Are there any unforgivable sins?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

Scripture teaches that when Jesus died on the cross, His sacrifice was sufficient to cover every sin of those who come to faith in Him.

However, Jesus did call “blasphemy against the Spirit” an unpardonable sin (Matthew 12:31-32). The context involved Jewish leaders who had attributed Jesus’ miracles to Satan. In other words, they were rejecting Christ as the One sent from God as Lord and Messiah.

Some believe Jesus spoke these words only to those in His audience and that this supposed unpardonable sin cannot be committed today. Even if this is true, in a sense the principle remains. Those who reject “the way, the truth, and the life”---Jesus Christ— cannot come to the Father (John 14:6; Acts 4:12).

Christians still sometimes sin. When we do, we are called to confess our sins and be forgiven and cleansed (1 John 1:9). Those who have placed their faith in Christ have already become children of God and are loved and forgiven (John 1:12). This truth does not offer a license to sin (Romans 6) but rather a confidence that we can know we will have eternal life (1 John 5:13).

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

• Proverbs 15:29 shows how persistent sin separates us from God: “The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.”
• But God is always ready to forgive, as Ezekiel 18:21–23 indicates: “But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, . . . None of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him . . . Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?”
• Though the prophet Jonah didn’t want the Ninevites to be forgiven, God sent him to Nineveh because He wanted to give those people the opportunity to repent—and they did.
• Those who reject God will not be forgiven (Deuteronomy 29:19-20).

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

• Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is rejection of Christ (Matthew 12:31-32). God doesn’t force us into a relationship with Him. Those who reject Him will live eternally separated from Him.
• Accepting Jesus is life; rejecting Him is unforgivable (John 3:16-18, 36)
• Those who accept Christ as Lord and Savior are under no condemnation (Romans 8:1). We are either slaves to sin (Romans 6:17-18 ) or children of God (1 John 3:1).
• Those who have seen the truth and still reject Christ are condemned (Hebrews 6:4-6). The apostle John indicates that such people were never true believers (1 John 2:19).
• God always forgives those who are in Christ (1 John 1:9). Rejecting Christ for who He is—the Son of God—leads to getting exactly what that entails: eternal separation from Him.
• Whoever has Christ has life; whoever rejects Him will not see life (1 John 5:12).

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

The word "unforgivable" is sometimes used too dramatically—-for everything from being late to pick up someone at the airport to burning a birthday dinner. Thankfully, most of the time, we don’t sweat the small stuff and do actually “forgive” the other person.

But salvation isn’t small. Eternal life isn’t small. Jesus promises both for those who place their faith in Him as Lord and Savior. For those who don’t, it’s not Jesus who is pushing them away; it’s they who are rejecting Him. God doesn’t look for loopholes to keep people from His presence. As Christian writer and philosopher C.S. Lewis once said, “There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’ All that are in Hell, choose it.”

Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but to save people from their sins (John 3:16-18). Anyone who believes in Christ will be saved and forgiven. It is only the one who rejects Jesus as God's risen Son who will not be forgiven and will forfeit eternal life.

UNDERSTAND

• The only unforgivable sin is rejecting Jesus Christ and His offer of salvation.
• Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit means attributing God’s work to Satan and ultimately refusing to believe in Christ.
• All who place their faith in Jesus are forgiven, cleansed, and under no condemnation.

REFLECT

• How do you respond when guilt makes you feel like your sin might be too big for God to forgive?
• Where do you need to remind yourself that, in Christ, you are already forgiven and under no condemnation?
• How does knowing that rejecting Jesus is the only unforgivable sin shape the way you view your own walk with Him?

ENGAGE

• How can we encourage each other to live in the freedom of forgiveness rather than in the fear of condemnation?
• What does the Bible reveal about the seriousness of rejecting Christ?
• How can we better share the hope of Christ’s complete forgiveness with people who believe they are beyond redemption?