Forgiveness & Warning

Many questions arise around this passage. Is there a sin that can be committed that is unforgivable? Are we in danger of committing this sin? Have we committed the sin by accident? How do we know we are safe?

Now as with all confusing passages in scripture, the first place to look is in the context. In the verses above, the Pharisees accused Jesus of doing miracles by the power of the prince of demons. In doing this, they were ascribing the work of the Holy Spirit to the devil.

In response to their accusation, Jesus warns them that they are on thin ice. He mentions that every sin can be forgiven except blasphemies against the Holy Spirit. This leads us to ask, "What is blasphemy?" Once again, as we look to the context, we see in verse 28 that blasphemies are described as uttering, something that is said, spoken, or proclaimed. So, we should be seriously warned not to use our words to speak against the Holy Spirit and to call the Holy Spirit the working of the satan, who is the exact opposite, an unholy spirit.

In this text, the Pharisees were blaspheming Jesus, and even blasphemies against Him are forgivable (verse 28). Yet there is a real danger if the Pharisees kept going down the path of associating the works Jesus is doing by the Holy Spirit with satan. When Jesus spoke of this, I am sure these men trained in the Torah (Old Testament) had Leviticus 24:16 ringing in their ears, which says "Whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death." Jesus again places Himself and the Spirit working as equal to God and worthy of worship.

The Holy Spirit is vital to our salvation, as the gift of Jesus (John 14:16), our helper (John 14:26), the down payment (Ephesians 1:14), and the seal of our salvation (Ephesians 4:30). So to blaspheme and reject the Holy Spirit is to be outside of Christ and the forgiveness He offers.

Because of the serious nature of an unforgivable sin, there is a hidden-gem in this text that is often overshadowed. Jesus says that every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven. Many believe the lie that they have sinned too much and are beyond rescue. But, we clearly see that Jesus offers forgiveness for everything. This is good news! There is no sin that is too big or beyond His ability to forgive, with the exception to blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.

It’s obvious that Jesus does not want us to even come close to blaspheming the Holy Spirit. And this won’t ever happen by accident. He doesn't even want the Pharisees to come close to crossing this line. Jesus also desires that forgiveness would be known to everyone that comes to Him.

With any sin listed in scripture, our reaction should not be how close can I get to the line before I cross it. Instead, we should seek to do the will of God and His desires. So here is what we can work towards, and if we do this, we won’t come close to the unforgivable sin. Jesus desires that we drive a sharp distinction between the Holy Spirit of God and other spirits of the spiritual world. This is why we often place the word holy in front of Holy Spirit, or attach the clarification, ‘Spirit of God’ when we speak of the Holy Spirit. There is no connection between the common and unholy spirits of demons in the unseen realm with workings of the Holy Spirit of God.