An Unpardonable Sin?

1. An Unpardonable Sin? – 11th
November 2015
“Therefore I say to you, anysin andblasphemyshall be forgivenmen, but blasphemyagainsttheSpirit
shall not be forgiven.” (Matthew12:31)
In a teenbible studyone of the girlsquestioned:“Iwouldlike toknow if whatitsays in Matthew 12:31
istrue”. She continued “He statesthateverysinisforgivable,exceptif apersonspeaksbadlyabout the
HolySpirit”.The reference tounpardonablesincanbe foundinmany placesinthe Bible passages aswe
findinthe below listed:Matthew12:31-32 says, "Andso I tell you, every sinand blasphemy will be
forgivenmen, but the blasphemyagainstthe Spiritwill not be forgiven.Anyone who speaksa word
againstthe Son ofMan will be forgiven,but anyonewho speaks againstthe Holy Spiritwill not be
forgiven,either in thisage or inthe age to come." Thenagainin Luke 12:10 it says, "Andeveryone
who speaksa word againstthe Son of Manwill be forgiven,butanyone who blasphemesagainstthe
Holy Spiritwill not be forgiven."
The unpardonable sinis "unforgivable sin"or"blasphemyof the HolySpirit."Let'sbeginbydefiningthe
word"blasphemy."Itcanbe definedas"defiantirreverence"andwouldconstitute cursingGodor
degradingHim.Itcouldalsomean relatingevil toGod. Whatwe read in Matthew 12:31-32 isin
referencingJesusperformingmiraclesinthe powerof the HolySpirit.Throughthese miracles,itisvery
clearthat Jesusisthe promisedMessiahandthe Phariseeswere againstHim. Inthispassage,the
PhariseesclaimedthatJesuswasempoweredbyademonnamedBeelzebub whichwe canreadin
Matthew 12:24 - “But when the Phariseesheard this,they said,“Itis onlyby Beelzebul, the prince of
demons,that this fellowdrivesout demons”.The Jewsuse the name “Beelzeboul,” asa name of bitter
scorn inthe mouth of the Pharisees.Asaresult,Beelzebubwasaparticularlycontemptible deity,and
hisname was usedbythe Jewsas an epithetforSatan. Throughtheirangerof Jesus,theywere
connectingJesusand Hismiraclesthroughthe HolySpirit'spowerto actionsof Beelzebub thatthe
Phariseesbelieved wasfromHell…Jesuswassayingthatthiswas the blasphemyof the HolySpirit –and
therefore itwasunpardonable.
Jesushealedademon-possessedmanwhowasblindandmute. “Thenthey brought hima demon-
possessedman whowas blindandmute, and Jesus healedhim,so that he couldbothtalk and see.
23
All the people were astonishedandsaid,“Couldthisbe the Son ofDavid?”(Matthew12:22). Asa
result,whenthe Phariseesheardthis,theydeniedthatthiscouldbe a workof God,but instead
declared:“Itisonlyby Beelzebub,the prince of demons,thatthisfellowdrivesoutdemons”(Matthew
12:23-24). The Phariseesreactedtothisincredible miraclebyJesusinthe veryopposite wayof the
multitude,whorealizedthatJesuswasfromGod.In fact, itwas an admission bythe PhariseesthatJesus
workedmiraclesorperformeddeedsbeyondthe reachof any unaidedhumanpower,butthey
attributedthispowertoBeelzebubinsteadof God.Actually,theyshouldhave knownbetter:the devil
cannot doworksof pure goodness.However,theirself-absorbedpride,thesePhariseesknew that,if the
teachingsof Jesusshouldprevailamongthe people,theirinfluence overthemwasatan end.So,the
miracle theydidnotdeny,butinsteadattributedittoan internal power,“Beelzebubthe prince of the
demons.”Jesuswashealingmanypeople throughthe HolySpiritwithinHimandwhenthe Pharisees
blamedHimto be fromthe devil…that wasblasphemyandthusunforgivable.“ThereforeIsay to you,
any sinand blasphemyshall beforgivenmen, but blasphemyagainstthe Spiritshall not be forgiven.”
(Matthew 12:31)

2. The thoughtof an unpardonable sinhasbroughtgrief tomanypeople throughouthistory andeven
amongthe Christianstoday.Perhapsthe guiltandfearisunnecessary.If youare afraidthatyou have
committedanunpardonable sin,thatissure proof thatyou have not! No Christianswill everreferto
Jesusas Beelzebub the contemptible deityof Satan.The Pharisees whocommittedthe unpardonable sin
had no godlyregrets. TheydidnotacknowledgeJesusasthe messiah. Theyhadno knowledge inthe
forgivenessof God throughJesusChrist.Butas Christianswe mustremember,PeterdeniedJesusthree
times,yetJesusforgave him. Whenthe Romanssolderswhipped, assaulted, spatatHim, calledHim
namesand subjectedHimtothat most horrificdeath,yetwhenHe wasdyingonthe cross: Jesus said,
“Father,forgivethem, for they donot know what they are doing.” Andthey divideduphis clothesby
castinglots(Luke23:34).
The verynature of JesusChristis Love and Forgiveness.Therefore itappearsthatthe situationof this
unpardonable sinagainstthe HolySpiritexistedonlywhile Christwasministeringonearth. He was
doingmany miraclesof healingthroughthe powerof the HolySpiritinHim. The unpardonable sin that
was committedbythe Pharisee aswe read in Matthew 12 cannot be committedtoday...unlessthat
personis absolutely off hisorshe mindoran Atheistwhodoesnotknow God! Noone in theirright
mindwould attribute the miraclesof God,asperformedbyJesusChrist toBeelzebuborSatan!
However,whenpeople rejectJesusChristandHisgiftof eternal life,theyare ina sense committingthe
unpardonable sinof unbelief.Anyone who believesinJesusasoursaviourand desirestobe savedby
God's grace, hasnot committedthe unpardonablesin.However,apersonwholivesinrejectionand
unbelief until hisdeath,willnotbe pardoned.Thispersonwillspendaneternityinhell apartfromGod.
We can readin 2 Corinthians7:10 -"Godlysorrowbringsrepentance that leads to salvationandleaves
no regret, but worldlysorrow bringsdeath." Those whosincerelydesire God'sforgivenesswill receive
it!All youneedto dois to believe thatJesusdiedforyoursins.Thenyouconfessandrepentof yoursins
and ask Jesusintoyourlife asyourLord and Savior.Youare thensavedbygrace throughfaith.
“Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men,
but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.”
(Matthew 12:31)
The word Beelzeboul hastwoparts: Baal,whichwas the name for the Canaanite fertilitygodsinthe Old
Testament;and Zebul,whichmeans“exalteddwelling.”Puttingthe twoparts together,theyformeda
name for Satanhimself,the prince of demons.We canreadthat the termBeelzeboulwasfirstusedby
the PhariseesindescribingJesusin Matthew10:24-25 “The studentis not abovethe teacher, nor a
servant above hismaster. 25
It is enoughfor studentsto be liketheir teachers, andservants like their
masters. If the head ofthe househas been calledBeelzebul, how muchmore the members of his
household!.Earlier,theyhadaccusedJesusof casting“outthe demonsbythe rulerof the demons”
whichwe can read in Matthew 9:34 – “But the Pharisees said,“Itis by the prince of demonsthat he
drives out demons.” Throughtheirangerof Jesustheyusedthese termstodrive people awayfrom
followingJesus.