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Introduction:
Sometimes we receive questions for which the answers are so
involved we need to devote our entire lesson to it. That is the
case for this lesson. The question we will address during this
lesson is “What does the Bible mean by ‘blasphemy against the
Holy Spirit’ and why is this sin unpardonable?”
Are you guilty of the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? Many
people are unsure, because they do not know what it is. This
troubling concept is mentioned in three scriptures: Matthew
12:31-32; Mark 3:28-29; Luke 12:10. Hopefully, our study will
help us gain a greater understanding of these texts. I do not
believe, nor should you, that this lesson is the definitive
treatise on the topic. Rather, view it as a step in the direction
of understanding Jesus’ words. We will approach our study by
dispelling two assumptions about the texts which mention the
blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Then, based on the immediate and
Biblical contexts of the passages, we will note what I believe is
not the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Finally, we will examine
what I believe is the
blasphemy of the Spirit in these contexts. Discussion: I.
Dispelling faulty assumptions. A.
Over the years, I have discussed this text with several
people, read many commentaries and consulted numerous sermon
outlines. I have discovered two often made assumptions that are
simply not supported by the texts. Before we can understand what
blasphemy of the Spirit is, we must make sure the scales of
assumption are cleared from our eyes. B.
Assumption #1: Jesus accused the Pharisees of committing
blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. 1.
Not one of the texts claims Jesus was accusing the
Pharisees. Read them backwards, forwards and upside down, but you
will not find Jesus saying the Pharisees had committed this sin.
Yet, many Christians assume that is what Jesus did. 2.
Most assume this because in both Matthew
12 and Mark 3,
Jesus was responding to the Pharisees’ accusation that Jesus
cast out demons by the power of Satan. 3.
However, note three reasons why this assumption does not
follow from the text. a.
Firstly, prior to mentioning blasphemy of the Spirit in
both Matthew 12 and Mark 3,
Jesus mentions other blasphemies. It makes more sense to link the
first mention of blasphemy to the accusation. Thus, one would
conclude that Jesus was accusing the Pharisees of the other
blasphemies and warning them not to go further and commit
blasphemy against the Spirit. b.
Secondly, Mark’s statement in Mark
3:30 does not apply simply to mentioning blasphemy of the
Spirit, but to Jesus’ entire reply from vs.
23 through vs. 29. c.
Thirdly, if these Pharisees had indeed committed the
blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, which would not be forgiven, what
would be the point of mentioning it to them? 4.
Instead of accusing the Pharisees, it makes much more sense
to believe that Jesus was warning the Pharisees. They had
committed blasphemy against Christ, accusing Him of being in
league with the devil. Jesus warns them not to commit blasphemy
against the Spirit. C.
Assumption #2: Jesus said “shall be forgiven” and
“shall not be forgiven,” but He meant “can be forgiven”
and “cannot be forgiven.” 1.
I understand the desire to change the meaning of the words
Jesus used. But, we are not allowed to simply change the
Scripture’s words just because they do not fit our package. 2.
We know the importance of words in scripture from passages
such as Matthew 22:32.
Here Jesus argued for the resurrection by noting that God said,
“I am” instead of “I was.” Also, Paul, in Galatians
3:16, argued that Christ was the fulfillment of the promise to
Abraham because the scripture said the promise was to Abraham’s
“seed” not “seeds.” 3.
Unless proven otherwise by scriptures, we must assign the
most natural meaning to the terms “shall be forgiven” and
“shall not be forgiven” in these texts. II.
What blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is not. A.
It is not a sin for which one might seek forgiveness but
never be able to receive it. 1.
Some Christians believe exactly this. I have some notes a
sister gave me during a discussion regarding these passages. She
wrote, “Those who spoke against the Holy Ghost during Christ’s
ministry (during the Mosaical age) and continued to do so. (sic)
These persons soon found themselves in the Christian
Age-dispensation. If they sought forgiveness they could not
receive it.” 2.
However, this contradicts all of scripture’s teaching. I John 1:9 said if we confess our sin, God is faithful to forgive
our sins, making no exception for blasphemy against the Spirit. In
II Peter 3:9, Peter
claims God wants everyone to come to repentance, making no
exceptions. Ezekiel 18:23 claims God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked,
but wants them to turn from their ways, making no exceptions. No
sin exists for which a person can repent and be refused
forgiveness. Therefore, blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, in this
context, cannot be a sin which will not be forgiven despite the
person’s repentance and pleading. B.
It is not a momentary action which forever consigns a
person’s soul to hell no matter what. 1.
Many people are frightened that they might commit blasphemy
of the Holy Spirit. We should find comfort in knowing that this
sin is not a one time, momentary action which forever condemns us
to hell no matter what we do after that. 2.
Luke
12:10
helps understand this point. In this passage, Jesus was not
responding to the Pharisees, but was speaking of ways of life. In Luke
12:8-9, Jesus spoke of those who confessed Him before men and
those who denied Him before men. Neither of these verses referred
to momentary actions, but to ways of life. After all, if referring
to momentary actions, we might ask which statement applied to
Paul. For part of his life he denied Christ. For another part he
confessed Christ. Would Jesus deny him or confess him to the
Father? We know he would confess Him because of his repentance and
changed way of life. From this contextual connection, we can learn
that blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is not a one time, momentary
action either, but a way of life. III.
What blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is. A.
Firstly, we must understand who the Holy Spirit is and His
role in our salvation. 1.
According to John
16:7-13, the Holy Spirit is the agent by which the world is
convicted of sin, righteousness and judgment. The Holy Spirit is
also that agent by which the apostles were guided into all truth.
Thus, they were able to teach God’s will. According to Hebrews
2:4, the Holy Spirit was the agent by which God confirmed the
teaching of the apostles as being those of Christ. 2.
The Holy Spirit is instrumental in our salvation. In fact,
by revealing the will of God and recording it for all time, giving
us all we need to be saved (II
Timothy 3:16-17), the Holy Spirit has given us God’s final
appeal to serve Him. B.
Secondly, we must understand blasphemy as used in these
contexts. 1.
According to Webster’s, “blasphemy” means “profane
or mocking speech, writing or action concerning God or
anything regarded as sacred” (emphasis mine, ELC).
Note, blasphemy is not just defamatory speech, but also action
which profanes God, in this case the Holy Spirit. 2.
In the context of Luke
12:10, as noted earlier, blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is not a
single action, but a lifestyle. Thus, Jesus is speaking of a
lifestyle which profanes the Holy Spirit through word and/or deed.
In the context of Matthew
12:31, blasphemy of the Spirit is not limited to actively
attacking the Spirit, but also includes not actively confessing
and living according to the Spirit’s revelation (Matthew
12:30). C.
Thus, combining our understanding of these two issues, we
understand blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is a lifestyle which
rejects the Spirit’s offer of salvation. This lifestyle is not
unforgiven because God cannot or will not forgive someone who
repents of this sin. This lifestyle is unforgiven by default,
because it is the continued rejection of the very thing which
offers forgiveness. We can understand now why Jesus said any sin
and blasphemy shall be forgiven, but blasphemy of the Holy
Spirit shall not be forgiven. Jesus is explaining the
difference between those who will spend eternity in heaven and
those who will spend eternity in hell. The difference is not that
those in hell committed murder, theft, adultery, etc. and those in
heaven did not. There will be people in heaven who have done all
these things (I Corinthians 6:9-11). Rather, the difference is the people in hell
rejected the Spirit’s message of reconciliation. The people in
heaven accepted and obeyed the message of the Spirit, confessing
Christ through their daily lives. D.
Note two other passages that support this understanding of
blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. 1.
Note the parallel with Hosea
4:6. The Israelites were rejected from being priests because
they rejected the very thing that would make them priests for God.
They rejected knowledge. The knowledge they rejected was the law
of God, revealed by the Holy Spirit. 2.
Hebrews
10:26-31
is the clearest explanation of blasphemy of the Spirit. It speaks
not of those who commit a one time, momentary, single act which
condemns them to hell no matter what they do. Rather, it speaks of
continued willful sinning. It speaks of a lifestyle. It also
refers to this lifestyle as not only trampling underfoot the Son
of God, but insulting the Holy Spirit. Does that not sound
strangely familiar to blaspheming the Holy Spirit? This insult is
not just through words, but through deeds. This insulting of the
Spirit results in vengeance and judgment from God. The most
interesting aspect of this passage is the Hebrew writer’s point
that if one continues sinning after receiving the truth, there is
no more sacrifice. The point is, this is the last opportunity.
Jesus is not going to be sacrificed again. No other gospel is
going to be offered. If any reject this message of the Spirit,
they have rejected it all. By default, they will not be forgiven
because they have rejected the only avenue of forgiveness. All
that is left for them is a certain terrifying expectation of
judgment. This explains why Jesus distinguishes blaspheming the
Spirit from other blasphemies. The Pharisees could reject Jesus,
but there would still be another coming to whom they might listen.
That would be the Spirit as the word of God was revealed through
the apostles and prophets. However, if they rejected the Spirit,
nothing more was coming, they had rejected the final offer of
salvation and would be, by default, unforgiven. Conclusion:
To sum up, we note the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is a
lifestyle of rejecting the saving message of the Spirit, by
continuing in sin. It is unforgiven because it is the rejection of
the only offer of forgiveness we have. Jesus says all other sins
are forgiven to signify why people are saved or lost. People are
saved because they accept and obey the Spirit’s message. They
are lost because they reject the message, which is blaspheming and
insulting the Spirit. Which state are you in right now? Have you accepted the message of the Spirit or are you rejecting it? As long as you have breath in your body, the Spirit offers you salvation through Christ. Please, do not let yourself come to the judgment day guilty of rejecting the offered forgiveness—guilty of the blasphemy of the Spirit. Submit to God right now, honor the Spirit by obeying His word in baptism (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38), and confess Christ in your daily life (Luke 12:8-9).
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
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