What Are Sins against the Holy Spirit?

“Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven” (Matt. 12:31).

Have you ever worried if you've committed the unforgivable sin? I know I certainly have. For the longest time in high school, I thought it meant that if I ever failed to share the Gospel that God would not let me into Heaven. Then came a speech tournament where we invited some competitors over to our table during lunchtime. One of them said something about Jesus' having died permanently and I didn't say anything in reply. I was so, so worried that because I didn't immediately correct her that I'd be barred from heaven.

Good news, my lack of affirming Jesus' resurrection at that moment didn't take away my heavenly joy. But if you've worried about the unforgivable sin, let's explore what that sin really is. 

What Was Jesus Referring to in Matthew 12? 

So what exactly is the unforgivable sin? Let's take a look at Matthew 12 in context. 

Earlier in the chapter, Jesus performs many signs and wonders, by casting out demons. The religious leaders don't like this one bit and say something along the lines of, "Well, obviously, he's a servant of the devil. So by the devil's power, he's casting out demons."

Of course, Jesus also points out that this wouldn't. make sense. If Satan wants demons to possess people, why would he try to take his kingdom down by driving them out? But aside from that, here is where Jesus launches into his explanation about how if someone sins against the Son of Man (aka all of us) he can forgive them. But if someone sins against the Holy Spirit, God cannot forgive them.

There you have it. The answer to the unforgivable sin: attributing a work of God to Satan.

Now hold on a minute, can a Christian accidentally do this? We'll tackle this question in a moment. As Christians, we know that every good and perfect gift comes from above. So if something good happens or we have a good spiritual gift, we know this doesn't come from the devil.

The unforgivable sin goes beyond just a mere ignorant attribution of a good work to Satan. It's someone who knows God enough to know his character, rejects God, and then attributes a work of God to the devil.

For instance, the religious leaders probably knew in their hearts that Jesus was the Messiah whom the Israelites had long-awaited. He performed signs no one else could—like healing a blind and mute man earlier in this passage. In fact, this is one of his most important miracles, because the Old Testament says someone who can do this is the chosen Messiah, according to IF Gathering. The religious leaders were well-versed in the Old Testament, so they knew that Jesus not only claimed to be the Messiah, but he showed it.

But they didn't like Jesus to fulfill this role as Messiah. That would mean they would have to live far differently. Commune with the tax collectors and sinners. Eat a piece of humble pie. So they look Jesus dead in the eyes and say, I don't want you to be the Messiah. Instead, I'm going to say you come from Satan himself.

Are There Multiple Sins against the Spirit, or Just One? 

Scripture only refers to the one, so we can assume it's just the one. But a person can commit one sin in multiple ways. Take, for instance, the example of stealing:

I can steal someone's information.

I can steal someone's husband.

I can steal someone's worth.

I can steal someone's peace and comfort.

All of these examples probably bring a different action to mind, but all of them stem from the same sin. In the same way, a rejection of the Holy Spirit doesn't just take one particular course of action. Sin can take all forms and sizes.

It also seems to be a progressive rejection. Think of the hardening of Pharaoh's heart. How it just gets harder and harder, until he has gone beyond redemption. The same thing happened with the religious teachers. Their hearts got so hard that they went from overseeing Jesus' ministry to ultimately condemning him to death.

Should We as Christians Be Worried about Committing the Unforgivable Sin?

No. A Christian, who has the Spirit living within them, cannot commit this sin. So if you've worried about this before and whether you've jeopardized your salvation, worry not. You are safe in the arms of Jesus.

But what about my non-Christian friends? You've probably wondered this. What if they accidentally commit this sin and doom themselves to forever be outside the gates of heaven?

Some sites such as GotQuestions suggest the unforgivable sin only could have been committed in Jesus' day because the sin is linked to rejecting the Spirit's authority through Jesus and his actions. 

Whether this sin is no longer in play or someone can commit it, we should also know that someone cannot accidentally commit this sin. According to Crosswalk.com, "Let me take a moment and say the unforgivable sin isn’t something that someone commits randomly. The scribes who came from Jerusalem didn’t just do this on a whim. If you follow the references to these scribes throughout the book of Mark you’ll see there is a progression to their unbelief. They were initially curious about Jesus and His ministry. Then they had questions. In time, they grew indifferent; but then their indifference metastasized into a malicious attitude that became so hateful and vengeful that it ultimately nailed Jesus Christ to the cross."

The same Crosswalk article suggests that denying the deity of Christ is ultimately what the unforgivable sin is. Meaning, someone lives a lifetime, receiving evidence about Jesus' deity and the need for him to save us, and ultimately rejecting it.

Once someone gets the Gospel, they understand that they must either surrender their lives to Christ or they will reject this gift and reject God as their Savior and Messiah. Just as the scribes did.

A Rejection of Grace

It's sad to read the passage in Mark and slowly watch the scribes grow more and more jaded to the Gospel. When Jesus heals the demon-possessed man in this passage, he essentially says, "You wanted proof that I'm the Messiah. Here it is. Now you have a choice to make. Will you follow me, or reject me?"

They knew that it meant they would have to live very different lives. They knew this meant that all their learning, all their riches, all their social strata hierarchies meant nothing. They'd have to humble themselves and follow this Messiah whose messages they'd grown to hate.

So they reject Jesus and they reject Jesus' grace.

Perhaps you've seen something similar happen to a friend or coworker. Even in the midst of an inordinate amount of evidence, they don't want to believe that Christ is Lord. Because that means a heart-change and a life-change for them. I pray that God works in the hearts of these people so that they may not ultimately reject God's grace.

Related articles
What Is Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and Is This Sin Unforgiveable?
What Freedom from Sin Really Looks Like
How Far Does God's Forgiveness Reach?

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Maudib

Hope Bolinger is an acquisitions editor at End Game Press, book editor for hire, and the author of almost 30 books. More than 1500 of her works have been featured in various publications. Check out her books at hopebolinger.com for clean books in most genres, great for adults and kids. Check out her editing profile at Reedsy.com to find out about hiring her for your next book project.