Can a person who has deliberately, willfully, and by a conscience decision walked away from the Lord, ever be restored to him again?

This is a serious question which needs to be answered, because there are those who at one time walked with the Lord, who turned away from God, and who now believe there is no longer any hope for them.

I recently had someone in this situation write me, expressing that they wake up every day with depression because of their decision to walk away from Jesus so many years ago.

This dear soul is the reason I am addressing this matter, and make no mistake about it, there are others out there who feel very much the same way. What you are about to read is intended to help them, as well as equip my fellow Christians with an understanding of the teachings of scripture, so that they can help others  as well.

When Jesus made the statement regarding the unpardonable sin it was aimed at the hardened, and unrepentant Pharisees who despised Jesus and wanted to put him to death. The Pharisees were not merely speaking out of poor judgment.

The Pharisees were leaders within the religious ranks of Israel, and those among them to whom Jesus was speaking, were hell bent on destroying him. Their speaking against him was an intentional effort to smear the reputation of the Son of God because they hated him so much. In their hatred for Jesus, they intentionally spoke evil against the work of the Holy Spirit, in and through Jesus.

In 1 Timothy 1:13, the apostle Paul referred to himself, before his conversion, as a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and an injurious man. He than adds: but I obtained mercy, because I did it IGNORANTLY in unbelief. 

The unpardonable sin, is not a sin that can be committed in ignorance, or accidentally. Nor is it a sin which is committed by those who are overly tempted, or who draw back from walking with God because they are unwilling to live a consecrated life, etc.

The difference between Paul and the Pharisees whom Jesus rebuked in the gospel accounts, is that Paul blasphemed (against Jesus) because he was zealous for God according to the Law. The Pharisees, on the other hand, were power hungry religious leaders. Their blasphemy was a display of their hatred for God and that hatred was aimed at God’s Son, whom God had anointed with his Holy Spirit.

They were leaders claiming to see! 

39 And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.

⁴⁰ And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?

⁴¹ Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth. ~ John 9:39-41

When the gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are examined closely, we find that the Pharisees, to whom Jesus gave such a stern warning, rejected Jesus, not out of ignorance, but as leaders within Israel. They willingly rejected the testimony of the God, whom they claimed to represent, when God through the Holy Spirit spoke to them by His Son.

When Jesus appeared to Paul at the time of his conversion, Paul humbled himself and said: Who art thou, Lord? The Pharisees, whom Jesus warned in the gospels refused to humble themselves in the presence of Jesus.

The Pharisees, as well as the scribes and the lawyers, were so corrupt that they were keeping the people from entering the Kingdom of God.  When God, whom they were supposed to represent, walked among them in the flesh, rather than pointing the people to him, they taught them to despise him.

This is not a sin held to the charge of anyone who fears God, and desires to serve him.

Many years ago, when I was under a cloud darkness (spiritually speaking) I was fearfully tormented with thoughts that I had committed the unpardonable sin. Yet in that place of torment and fear, I determined that I was going to serve the Lord, even if I was condemned to hell; and I told Lord that very thing!

Only the Spirit of the Lord could have led me in such a proclamation! 

If there is any desire for God in a person’s heart, that desire is because of the conviction of the Spirit of God drawing them.

Jesus said, No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him ~ John 6:44. And, no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. ~ John 6:65. 

But what about those who have turned away from the Lord? Isn’t it an unpardonable sin to turn away from God once you have been saved?

The short answer is NO!

Please allow me to explain. First consider Hebrews 10:26-31.

²⁶ For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,

²⁷ But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

²⁸ He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:

²⁹ Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

³⁰ For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.

³¹ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. ~ Hebrews 10:26-31

This is a very sobering text, and one we need to understand correctly, or else things can get read into it that it doesn’t actually say.

Verses 28 and 29 are key to having a proper understanding, because despising the Law of Moses is the precedence for the punishment of those who do the same under grace.