(Matthew 12:33-37) "Either make the tree good and the fruit good, or make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt; for a tree is known by its fruit. Offspring of vipers, how are you able to speak good things, being evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings out good things; and the wicked man out of the wicked treasure brings out wicked things. But I say to you, for every idle word that men may speak, they shall be held accountable in the day of judgment. For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned."

1. Jesus mentions the unforgivable sin in Mark 3:20-30, a passage that ends with these words: "Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, & whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation."

2. To understand the unforgivable sin passage, look at the very last phrase. This paragraph has been the source of great misunderstanding. To understand the correct interpretation, we begin with, explaining why Jesus made this statement. He gave this teaching because His foes were accusing Him of having "an unclean spirit." verse 30. Christ basically told them, "There is a sin that you are on the verge of committing. Be very careful, because you’re about to do something for which there is no forgiveness."

3. The unforgivable sin is not a thoughtless mistake. The unforgivable sin isn't something someone commits randomly. The scribes who came from Jerusalem didn't do this on a whim. There is a progression to their unbelief. They were initially curious about Jesus & His ministry. They had questions. In time, they grew indifferent; their indifference metastasized into a malicious attitude that became so hateful & vengeful that it ultimately nailed Jesus Christ to the cross.

4. There is a Greek verb that proves it's not an instant reaction. Mark 3:22 there's an interesting fact that's only apparent in the Greek New Testament. Where the scribes said, "He has Beelzebub." The verb form for "said" is in the imperfect tense. It is translated, "They kept on saying it." It wasn't a matter of sudden thoughtless words. Their words represented a hardened attitude & an embittered and impenitent heart.

5. It shows us that progressive rejection can be the most dangerous. When God convicts us of sin & presents us with the Gospel, it's dangerous to neglect it, especially if our procrastination becomes chronic. We resist & resist. After a while, we become so hard-hearted & sin-hardened, we grow callused of soul. Our ears can't receive the truth. Our minds shake off the conviction of the Spirit. We become cynical of conscience. Although the grace of God is still available to us, we push away from it, rejecting Jesus.

6. Knowing the Word of God isn't enough. The scribes had become-resistant because of the time-lapsed attitudes of their own evil hearts. It's tragic, for these scribes had devoted their lives to copying the Word of God. These men copied & recopied the Old Testament. Every day they copied an ancient Scripture scroll by hand. They copied Isaiah 53, about the Suffering Servant. They copied Psalm 22, about the death of the Messiah. They knew Micah 5 & the prophecy of Jesus' birth. Yet their hearts had become so hardened they couldn't receive His grace when it arrived in the person of Jesus.

7. We can be hardened to spiritual truth by living in the middle of it. We can go to church & read the Bible so much that the words no longer register with us. The scribes had come to the place where they were so familiar with religious things that when the Son of God showed up, they didn't know Him & they accused Him of being from Satan.

8. The unforgivable sin is denying the deity of Christ. By ascribing the miracles of Jesus to Satan, the religious leaders were denying the deity of Jesus Christ. They were saying He could not be God. Yet by His miracles and message He brought, He was showing Himself to be the very Son of God. Only Jesus the Christ Himself could do what He had done. However, His followers believed in His deity.

9. Rejecting the Holy Spirit and rejecting the deity of Christ are connected. It's the Holy Spirit who witnesses to the deity of Christ in our world today. When you refuse to accept the ministry of the Holy Spirit or you ascribe Christ's ministry to Satan, you give up the final opportunity to be saved. You must believe in Jesus as the Son of God. We have to accept the witness of the Holy Spirit & act upon the conviction it brings. "However, when that one has come, even the Spirit of the truth, it will lead you into all truth because it shall not speak from itself, but whatever it shall hear, it shall speak. And it shall disclose to you the things to come." (John 16:13).

10. If you’re worried that you have committed a sin God will not forgive…you’ve likely not committed this sin. The thought of an unforgivable sin has haunted God's people in every century. If you’re bothered in your spirit that you may have committed a sin God will not forgive, the fact that you have anxiety over that is evidence you've not committed the sin. If the Spirit of Truth is still working in your heart, it's not possible to have committed the unpardonable sin.

In summary, this explains the "unpardonable sin."

In its essence, the unforgivable sin is hardening your heart against God & repeatedly refusing to respond to His entreaties to your soul. By continuing to resist & reject the Lord, you build calluses on your soul until the conviction of the Spirit of God no longer registers on your heart. Over a period of time you become hardened. You hear the Word of God & it makes no impact on you. If you die in that condition, there’s no further forgiveness available. For those who reject Jesus Christ, there's no forgiveness anywhere or, anytime, either in this world or the next. He died for you, & if you reject that, there's no other sacrifice for sin. Don’t worry that maybe you've committed the unpardonable sin. But if you don’t know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, be concerned that you might be committing unpardonable sin.

If you’ve resisted Christ & refused Him as your Savior, If something happens & you die, you will have committed the unpardonable sin. Once called, you don’t get a second chance after death. Whatever we do concerning Christ, we do in this life. Don't gamble that you have time or that you can respond later. The Bible says, "Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near." (Isaiah 55:6). The truth is Jesus is who He claims to be. He is the way, the truth, & the life. He is the only way to God. He is Son of God & Son of Man, our Savior, the Word made flesh, the Firstborn from the Dead. He is our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, & Friend. He is Christ the Lord, the Rock of Ages, the Sure Foundation, the Cornerstone. "And there is no salvation in any other, for neither is there another name under heaven which has been given among men, by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12). When He is your unforgettable Savior, you’ll never have to worry about the unforgivable sin.

Simply put: God wants you to serve and worship Him as a saint that has faith in Jesus and keeps the Commandments. "Here is the patience of the saints; here are the ones who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." (Revelation 14:12).

10 Things You Need to Know about the Unforgivable Sin

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