What is the Unpardonable Sin?

I have just seen a friend come to Christ who had more baggage he said than an overseas flight to Paris. He was convinced he had so much baggage and serious sins he had committed that he was sure he had committed several unpardonable sins. He asked me about this and thought he was too far removed from God's holiness that there was no way on earth or in heaven he could ever be saved. He told me some very gruesome things and wanted to know if he had committed an unpardonable sin. I said, the only unpardonable sin you can make today is not receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savoir. Not accepting Jesus and rejecting belief in Him truly is the only unpardonable and unforgivable sin that people can commit today. The very fact that he was worried about committing the unpardonable sin told me that he had not committed it. The fact is that he would commit this sin if he refused to believe on Jesus Christ before he died (Acts 16:30-31). But since he was worried about it, I said that this shows you haven't committed it. And Jesus died for all sins so you can have eternal life and escape the Judgment on the Great Day (Rev. 20:12).

From what I understand, this sin cannot be committed today by a true Christian. An unforgivable sin is described in Mark 3 and Matthew 12. These passages involve Jesus Christ's repeated and widespread public defeat of Satan and his demons. Many readers and theologians have been confused about the true nature of this sin. As you read these verses for yourself (below), bear in mind that part of the purpose of Jesus Christ's ministry was to directly confront darkness with the light of truth in a public battle of pure good versus pure evil. The only being in the universe that is more powerful than the Evil One, is God. He is the only One with enough power to bind Satan and forcibly dispossess him.

Mark 3:22-30 states "And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, 'He has Beelzebub,' and, 'By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.' ...'Assuredly, I [Jesus] say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation;' because they said, 'He has an unclean spirit'". The Pharisees made the same charge (Matt 9:34). In Matthew 12:31-32, Jesus says to the Pharisees, "Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. 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" (NKJV here and elsewhere). What is the context of these statements, and what is the exact sin described?

The Pharisees had long observed the sinless Jesus Christ. They observed him doing undeniable and powerful miracles that were, at the very least, clear evidence of the power supplied by God. These impressive miracles were freely given in pure kindness and love to release people from obvious suffering and the oppression of horrible evil. However, the Pharisees had so firmly set their hearts against accepting Jesus as the Messiah that they rejected the obvious truth before them and perversely twisted it to influence the crowds. They publicly credited the most ultimately evil being in the universe with these precious, godly miracles. In other words, they called the precious and Holy Spirit of God, the unclean spirit of Satan. In effect, they charged Jesus Christ with sorcery; one who is in league with Satan. These charges are not only appalling and extremely serious, but clearly absurd. As Jesus immediately responded, As Jesus immediately responded, "How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house" (Mark 3:23-27; also see Luke 11:14-23).

Note that... "Jesus does not deny the existence of other exorcists here [See: Matthew 7:22-23]. Exorcists often invoked a higher spirit to get rid of a lower one...but a demon's retreat that meanwhile drew attention to another of Satan's servants would only be a strategic retreat; such possible activity contrasts with the wholesale exorcizing of the masses that Jesus undertakes, which clearly signifies a defeat of Satan [Matthew 12:29; 4:24; 8:16; Mark 1:34, 39; 5:12, 15; Luke 9:1]. [Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary, New Testament (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1993), pp. 143, 80.].

The Pharisees, Scribes and religious leaders should have known better. Jesus is clearly seen in the Old Testament writings, but they were blinded by their own hate for Him that they refused to believe what they must have known, inwardly, was true. They did not want to share their religious power with anyone, even the Son of God. So in rejecting Jesus they had no excuse...they knew better. They rejected Him and this was unpardonable, as it is today. If someone is worried about having committed the unpardonable sin, that is evidence that they have not committed it. The only unpardonable sin that we must worry about today, in our age, is rejecting Jesus Christ as our own personal Lord and Savior. The consequences of this are eternal separation from God, which is hell in itself. This is irreversible...unpardonable. This is the only unpardonable, unforgivable sin that there is. But this is one that you can wipe away with repentance, and belief and acceptance of Jesus Christ (John 3:16). There is no need for you to worry if you've committed the unpardonable sin, if you are His already. If not, why not? And why not right now!? Here's how:

Admit that you are a sinner and in need of a Savior (Rom 6:23), abandon self effort and realize you can not be saved by your works or efforts (Acts 16:31), accept freely Christ's payment for my sins, required of the Father. (John 3:16), and acknowledge Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior (Acts 4:12). If you have just received Jesus, you have now received God's inheritance rights as a son or daughter of His and can never be lost again and live forever (John 10:28-29). Plus you'll never have to worry about committing an unpardonable or unforgivable sin again! Isn't that why it's called the Good News? Now you can join a Bible-believing church, or call 1-888-NeedHim (633-3446) for follow up questions about salvation that is only available through Jesus Christ or send me a message. And if you have, congratulations! Now if anything's irreversible, this is!