Have I committed the unpardonable sin?
You have not committed the unpardonable sin or blasphemy against the Spirit of God even though you expressed it verbally, since you are now sorry and have forsaken your sin. But you need to ask for God’s forgiveness and cleansing so that you don’t sin again against the Holy Ghost.
About confessing sins, the Bible says, “You will never succeed in life if you try to hide your sins. Confess them and give them up; then God will show mercy to you” (Proverbs 28:13). To justify one’s sin is to resist the convicting voice of the Holy Spirit (John 16:8–11), and to run the risk of hardening the mind to such a degree that eventually there will be no further wish for cleansing or a desire to repent.
On the other hand, the mere admission of sin is not enough. Therefore, a person must forsake his sins and successfully resist temptation in the power that the Lord has promised. “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13; Romans 8:3; 4; 1 John 3:6). The Lord promises to provide the stimulus for salvation. He enables the seeker to make the decision and supplies the power to overcome his sins.
It is only when these conditions are met that the Lord can forgive. To forgive and bless the person who is holding to sin would be to encourage him in his evil path, which, if pursued, would lead to eternal death (Romans 6:23; James 1:13–15).
God’s forgiveness
God says, “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness” (1 John 1:9). The Lord is sure to forgive if a man will sincerely repent. Faithfulness is one of God’s great characteristics (1 Corinthians 1:9; 10:13; 1 Thessalonians 5:24; Hebrews 10:23).
A man should not wait to feel forgiven. But he should just believe that God, who has promised, will surely fulfill His Word for He can’t lie (Hebrews 6:18; 1 Samuel 15:29). A person who doubts God’s Word loses His peace. The devil does his best to ruin a man’s faith in God’s care for him as an individual. Therefore, the believer needs to continually remember God’s love and power that will keep him from falling (Jude 24).
And if a person does slip and sin as a result of not using God’s power, he should go back, repentant, to the heavenly Father. The Lord assures us, “And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1 also Hebrew 4:16). The Christian who makes it a custom to go daily to the throne of grace for a new supply of God’s mercy and grace enters into the “rest” of soul that is provided for all the faithful.
What is the meaning of blasphemy?
Blaspheming the Holy Spirit (cursing God and cursing the Holy Spirit) is the sin of assuming to oneself the rights or qualities of God. In John 10:33, we read how the Jews accused Jesus of blasphemy saying, “‘For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.’”
Blasphemy itself is not the unpardonable sin. For the apostle Paul was once a blasphemer. He wrote, “Although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief” (1 Timothy 1:13). We know that Paul will be in heaven even though he was a blaspheme. But since he repented, God forgave him and He will do the same for everyone that repents.
We have an illustration of the unpardonable sin in the story when Jesus healed the demon-possessed, blind and mute person (Matthew 12:22). After this clear miraculous act, a group of Pharisees accredited the power of the Holy Spirit in this miracle to the devil (Matthew 12: 28). And they accused Jesus saying, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons” (Matthew 12: 24). They fully knew that their charge was untrue.
Therefore, Jesus said to them, “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 against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come” (Matthew 12:31, 32 also Luke 12:10). The Pharisees had every evidence of Christ’s divinity, yet they rejected. Therefore, their accusation was a deliberate rejection of light that was guiding them, step by step, toward “blasphemy against the Holy Ghost.”
Thus, a person who speaks a word against the Son (Jesus Christ) or blasphemes against the word of God, his sin can be forgiven. But a person who blasphemes against the Holy spirit, who is the convicting Spirit, has committed an eternal sin because he has silenced God’s voice to him.
What is the unpardonable sin?
To answer this question: we need to understand the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does three things: First, the Holy Spirit teaches people the things they need to know for their salvation (John 14:26). Second, He guides men into all truth (John 16:13). Third, He convicts sinners of their sins (John 16:7, 8).
Therefore, as long as a person allows the Holy Spirit to teach him, to guide him, and to convict him, he could never be guilty of committing the unpardonable sin. But if he consistently refuses these three works of the Spirit, then he begins the process of committing the unpardonable sin. At this point, his conscience becomes hardened (1 Timothy 4:2).
This deadly sin is also called “grieving away” the Holy Spirit. The Bible admonishes the believers, “Grieve not the Holy Spirit, wherewith you are sealed” (Ephesians 4:30). This sin for which there is no forgiveness occurs after a series of grievings. Therefore, it is important to guard against even a single act of grieving. Jesus stressed the necessity of repenting of every sin.
Even if a person is casting out demons (Matthew 10:8), that act doesn’t guarantee his salvation. He needs to stop sinning. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:21-23)
If you still feel convicted of sin and want to repent, then you have not committed the unpardonable sin. So, go to God, confess your faults, and walk in the path of obedience. Then, “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” will guard your heart and mind through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7).
Abide in Christ
Redemption is a cooperative work between God and man. Therefore, in order not to hinder the convictions of the Holy Spirit, you need to guard the avenues of your soul which include all of your senses. The Bible says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Once the Christian experiences a deliverance from God, he needs to instantly fill his mind with holy thoughts through the daily study of the Scriptures, prayer and witnessing.
Jesus says, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (John 15:7). As a man abides in Christ, He dwells in him and he becomes a partaker of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). His mind becomes identified with the divine will (1 John 5:14). And as he makes an intelligent choice to follow that Word and obey it through the enabling power of Heaven, the image of Christ will be formed in him (Colossians 1:27)
After abiding in Christ, the believer can rest in God’s care for He has loved him unto death and has promised, “I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:28). The righteous is given the divine assurance that he will not be “hurt” by the second and final death. For the Lord promised, “Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years” (Revelation 20:6 also 2:11).
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In His service,
BibleAsk Team
