21 June 2026

My dear readers,

What is the Unpardonable Sin

The Bible passage that is often used to teach the doctrine of the unpardonable sin is Matthew 12:22-37 “Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. 23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. 25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: 26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? 27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. 28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. 29 Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. 30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. 31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. 32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.”

The word “pardon”, used in the context of man’s transgression against God, means to be forgiven by God in Christ. If the word “unpardonable”, used in the context of man’s sin against God, means that God will not pardon even for Christ’s sake, then there is no such thing as “an unpardonable sin”. If there is a sin that God will not forgive even for Christ’s sake, then Christ would be the Lamb of God that taketh away almost all the sins of the world. That can never be, for the death of Christ is of infinite value, and there is no sin that man commits against the heavenly Father that He will not forgive for Christ’s sake.

Then what did Jesus mean when He said in Matthew 12:32, “And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.”

Jesus had just healed a blind and dumb man possessed with a devil. The people present who witnessed the healing miracle said, “Is not this the son of David?” The Pharisees heard it and declared that Jesus performed this miracle by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of the devils (i.e. demons). The blasphemous charge resulted in Christ’s teaching on what the unpardonable sin means.

The Pharisees believed they were on God’s side and God was on their side since they were the religious guardians of God’s people. All Jews knew that the Pharisees’ righteousness by good works was the best, and recognised them as the godliest of men on earth. If they were on God's side and Jesus was their enemy, Jesus could not be on God's side. Jesus’ miracle of healing the man was real. Therefore, the only one who could have that kind of power was the devil, Beelzebub.

Jesus demolished their “logic”: if the devil casts out his own, he is like a man who destroys his own kingdom. This means their charge that Jesus healed by the power of Beelzebub was ludicrous. For argument's sake, if Jesus did cast out demons by the power of Beelzebub, then by what power did the Pharisees’ disciples cast out demons? The only answer is that they cast out demons by the power of God (not that Jesus was saying that their disciples succeeded in casting out demons like Christ’s disciples). If they cast out demons by God's power, why couldn’t Jesus also cast out demons by God's power? Jesus’ reasoning reveals the Pharisees' unjust judgment. The Pharisees could not agree with Jesus on this point because if they did, they would have to accept Jesus as the Son of God as Jesus claimed. They would have to repent of their sinful words levelled against Him.

If Jesus cast out demons by God’s Spirit, then the kingdom of God is come unto you, i.e. standing before you is One whom God has sent. Only God can cast out demons. To rob and destroy a strong man’s house, one needs to tie up the strong man. Jesus had earlier demonstrated the “binding” of the devil before he healed the demon-possessed man. The warning from Christ to the Pharisees was that those who were not with Him were against Him, i.e. not His disciples. The ones who did not gather with Him, scatter abroad, i.e. against Christ’s work.

Then comes Christ’s warning to all who do not take Christ’s side and gather with Him (cf. verse 31-32). Jesus warns, “All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.” Forgiveness comes in two parts. The first part is that the offender must be ready to forgive, and the second part is that the offender must be ready to ask for forgiveness and make all restitutions. When both aspects are realised, reconciliation has ensued and forgiveness has occurred. When a part is missing, there can be no reconciliation, and forgiveness has not occurred. However, when the blasphemy is against the Holy Spirit, i.e. the Spirit of God, there can be no forgiveness. The problem of forgiveness does not lie with the Holy Spirit, who is ever ready and willing to forgive. The problem is: how will the blasphemer find the Holy Spirit and ask for forgiveness, and what restitution can he make to bring about reconciliation? Can the blasphemer go up to heaven to find the Holy Spirit and seek forgiveness? Impossible!

Applying this same reasoning, Jesus referred to Himself. He said, “And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.” If Jesus were merely a man, i.e., the meaning of the phrase “Son of Man,” then He could be found and approached, and whatever restitution was needed for reconciliation could be made to Him for forgiveness. However, if Jesus was more than just a man who did the healing miracle by the Spirit of God, then the Pharisees had just blasphemed against the Holy Spirit by accusing Jesus of doing the miracle by the power of Beelzebub! Where could they go to find the Holy Spirit to seek forgiveness? They had just sinned against God! They would not find forgiveness in this world and in the world to come. [All sins committed by sinful men are sins against God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit ever since God gave man the Ten Commandments. For example, the sins committed by Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:3 “But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?”]

In this world, the only way to experience the forgiveness of God for all sins is through the cleansing power of Christ’s blood, including the sin of sinning against the Holy Spirit, as committed by the Pharisees. Since the Pharisees rejected Jesus of Nazareth and their arrogant and stubborn refusal prevented them from admitting that they were wrong and Jesus was right, they remained in their state of sin. If they thought that God would forgive them through the Old Testament gospel that looked forward to the coming Messiah, they were tragically mistaken. The Old Testament gospel looks forward to the first coming of Jesus of Nazareth. The sin, burnt, peace and thank offerings were efficacious before the first coming of Christ. When the Old Testament saints, by faith, looked forward to the Messiah’s coming and dying on the cross for their sins, they received salvation. The clean animal sacrifices were types of Christ representing the sacrificial work of Christ on Calvary’s cross, for Christ is our sin-offering, burnt-offering, peace-offering and thank-offering.

But to continue to look forward to the coming Messiah, by faith, after He has come in the Person of Jesus of Nazareth, would only bring condemnation and no salvation. Such a faith is not based on God's truth and therefore has no effectual power to receive forgiveness of sin. Such a faith is misguided because if the faith were true and biblical, they would have recognised Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ. If the Pharisees later repented of their blasphemous words against Christ and believed in Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah who died on the cross for their sins, they would be saved, just as Nicodemus the Pharisee.

In the world to come, there is only judgment and condemnation. Salvation exists only in this world. Salvation, in this world, is found only in Christ, who is the Son of God who became the Son of Man to live in obedience to all God's commandments, and to suffer and die as the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world. But sinful man must believe to be saved.

All sins committed by both Gentile and Jewish sinners are unpardonable before God if they do not repent and seek God's forgiveness through Jesus Christ. All sins are pardonable before God when there is true repentance through the Lord Jesus Christ, for the power of Christ’s death is of infinite value. All sins committed by all sinners can be pardoned by God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ!

Yours faithfully in the Saviour’s Service

Rev Dr Quek Suan Yew, Pastor