In Hebrews chapter 6, verses 4 through 6, we are given the absolute conditions, or criteria, one must meet in order to place them in a position where they might commit the unpardonable sin. That passage reads: “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away to renew them again unto repentance, seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame.”
Now notice the FIVE CRITERIA one must meet in order to be eligible to commit the unpardonable sin: 1) They must have been enlightened to spiritual truth, the reality of God and His Son Jesus Christ. 2) They must have entered into a vital, life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ, the heavenly gift. 3) They must have been given the Holy Spirit. 4) They must have had Jesus through the Holy Spirit enlighten them to the basic mysteries of God contained in His Word, the Bible. And 5) They must have been given one or more miraculous spiritual gifts, the powers of the world to come.
One major reason so few are given miraculous spiritual gifts by God is because one so gifted, if they shall fall away returning to a life of sin and rebellion against God, is then fully capable of committing the unpardonable sin! The Bible mentions only one lone person having fit all the above criteria – Judas Iscariot! That’s why Jesus said of Judas, “good were it for that man if he had never been born” (See Mark 14:21).
If you think you might have committed the unpardonable sin, ask yourself, “Have I been able to speak a foreign language without ever learning that language? Have I been able to interpret a foreign language without ever learning that language? Have I prophesied about the future to be proven absolutely correct when that prophecy came to pass? Has God in a vision or dream revealed to me something humanly unknowable? Have I performed some obvious miracle that benefited or blessed someone?” If the answer is “no,” then take heart, my friend, you have not committed the unpardonable sin.
Christ’s Faithful Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),
Donald Wiley