What Is Unpardonable?

Jesus prayed for those who blasphemed Him in ignorance, but those who were enlightened and maintained their blasphemous spirit were unforgiven. Christians, because of the restraining grace of God working in them cannot commit this sin.  By definition, blasphemy involves words, not thoughts, and is like making a smear campaign against the Lord.  Even in the occult they may curse Jesus out of ignorance and be forgiven--this is a deliberate and known, unrepentant sin.  This sin is clearly an assault on the very nature and good character of God and brings it into question.

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is said to be unforgivable in Matt. 12:32, but what does it entail? Is there a point of no return?  Today evangelicals all say that Jesus died for all our sins except rejecting Christ, which would make him consigned to hell as a consequence.  If this is true, how can pagans go to hell that has never heard of Jesus?  It is a proven fact that the average convert doesn't accept Christ until he "rejects" Him seven or eight times (even making a "no decision" is reckoned as rejection).  If rejecting Christ was so serious, why did God continue to convict and work in the person and woo them to Christ repeatedly? Why are people with hardened hearts given a second chance to repent?  God is able to make people with hearts of stone become ones with hearts of flesh (cf. Ezekiel 36:26).

Jesus was addressing and referring to the Pharisees, who regarded His deeds as done by the power of Satan, and attributed His works to be in cahoots with the prince of demons himself--they blasphemed the Holy Spirit's ministry through Him.  The Pharisees actually said, "He has an evil spirit." This is an extremely hard (and is very rare) sin to commit in today's age; nevertheless, it is possible to be so hardened to absolutely and finally to see Christ as a demon or in league with them, and to use the tongue (to speak or write using words) to spread this doctrine perniciously and viciously to do harm to the kingdom of God (false teachers are specifically vulnerable to this type of sin since they are in a position of influence). You can find people of all faiths saying things about Jesus, but they don't go so far as to say he was evil. Even the Muslims admit He was without sin in the Qua'ran and don't attribute His miracles to the devil. Few infidels ever regard Jesus as "evil" but as a good man in their way of thinking, of course.

There are people who have worried about whether they've committed this sin, but if they are concerned they  aren't guilty of it, because it implies a certain unrepentant hardness of heart that seeks to harm the cause of Christ (determinedly, willingly, and knowingly and not flippantly or casually), and not just misunderstand it. There is no sin that cannot be forgiven or sinner too bad to be saved if they repent. No one will be able to tell God they wanted to believe and repent but couldn't.  There is no lack of evidence, so no one has an excuse!  If you think you've committed this sin and are concerned, you haven't and God is still working in you.  However, if someone hardens his heart, God is able to confirm that hardening in judgment (cf. Isaiah 6:10; 63:17).  God hardened Pharaoh's heart after he rejected God's offer and request to let His people go.

We all have to realize that we are at the mercy of God and must sue God for mercy and throw in the towel, humbling ourselves before Him knowing that He is in control of our destiny, not us.  The unpardonable sin is more of a character (it is not just loosely saying something that one might regret or change his mind about) and it is of the Antichrist and not a specific one-time sin or act. The person knowingly and willingly does it without repentance, and has no desire for the things of God or seeking His kingdom.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Can Believers Commit Blasphemy Against The Holy Spirit?

This is highly debatable and largely depends upon whether one adheres to the doctrine of eternal security, (the perseverance of the saints) or the security of the believer's position in Christ; i.e., what position one assumes determines his outlook.  If you believe you have free will as a believer even to "change your mind" and reject Christ after having been born again and receiving Him, you obviously will believe one thing, and if not, the other side of the coin.  Only those with a sham, a facade, and spurious faith fall away--their departure manifests their true state (cf. 1 John 2:19).  Our salvation is in God's hands (cf. John 10:28), not ours, as was our election, which was an act of divine sovereignty as it was God's election of us, not our election of God.  Our destiny, in toto, is in God's hands (cf. Job 23:14)!  In summation, He saved us (cf. Matt. 1:21; Tit. 3:5); He did.  He keeps us (Jude v. 1);  He does!  He is coming for us (cf. Rev. 22:20; 1 Thess. 4:14-17); He will!

Our destiny is solely in God's hands because salvation is of the Lord (cf. Jonah 2:9; Psa. 3:8, 37:39; Heb. 10:38). There are only three possible scenarios:  We contribute naught! It is not of man alone (cf. John 6:28-29)!  NB:  If we had to do anything, we'd foul it up and fall short!  Neither is salvation of man cooperating with God or of God and man.  But only on the merits of the Lord or of the Lord!  That's the only way there can be security and assurance.  Therefore, it doesn't depend upon human performance, behavior, or conduct.  Salvation is not by our work (cf. John 6:28-29).  We are not saved by good behavior but unto good behavior!  We realize this to be grace-oriented; therefore, we are not under probation as Christians! Scripture vouches for the permanency of salvation (cf. Heb. 5:9; 9:12; John 6:37), and the continuity in the state of grace regardless of fellowship (cf. Rom. 5:20; 6:1).  We can be pruned and disciplined, but not separated from the state of grace in God (cf. John 10:37-38; Heb. 12:5-6; Psa. 94:12).

Now concerning the issue in question: Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.   Some scholars interpret this as the final and complete rejection of Christ; some as attributing the work of God to that of Satan; and some as insulting the Spirit of grace by disparaging and degrading Christ publicly.   One thing we do know is that this sin is done verbally, whether orally or written, and on purpose with the intent to do it knowingly.  The magazine Christianity Today, in surveys, determined that even believers have rejected Christ an average of 7.6 times before accepting Him!  The "Hound of Heaven" keeps pursuing and wooing us!  The reason is that saying it's the rejection of Christ is that it adds nothing to the formula, equation, or doctrine--we already know those who reject Christ are not saved!   One thing for certain:  if someone is worried they have committed this sin, they haven't!  It is a sign of an unrepentant heart!  But God can take any stubborn heart of stone and make it of flesh--and He makes the unwilling willing, causing us to do His will willingly (cf. Phil. 2:13)!

You can search any faith on earth and they all say nice things concerning Jesus and don't blaspheme Him.  Even heretics are reluctant to ascribe sin.  But even thinking Christ was a moral leader, religious martyr, a wise teacher, or what-have-you, is not enough to get a person saved.  Infidels will acknowledge this too, even more, but even calling Him Jesus the Great doesn't do Him justice and is an understatement!  One must accept Him for who He is (i.e., Lord and Savior)--anything less is inadequate and insufficient.  Even secular historians will acknowledge that He changed the course of history and atheists realize His morality and good example.  He didn't come to live a moral life, but to die for our sins and fulfill the law so we could be free. He didn't come to make bad men good, but dead men alive--to save them and quicken their spirits!

I propose that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (cf. Matt. 12:32) is something we cannot commit due to our union with Christ.  If we could, then we could lose our salvation!  But we know this is an impossibility.  Jesus was speaking about the possibility of someone doing this.  The Pharisees proclaimed the works of Jesus in His miracles as the works of the devil as if He were a sorcerer or warlock.  Early Jews maintained that Jesus learned this art in Egypt as a child, and some even still maintain this.  It has nothing to do with the profane, abusive language that seems to take the name of the Lord in vain, and Christians are often shocked at what the infidel gets away with, but God is patient and excuses their ignorance.  They need to repent of all their sin and believe in the gospel, not just clean up their gutter mouth. Romans 8:37-39 says that nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God--this implies even our own will!  To the believer, no sin is unforgivable--God forgave all our sins (cf. Psa. 103:3).

The lesson we are to learn is not to beware that we commit this sin, but that the Pharisees had gone too far and wouldn't believe no matter what.  They had witnessed first-hand the miracles of Jesus and still wouldn't believe (not couldn't believe; i.e., John 12:37).  The hardness of their hearts was profound and only an example.  Note that what Judas did was forgivable, he just didn't believe Christ could forgive him, though he had remorse.  He had attrition, not contrition, and one must have faith to accompany it, which he didn't have.

We must take the Holy Spirit seriously because He can be offended (cf. Eph. 4:30)!  Believers can quench the Spirit by putting out the fire, and they can grieve the Spirit by continual sin and make Him sad concerning our state in Christ.  Our status or position as justified never changes, but our state of fellowship and sanctification depends upon our walk in Christ, obedience, and confession of sin.  Finally, it's comforting to know that whatever we've done, He will gladly receive us (cf. Lev. 26:44; Psa. 130:3-4; 1 John 1:9ff). Soli Deo Gloria!