Matthew 12:31-32

"Every sin or blasphemy can be forgiven--except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which can never be forgiven. Anyone who blasphemes against me, the Son of Man, can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come." - Matthew 12:31-32 (NLT)

What is the unpardonable sin? Can Christians commit the unpardonable sin?

It is always good to be sure we understand the words being used before we try to understand a Biblical passage.

Blasphemy is a key word in these verses. What is blasphemy?

Blasphemy involves our saying something (or writing it) degrades God. The Greek word used here is "blasphemia", which means evil speaking, "speech that is defamatory of the Divine Majesty." (Quoted from Strong's Expanded Dictionary of the Words in the Greek New Testament).

Taking a look at the context in which Jesus says this, it comes at the end of a section in which the verbal attacks on Jesus by the Pharisees were becoming more vicious. In Matthew 12:24 the Pharisees had just accused Jesus saying, "No wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan, the prince of demons."

Another important point is the distinction between blasphemy against the "Son of Man" and blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Jesus is fully God and fully human. The term "Son of Man" refers to his humanity. The Pharisees thought they were talking to a man. This is before the cross, and Jesus had not yet made himself fully known.. Keep in mind that after the resurrection this difference would no longer exists.

Hebrews 10:26-29 is helpful here:

"Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received full knowledge of the truth, there is no other sacrifice that will cover these sins. There will be nothing to look forward to but the terrible expectation of God's judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies. Anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Think how much more terrible the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God and have treated the blood of the covenant as if it were common and unholy. Such people have insulted and enraged the Holy Spirit who brings God's mercy to his people." (NLT)

Since we all continue to sin after we are saved, we know the above can not be referring to ordinary sin. Otherwise no one could be saved. These verses are referring to the unpardonable sin mentioned in Matthew.

The unpardonable sin is committed by someone who knows who Jesus is, but who declare Jesus is of the devil. This does not refer to believers. The Bible makes it very clear that believers can not loose their salvation. This is referring to unbelievers who have the knowledge of who Jesus is, and who still proclaim that Jesus is of the devil. Since they have the knowledge they have no excuse for what they are doing. The Pharisees in Matthew chapter 12 did not have the full knowledge of how he was. So, although they were coming close to committing the unpardonable sin, they had not yet done so. What Jesus is doing in Matthew 12:31-32 was warning them about how close they were to losing all possibility for salvation.