What Is The Unpardonable Sin? Can Someone Be Forgiven For It?
Q: What Is The Unpardonable Sin? Can Someone Be Forgiven For It?
A part of me wishes that the Scriptural passages where Jesus spoke about the unforgivable sin and the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit were more straightforward. That might be a cultural thing. It might be that when Jesus explained it to his first listeners, it was much more straightforward than we sense it.
Let’s talk about the unforgivable sin, which Jesus called, “the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.” The Bible tells us that the work of the Holy Spirit is given to reveal Jesus Christ and to bring people to faith in Him. Therefore, I would say that the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is the settled and continual rejection of the Holy Spirit’s testimony about who Jesus is and why we need Him.
Therefore, this blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is a condition that can be changed, at least by outward appearance, by anybody who just puts their faith in Jesus Christ. If I end my rejection of Jesus – of who He is and what He did to rescue me – and I put my trust in Him, then I’m no longer blaspheming the Holy Spirit, and I can be saved. But as long as I continue in the sin of rejecting the Holy Spirit and what He says to me about who Jesus is and what He did for me, then I can never be saved, and therefore that sin is unforgivable.
As long as somebody persists in rejecting what the Holy Spirit says about Jesus, they can never be saved, but as soon as they put their faith in Him, as soon as they trust and rely on and cling to Him, they can receive the gift of God.Forgiveness is in Christ. If you’re not in Christ, you’re not forgiven.