Ask a Pastor Column

Q: Is there an unforgivable sin? How can it be unforgivable if Christ died for all sin? (Part One of Two)

A:  There are actually two situations where the Bible says forgiveness is (or has been) withheld. The first situation is when we fail to forgive others, the second is the case of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. We will look at the case of unforgiveness this week and I will cover blasphemy against the Spirit in next week’s article.

There are two main passages that tie God’s forgiveness of us to our forgiveness of others: the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:12, 14) and the Parable of the Unforgiving Steward (Matthew 18:22-35). These passages make God’s expectation clear: He wants us to extend to others the same mercy that we received from Him. Severe discipline is promised to those who fail to do so (Matthew 18:34).

Of course, this raises some questions when we also consider passages that seem to promise unconditional and universal forgiveness for sin (John 5:24; Colossians 2:13; etc.). Don’t worry! Reconciling these two ideas is quite simple when we examine the context of each passage more closely.

The first thing to notice is that all of the passages that declare to Nonchristians how to obtain eternal forgiveness and go to heaven list faith as the one and only condition (John 3:16; Acts 16:12; Ephesians 2:8; etc.). The passages that say, “If you don’t forgive others, God won’t forgive you,” are all addressed to disciples; people who have already trusted in Christ and seek to live in a right relationship with Him. This causes many theologians to see God’s promise of unforgiveness in the context of teaching and relationship, rather than a return to eternal damnation. In other words, refusing to forgive others does not counteract the effects of our salvation or nullify the promises of God. Instead, these promises concerning unforgiveness mean that God will treat a believer (in this life) just like the believer treats others. If we hold unforgiveness in our hearts our loving Father will correct us (Hebrews 12:6) by bringing the earthly consequences of our own sins back on our heads until we obey His command to forgive. Thus, the whole counsel of Scripture allows us to retain the comfort of God’s eternal and unconditional salvation, while also heeding a necessary warning to avoid the sin of unforgiveness and forgive one another as we’ve been forgiven (Colossians 3:13).

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