30 “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters. 31 Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. 32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.”

The Lord had been attacked openly by the Pharisees, and now He turned the tables, warning that His detractors had better get on board with His mission. There is no neutral position. The most dire posture is to not be with Jesus, which is tantamount to being against Him.

This passage has caused considerable debate among Christians today. Is it possible for a Christian to commit an unforgiveable sin? Can he lose his salvation? In answering these questions, we note the context. Jesus was responding to the Pharisees who had just attributed the exorcism He performed to the devil rather than to the Holy Spirit. They were not criticizing the Holy Spirit, but were in fact rejecting the only authenticating signs that could prove who Jesus was, namely the Messiah. They asserted that He received His power and authority from the Serpent of Eden. Ironically, this satanically endowed power and authority is precisely what the wilderness temptation of Christ was all about. The Tempter wanted to give Jesus the ability and sanction to act independently of God the Father—in exchange for His worship of Satan! The Deceiver had apparently been successful in convincing the Pharisees that that is exactly what had happened. Satan truly appears in subtle ways, trying continuously to oppose Christ at every step of the way.

The unique circumstances of this interchange demonstrates that at the primary level, committing the “unforgiveable sin” could only occur during Jesus’ earthly ministry, during the time of His authenticating miracles. There was no other path to forgiveness if they rejected the very proofs of who Jesus was.

Today, the only unforgiveable sin occurs when a person rejects the Spirit’s conviction of who Christ is. To curse God when things are going bad is not an unforgiveable sin. Even to use His name in vain is not beyond God’s forgiving reach. But rejection of Christ through unbelief is unforgivable, for there is no other way to salvation (Acts 4:12)—and to die in that state puts a person beyond God’s forgiveness. A Christian intrinsically, and by definition as one who has accepted Christ, cannot be guilty of committing the unforgiveable sin.

Lord, I do not want to dishonor Your name in any way. Help me recognize the evidence of Your work in my life, so I can give You all the glory.