January 18, 2026
“Sin Against the Spirit” Pastor David Moore
9 “As I looked, “thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. 10 A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.
11 “Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. 12 (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)
13 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
As we go through the Hard Sayings of Jesus, we wonder if we can commit the unpardonable sin. And at a deeper level, is there something we would do that would distance us permanently from God?
God still loves us no matter what.
Matthew 12:30-32 (NIV)
30 He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. 31 And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
I think this passage has a few things to teach us. First the problem of forgiveness, the power of repentance and the danger.
“Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven,” Jesus is saying God is willing to forgive us, but at the same time, people can put themselves beyond God’s power to forgive them.
Jesus says go ahead and speak against me. He says I’ll forgive you, even though I am the King of Kings, I will forgive you. Jesus makes claims no other king makes, like being able to forgive sins. He will judge the heavens and the earth. But we also see Jesus calling the little children to come to Him.
Jesus seemed to never get offended by people insulting Him personally.
Jesus says clearly, and demonstrated, His willingness to forgive is infinite. So, then the second half of the verse; what does it tell us? Remember, there is an infinite willingness to forgive, but it is also possible to put oneself outside of that forgiveness.
God cannot lie; God cannot break a promise.
What Jesus means when He says, “He who is not with me is against me.” But then He turns around and says, “He who is not against me is with me.” Which means there is no neutrality with me; you’re either for or against me.
I think Jesus is communicating is this: don’t put my holiness up against my love. You must not think that because I have an infinite willingness to forgive that it doesn’t matter what you do, that somehow, you’ll automatically be forgiven.
In the universe God created, there is something about justice and righteousness that can’t be forgiven away. God isn’t mad, He wants to forgive, but if we are not willing to ask for grace, forgiveness will not come to us.
God created the world with a word, but for forgiveness, it took centuries for the promise of real forgiveness to take place. Forgiveness is the hardest problem in the universe to solve.
Our relationship with God, I think, is the main difference in the different ways people react to the story of Jesus.
The people whose lives aren’t changed, what I have begun to suspect is that they think forgiveness was too easy, too cheap, and therefore didn’t accomplish much.
“Forgiveness always comes as a surprise…Forgiveness is an outrage…When forgiveness happens, there is always a strange, almost irrational, otherness at its very heart, even when we are aware that, given the nature of our world, it is wiser to forgive that to withhold forgiveness.” ~Lou Smedes
Even when we know in our heads that forgiveness is best for us, best for the world, that there is always something irrational, miraculous in the heart of forgiveness.
Forgiveness is a huge problem, and if you don’t understand that it’s a problem, then I suspect the forgiveness of Jesus won’t impact you the way it should.
I think the best way to handle Jesus words, is to don’t get offended, He is absolute truth, and He can handle Himself. We need to have thick skin.
Forgiveness means that problems of the past no longer dictate our destinies, and we can focus on the future with God’s love in our hearts. ~David E Sorensen
This passage is also about the power of repentance.
“And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.” Jesus wants us to think externally and internally.
Every external action there is no particular sin, no particular action or word spoken that in itself is totally unpardonable.
The second part reads internally: if you are determined to resist the work of the HS to lead you to repentance, no sin is forgivable.
The Holy Spirit is a part of that whole process, of helping people know who God is, and moving people toward accepting God’s love for us.
Nagging feelings of guilt, wanting a better relationship with a higher power, wanting meaning in life, all these are the Holy Spirit moving people toward God.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Unless we confess something, we can’t undo it. Unless we confess we’ve done wrong, there is no way to undo the damage.
John 16:8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment.
The Holy Spirit leads us to confess, without blaming others, without excuses, without a feeling of lostness. There is hope for everything if we repent; there is no hope if we refuse to repent.
Anything can be forgiven with repentance; nothing without it.
If the Holy Spirit is working on your heart today, wanting perhaps to know God deeper or better, listen to the Holy Spirit. He’s working with your best in mind.
This week think about forgiveness and repentance and how the Holy Spirit is working in our lives and heart to bring us closer to God, only if we ask for forgiveness and repent of our sins. God bless have a great week.