Have I Committed the Unpardonable Sin?

Many Christians live under the affliction of fearing that
they have committed a special sin that places them in an unpardonable
category.  Despite their faith in Jesus,
they have been led to believe that a certain prior action in their lives has
effectively triggered a special clause that will keep them from heaven.  This clause is found in Mark 3:28-29, where
Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of
man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the
Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.”  In light of these verses, many believers in
Christ fear that they will go to hell because of an event when they spoke or
even thought blasphemies against the Holy Spirit.

This raises the question: is it possible that a Christian
has committed the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and therefore can
never have that sin forgiven?  The answer
is No.  Let me offer three reasons why this is the
case.

First, let’s be clear as to what blasphemy against the
Holy Spirit involves.  When Jesus spoke
of this sin, he was referring a group of religious leaders who claimed that
Jesus was performing his miracles by the power of Satan.  You will see this in Mark 3:22, “And the
scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, ‘He is possessed by
Beelzubul,’ and ‘by the prince of demons he casts out demons.”  Jesus went on to prove that this could not be
true, arguing, “How can Satan cast out Satan?” and pointing out that in such a
case Satan’s house would be “divided against itself” (Mk. 3:23-25).  It was after answering in this way that Jesus
spoke of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. 
This helps us to know what this particular sin is.  Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not
denying the Holy Spirit or saying blasphemous things in general regarding
him.  Rather, it is ascribing the work of
the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ life to the power of Satan.  What makes this sin so damning is that the
person cannot, by definition, believe on Jesus and be saved.  This was an intentional rejection of Jesus by
those who realized that he was in fact the Son of God and Messiah.  Because their sin involves a conclusive
rejection of Jesus, it brings eternal consequences in condemnation.  The sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit is
not, then, about using blasphemous words against the Spirit but rather the sin
of denying Jesus despite compelling evidence, provided by the Spirit, that he is the Son of God and
Savior. 

Second, according to Hebrews 6:4-6, a person who has
entered such an eternally condemned state of hardened unbelief cannot be
brought to repentance. There is much debate
about who exactly is being described here, especially the descriptions of such a person having “been once enlightened,” “tasted the heavenly gift,” “shared in the Holy Spirit,” and “tasted the goodness of God and the powers of the age to come.”  I have argued in my Hebrews commentary that using the imagery of Old
Testament Israel (here, from Psalm 95), this describes a church member who has
had a first-hand experience of God’s blessing in the church but has not
personally believed.  For our discussion, the most significant point is the Scripture’s teaching that such a person is not able to repent: “it is
impossible… to restore them again to repentance.”  This means that if you have repented of sin
and looked to Jesus in salvation, this
cannot by definition refer to you. 
Like Mark 3:22-29, this passage refers to the hard-hearted unbeliever
who is committed in his or her resolve never to embrace Jesus, even though they
know who he is.  So if you do believe in
Jesus and repent of your sins, you do not fit the description.

Third, we have numerous statements throughout the New
Testament that “whoever believes” in Jesus “will be saved.”  This means that believers cannot be in a
state where they will remain unpardoned. 
Consider these verses:

John 3:36: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal
life.”

John 7:37: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and
drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the
Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’.”

Romans 8:38-39: “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels
nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor
anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God
in Christ Jesus our Lord.“

Romans 10:11, 13: “Everyone who believes in him will not be
put to shame… For “everyone who calls on
the name of the Lord will be saved.“

1 John 1:7, “The blood of Jesus [God’s] Son, cleanses us
from all sin.”

If you have been afflicted by fear that you have
committed the unpardonable sin against the Holy Spirit, then notice these
“whoever,” “anyone,” and “everyone” statements about those who believe and the
certainty of their salvation.  If you
receive Jesus in saving faith, you cannot have committed the unpardonable sin
against the Holy Spirit, since God has promised to receive and bless all who
come to his Son in faith.