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"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable,  and perfect, will of God."   -Romans 12:2

What Is The Blasphemy
Against the Holy Spirit?

Matthew 12:31  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. (KJV)

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by Rusty Entrekin

For nearly two thousand years, Satan and his army of fallen angels have used a horrible ploy against Christians. Just as the Devil tempted Jesus by twisting Bible verses, he loves to twist these two verses and use them against Christians. The word “Satan” means  “The Accuser," and he is not called this for nothing! He loves to accuse God’s people! What better way to sink a Christian into the utter depths of despair, incapacitate him, and ruin his witness, than to falsely accuse him of having committed an unpardonable sin that can never be forgiven!

Have you (or someone you care about) fallen into this snare of Satan? If so, there is only one thing that can set such a person free. The truth of God’s word!

John 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Obviously, if you do not correctly understand God’s word,  you do not know the truth of it. And if you do not know the truth of it, you cannot be set free!

The aim of this article is to help you to properly understand this Bible passage, so that the truth may set you (or someone you care about) free from Satan's snare.

You Must Understand the Context

First, let’s consider the context of these two verses. In order to properly understand many Bible passages, we must know the context.

1.       Jesus had just performed an amazing miracle by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 12:22  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.

A man who was possessed with a demon was brought to Jesus. He cast the demon out and healed him, so that he could now both speak and see! What an amazing demonstration of the power of God!

2.       This was a very plain demonstration of the power of God. Because of this miracle, the people began to believe in Jesus.

23  And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?

It is very important for you to understand that there was no room for doubt here. This was an obvious manifestation of the power of God. It was clearly a miracle of God! No one could deny that this miracle was from God, unless he was a willing liar, who had an evil heart that was unwilling to believe! The term “Son of David” was a synonym for Messiah, or Christ. Because of this marvelous miracle, the people were beginning to recognize that Jesus was the Messiah.

3.       Jealous Pharisees wanted to stop the people from believing in Jesus. So they told a very wicked, evil lie.

24  But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.

The Pharisees tried to closely follow the law of Moses. Because of this, they were looked up to and respected by the people. But many of them had grown to love being admired and respected more than they loved God! They were not obeying the law of Moses for God’s sake, but for their own selfish ends. They enjoyed being constantly complimented and praised for their outward obedience to the law. They had grown to love the approval of men more than the approval of God. They wanted to be the center of attention! 

Not only that, but many of the Pharisees followed "fence laws" - laws that they had made up themselves that were intended to protect them from breaking the Mosaic laws. Some of these fence laws were very impractical, and so nit-picky that they defied reason. Nevertheless, people who did not obey those fence laws were looked down on, even though they had not broken God's commandments at all. This gave the Pharisees justification to think that they were better than other people. 

Jesus disregarded some of those fence laws, because they had not come from God. In one instance, Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath day. Although He did not break the Sabbath when He did this, he did break their fence laws. Rather than being happy for the person who had been healed, they were angry with Jesus for breaking their man-made rules!

Because of these things, the Pharisees refused to place their faith in Jesus, and even threatened to kick anyone out of the synagogue who trusted in him. Jesus was a great threat to them!  And now that Jesus had worked this undeniable miracle - casting out a demon and making a blind and dumb man both see and speak - it was quite obvious that the Pharisees were wrong about Jesus.

They already had rejected Jesus, the source of eternal life. Now, they were desperate to make people think they were right, and to turn the spotlight back from Jesus to them. They had already hardened their hearts by refusing to trust in Jesus. But now some of them may have hardened their hearts beyond repair, and sealed their eternal destiny by inventing a horrible lie. Or in mercy, Jesus was warning them that they were coming dangerously close to doing that.

4.       Jesus exposed the falsehood, illogic and hypocrisy of their lie.

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?

Satan and his demons know that they must be united or their kingdom will fall. So they co-operate. Even the wicked co-operate when it is in their self-interest.

Satan would never really cast out Satan. He might “fake” casting himself out, only to get an even more powerful hold on someone. But this man had been completely set free, healed  and delivered. 

27  And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.

The hypocrisy of the Pharisees who invented this lie was obvious, since even some of their young men practiced casting out demons by calling upon the help of God.

28  But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.

Here, Jesus made the hypocrisy and poor reasoning of these Pharisees even plainer. No kingdom permits territory to be taken from it against its will; an opposing kingdom must take it by force. In all of Creation, there are ultimately only two kingdoms; God’s and Satan’s. When demons are cast out by the Spirit of God among any group of people, Satan’s kingdom has lost territory. This can only be because an opposing kingdom, God’s kingdom, has taken away that territory by force. Satan’s kingdom has decreased; God’s has increased!

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.

Satan is a strong man. No strong man will willingly allow good things to be taken from his house. He must be tied up first. The Spirit of God is much stronger than Satan. He can easily tie up the Accuser.

After a demon has been cast out, that house must not be left empty, or the demon can come back. If it does, it will invite other demons more wicked than itself to also come, to help insure that it will not be cast out again. (Matthew 12:45)

For this reason, a person who has just been delivered from demon possession should be immediately encouraged to place his or her trust in Jesus.  Then the Spirit of God will make that person His home.

When the Triune God (The Father, Son and Holy Spirit), dwells in a house, that house is secure, for Satan cannot bind up God and spoil his house. If Satan could do this, then Jesus would not have uttered the following words in John 10:27-29: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.”

And so Jesus thoroughly exposed the lie that these Pharisees were telling. That man could not have been healed and had the demon cast out of him unless Satan had been bound and his house spoiled.

30  He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.

These Pharisees were not with Jesus, because they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. Therefore, they were against Jesus. Because they did not gather with Him, they were being scattered abroad, like lost goats in the wilderness, where the wolves and lions could take their fill of them.

Now that you know the context of Jesus’ words in Matthew 12:31-32, you will be better able to understand the meaning of them.

 

What The Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit Is:
Reviling Slander Purposely Directed Towards the Holy Spirit

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 “blasphemy” in this verse is a transliteration of the Greek noun blasphemia (pronounced blas-fay-me’-ah).  When we say that a word is transliterated, that means it is carried directly over into English rather than translated. According to BDAG, one of the most highly regarded Greek lexicons, blasphemia means, quite simply, " to speak in a  disrespectful way that demeans, denigrates, maligns." If this word were translated, a good English phrase for it would be injurious speaking, as some bible versions render it. It is something spoken to others with the purposeful intent and desire to unjustly injure someone or to injure that person's reputation. 

Notice, also, that Jesus referred to this as “the” blasphemy. His use of the word “the” indicates that he has a particular kind of blasphemy in mind. The nature of it is made clear in Lu 12:10 and Mark 3:29: 

Lu 12:10 And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven.”

Mark 3:29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:

Although in Matthew 12:31, the word “against” is in italics, indicating that it is not in the Greek, it is clearly implied, because the word is explicitly stated in the Greek in the parallel verses, Luke 12:10 and Mark 3:39. The word translated “against” in these verses is the Greek word eis, which in this context means “directed towards.” In other words, “the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit” is spoken (not merely thought) reviling, abusive speech purposely, knowingly, and intentionally directed towards the Holy Spirit. That is exactly what these Pharisees were in danger of doing, or perhaps were even doing.

Jesus used the word eis, which means "directed towards" for a reason. It is because God is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. As a merciful, just and forgiving God, He takes our intent into consideration when judging us. 

Notice that Jesus also said, "whosoever speaketh against". He did not say, "whosoever thinketh against." The kind of blasphemy Jesus was taking about must be spoken, and spoken with purposeful, evil intent directed towards the Holy Spirit.

Slander is an example of a kind of blasphemy, and it is what these Pharisees were engaging in. They were trying to damage the Holy Spirit's reputation in the minds of others, after He had worked an undeniable miracle. This means that they had dangerously hardened their hearts. When a person hardens his heart beyond return, it will be impossible for him to repent and confess his sins.

That is why, in The People's New Testament Commentary, Moule said, "For such a sin no forgiveness is possible, for none is desired."

A person who has committed this sin will have a heart that has turned to stone. He will feel no remorse for the sin, and consequently, will not bother to confess it to God and ask for forgiveness. If he could confess, he could find forgiveness, because 1 John 1:9 says:

  "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

And so, it is not because God is cruel and unloving that this sin cannot be forgiven. It is because of the hardened condition of the person's heart who utters the blasphemy.

At this point, many people will think, "I know that Jesus said whoever speaks a word against the Holy Spirit has committed this sin. But didn't Jesus also say, "If a man looks on a woman to lust after her in his heart, he has committed adultery with her in his heart"? Doesn't this mean that if I think a word against the Holy Spirit, I have committed this sin in my heart? No, not if you thought it involuntarily or unwillingly. There is a difference between a man lusting after a woman and someone unwillingly or involuntarily thinking an unwelcome thought about the Holy Spirit. You see, a  man who lusts after a woman wants her. He would hop in bed with her if he could. By contrast, hopefully you do not, in your spirit, want to slander the Holy Spirit to others. Hopefully, you have not made yourself a sworn enemy of Jesus, as those Pharisees did.  If not, then your brain is just malfunctioning (probably due to a medical condition known as OCD), and causing you to think things that you do not, in your spirit, want to think. Lusting after a woman is a willing, voluntary act. An OCD episode is an involuntary thing. There is a very, very big difference between the two.

You see, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is a final step in permanently rejecting God. It can only be done by someone who not only rejects Jesus, but has made himself an open enemy of Jesus to such an extent that he intentionally and purposely speaks against the Holy Spirit for the purpose of injuring or discrediting Him. In order to direct such words against the Holy Spirit, a person must be aware of what he is doing. Like the Pharisees in this passage, he must undeniably know that God is real and yet still intentionally choose to speak  injurious words against the Holy Spirit. Anything short of this is not the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit! 

To summarize, The Blasphemy Against The Holy Spirit is a final, ultimate rejection of Jesus, expressed by knowing, intentional, reviling slander spoken out loud to others, for the purpose of abusing or discrediting the Holy Spirit in their minds. Since God judges the thoughts and intents of our hearts, involuntary OCD thoughts do not fall into this category.  Nor do the involuntary words spoken by sufferers of Tourette's syndrome fall into it. Why would God, who is just, condemn you for something you could not help, that is due to an illness? The blasphemy against the Holy Spirit must be spoken willfully and purposefully against the Holy Spirit.

  What The Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit is Not

Many people do not understand exactly what the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit actually is. This has led to much confusion, false condemnation and misplaced guilt. But now that we understand what it really is, we can make following observations concerning it:

·         It is not disbelieving that the spiritual gifts of tongues is still in operation, or ignorantly ascribing tongues to the devil.

·         It is not something that is only thought in the mind. By its very nature, reviling slander must be spoken or written with purposeful intent. Our Lord knows that sometimes people, especially those with mental ailments such as obsessive –compulsive disorder, or those under great stress or fear, have difficulty controlling their thoughts. This may be why Jesus clearly associated this sin with intentionally speaking against the Holy Spirit:

Mt 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.

It is possible that someone with purposeful malice in his or her heart towards God could intentionally think something reviling against the Holy Spirit. That would be a very serious sin, but it is not what Jesus was talking about. Slander  must be purposely communicated to other people.

·         It is not slander against Jesus, though that is a very serious sin.

·         It is not ignorant disbelief in Jesus, although it can be the final step of intentional disbelief in Jesus.

·         It is not involuntary speech, such as that which occurs with sufferers of Tourette’s syndrome, or which may occur when a person, under great stress or fear, impulsively snaps like a fearful, cornered dog. It must be voluntary, intentional, and purposefully intended to make others think something ill and untrue about the Holy Spirit.

·         It is not words spoken in ignorant disbelief (as opposed to intentional disbelief).

·         It is not words spoken in ignorance, unintentionally, or by accident. It requires knowledge of what one is doing, and purposeful, directed intent. The apostle Paul was a terrible persecutor of the Church. Surely, he spoke against the miracles being done by the early Christians, but God forgave him because he did it in ignorance:

I Timothy 1:12-13 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

·         It is not misunderstanding a scripture passage or a doctrine.

·         It is not criticizing or disagreeing with a pastor, cult leader, or a TV evangelist.

·         Contrary to the teachings of some, it is not having church meetings on Sunday rather than the Jewish Sabbath.

If you suffer from OCD or Tourette's Syndrome, involuntary thoughts or words that you did not want to think or say were not intentional, so they are not sins that need to be confessed, but symptoms of an illness. Because God is just, He will not condemn you for these, so do not worry about them. Worrying about them could make things worse. Pay no more attention to them than interference in a radio signal. Just as interference in a radio signal is not the message that was intended, neither are such thought or words. God knows all things, and can easily filter out the interference to determine what you, in your spirit, really wanted to think or say. Trust in His justice, love and understanding, and turn your mind to thinking about good things. Then, when you are no longer worrying about it, God's healing power will have a chance to work.  As it does, the thoughts may greatly lesson or even go away.

If you do not suffer from these illnesses, and are among the few who have purposely said something bad about the Holy Spirit, this next section is for you.

 

Signs You Have Not Committed Blasphemy Against The Holy Spirit:  

1.       You are repentant. In other words, you regret what you have done, and don’t want to ever do it again.  Those who have once and for all fallen away cannot ever be renewed to repentance again:

Hebrews 6:4-6 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

There are those who have been enlightened, but still choose to reject Jesus. Like those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit, such people know what they are doing when they walk away from Jesus.  They have tasted of God’s heavenly gift. But although they tasted, they turned away and did not want to eat the heavenly meal.  When people like this fall away, they cannot be renewed to repentance, for they have knowingly and willingly rejected God. But if you are repentant for your sins, that is a sure sign that you have not fallen away. You can still be forgiven!

2.       You sincerely confess your sins:

1John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

To confess means to admit or agree with, to consent with God about the terribleness of your sin.  If you had blasphemed the Holy Spirit, it would hardly bother you if at all. You would not be that inclined to admit that you have anything wrong at all. But if you have not done this awful sin, you will be remorseful, you will admit that what you have done is wrong, and you will beg God to forgive you. If you can still confess and ask God for forgiveness, He WILL be FAITHFUL and JUST to forgive your sins, and to CLEANSE YOU FROM ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS, or God’s word is not true!

If you impulsively spoke something you now regret, was it purposely directed against the Holy Spirit with the intent of injuring Him? In other words, was it a lie spoken with malice towards the Holy Spirit, or purposely intended to make other people think something damaging and untrue about God's Holy Spirit? If you are able to confess it and truly repent of it, then you did not do it and can be forgiven. Was it a knee-jerk reaction, like the instinctive snapping of a cornered dog, spoken impulsively when under great stress, temptation or fear, but without the intent of maliciously abusing the Holy Spirit? Again, if you are able to repent and confess, you too can find forgiveness.

At this point, if you suffer from OCD, you may be wondering, "On the one hand, you say that if a person has committed the unpardonable sin, it will not bother him much. But on the other hand, you say that I should not be bothered by OCD-related thoughts!"

Here's why I am saying both of those things:

First of all, remember that the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is injurious speech spoken purposely and  intentionally against the Holy Spirit. That is not the same as OCD-related thoughts.

Secondly, if you suffer from OCD, unwanted thoughts are involuntary, so you are not to blame for them. Would it be fair to accuse an old man with an uncontrollable twitch in his right eye for winking at a pretty young girl, when he did not intend to do it or want to do it?  Of course not! He did not mean to do it, so he did not sin. You do not need to confess involuntary OCD-related thoughts either, since you do not want to be thinking them. In your heart, you have no ill will or malice towards the Holy Spirit. You do not want to injure Him. So those thoughts are just symptoms of a malfunctioning brain, and not what you, in your heart, want to do. So it is not you doing it, but the OCD. Remember that God is a judge of our motives and of our intent. He is just and fair! He will never condemn anyone unjustly or unfairly.

However, if you ever know that you have thought them on purpose, you should confess them. But do it silently, in your mind, in a way that no one else can tell what you are doing. If people see or hear you constantly confessing, they might not understand.

The Key to Overcoming OCD Related Thoughts:
Abiding in Jesus

Suppose I gave you a machine that could make your thoughts come to life, and I said to you, "Whatever you do, don't think about anything bad such grizzly bears, stampeding elephants or poisonous snakes."  How many people do you think could avoid thinking about such things?  Most people would end up surrounded by bears, stampeding elephants, and poisonous snakes, and saying, "I am so sorry!  I didn't mean to think that!"

On the other hand, suppose I handed you a tool box and asked you to place it on my work bench.  Would thoughts of bears, stampeding elephants or poisonous snakes even cross your mind? Probably not.

Clearly, when you try not to think about something, the very act of trying not to think about it necessarily causes you to think about it. And when you are afraid of something, it is even more difficult to get it off your mind.  This is why people can find it so difficult to overcome undesirable thoughts.  They fall into a mental trap.  The harder they try not to think the thoughts, the more they end up thinking them. The guilt and fear of punishment from God that often accompanies such thoughts makes it even more difficult to avoid thinking them.  

Do you see the dynamics that are at work here?  God does, and He understands.  That is why He will not hold such thoughts against you. He is a just, kind and merciful God.  So you do not need to be afraid that these unwanted thoughts will result in you being punished or condemned by God.  

If you were a parent, would you be angry with your little daughter if she was having trouble sleeping because she could not stop thinking about monsters under the bed? Would you spank her for it?  Of course not!  Instead, you would try to comfort her and turn her mind to other things.  

Likewise the best way to overcome OCD-related thoughts is not to fight them, but simply to think about good things instead.  

Perhaps you have been battling unwanted thoughts for so long that it has become a habit, and you find it difficult or even impossible to turn your thoughts to something else.  But what is impossible with men is possible with God. It is your fleshly nature which thinks these OCD-related thoughts. God knows that we human beings are unable to overcome our old self - our fleshly nature - on our own.  That is why He sent Jesus. Jesus took our fleshly nature upon Himself, and it was crucified on the cross with Him.  

Romans 6:6 says, "For we know that our old self was crucified with Him [Jesus] so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin."

That's why the Bible tells us in Ephesians 4:22-24, " ...to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."

So how do you put off the old self with its unwanted thoughts, and put on the new self? By abiding in Jesus! Jesus said in John 15:4, "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing."

Apart from Jesus we can do nothing. It is only through abiding in Him that freedom from OCD is possible. 

How do we abide in Jesus? How does a branch abide in the vine? It simply allows the vine to hold it up, and lets the sap flow in to it.  

Is it the vine that holds the branch up, or the branch that holds the vine up? Clearly, it is the vine that holds up the branch. 

So abide in Jesus. Let Jesus hold you, and allow His Holy Spirit to flow into you. 

It is through abiding in Jesus that we receive every spiritual blessing, including love, joy, peace, self -control, and all of the other fruits of the Spirit. It is also through abiding in Jesus that our old man is crucified, and that we rise to walk in newness of life. We abide in Him through trust (faith), and it is a gift from God. You do not have to work for this faith or strive for it. It is a free gift from God. Just abide in Him, and receive from Him.

Then, let the flow of spiritual blessings begin! Let the old flow out, and the new flow in! There is no effort required on your part. Just relax and let Jesus do it!

As you abide in Jesus, you will find that He will renew your mind. You will be able to think about good things, and do good things then. You will walk in newness of life!

What if I Have Actually Committed The Unpardonable Sin?

Remember that the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is a final, ultimate rejection of Jesus, expressed by knowing, intentional, reviling slander spoken out loud (or perhaps written) to others, for the purpose of abusing or discrediting the Holy Spirit in their minds.  If you really had committed it, you would not confess it to God. You would be steadfast in the sin and have no desire to change. 

There are some people who actually have spoken blasphemous words, but still are able to confess and obtain forgiveness. How? Because they spoke them accidentally, or impulsively, or thoughtlessly, or in ignorance, or without realizing what they were doing. Their words were not spoken with evil intent. 

Of course these people can be forgiven, because they did not truly speak with malicious intent. If God did not look at the intent of the heart, then He would be an unjust God, but of course He is fair and just, and not only that, but he is merciful and forgiving.

Remember that God forgave the apostle Paul for blasphemy because he did it in ignorance. Others who have spoken such words were angry, but their words were not directed at the true God. They were directed to a false god whom they thought did not love them, or whom they thought was mean, or cruel, or had some other quality that the true God does not have. Or their words were spoken to a false, unjust god who is legalistically nitpicking, and pays no attention to the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Who would not get upset with a false god like that? People like this have also been able to confess and thereby find forgiveness, because their words were not against to the true God, but against a false concept of God.

If you have spoken blasphemous words out loud, but have come to Jesus confessing it and begging Him for forgiveness, then that is a sign that you did not actually commit the unpardonable sin.

Arthur Pink wrote:

“A word now unto those with tender consciences that fear they may have committed sin for which there is no forgiveness. The trembling and contrite sinner is the farthest from it. There is not one instance recorded in Scripture where any who was guilty of "the great transgression" and had been given up by God to inevitable destruction, ever repented of his sins, or sought God’s mercy in Christ; instead, they all continued obstinate and defiant, the implacable enemies of Christ and His ways unto the end. While there be in the heart any sincere valuing of God’s approbation, any real sense of His holiness which deters from trifling with Him, any genuine purpose to turn unto Him and submit to His requirements, any true fearing of His wrath, that soul has not been abandoned by Him. If you have a deep desire to obtain an interest in Christ, or become a better Christian; if you are deeply troubled over sin, if your heart grieves over its hardness, if you yearn and pray for more tenderness of conscience, more yieldedness of will, more love and obedience to Christ, then you have no cause to suspect you have committed “the unpardonable sin.”

Excerpt From: Arthur W. Pink. “An Exposition of Hebrews.” iBooks. https://itun.es/us/eOL1F.l

I doubt that someone who had truly committed the unpardonable sin would be bothered by it at all. If you had committed it, you probably would not even be reading this article.

However, if after reading this, you are still convinced that you have committed the unpardonable sin, then let's ask the question, what if you actually have done it? Then you can still make things much better for yourself. Jesus said that there are degrees of punishment in the afterlife:

Mark 12:38 And in His teaching He continued to say: "Beware of the scribes who like to go about in long robes, to be saluted with honor in public places,
39 to be seated in the front seats in the synagogues, to occupy the places of honor at banquets—
40 men who eat up widows’ houses and to cover it up make long prayers. They will get a much heavier sentence!"

Because there are degrees of punishment, you may be able to greatly lessen the degree of punishment that you will receive on Judgment Day. Think of it. In every prison, there are  prisoners who have it better than the others do. So, do what you can now to make things as good for yourself as you possibly can in the afterlife. Do what is right. Resolve that you are going to love and serve God anyway. Don't oppose or betray those who are born-again Christians. Help them instead. Be loving and kind to others. Also, help the poor and the needy. Give generously to them.

If you say to yourself, "There is nothing I can do to change what I have done, so I am going to live in sin and have all the fun I can in this life," you will make things much worse for yourself. Please, please do not do that. Don't turn against God. Instead, say to yourself, as Job did, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in Him." (Job 13:15a)

If you incapacitate yourself with worry or bitterness towards God, you will miss your chance to make things better in the afterlife. My counsel to you is to stop worrying about something you can't undo, and start living for God and your fellow man. Make your life count for good! Say to yourself, "If I have committed the unpardonable sin, there is nothing I can do to change that so I am going to quit worrying about it, and try my best to love God and serve Him anyway."

God will take notice of this. Perhaps one day, as you are trying to do good works for God, He will reveal to you that although you came very close, you did not actually commit this sin, and you will realize that you have been forgiven! And even if it turns out that He cannot forgive you because you actually did commit the sin, and you therefore find yourself unable to confess, He will have much more mercy on you on Judgment Day than someone who did not serve Him at all, because all who stand before God at the Great White Throne will be judged by their works.

Re 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

Those have placed their trust in Jesus, however, will not stand before the Great White Throne to be judged. Rather they will be judged at the bema (judgment) seat Christ. There, they will not be condemned for their sins. Nor will they receive salvation there for their good deeds, because eternal life was already granted to them when they placed their faith in Jesus as a free, undeserved gift of God, not something that they earned as payment for good works. Good works are a sign that we have been saved, but they are not what saves us. Those who have been saved will be rewarded for their good deeds at the Bema seat, but not condemned for their sins. If you have trusted in Jesus, confessing your sins to Him, then you will stand before that wonderful throne of mercy and rewards. You will not be condemned for your sins, but rather will be rewarded for the good deeds that you performed through Christ working in you.

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Next Step For Many: Get your thoughts under control. Read Help For Christians Who Have Difficulty Controlling Their Thoughts.

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If you are a Christian who suffers from OCD and need some additional help, I have just begun offering Biblical counseling by secure online teleconference or phone. Please go to https://www.PeaceBrooke.org to learn more.  You may need to act quickly, though. Together this article and it's companion article have been receiving over 15,000 visits per month, so my counseling schedule may fill up fast. - Rusty Entrekin

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Marshall "Rusty" Entrekin is a theology graduate of Louisiana College. He was set free (and has remained free) from the power of severe OCD over 35 years ago when, in answer to the prayers of concerned family and friends, God graciously and mercifully granted him understanding of the scriptures contained in this article. He wrote this in hope that through understanding the same scriptures, others will be set free, too. He and his wife Julie have seven children, with two still at home, and five grandchildren. Currently, he resides in Kennesaw, GA. He writes apologetic and theological articles to help people come to know Christ and grow closer to the Lord.