The unforgivable sin – Matthew 12: 22 – 32

At the end of the passage Kay just read are 2 verses which have been and continue to be, the cause of much worry and anxiety among Christians.  The verses in question are verses 31 & 32 which record a serious warning from Jesus of how blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will NOT be forgiven by God. Jesus said:

‘He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. And so I will tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit WILL NOT BE FORGIVEN, either in this age or in the age to come’.

Now this warning from Jesus is also known as ‘the unforgivable or the unpardonable sin’. But whilst the concern of God’s people is completely understandable, it is, as we will now see, also completely unfounded on the grounds that if they know and love the Lord Jesus Christ, this unpardonable sin does NOT apply to them.  Because of their ongoing faith relationship with Jesus, they are and always will be, secure in their salvation.

Now in order for us to be able to correctly interpret this teaching from Jesus, the first thing we need to do is we need to establish the context or the backdrop to the passage, and in this instance, the backdrop is Jesus’ public deliverance of a man rendered blind and mute by a demon.

Immediately following Jesus casting the demon out of the man, his sight and hearing is fully restored, and we are told by Matthew that because the crowds of onlookers were so astonished by what they had just witnessed, they asked, ‘Could this be the Son of David’, which is a reference to the prophecy of the prophet Isaiah of how God’s promised Messiah would come from the line of David.

Among the crowds who also witnessed the healing were some Pharisees and Teachers of the Law who, because of the threat Jesus’ miracles and his radically new and liberating teaching about God and the Kingdom of God presented, regarded Jesus as their sworn enemy.

As far as they were concerned, Jesus was public enemy No1. And as you would expect, their response to what they witnessed, was the complete opposite to that of the crowds. They said of Jesus, “It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons that this fellow drives out demons’ – Beelzebub being a Hebrew name for the Devil or Satan and which translates as ‘Lord of Filth’.

Instead of acknowledging how something incredible and amazing had just taken place, they chose instead to accuse Jesus of being in collusion with Satan, claiming it wasn’t Jesus who healed the man, but rather it was Satan working through Jesus. They were effectively accusing Jesus of being an ally of Satan.

And in response to their false accusation, Jesus presents an argument in verses 25 – 28 which not only ties them up in knots, but which also reveals how their accusation was complete and total nonsense. He said to them: –

“Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his Kingdom stand? And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the Sprit of God, then the Kingdom of God has come to you”.

Now Demons who are fallen angels are essentially Satan’s foot soldiers who Satan sends out into the world to do his bidding by binding people in sin, destroying lives, and spiritually blinding people to the truth of who Jesus is and to what He did upon the Cross.

As we all know from the Scriptures, Satan is at war with God, and his primary tactic is to cause people to reject God and the Son of God.

So if, as the teachers claimed, Satan was casting out his own kind, then he is effectively waging war against himself. And if he is at war against himself, then the inevitable outcome concludes Jesus, will be the eventual downfall of his own Kingdom – which simply doesn’t make sense. Satan’s goal is to destroy God’s Kingdom – not his own.

Contrary to what these Jewish leaders believed, Satan is in the business of SENDING demons INTO people, NOT evicting them OUT of people. Through his foot soldiers, Satan the destroyer is seeking to destroy as many lives as he can – and over the last 2000 years, he has done a pretty good job.

Jesus’ response to this ridiculous argument of the Pharisee’s and Teachers of the Law was one they simply had no answer too. And by way of reinforcing both his response and his purpose for coming into the world, Jesus puts a searching question to them. He said “How can anyone enter a strong mans house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house’, – verse 29

Jesus’ reference to the ‘strong man’ and the ‘possessions’ in the strong man’s house’ is a reference to Satan and his domain – namely the world – and to those living in his domain and who belong to him – namely the spiritually lost.

The Gospel’s teach how Satan is the Prince of this World, and how every spiritually lost man and women living in the world, belong to Satan. So what Jesus is saying is that before He can plunder Satan’s domain – the world – and save those who are under his power – the spiritually lost – he must first incapacitate Satan. He must first render Satan powerless – which of course is exactly what He did through the Cross.

Jesus was NOT in league with Satan as the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law accused him of being, but rather He had come into the world – he had come into Satan’s ‘house’ – to bind Satan and plunder his ‘goods’ or ‘possessions’ which are the souls of lost men and women.

As one commentator put it, ‘Jesus was NOT in COLLUSION with Satan, but rather he was in COLLISION with him’. And whilst, in this instance, Jesus’ ‘collision’ with Satan resulted in him plundering Satan’s house of one man, the Cross was where Jesus’ greatest collision with Satan took place because it was at the Cross Jesus plundered and indeed continues to plunder, multitudes upon multitudes from Satan’s house – among whom were you and me – and placed them firmly and securely INTO God’s eternal house, God’s eternal Kingdom.

Having presented his water tight case to the Pharisee’s and Teachers of the Law, Jesus follows it up with a dire warning. And it is a warning which, as we heard at the beginning, has serious consequences. He said “I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven”.

The Greek word Matthew used for ‘blasphemy’ means ‘to speak evil of’; ‘to vilify’; to irreverently defy’. So within the context of ‘blaspheming against the Holy Spirit, it means ‘to speak evil of God’, to vilify God’, a defiant irreverence towards God’

Now at first sight, it appears Jesus’ warning is all inclusive. It APPEARS He is saying that ANYONE who speaks against the Holy Spirit – regardless of whether they believe or not believe – will not be forgiven. It APPEARS no one is exempt. And as I again said at the beginning, there are many Christians who believe this to be the case.

But before we can know for certain whether it does include Christians, there are two things we need to establish. The first is we need to establish the ROLE or PURPOSE of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer and in the world. And the second is we need to establish WHAT exactly is the unpardonable sin, and WHY it is unpardonable.

And once we have established those two things, we can then determine whether Jesus’ warning does include Christians.

So what then is the Holy Spirit doing today in the life of the believer? Well, in John Chapter 14 verses 16 & 17, we are told by Jesus how He is our COUNSELLOR or our COMFORTER.

The Greek word John used for ‘counsellor’ is ‘PARACLETE’ which means ‘advocate; intercessor; helper. 2000 years ago a ‘Paraclete’ was a legal term that was used to describe both a WITNESS who stood alongside a defendant testifying in their defence, and also a LAWYER or DEFENCE ATTORNEY, who used all their ability and legal skills to speak on behalf of their client.

As our counsellor – as our ‘Paraclete’ – the Holy Spirit is the one who stands alongside us and who intercedes and testifies on our behalf before God, and who also helps us to do a number of things.

For example, He helps and comforts us during times of trouble or sorrow; He helps us to overcome temptation and the ungodly desires of our sinful nature; He helps us to live Christ like lives; He helps us to pray and understand the Word of God; He helps us to witness to the Gospel of Jesus; and He helps us to serve God with the spiritual gifts He has bestowed upon us.

And with regard to his role or purpose in the world, we are also told by Jesus how His primary purpose is to CONVICT or CONVINCE the spiritually lost of their sin, and of how the judgment of God is upon them because of their sin.

Jesus said in John chapter 16 verse 8 ‘When He – the Holy Spirit – comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin, righteousness, and judgement’ – and 2000 years after his arrival into the world at Pentecost that is what He is continuing to do.

The Holy Spirit is using every opportunity afforded to him to convict – to convince – those currently outside Jesus’ Kingdom of their sins, to call them to righteousness, and to warn them of the judgement to come.

That is why He came into the world, and that is why He continues to remain in the world. And one helpful example of the convicting work of the Holy Spirit can be found in Acts Chapter 24 verses 24 & 25, which is the account of the Apostle Paul’s encounter with Felix, the unbelieving Governor of Caesarea.

In the account, Paul is falsely accused by the Jewish High Priest Ananias for stirring up riots among the Jews. Ananias also accuses Paul of being the ring-leader of the Nazarene sect which 2000 years ago, was the name unbelieving Jews used to describe the church, and which resulted in Paul being taken to Felix to answer the accusations.

As Paul stood before Felix, we read how he defended himself by telling Felix how Jesus is the one whom the prophets of old testified about, and as he witnessed about Jesus, he also used it as an opportunity to speak about righteousness, self-control, and the judgement to come.

As Paul spoke, we are also told how his words were filled with such power from the Holy Spirit that Felix became fearful, and writing on this passage, most commentators have concluded that Felix’s fear was due to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit used Paul’s words to bring Felix to a place where he would confess who Jesus is, repent of his sins, ask for God to forgive him, and turn to Jesus in faith.

Unfortunately, because of the vice like grip Felix’s sinful nature had upon him which involved him taking bribes from the Jewish authorities, we are told by Luke how Felix chose to not only reject Paul’s words, but to also imprison Paul for 2 years as a ‘favour to the Jews’.

Despite the conviction of the Holy Spirit, instead of choosing to respond to the Holy Spirit, Felix chose instead to suppress and ignore the Holy Spirit – and 2000 years later, countless numbers of people from all around the world, are choosing to do the same.

Even though the Holy Spirit brings conviction to people when they hear the Gospel, they still have the freedom to either accept it or reject it, and sadly, the world is full of people who, like Felix, have chosen to reject it.

Whilst the scriptures teach God’s desire is for all men and women to turn to His Son Jesus and be saved, he also desires them to do so freely and willingly. He wants them to use the freedom of choice he has given them. He doesn’t want them to do it against their will, but rather he wants them to turn to Jesus because they willingly WANT to turn to Jesus.

Their turning to Jesus MUST be a conscious and willing act. And as a people who have done exactly that, we all know that by turning to him, we have been richly blessed which of course includes the blessing of eternal life WITH Jesus in His Kingdom when we leave this world through physical death.

However, if anyone refuses to listen to the Gospel message of the Holy Spirit, or if anyone refuses to act upon the conviction of the Holy Spirit following them hearing the Gospel, the result will be eternal separation FROM Jesus and His Kingdom when they leave this world through death.

With regard to this constant, wilful rejection of the Holy Spirit, one commentator describes it as the principle of ‘what you don’t use, you lose’ which, he argues, is a principle that can be applied to the physical, mental, moral, and spiritual areas of every day life.

For example, if we cease to USE and exercise certain muscles in our bodies like the muscles in our legs, our arms, our hands, then eventually we will LOSE the PHYSICAL ability to run, walk, hold things etc.

If we cease to USE what we learn, like for instance learning to play a musical instrument or speaking a foreign language, then eventually we will forget completely what we learned and we will LOSE the MENTAL ability to play an instrument or speak a foreign language.

If we cease to USE our knowledge of what is right and what is wrong, what is good and what is not good, then eventually we will lose the MORAL ability to lead good, clean, wholesome lives.

And if we cease to USE what we have seen and heard about Jesus through the Holy Spirit, then eventually we will lose the SPIRITUAL ability to be moved or changed by Jesus’ love, grace, mercy, compassion, goodness and truth when the Holy Spirit presents it to us – which is exactly what happened to the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law.

By consistently rejecting Jesus, they also consistently rejected the Holy Spirit’s witness of Jesus, and for Jesus, it was this total and utter rejection which constituted as ‘blasphemy against the Holy Spirit on the basis it effectively amounted to a declaration that the Holy Spirit is a liar, and the Gospel message is a lie.

The total and utter rejection of the witness and conviction of the Holy Spirit concerning Jesus amounts to a declaration of how everything about the Holy Spirit is completely false – is a complete pack of lies. And for God, that is something which is totally unforgivable.

Whilst sins like adultery, murder, theft, and blasphemy – which is a reference to general blasphemy like taking God’s name in vain – is pardonable by God upon repentance and confession, the sin involving the wilful, consistent, and continual rejection of the Holy Spirit and his message of salvation, is unpardonable.

It will NOT be forgiven – which leads me neatly onto the question of are Christians capable of committing the unpardonable sin? Are you and me as believers, able to blaspheme the Holy Spirit?

And based upon what we have just learnt, the answer folks is a resounding NO. If we have truly confessed Jesus Christ as our Lord and saviour, and if we are in a committed relationship with him, then we are totally INCAPABLE of committing blasphemy against the Holy Spirit on the grounds we have declared the Holy Spirit and His message concerning Jesus, to be totally and utterly true.

Brothers and sisters, if you have genuinely repented of your sins; if you have invited Jesus into your life; and if you are walking in a faith relationship with Jesus, then this warning from Jesus does NOT apply to you.

As another commentator concluded – ‘If as a Christian you are honestly worried about whether you have committed the un-forgivable sin, the fact you are worried in the first place, is evidence of your heart being centred upon Christ, and of a desire to walk right with him’.

Friends, if you love Jesus, but are worried about this sin, then worry no more because as far as God is concerned, your faith and your love for His Son is a guarantee of how He will not only always forgive you of your sins when you confess them before him, but of how your place in heaven is totally secure.

And if Satan is whispering in your ear telling you otherwise, then reject his words for what they are and always will be – nothing but lies from the Father of lies.

Now as I close, it goes without saying that this is serious stuff for the simple reason it is, quite literally, a matter of life and death.

The sad truth is that just like the Pharisee’s, the Teachers of the Law, and Felix, there are people in our local community, in our work place, and even in our family who, because they have rejected and are continuing to reject, the Holy Spirit’s witness and conviction about Jesus, are guilty of committing the unpardonable sin.

Unless they respond to the Holy Spirit, they will not be forgiven by God, and should they die unforgiven by God, they will suffer the awfulness of eternal separation from God. In saying that however, whilst they continue to remain closed to the Holy Spirit, it does not mean you and I should give up on them.

We know from scripture how God can break through the most stubborn and hardened of hearts, and we know that when His people pray, things we believed to be impossible, become possible. They become a reality.

Folks, nothing is impossible with God. So with this in mind, I would like us to spend a few minutes in prayer, and I would like us to lift up before God, those who we know are guilty of committing the unforgivable sin so that they might turn and be saved.