a few weeks later, asking some simple, but important questions. What follows, is my response to Kevin’s letter with his questions quoted.

Dear Kevin,

Good to hear from you. I apologize for taking so long to respond. I do not have access to my E Mail every day. I will try to answer your questions in a way that eliminates some of the confusion.

1. “What is ‘The Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit’?”

“The Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit” is the sin of rejecting Christ. This is not a one time rejection, but rather, a permanent, ultimate rejection. And people have their entire lives to get off this bad path. They have not reached “a point of no return” until their decision is final and they are dead.

Since it is the Holy Spirit, the third person of the trinity, who makes Christ known to us, the title “Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit” is given. I.E. One may have honest, sincere doubts about the historical person of Jesus, but when the Spirit touches our hearts to the point where we either know or strongly suspect that Jesus is real, and we reject him anyway, then we are blaspheming the Holy Spirit. There is only one instance in which “The Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit” is described in so many words and you are already familiar with the passages:

“But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.” (Mark 3:29)

The scripture below is a parallel account of the same incident:

“And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.” (Luke 12:10)

In context, Jesus had just done a miracle (which many had asked him to do) to provide a sign that He was the Messiah (Christ) whom He claimed to be. When, after witnessing this miracle, the Pharisees accused Him of doing it by the power of Satan, they were blaspheming the Holy Spirit, the source of the miracles. In other words, it was no longer about sincere doubt. It was now about insincere doubt, because these men were choosing to justify their sin.

How do we know this is the same sin as the sin of rejecting Jesus? Well to start with, the scripture also teaches that rejecting Jesus is a sin that will not be forgiven:

“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:17-19)

Notice that in verse 19, the rejection of Jesus is compared to the rejection of light. This is referring to the fact that it is the Holy Spirit who makes Jesus known:

“But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. “ (John 14:26)

“When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.” (John 16:8-11)

Now, back to Mark 3, where Jesus says that all sins will be forgiven accept for “The Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit”.

“I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.” (Mark 3:28-29)

Please follow this process of deduction: 1) There is only one unforgivable sin. 2) This unforgivable sin is called “The Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit”. 3) Rejecting Christ is also described as an unforgivable sin. 4) But there are not 2 unforgivable sins, only one. 5) Therefore, “The Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit” and the rejecting of Jesus, is the same sin.

2. ” Is this the sin that I have committed?”

No, Kevin, you have not committed this sin. When you became a part of the cult which claimed to be the only true church, you were deceived but you sincerely believed what they said about other churches and you only joined this church because you were looking to get closer to God. As I explained, “The Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit” is committed by those who do not want the truth. Indeed, they turn away from the light of the Spirit.

Now, I understand your worry, so let me quote what you said in your letter and respond to it:

“If these men had committed the Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit by attributing Jesus’ powers to an evil spirit, am I condemned for making a statement that Churches, the body of Christ, were following the teachings of ….?” (Last word blank, so as not to repeat the offense.)

We must remember that you made your statement sincerely. The Pharisees made theirs insincerely because they did not want to believe in Jesus and they had decided in their hearts that they were not going to believe in Jesus no matter what He did.

Also, remember that Jesus is giving them a warning. If they had already sinned beyond hope, what would have been the purpose of a warning? The warning would have been rather pointless. He seems to be warning them not to continue down this road of self deception.

Bottom line: People who worry about having committed this sin have not committed this sin, for those who harden their hearts against God reach a point where they no longer worry about pleasing Him and no longer worry about their own salvation.

I hope this helps. Feel free to E Mail me if you have further questions.

In Christ
Bob Siegel