While "unbelief" is clearly described as "the greatest sin," the question still remains: Is this the unpardonable sin? How does the pen of inspiration define the unpardonable sin? In the first reference that we shall examine, a "Brother P" is concerned that he may have committed this sin. Notice Ellen White's response:
Brother P, you ask if you have committed the sin which has no forgiveness in this life or in the life to come. I answer: I do not see the slightest evidence that this is the case. What constitutes the sin against the Holy Ghost? It is willfully attributing to Satan the work of the Holy Spirit.[1]
Here, we find a very clear definition of the unpardonable sin. The sin against the Holy Ghost is "willfully attributing to Satan the work of the Holy Spirit." However, sometimes even a brief and simple definition is subject to misunderstanding. Given this definition, some may believe that as long as they don't attribute anything to Satan, they cannot commit the unpardonable sin. Just how do people go about attributing the work of God to Satan? Perhaps a more important question is why would this be done? Do people tend to arbitrarily attribute some works to God and other works to Satan--and thereby endanger their souls? In Matthew chapter 12 we have an example of this very thing.
Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. And all the multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?" Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons" (Matthew 12:22-24, NKJV).
Jesus had healed a poor man who was both blind and mute, and immediately the Pharisees responded by saying that the miracle was not done by the power of the Holy Spirit--that it was of Beelzebub. Deliberately, they were attributing the work of God to the devil. The important question is: Why? If we knew nothing about the Pharisees, we might wonder what was going on, but such is not the case. Throughout the gospels we find plenty of evidence upon which to base an understanding of their motive. They do not want to accept the miracle as being of God, because they do not what to accept the fact that Jesus is from God. Their purpose is not to reject the miracle "per se." Their real objective, it is painfully obvious, is to reject Christ. Knowing this, Jesus then explained to them the concept of the unpardonable sin. The Bible narrative continues:
But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they shall be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.
Therefore, I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come (Matthew 12:25-32, NKJV).
Connecting the act of attributing the work of God to the devil, to the unpardonable sin, without taking cognizance of the motive behind the act, is to miss the point. We must remember: "Every action of their lives is judged, not by the external appearance, but from the motive which dictated the action."[2] Correct interpretation of the action requires that the motive be taken into account.
Another very important consideration, in seeking to understand this truth and all other truths in God's Word, is that we must understand truth in relationship to the gospel.
The sacrifice of Christ as an atonement for sin is the great truth around which all other truths cluster. In order to be rightly understood and appreciated, every truth in the Word of God, from Genesis to Revelation, must be studied in the light which streams from the cross of Calvary, and in connection with the wondrous, central truth of the Saviour's atonement.[3]
The idea that the unpardonable sin is attributing the work of God to the devil is a "truth" presented "in the word of God." "In order to be rightly understood and appreciated ... [this] ... truth ... must be studied in the light which streams from the cross of Calvary."[4] In other words, it must be interpreted in the light of the gospel. The Spirit of Prophecy quotation cited above clearly presents the definition of this sin in harmony with the passage in Mathew chapter 12, which is also quoted above. Now, in order to "rightly understand and appreciate" this truth, we need to see how the Spirit of Prophecy applies it in the light of the gospel. "In rejecting Christ the Jewish people committed the unpardonable sin; and by refusing the invitation of mercy, we may commit the same error."[5] In 1897 the servant of the Lord provided additional light on this issue.
The Pharisees sinned against the Holy Ghost. Their talent of speech was used to abuse the world's Redeemer, and the recording angel wrote their words in the books of heaven. They attributed to satanic agencies the holy power of God, manifested in the works of Christ. They could not evade His wonderful works, or attribute them to natural causes, so they said, "They are the works of the devil." In unbelief they spoke of the Son of God as a human being. The works of healing done before them, works which no man had done or could do, were a manifestation of the power of God, but they charged Christ with being in league with hell. Stubborn, sullen, ironhearted, they determined to close their eyes to all evidence, and thus they committed the unpardonable sin.[6]
In The Desire of Ages, we find additional light.
There are none so hardened as those who have slighted the invitation of mercy, and done despite to the Spirit of grace. The most common manifestation of the sin against the Holy Spirit is in persistently slighting Heaven's invitation to repent. Every step in the rejection of Christ is a step toward the rejection of salvation, and toward the sin against the Holy Spirit.[7]
In these quotations we see a clear description of how the unpardonable sin is committed. Specifically, we see how it was committed by some of the Pharisees and by the Jewish nation. They attributed the wonderful works of Christ to satanic agencies, but the vital question is: Why? The unambiguous answer given us by the Spirit of Prophecy is that it was because they were determined to reject the world's Redeemer. "In rejecting Christ the Jewish people committed the unpardonable sin."[8] Therefore, we conclude, the sin of refusing to believe the gospel, which means refusing to believe in Jesus as the Saviour, is the unpardonable sin. This is the, "sin which is unto death" (1 John 5:16, 17).
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