What Does the Bible Say About…Unforgivable Sins?
The Bible never speaks of an “unforgivable” sin, exactly. It does speak of sins that will not be forgiven, which may practically equate to the same thing. The passage in its full context is Matthew 12:22-37. The two sins that it says will not be forgiven are “blasphemy of the spirit” and “speaking against the Holy Spirit.” The word we transliterate blasphemy should probably be translated “injurious speech.” In legal terms, it would be called slander. The Jews call it “lashon hara,” or “evil speaking.” In the scripture, particularly in the New Testament, it is almost always used in the sense of slandering God. In this context it means saying that God’s word is really from Satan. (You may quit reading here and have the basic answer. For details on the passage in Matthew, read on.) In verse 31, the one mentioning blasphemy , most translators insert the words “against” and “Holy” to read “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.” This may have caused a lot of people to misunderstand the scriptur