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What is the unpardonable sin?  Can a true born-again Christian commit the unpardonable sin in today's dispensation?

Hello Brother Phillip,

In this Age of GOD'S Matchless Grace, rejection of CHRIST is the only unpardonable sin, and a true, born-again Christian can't do that because they have already accepted CHRIST as LORD and SAVIOUR. There are several highly detailed threads on this subject on the forum.

Love In Christ,
Tom

The Unpardonable Sin
 
by Bill Harper


Even though the teaching of what has become known as the "unpardonable sin" was spoken of by Jesus in the context of the scribes and Pharisees' blaspheming the Holy Spirit by attributing the power of the Holy Spirit to the power of Satan, I disagree that this sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit by declaring the miracles of Jesus to be satanic, alone in itself, is what Jesus meant by the "unpardonable sin."  I believe that many put the emphasis on that aspect and so miss the essential truth of what Jesus was saying in this passage.

First of all, there are numerous examples of and warnings in the Scriptures about counterfeit miracles and signs and wonders being performed by the power of Satan. Jannes and Jambres, up to a certain point, was able to duplicate the same miracles performed by Moses and Aaron in the sight of Pharaoh. Jesus, speaking of the last days, also warned His disciples, " For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and SHALL SHOW GREAT SIGNS AND WONDERS; insomuch that, if it were possible, THEY SHALL DECEIVE THE VERY ELECT[ Christians ]." - Matthew 24:24. Likewise, the coming Antichrist and the False Prophet will do signs and wonders in the endtimes by the power of Satan ( Revelation 13:13; 19:20 ) and will deceive the whole world. According to Revelation 13:6, the Antichrist will also open his mouth and blaspheme God. We ignore those teachings to our own peril and to so readily accept all miracles, signs and wonders as being from God without testing them by the Word of God is spiritually dangerous and sets one up for spiritual deception.

Counterfeit signs and wonders can be done even in Jesus' Name and yet not necessarily be of God.  If  " the unpardonable sin " is to blaspheme the Holy Spirit by attributing certain miracles to the Devil then it would be best for all of us to keep silent, to ignore the warnings in Scripture of the counterfeit and to lay aside the exhortations to exercise spiritual discernment altogether, just to be on the safe side as we could not afford to be wrong or in error on that matter.  The scribes and Pharisees were not exercising spiritual discernment because it was clear that they lacked it.

Jesus Himself warned:


What is the work of God? Jesus said, "...THIS IS THE WORK OF GOD,that ye BELIEVE on him whom he hath sent." - John 6:29 ( kjv ).  Jesus Himself did all of the work of redemption that was required for our salvation.  There is nothing that we can add to what Christ has already done.  If we attempt to do that then we are in effect diminishing what He has done for us which is also blasphemous.  God's requirement on our part is that we simply trust in the finished work of redemption that Jesus Christ accomplished when He bare all of our iniquities on the cross.  Judaism under the authority of the scribes and Pharisees was a works-based religious system which included certain traditions that were not even Scriptural.

According to 2 Timothy 3:8, the sin of Jannes and Jambres in opposing Moses and Aaron by duplicating their miracles was to " RESIST THE TRUTH " which is what the Pharisees did as well in opposing Jesus:  "... as THE TRUTH IS IN JESUS " ( Ephesians 4:21 ).  In doing so they also were resisting the Holy Spirit who is also called " THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH " (  John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13 ). Hear the words of the martyr Stephen before he was stoned to death by the Pharisees:  " Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always RESIST THE HOLY GHOST: as your fathers did, so do ye " - Acts 7:51 ( kjv ).

Actually the Jews required a sign ( Matthew 12:38-39; 1 Corinthians 1:22 ) before they would even consider believing so it wasn't so much the miracles of Jesus itself that they were rejecting but rather Jesus' claims to be the Son of God.  The miracles Jesus did were intended to be signs to unbelievers to confirm His Word that He was who He claimed to be, the Son of God which they chose not to believe.   Though the scribes and Pharisees rejected Jesus yet they could not deny the miracles which He did by the power of the Holy Ghost in the sight of multitudes of people.  Their only recourse then was to attack the miracles as being of Satan in order to discredit Christ.

Therefore, the " unpardonable sin " is unbelief and rejection of Jesus Christ while under the conviction of the Holy Spirit.  When one rejects Christ he/she is also rejecting the Holy Spirit whose work is to convict sinners of sin, righteousness and judgement ( John 16:8 ) and their need of salvation in Jesus Christ. In rejecting Christ one is rejecting the witness of the Holy Spirit and making God a liar ( 1 John 5:10-11 ). This is the ultimate blasphemy!   We find throughout the gospels that unbelief was the root sin in the heart of the scribes and Pharisees which they often compounded by blasphemy. The sin of unbelief is what moved the Pharisees to blaspheme the Holy Spirit and to call Jesus " Beelzebub, the prince of the devils " ( Matthew 12:24; Mark 3:22 ).   

Unbelief and blasphemy, even words spoken against Jesus, are sins that can be forgiven if repented of.  These sins only become unpardonable if you die in your sins without Jesus Christ as your Savior. It is dying in unbelief that seals the eternal destination of lost sinners and sends multitudes to Hell. The "unpardonable sin" is impossible for true believers in Christ to commit.  If we are in Christ then all of our sins; past, present and future, have already been pardoned.  We do not have to live in constant fear, as some do, that we have somehow committed the unpardonable sin and cannot be forgiven.

ANOTHER AMEN BROTHER BILL!

I am really enjoying your posts. This discussion makes me thing about some people who think that they've been so bad that GOD will not accept them. It's wonderful to know that the precious Blood of JESUS CHRIST on the CROSS is powerful enough to forgive any sin. Not one of us is worthy to be rescued from the curse of sin and death, and that's why Salvation is offered to us as a GIFT - a matter of Love and undeserved GRACE from GOD.

If there are any lost people reading this, GOD wants you to know that you can be Saved. Let the Precious Blood of JESUS CHRIST wash your sins away.


1:  Romans 3:10 NASB  as it is written, "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE."

2:  Romans 3:23  NASB  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

3:  Romans 5:12  NASB  Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned--

4:  Romans 6:23  NASB  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

5:  Romans 1:18  NASB  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

6:  Romans 3:20  NASB  because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.

7:  Romans 3:27  NASB  Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith.

8:  Romans 5:8-9  NASB  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.

9:  Romans 2:4  NASB  Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

10:  Romans 3:22  NASB  even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;

11:  Romans 3:28  NASB  For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.

12:  Romans 10:9  NASB  that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

13:  Romans 4:21  NASB  and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.

14:  Romans 4:24 NASB  but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,

15:  Romans 5:1  NASB  Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

16:  Romans 10:10  NASB  for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

17:  Romans 10:13  NASB  for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."