What is the unpardonable sin – have you committed it
WHAT IS THE UNPARDONABLE SIN?
What is the unpardonable sin? As a pastor, this is a question I get asked often. Today we are going to answer that question and I believe it will be helpful and a blessing to you. Let me just say upfront if you are worried about whether or not you have committed the unpardonable sin, I can assure you; by the very fact that you are concerned is evidence – you have not. In fact, this sin can only be committed by an unbeliever. True born-again followers of Christ can’t commit the unpardonable sin. (They can commit the “sin unto death” click here to read my post on the “Sin Unto Death)
It is a Sin Only Non-Believers Can Commit
We find Jesus addressing this issue in Matthew 12:31-32, “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.” Notice Jesus is not talking to believers. He is speaking to non-believers, the Pharisees. Jesus would not talk to unbelievers about a sin that could be committed by believers, that would be useless. So first off Jesus is talking about a sin that can only be committed by non-believers.
It is Just ONE Sin
The unpardonable sin is just ONE sin. It is the only sin Jesus did not die for on the cross. That one sin is the “REJECTION OF JESUS”. It is the only sin Jesus cannot pardon you for. It is the only sin that you cannot be forgiven of now or anytime in the future unless YOU personally believe and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. (Romans 10:9) No one else can do that for you including Jesus. He has left this for us to judge ourselves.
Jesus Died for all Sins Except ONE
Jesus did die on the cross for every other sin; adultery, murder, stealing, lying, fornication, homosexuality, cheating,… all of it, except one. That one sin is the rejection of Jesus. If Jesus had died for that one sin – all of mankind would automatically be saved.
It is Not Attributing the Works of God to the Devil
The unpardonable sin is NOT attributing the works of God to the devil. It is rejecting Jesus the one who died on the cross, was buried, and on the third day arose from the dead. It really is that simple. Look at John 16:8-10 and we see Jesus specifically define it, “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment because the ruler of this world is judged.”
Holy Spirit Convicts the World of SIN (singular)
Jesus says the Holy Spirit will “convict the world of sin”. Notice it is singular and how Jesus defines what that sin is in verse 9, “because they do NOT believe in me.” Again, this is the only sin Jesus did not die for. This why it is called the unpardonable sin. It is the only sin the Holy Spirit convicts the world of. We have to judge ourselves whether to believe or not believe – to accept Jesus or reject Jesus. Jesus cannot pardon us for this sin. The only way to not be guilty of this sin is to make the decision to believe in Jesus.
Heaven will be filled with Bad people and Good People
Revelation 20:15 tells us that, “And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” This is eternal hell. What we need to understand is hell will be filled with good people and bad people. In fact, heaven will be filled with good people and bad people. Why? Because it is not your goodness that gets you into heaven and it won’t be because people are bad that they are sent to hell.
Believers are Secure in Jesus
Good people and bad people will be hell and eventually the lake of fire for only one reason – they did not judge the one sin Jesus did not die for – again that is the rejection of Jesus. That is the unpardonable sin – that is it. If you have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, the unpardonable sin is nothing you will have to confront or worry about. You are secure in Him. You judged that sin once and for all when you believed and received Jesus.
The Sin unto Death
However, there is the “sin unto death” which is altogether different. We will explain what that is and how believers are affected by it in another post. In the meantime, if you have never received Christ as your Lord and Savior. You can do that right now, right where you are. There is nothing God requires of you except to believe. In fact, He has given you the ability to believe. It is called grace, God’s power, and ability working in you. You only have to believe.