Have I Committed the Unforgivable Sin?

     Question to O. A.:  I’m a divorcee and a Christian.  I’ve heard that Christian divorce is the unforgivable sin, and that I may go to hell when I die.  Have I committed the unforgivable sin?  L. G. in Alabama.

     Dear L. G.:  No, it’s not true that Christian divorce is the unforgivable sin, and that you may go to hell when you die.  Your question is a very important one.  So let’s slow down and answer it very carefully.  Here’s the full background on it.

     In Matthew 12:22-32, Jesus has a debate with the Pharisees, and in that debate He clearly and specifically defined “Blasphemy of the Spirit,” which He said is the “Unforgivable Sin,” or the “Unpardonable sin.”  (This same teaching by Jesus is repeated with different words in Mark 3:22-29.)

     What happened in chapter 12 of Matthew is this.  Starting in verse 22, Jesus heals a man using the Spiritual gifts of healings.  But then in verse 24, the Pharisees begin telling the crowd of people watching the incident that Jesus used the power of Satan to heal the man.

     This slanderous attack on the Holy Spirit and the Spiritual gifts causes Jesus to turn on the Pharisees in anger and, in verses 31-32, Jesus says to them bitterly, “I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven … but blasphemy of the Spirit will not be forgiven … anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit (and the Spiritual gifts) will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”

     Now, Jesus’s words make it clear that the “Unforgivable Sin” and “Blasphemy of the Spirit” are the same thing, and that they’re defined as slandering the Holy Spirit; or more specifically, they’re defined as slandering the gifts of the Spirit.

     Now, some of today’s Christian denominations teach that “blasphemy of the Spirit” is the act of rejecting Christ and refusing to be saved.  And rejecting Christ is a terrible thing.  But the Scriptures don’t define “blasphemy of the Spirit” as refusing to be saved.  The Greek word that Jesus used for “blasphemy” is the noun blasphemia (pronounced “blass-faye-me’-ah”), which means a slanderous remark, or words that are injurious to a person’s good name — not refusing to be saved.

     Finally, some of today’s denominations teach that the gifts of the Spirit (healing, visions, prophecies, etc.) are “from Satan.”  And that in fact seems dangerously close to actual “blasphemy of the Spirit” because it’s what the Pharisees were doing in their debate with Jesus in Matthew 12:22-32.  The Greek word that Jesus used for “forgiven” is the verb aphiemi (“ah-fee’-uh-me”), which means to forgive a debt; or to release a claim; or to drop the charge against a person.

     So Jesus is saying that He’ll never “forgive the debt,” or “release the claim,” or “drop the charge” against any person who says the gifts of the Spirit are from Satan.  Of course, that doesn’t mean that a Christian who does such a thing will lose his or her salvation and go to hell.  It just means that the charge of slander against him or her will never be dismissed, and that he or she won’t be rewarded for it in heaven.

     What does all this mean to you personally there in Alabama?  It means that you don’t need to worry.  As a Christian divorcee, you haven’t committed the unforgivable sin.  Please know that we here at CFO wish you God’s richest blessings as you continue with your life, and we pray that your future will be worry-free and trouble-free.