the two types of forgiveness<\/a>).<\/p>\nRemember, God\u2019s free charizomai<\/em> forgiveness is based on His grace, and covers all sins of all people for all time, including the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. When this truth is recognized, we are then free to see that the text says nothing about God not forgiving <\/em>those who commit this sin, but only that they will not receive aph\u0113sis, <\/em>that is, they will not be released from this sin.<\/p>\nBut since God has already freely forgiven (charizomai<\/em>) them for this sin, then why do they not receive aph\u0113sis<\/em>? Why are those people who commit this sin unable to find a release from it?<\/p>\nThe answer is found in recalling that aph\u0113sis<\/em> often has conditions attached to it, and if a person does not meet these conditions, then they are not released. While God wants the people who commit this sin to be released from it, they refuse or are unable to meet the conditions for the release of this sin, and so do not find any release from it. In other words, it is not God who is refusing to release them from this sin, but the people themselves who refuse to be released.<\/p>\nAs explained by multiple texts elsewhere in the Bible, the release of aph\u0113sis <\/em>begins within each individual person as they own up to what they did, repent of it, and forgive themselves for it. Finding release from sin is based on understanding that we have been freely forgiven by God, and so we too can freely forgive ourselves and others, and as a result of this free forgiveness, begin admit our failures and work to change the patterns that led to this sin in the first place.<\/p>\nBut the person who never recognizes the truth about God\u2019s free forgiveness and how to break free from the bondage of sin in their life, will never find or experience forgiveness for themselves. They will remain \u201cunreleased.\u201d<\/p>\n
This passage is not talking about an \u201cunforgivable sin\u201d but an \u201cunreleasable sin.\u201d It occurs when a person does not release themselves.<\/strong><\/p>\nAll sins are forgiven by God, but if a person does not forgive and release themselves, there is nothing more God can do.<\/p>\n
Why is It called Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit?<\/h2>\n This sin is called blasphemy against the Holy Spirit because it is refusing to believe what the Holy Spirit says to us about our sin, and instead believes the lies of Satan. The Holy Spirit is saying to each and every person, \u201cYou have been freely forgiven! So live in light of that and be released from your enslavement to sin, shame, and guilt.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the person who refuses to accept forgiveness and release is denying the testimony of the Holy Spirit, and is instead believing the testimony of Satan, the accuser. While the Holy Spirit says, \u201cYou are forgiven!\u201d Satan constantly says, \u201cYou are condemned!\u201d<\/p>\n
As long as a person believes Satan over the Spirit, they will remain under condemnation (Mark 3:29). As long as a person believes the lies of condemnation, they will live unforgiven lives. They will continue to be enslaved to the deceptions of the devil and in bondage to the corruption of sin. They will never experience the release from the bondage of sin, shame, and guilt.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
So What is the Unforgivable Sin?<\/h2>\n To put it simply, the unforgivable sin is the sin of unforgiveness \u2026 directed at ourselves.<\/strong><\/p>\nA person commits this sin by refusing to believe the testimony of the Holy Spirit that they are completely accepted and forgiven by God. They remain unforgiven, or unreleased, because they don\u2019t forgive themselves. The unforgivable sin is the sin for which a person denies and rejects that God has forgiven them, and thus, they continue to beat themselves up about it and suffer the consequences.<\/p>\n
The point of Jesus in Matthew 12:31-32\u00a0is that you can\u2019t hang on to unforgiveness without paying a price. The only sin you are not forgiven for is the sin you don\u2019t forgive yourself for. This state of refusing to accept the Spirit\u2019s testimony about forgiveness only leads deeper into bondage and slavery to sin.<\/p>\n
Jesus reveals that God has forgiven all people for all sins throughout all time. But if we believe the lie of the accuser and deny that we have been forgiven, then we will not believe we have been forgiven, and will continue to live a state of unforgiveness, as if we were eternally condemned.<\/p>\n
So recognize that you have been forgiven for everything! Only when you do this will you be released from sin, shame, guilt, and fear, and will find true life in the Spirit that God wants for you.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Understanding the Gospel requires us to properly understand the key words and terms of the Gospel.<\/strong> Take my course, \"The Gospel Dictionary\" to learn about the 52 key words of the Gospel, and hundreds of Bible passages that use these words.<\/p> \r\n\r\nThis course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group<\/a>, you can to take the entire course for free.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There is great confusion among Christians about the unforgivable sin. Jesus talks about it in Matthew 12:31-32. This brief study summarizes what the unforgivable sin is, and how you can know you have not committed it. This study is an excerpt from my Gospel Dictionary online course. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":52330,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2297,2230,2296],"tags":[3137,1244,2864,1357,3136,1355],"yoast_head":"\n
What is the unforgivable sin in Matthew 12:31-32<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n