Can all sins be forgiven or not?

Can all sins be forgiven (Acts 13:39; Titus 2:14; 1 John 1:9) or not (Matthew 12:31; Mark 3:29; Luke 12:10)?

Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI

Biblical Authority Ministries, June 3, 2025 (Donate)

These passages, when carefully understood are not in contradiction but complimentary. Remember that a contradiction is A and Not A at the same time an in the same relationship. This alleged contradiction errs in that these are not in the same relationship.

Let’s look at the relevant passages (all NKJV):

Acts 13:39
and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Titus 2:14
who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

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.

Matthew 12:31
Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.

Mark 3:29
but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation

Luke 12:10
And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

There is an important aspect of this alleged contradiction that needs to be discussed to clarify this “problem.” First, let’s focus on the last three verses above that discuss blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

When it comes to alleged Bible contradictions, always go back and see what the Bible really says in context. Image from Presentation Library.

The Unforgivable Sin

These passages reveal that there is one sin that is still unforgivable. If God repeats this three times in His Word, then it is important! Is this referring to using the Holy Spirit’s name in vain? No, though I wouldn’t recommend that either (Exodus 20:7)! What is “blaspheming against the Holy Spirit” then? Is it something more than words?

When one receives Christ, they receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. If one doesn’t receive Christ, then they do not receive the Holy Spirit, which is blaspheming against the Holy Spirit. Denying Christ is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. This aligns perfectly with Jesus being the only way and the only name by which one can be saved (John 14:6; c.f. Acts 4:12).

The position of the unforgivable sin being rejection of Christ upon death is complimentary to the position that it was referring to the statements of the Pharisees challenging Jesus by claiming the Spirit’s work was that of Beelzebub’s. These are not mutually exclusive.  

The greater context of Matthew 12:22-45 (also Mark 3:29 and Luke 12:10) [discussing spirit removal and their potential return], reveals that when Jesus cast out an evil spirit, the Pharisees accused Jesus of doing it by Beelzebub, of which they meant that it was “not by the Spirit of God”.  Take note that Jesus said this specific blasphemy would not be forgiven “in this age or the age to come” (vs. 32) but also later revealed they will “give an account on the day of judgment for their careless words” (vs. 36-37). 

On the flipside, Acts 13:39, Titus 2:14, 1 John 1:9, etc. reveal that believers are justified from “all things”, from “every lawless deed”, cleansed from “all unrighteousness”, etc. Consider: 1 John 1:7: But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

The only way both of these sets of Scriptures can be true, is if people who utter such blasphemies (e.g., like the ones the Pharisees uttered) do not become believers. Thus, to the astute reader, Jesus basically revealed that the Pharisees in question would never become believers and would be judged. 

This sin of blasphemy for both the Pharisees as well as other who do not repent and get saved cannot be forgiven unlike the other sins. If one dies without receiving Christ’s forgiveness, then they die without the Holy Spirit. Hence, they die without God and without salvation.

Often people want to blame God for this, but from a big picture, God is merely giving people what the righteous judgment they ask for as a punishment for their sins (going back to the first sin in the Garden of Eden). If they want life without God, God grants them their bidding in the same way the free gift of eternal life is given through Jesus Christ for those in Him.

But for those not saved, the punishment for the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit must be served and abides on them. And how long is this? Consider that God is infinite. The punishment from an infinite God is an infinite punishment. This is why we needed a perfect, infinite sacrifice to cover our sin and its repercussions.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Creator God (John 1; Colossians 1; Hebrews 1), who is infinite, could take that punishment. But if one rejects Christ and does not receive Him as their Savior, then they, whether they realize it or not, will still be punished for sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

Sadly, many do not realize that the punishment for even one sin is death (Genesis 2:17), which results in an eternal, infinite punishment. And Jesus said:

Matthew 25:46
And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

Now, with this in mind, let’s evaluate the other passages and see if this is really in contradiction.

The Subject

First, a question: Who is being spoken to in Acts 13:39; Titus 2:14; 1 John 1:9?

If one pays careful attention, the alleged discrepancy disappears. So, who is being spoken to? It is believers in Christ.

This is evidenced by the phrases “everyone who believes,” “us,” and “we” respectively. With “us” and “we,” Paul and John include themselves with their fellow believers.

Believers in Christ have been forgiven all sins and the punishment paid by Christ because of their repentance and belief that Christ has been saved. And, hence, they received the gift of the Holy Spirit and would not be in a position of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit.

Thus, these verses are not in contradiction, as the people being spoken of in Acts 13:39; Titus 2:14; 1 John 1:9 are those who have been forgiven and no longer capable of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. And those being spoken of in Matthew 12:31; Mark 3:29; Luke 12:10 are non-believers upon their deaths—when they no longer have the opportunity to receive Christ and receive forgiveness and to turn from their blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Thus, these verses are in regards to two different situations and therefore, they not in contradiction.

In laymen’s terms, these two sets of verses are speaking about two different sets of people: believers and non-believers. Believers are forgiven all sins, but non-believers will have to deal with at least one big sin—that has eternal consequences.

A special note to readers: please continually pray for those who have not received Christ.

 

Other Religious Writings

Other Religious Writings – Are They From God Too?

Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI

Biblical Authority Ministries June 2, 2025 (Donate)

What about the Hadith, Josephus, Koran (Qur’an), Book of Mormon, Vedas and Upanishads, Apocrypha, Studies in the Scriptures, Book of Enoch, Protoevangelium of James…and the list continues? My answer sometimes seems too simple to grasp: No, they disagree with the Bible.  

Let me explain this “presuppositional” concept. Being “presuppositional” means that we take on faith that God exists and that His Word, the Bible, is the truth. This is our foundation, starting point or “presupposition”.  We use the Bible, like a set of glasses, to look at all other worldviews and test them. 

Image from Presentation Library

When we look at the Bible, God never tried to prove His existence or prove that His Word is superior. God simply opens with a statement of His existence and that His Word is flawless (Genesis 1:1, Proverbs 30:5). The Bible also says that Christ has all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, so God’s Word should be our starting point for all knowledge and wisdom (Colossians 2:2-3). As a point of note, God can only reveal Himself as the final authority that He is. He is that source authority for all knowledge, truth, wisdom and revelation. 

In fact, if God would have tried to prove He existed or that His Word was flawless, then that created evidence, tool of logic or other means to try to prove such a thing would be greater than God and His Word. But God knows that nothing is greater than He and His Word and so logically, God is also presuppositional—that is that God takes Himself as the ultimate standard and stating point. 

In a like manner God expects us to take on faith that He exists. Hebrew 11:6 says: 

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.[1]

The next several verses mention “by faith Noah”, “by faith Abraham”, “by faith Sarah”, “by faith Isaac”, “by faith Jacob”, “by faith Joseph”, “by faith Moses” and so on. So faith is an important aspect. By faith, these people trusted God’s existence and what He said to them (His Word to them).  

We shouldn’t neglect their example. By faith we trust God exists and that His Word is the truth just as these great people of faith. This faith, though, is not a blind faith as some suppose but a logical, defendable faith. True science confirms the Bible; the Bible’s history is accurate, and so on.  

In taking the Bible as the Word of God on faith, books that disagree with the Bible are not the Word of God nor even close to equal with its status. This doesn’t mean these other books are useless as they can have other value, such as historical uses (e.g., Josephus), but they are not infallible and inerrant as God’s Word, the 66 books of the Bible, is. 

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God (2 Timothy 3:16). If a book isn’t from God, then who is it from? It would be from man (even if is it influenced by satanic or demonic ways). So regardless if a book that is claimed to be from God or not, if it not the Bible, then it is not holy or of divine origin.  

Some books attempt to add to the Word the God such as the Book of Mormon, some have even claimed the Qur’an is an addition to Scripture. When such claims are made, one should always be cautious. God warns about trying to add to His words in Proverbs 30:5-6 and Revelation 22:18.  

When there is a claim of inspiration for a “holy book”, the book must be tested against the Bible (1 Thessalonians 5:21) because God will never disagree with Himself because God cannot lie (Hebrews 6:18) nor can He deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:23). 

When Paul was preaching to the Bereans (Acts 17:11), he commended them for checking his words against the Scriptures that were already written. If someone claims that a book is of divine origin, then we need to be like the Bereans and check it and see if it is from God or from man. In other words, use previous revelation to test and check any alleged new revelation—if it contradicts, it is not new Scripture.   

These other books such as the Qur’an[2], Book of Mormon[3], Vedas[4] and so on have disagreements with the Bible confirming they are not Scripture. For example, the Qur’an says God had no son in Sura (Chapter) 4:171 and Sura 23:91 whereas the Bible is clear Jesus is the son of God (Matthew 26:63-64). 

The Book of Mormon says in Moroni 8:8 that children are not sinners whereas the Bible teaches that children are sinful, even from birth (Psalm 51:5). Few would dispute that the Vedas and other writings in Hinduism are starkly different from the Bible. 

These other belief systems do have many adherents throughout the world. Of course, we knew that there would be false philosophies based on man’s ideas that would try to turn people from the Bible, Christ’s Word. It was predicted nearly 2000 years ago:   

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. (Colossians 2:8)

We need to be discerning when it comes to non-biblical writings and stand firm on the Bible and not be swayed (1 Corinthians 15:58, 2 Thessalonians 2:15). Also, it reveals the need to share the bad news in Genesis with them as well as the good news of the Gospel (Matthew 28:18-20). Many in false religions have false foundations and need the true foundation so that they can have a better understanding of the Gospel that is built on that foundation.   

Image from Presentation Library   

I want to encourage you, the reader, to consider the claims of the Bible, if you haven’t already. The Bible is the Word of God. So there are two options: place your faith in a perfect, all-knowing God who has always been there or trust in imperfect, fallible mankind and their philosophies. God will never be wrong so I want to encourage you to start with God’s Word and begin to build your faith begin to have a biblical worldview, instead of worldview based on man’s ideas.    

It is better to trust in the LORD Than to put confidence in man. (Psalm 118:8) 

For a more refutation of false religions, see World Religions and Cults, Volumes 1-3, Bodie Hodge and Roger Patterson, Master Books, Green Forest, AR. 

Originally published in Answers Magazine and appeared here: https://answersingenesis.org/world-religions/other-religious-writings/; Edited; Republished by permission. 

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[1] All Scripture references from NKJV

[2] The Koran vs Genesis, David Catchpoole, Creation 24(2): 46-51

[3] World Religions and Cults, Volumes 1, Bodie Hodge and Roger Patterson, Master Books, Green Forest, AR; chapter on Mormonism. 

[4] A Ready Defense, The Best of Josh McDowell, Compiled by Bill Wilson, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, 1993, pages 271-276