Can I know what I truly believe?

Jesus mentions in Matthew 12 and Mark 3,  a sin that “will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.” It’s called blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, and it has caused deep anxiety for many believers.

To understand it, we need the context. Jesus had just healed a man. The Pharisees had seen the evidence with their own eyes and still attributed his work to Satan. They were not confused but were deliberately and persistently rejecting what they knew to be true. They called the work of the Holy Spirit demonic.

Most biblical scholars understand the unforgivable sin not as a single moment of rage or doubt, but as a settled, final rejection of Jesus. It is a hardened, persistent refusal to receive the Spirit’s testimony about who Jesus is. It is the sin of those who see the light clearly and choose, permanently and willfully, to call it darkness.

This is why the next post addresses this more personally. However, the critical point is that when someone is worried they have committed this sin, it is strong evidence they have not. Those who have truly and finally rejected God are not troubled by it. They have no such concern. Anxiety about this sin is almost always a sign of a tender conscience, not a hardened one.

If you are afraid you have committed it, please read on and talk to us.

“Every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.”
— Matthew 12:31

“Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.”
— Matthew 12:32

Further Reading:

• Got Questions – What is the unforgivable sin?
• Desiring God – What is the unforgivable sin?
• Billy Graham – What is the unpardonable sin?