The “Unforgivable Sin” and understanding the Bible

Recently, I was asked to preach on Matthew 12:30-32—the passage where Jesus talked about the “unforgivable sin” and “Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.” After my initial shock at being asked to preach on that passage, I realized that I had questions of my own about it. What is the deal with this passage? What is the unforgivable sin? And more to the point—have I committed it?

This passage has led to much confusion throughout the history of the Church. St. Thomas Aquinas was so scared of the “unforgivable sin” that he devoted four articles to this form of blasphemy in is monumental work, Summa Theologiae. John Bunyan, the author of Pilgrim’s Progress struggled with fear of this sin for years. Today, we find atheist groups on the internet who challenge others to take the “Blasphemy Challenge”—where people are invited to publically “blasphemy the Holy Spirit” by uploading their denials of God onto YouTube. Over the centuries, people have wondered what this unforgiveable sin is: is it adultery, murder, suicide, fornication, Satan worship, or something else?

So, how do we make sense of the passage? Let’s treat it as a case study in how to properly interpret a passage of Scripture. First, here is the troublesome passage (Matthew 12:30-32):

30 “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 31 And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 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.

Taken in isolation, it is hard to make sense of this passage—how is it that all kinds of sins can be forgiven but one sin will not be forgiven? What is going on here? Well, here is a principle of sound biblical interpretation:

Principle #1: In order to correctly understand a passage, we must always look at it within its context.

And what is the passages context? The broader context can be found in Matthew 12:22-32. In this broader context we read of Jesus performing a miracle (he performs an exorcism and heals a blind and mute man), we read of the crowd’s amazement and wonderment over the identity of Jesus (“Could this be the Son of David?”), we find the slanderous (and murderous) charge of the Pharisees, and we find Jesus’ response to the Pharisees charge (both his reasoned response to their explicit charge that he drives out demons by Satan’s power as well as his warning to the Pharisees if they continue to attribute to Satan what is in fact the work of God’s Spirit).

After looking at this passage in context, we find that the “unforgivable sin” is (basically) attributing what is in fact the work of God’s Spirit to His ultimate enemy, Satan.

Fair enough, you say, but there are other problems passages that talk about the unforgivable sin—Hebrews 6, 1 John 5, and Hebrews 10 come to mind. What about those passages? Well, here is our second principle of biblical interpretation:

Principle #2: Always interpret unclear passages in light of the clear teachings of Scripture (as a whole).

And what is the clear teaching of Scripture related to sin and forgiveness? It is this:

Forgiveness of sins is a consequence of man’s repentance, and repentance is a consequence of the activity of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. So in the end, it seems that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is nothing more or less than the unrelenting rejection of His advances.

So, in the end, this troublesome passage is really about the gospel—and it reminds us (as Tim Keller likes to say) that there are really three ways to live, not two. It is typically assumed that there are only two ways to live—the IRRELIGIOUS and the RELIGIOUS. But, both of these are self-salvation ways of living. The irreligious life says, “I will find salvation apart from God.” The Religious life says, “I will earn my own salvation.” But there is a third way, a way hinted at in our Matthew 12 passage—and it is the GOSPEL-CENTERED life that says, “I cannot earn my own salvation, it is a gift given to me by God.” So, have you committed the unforgivable sin? Well, in whom do you trust? Are you living a life of self-salvation (whether irreligious OR religious)? Or have you placed your faith/trust in Jesus—to forgive you of your sins, and to satisfy your heart and soul? If so, then you cannot commit the unforgivable sin—this is part of the good news—if you have trusted Jesus for your salvation—your sins, past, present, and future are forgiven once and for all. This is good news indeed!

Click here to listen to my full sermon on the unforgivable sin.