The Unforgiveable Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit
February 14
“I’m afraid I’ve committed the unforgivable sin.”
This is a common fear among unbelievers. Oftentimes, they’re considering coming to faith in Jesus, but afraid that they’ve passed the point of no return—that they have no hope of salvation. The confusion, though, lies in their misunderstanding of what Jesus called “blasphemy against the Spirit.” There are two possible interpretations here, and I’ve heard both from well-meaning believers:
1.) Saying, “No.” The first group believes that blasphemy against the Spirit involves a person saying, “No,” to the Holy Spirit’s drawing him/her to salvation. Now, if a person continues to resist and says, “No,” until death then, clearly, there is no forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness from God did not come to that person because it was never sought.
But that is a far cry from a person saying, “No,” to an individual instance of the Spirit’s call to salvation or even struggling for a long time to believe. This is not the unforgivable sin. After all, millions of people the world over have come to faith in Jesus Christ after running from the Spirit’s conviction ministry for years. Greater still, many of these became wonderful preachers, apologists, and abolitionists—Charles Spurgeon, C.S. Lewis, and John Newton, respectively, come to mind here.
2.) Wrong Attribution. In the second group, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is believed to occur when someone attributes His work to Satan. This explanation better fits the context of the passage. When seeking to understand any Bible passage, it’s important to read the verses before and after the passage in question. Unsurprisingly, this simple exercise frequently clears away the fog of confusion.
In the preceding sentences, the Jewish leaders accuse Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Satan. Jesus insists that Satan can’t drive out demons because that would divide his kingdom, making it collapse upon itself. (Matthew 12:24 –28) Following His statement about unforgiveness for blasphemy against the Spirit, Jesus says that the condition of a person’s heart is revealed by what he/she says. (Matthew 12:33–37)
So, if we take into account the context of the entire passage, Jesus says that speaking blasphemy against the Spirit reveals a hardened heart—a heart that has stubbornly and repeatedly refused to respond to the Holy Spirit’s ministry, which is precisely what the Pharisees had done! They had seen miracle after miracle, heard testimony after testimony, yet refused to believe until their hearts were darkened and could no longer respond to the Gospel.
This tragic condition, though, should never be confused with the need for God to work within a lost person’s heart before he/she can be saved—the Father’s “drawing” ministry, which Jesus mentioned in John 6:44. The first person is beyond God’s reach, but that is not the case with the second.
Application
If a person repents of his/her sin and turns to God, the heart is changed, enabling the mouth to confess, “Jesus Christ is Lord.” (Romans 10:9–10) If someone has wrongly attributed the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan in the past, that confession certainly reveals a heart not turned to God. But the real tell of the matter that Jesus points out is a long, stubborn, unrelenting pattern that not only refuses to acknowledge God’s working, but finally, consciously, purposefully, goes the opposite way—calling the Spirit’s work the exact opposite of what they know it to be.
There is, of course, no forgiveness unless/until a person repents and turns to God. By trusting the completed work of Jesus on the Cross, however, a person receives a new heart, enabling his/her mouth to declare faith in Him.
If you’re afraid that you have committed the unforgivable sin, rest assured, your concern here actually reveals that your heart is soft toward God. This means He is working in your heart, and you are in a great place to respond to His call to salvation!
Have you turned from your lost condition and placed your faith in Jesus?
© Copyright 2026 Craig Beaman