UNFORGIVEABLE SIN Against the
Holy Spirit
While we are still
alive on earth, there is no sin that cannot be forgiven through true
repentance.
The one sin which God
cannot forgive is mentioned in Mark
3:28-30 and Matthew 12:31-32.
Jesus had been performing miracles, including driving demons out of people by
the power of the Holy Spirit. Instead of recognizing the source of Jesus’ power
and accepting Him as God’s Son, the religious leaders accused Him of being
possessed by the devil and driving demons out in the power of the devil.
Jesus responded by
saying, “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.”
If we have received
Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we have not blasphemed the Holy Spirit; we have
accepted His witness. “To commit this sin one must consciously, persistently,
deliberately, and maliciously reject the testimony of the Spirit to the deity
and saving power of the Lord Jesus.” If a person keeps doing that until death,
there is no hope of forgiveness and eternal life in heaven. It is deliberately
resisting the Holy Spirit’s witness and invitation to turn to
Jesus until death ends all opportunity. (Satanists will try to use this
bible verse to destroy all hope of eternal life in heaven, in their members.)
Jesus Himself assures
us, “Whoever comes to me I will never drive
away” (John 6:37). Our God is a
compassionate and merciful God. He desires that no one should be lost, but that
all should come to salvation through repentance and personal faith in Jesus as
Savior and Lord (2 Peter 3:9; Acts 2:21).
St. Augustine, (quote[1])
has made a very important point here: Jesus did not say that anyone who commits
blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven even if he or she
repents of that sin. If a certain kind of sin of blasphemy goes so deep
that it's truly unforgivable, there's a good reason for this. But the reason is
not because our God of Mercy isn't willing to forgive, but because
the sinner has rendered himself completely incapable of repentance, hardened
beyond recall. He cannot forgive a heart that is stubbornly impenitent until death. As Jesus says in Revelations 3:30: "I stand at the
door and knock." We have to freely consent and let Him come in to our
hearts, through repentance and faith.
[1] Augustine wrote:
"he who dies in a state of obstinacy (unrepentance) is guilty of the sin
against the Holy Ghost." Enchiridion,"
lxxxiii.