All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. {32} And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. Matthew 12:31-32
INTRODUCTION
There is one, and only one, sin that can never be forgiven. It is the unpardonable, unforgivable sin. This sin is the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. To knowingly commit it even once is to be damned for a lifetime and eternity.
Unfortunately, the Devil likes to run with these words of our Lord. He tells some of God’s people that they’ve committed the unpardonable sin, God will never forgive them, they’re damned for all eternity without any hope of salvation or Heaven. Tragically, some of God’s people believe these lies of the Devil and they end up living very confused, miserable, and tormented lives. It’s really no way to live.
If you believe you’ve committed the unforgivable sin, or you don’t know what this sin is, these blog posts are for you. Let me begin by setting the historical context for you.
THE CONTEXT IN WHICH THIS SIN IS COMMITTED
Matthew 12:22-23, Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. (23) And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?
One day, some people brought a man to Jesus for help. The man was blind, mute, and demon possessed. Jesus cured him on the spot and, in a single marvelous moment, the man was able to see and speak. Well, as you could no doubt imagine, this miracle caused quite a stir among the people who were standing by. It got them thinking about who Jesus really was. Obviously, He was no ordinary man. Many of them toyed with the idea that Jesus might just possibly be the Son of David, that is, the promised Messiah.
Matthew 12:24, But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. There were Pharisees in the crowd that day. In Mark’s account of this same incident, there were Scribes there as well (Mark 3:22). Now the Scribes were the official copiers of Holy Scripture. They were the only ones authorized to make hand-written copies of sacred Scripture. Because of their official duty, they were also experts in the law. They knew the law better than anyone else did. So, naturally, the opinion of these experts concerning Jesus’ identity would carry the most weight.
Well, when the Pharisees and Scribes heard the people hailing Jesus as the possible Messiah, this just roused their dander. They hated Jesus. They didn’t believe Jesus was the promised Messiah at all. To the contrary, they felt Jesus was a law-breaker, a deceiver, and worst of all, Beelzebub himself (see Matthew 10:25). And who is Beelzebub? He’s the prince of devils, namely, Satan Himself. In other words, “Jesus is not the Messiah! This supposed Messiah is a demoniac! He’s the Devil incarnate!” Thus, while many of the people called Jesus the Son of God, Messiah, and Great Prophet; the Jewish religious leaders themselves proclaimed Him to be the Devil himself. By accusing Him thusly, the Pharisees sought to quench the people’s excitement and turn them away from following or exalting Jesus as the promised Messiah of Israel.
Matthew 12:25-29, And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: (26) And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? (27) And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. (28) But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. (29) Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
The charge of the Pharisees and Scribes, however, is utterly incongruous or incompatible with reason. Satan doesn’t cast out Satan. Satan, Jesus tells us plainly, is not in the business of casting demons out of demon-possessed people. He would be working against himself if he did this. And this is something that Satan just doesn’t do: he doesn’t work against himself! Truth be told, DELIVERANCE OR EXORCISM IS NOT SATAN’S ENTERPRISE, WORK, OR MINISTRY. RATHER, IT’S A MINISTRY AND WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT WORKING THROUGH HUMAN VESSELS.
In countering the Pharisees’ and Scribes’ accusation concerning Him, Jesus proceeds to tell us about the unpardonable sin. Matthew 12:30-32, He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. (31) Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. (32) And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BLASPHEME THE HOLY SPIRIT?
The unpardonable, unforgivable sin is when a person blasphemes the Holy Spirit. Great! What does that mean? Well, the word blasphemy in the Greek text of the Scriptures means to revile or reproach, to calumniate or make false and malicious statements so as to slander or defame someone’s character or reputation. In our day, to blaspheme a person would be to drag his name through the mud and say all kinds of ridiculous things about him, even lies, to make him look really bad. To blaspheme the Holy Spirit, then, is to disgrace or dishonor the Holy Spirit by saying false things about or against Him.
Coming Up On My Next Blog Post, Part 2. I’ll take an in-depth look at the sin of blasphemy against the Spirit. It’ll be so clear and simple that you’ll see quite clearly what this sin is really all about. Fogged up about it? Drop on by. My Scriptural version of Windex will have you seeing clearly in no time.
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queenlorene said,
February 16, 2013 at 12:50 AM
I have been pouring over your amazing blog and I so wish other Christians could study it as well. You have a great insight into the scriptures, perhaps more than anyone else I have ever known. I have been pondering this very idea of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, and until I read this I had no idea what it meant. So I am very bothered by 2 things: I intensely dislike a man who claims to be a Christian yet only comes to church to get business opportunities, who took my money and kept it for 8 months until I went postal and called him a scheister to anyone and everyone. I cant get the resentment out of my heart for him, and this is very unlike me. Have I blasphemed? I also am very suspicious of tongues. I only feel that tongues are needed or real if there is a person in the congregation who does not speak the language and another person is given the gift to impart the scripture or sermon to them. I recently read a blog of a person who said they speak in tongues all the time. I am quite cynical of this. Is this blasphemy?
gaylorddiaz said,
February 18, 2013 at 5:21 PM
Hi Lorene, With regard to the first of your 2 bothers, no, you have not blasphemed. It isn’t blasphemous to speak the truth. Blasphemy involves lying, slandering, and false accusation. If you didn’t do that, then you didn’t blaspheme. The resentment is regrettable. It’s a sin that you’ll need to deal with, get over, give up, and forgive. But it isn’t blasphemy.
Do keep in mind that blasphemy in general, even blasphemy against Jesus, is not the same as blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. All blasphemy is forgivable, except the blasphemy that’s spoken against the Holy Spirit.
As to bother #2, it isn’t blasphemy to be cynical of speaking in tongues (SIT). SIT is a valid manifestation of the Spirit and I speak in tongues. But like all true spiritual gifts, the devil has his counterfeit and some of his ministers speak in a demonic version of SIT.
You need to be discerning as to who’s SIT. The blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is committed when you accuse a true Christian of SIT by the devil. If you don’t know if the person who’s SIT is a true Christian or not, then don’t accuse him/her of being demon possessed or demon inspired because you don’t know this for a fact. It isn’t blasphemous to accuse a minister of Satan of SIT by the devil. However, it’s blasphemous when you accuse a Christian of doing that by the devil. Hope this helps.
Lorene Pinkley said,
February 19, 2013 at 8:53 PM
Yes, but it is a scarey thought. I don’t think a lot of Christians know this, so your blog is an important one for anyone to look at. I am referencing your blog in an upcoming post.
queenlorene said,
February 19, 2013 at 8:56 PM
Very helpful, but scarey. I don’t think a lot of Christians know this. I wish more was said about this topic.