The Unpardonable Sin!

The unforgivable sin of speaking against the Holy Spirit has been interpreted in various ways, but the true meaning cannot contradict other Scripture. It is unequivocally clear that the one unforgivable sin is permanently rejecting Christ (John 3:18; 3:36). So, speaking against the Holy Spirit is equivalent to rejecting Christ with such finality that no future repentance is possible.

In the context of this particular passage (Matthew 12:22-32), Jesus had performed a great miracle of creation, involving both healing and casting out a demon, but the Pharisees rejected this clear witness of the Holy Spirit. Instead they attributed His powers to Satan, thus demonstrating an attitude permanently resistant to the Spirit, and to the deity and saving Gospel of Christ.

A deliberate refusal to believe, even though knowing the truth, seems to be what Jesus called the unforgivable (unpardonable) sin.

Matthew 12: 30:

Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 

31) And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 

32) Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

Mark 3:28:

I promise you that any of the sinful things you say or do can be forgiven, no matter how terrible those things are. 

29) But if you speak against the Holy Spirit, you can never be forgiven. That sin will be held against you forever.

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit evidently is not just a one-time offense; rather, it is an ongoing attitude of rebellion – a stubborn way of life that continually resists, rejects and insults the Holy Spirit. This is what makes it, in effect, an eternal sin (Mark 3:29). Blasphemy against the Spirit is not unforgivable because of something done unintentionally in the past, but because of something being done deliberately and unrelentingly in the present.