SILENCE THE ACCUSER: IT IS NOT BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT
A comprehensive examination of the unpardonable sin and why your fears may be unfounded
Introduction
Countless believers live in torment, convinced they have
committed the unpardonable sin. The accusor whispers lies of condemnation,
exploiting our fears about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Yet Scripture
reveals a different truth—one that brings freedom to the captive and peace to
the troubled soul.
This examination will dispel the darkness surrounding this
doctrine and establish the biblical foundation for understanding what truly
constitutes blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
Understanding Blasphemy: Definition and Context
The Biblical Definition
To blaspheme is the action or offense of speaking
sacrilegiously about God or sacred things; profane talk. The original Greek
understanding provides deeper insight:
Strong's Concordance: blasphemy, evil speaking,
railing.
·
From blasphemos; vilification (especially
against God) -- blasphemy, evil speaking, railing.
Thayer's Definition: Universally, slander,
detraction, speech injurious to another's good name; specifically, impious and
reproachful speech injurious to the divine majesty.
Lexicon: Abusive or scurrilous language, blasphemy.
The core concept involves vilification—deliberate
defamation or malicious misrepresentation of God's character and works.
Why Blasphemy Against the Father and Son Is Forgivable
The Father's Forgiving Nature
Blasphemy against the Father and Creator of all things
seen and unseen is forgivable because:
It is God's nature to forgive sin. God revealed to
Moses in Exodus 34:7 that He forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin. This
act flows from His goodness and through the reconciliation He established with
humanity. When we blaspheme Him, He pities us as a father pities his children,
and out of His long-suffering, He gives us time-just like the prodigal son, to
come to our senses and repent.
All this is made possible by the standing atonement
through the blood of Jesus, which can be claimed by any sinner as long as they
are alive on earth.
Blasphemy against the Father often stems from
ignorance. Much blasphemy against the Father consists of questions about
His existence, cursing God, and hatred that a good God allows injustices and
pain in the world. These do not remotely approach blasphemy against the Holy
Spirit.
The Pharisees accused Jesus of blasphemy when He claimed
to be the Son of God or forgave sins. What they failed to understand was that
whether Jesus' actions were blasphemous or not, there was forgiveness available
in God for that.
Critical Truth: Anyone who has committed blasphemy
against the Father can still repent, ask for forgiveness in the Name of Jesus,
and be forgiven. It shall never be held against them forever.
God considers blasphemy against Him or His Son equal to
any other sin, which can be blotted out by the blood of Jesus once confession
is made.
The Son's Redemptive Power
Blasphemy against the Son of God, Jesus, is also
forgivable for these reasons:
Through Him, salvation is granted. It is through
Jesus that salvation and forgiveness of sin is granted by the Father to any
repentant soul. His redeeming power stands forever for anyone who seeks
forgiveness in His name.
There is a time limitation. Man can only claim
Christ while still alive on earth. Once dead, it is over, for after death comes
judgment. Those who believed receive eternal joy; those who did not believe
face eternal condemnation.
Ignorance is not condemnation. It does not matter
whether a person insults Jesus, doubts His existence, or curses Him; there is
forgiveness if they confess their sins, claiming Jesus as their ransom.
Usually, blasphemy against Christ, like against the Father, stems from a lack
of understanding of the Gospel.
However, when someone realizes that Jesus is the Lamb of
God who takes away the sin of the world, they gravitate toward Him and receive
forgiveness for all their blasphemies-except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
Biblical Evidence of God's Mercy
Out of ignorance, human beings do and say many hurtful
things against God and His Son, as witnessed in Psalm 2 (KJV):
"Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a
vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel
together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break
their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the
heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision."
However, Jesus' declaration in Mark 3:28 remains true: "Verily
I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and
blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme." This applies to
whosoever seeks forgiveness through God's ordained way, belief in His Holy
Child, Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
The Unforgivable Sin: Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit
The Scriptural Foundation
As recorded in the Gospel of Thomas Saying 44:
"Jesus said, 'Whoever utters blasphemy against the
father will be forgiven. And whoever utters blasphemy against the son will be
forgiven. But whoever utters blasphemy against the holy spirit will not be
forgiven - neither on earth nor in heaven.'"
This aligns with the canonical Scriptures:
Luke 12:10: "And whosoever shall speak a
word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that
blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven."
Matthew 12:31: "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."
It is unequivocally clear that blasphemy against the Holy
Spirit will never be forgiven.
The True Nature of This Sin
Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not easy to
commit. Most acts of blasphemy committed by people are directed against God
or Jesus. Unbelievers may insult, curse, or deny the Holy Spirit, yet they can
be forgiven when they sincerely pray in Jesus’ Name and ask for forgiveness.
Even believers may insult Him and willfully fall back into sin. The Holy
Spirit, who dwells within them, will be grieved and may depart. However, when
they genuinely repent, He will return and dwell with them once again.
Some clear characteristics of Blasphemy against the
Holy Spirit.
Biblical and theological explanations describe it as:
·
Hardening one’s heart continuously
against the Spirit’s conviction
·
Attributing divine works to evil
(Mark/Matthew contexts)
·
Final impenitence—dying without ever
repenting
· A backsliding into a state of ongoing unbelief rather than a single sinful act
The unforgivable blasphemy is specific: It occurs
when one possesses complete knowledge of the mystery of the Messiah, that He is
the only way to reconciliation with the Father, then changes and denies that
truth, forever deciding not to follow or recognize this eternal truth.
This can only be committed by:
1. A
person who has heard the truth of the Doctrine of Christ (whether they believed
it or not)
2. A
person who had interacted with the Gospel through belief and salvation in
Christ then backslid into a state of unbelief.
The HELPS Word-Studies Definition
The HELPS Word-Studies provides the interpretation that
specifically fits the definition of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit:
"Blasphemy (988 /blasphÄ“mÃa) 'switches' right for
wrong (wrong for right), i.e. calls what God disapproves, 'right' which
'exchanges the truth of God for a lie' (Romans 1:25)."
This involves a deliberate denial and inversion of truth, calling
good works of God evil and evil (Lawlessness) good with full knowledge of the distinction.
Biblical Examples: What Is NOT Blasphemy Against the
Holy Spirit
Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not the usual
sinning.
Let’s clear the air:
·
It’s not cursing in anger.
·
It’s not backsliding into sin.
·
It’s not questioning the faith.
·
It’s not struggling with belief.
·
It’s not a sin of weakness or confusion, but one
of rebellion.
Even believers who fall—those who grieve or resist the
Spirit—can be restored through repentance. John 1:9 assures:
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
The Galatians
Notice that the Galatians who had started through faith in
the Spirit then began to labour for their justification through works of the
flesh (Galatians 3) were not condemned as blasphemous. Paul urged them to
believe and be justified by faith.
Demas
Neither was Demas (2 Timothy 4:10), who loved the world
and forsook Paul, condemned as blasphemous against the Holy Spirit because the
salvation of God remains in motion for whosoever, no matter how sinful, decides
to take up Jesus Christ as their ransom for the forgiveness of sin.
Ananias and Sapphira
In Acts 5, the case of Ananias and Sapphira was about lying
to/tempting the Holy Spirit. This served a specific purpose—to let the
believers, who were interacting with the Holy Spirit for the first time, know
that the Holy Spirit, like God, is all-knowing and cannot be lied to. This
instilled holy fear into the young church.
True Biblical Examples of Blasphemy Against the Holy
Spirit
The Fallen Angels
A perfect example of beings who blasphemed the Holy Spirit
is found in Romans 1:18-32, referring to the fallen angels of Genesis 6:
"Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and
worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed
forever. Amen... And even as they did not like to retain God in their
knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are
not convenient." (Romans 1:25, 28)
These beings knew the eternal truth. That the God and
Savior of all creation is one, and only He is to be worshiped, but they chose
to follow and obey the impostor god, Satan. They turned the truth of God into a
lie and delighted to do all manner of evil in rebellion against God and His
law. With this choice came eternal damnation. They became forever unforgivable
and forever irredeemable.
Persistent Rejection Until Death
The second example is the general scriptural principle
that whosoever believes shall be saved and whosoever believes not shall be
condemned. This means whoever hears the Good News of salvation and forgiveness
of sin in Christ Jesus, then fails to believe and continues through life in
their own beliefs, outside of faith in Jesus Christ, shall
be deemed to have blasphemed the Holy Spirit of God if they die in that state
of unbelief.
This, unfortunately, will render them forever unforgivable
and forever irredeemable.
However, whosoever hears the word, fails to
believe, continues in their ways, but at some point in their life receives
conviction to believe, then repents and turns away from their wicked ways,
confessing Jesus as their Savior, they shall be saved—regardless of how wicked
and vile they were before the conviction.
The Window of Opportunity
The window for repentance and belief in Christ is now
(while you are still alive). When you die, you will face judgment based on
whether you believed the report of the Lord or not. Hebrews 9:27 – “It
is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” While alive, do
not waste your golden opportunity to be reconciled to God forever. Repent
now.
Learn the meaning of "SELAH" as used in the Psalms HERE
The Biblical Conclusion
An eternal denial that Jesus is the ransom for the
forgiveness of sin and a refusal to seek forgiveness through Him is blasphemy
against the Holy Spirit because He (the Holy Spirit) convicts us of sin and
righteousness, then points us to Jesus for our forgiveness and justification.
The rejection or denial only takes place in contexts
where:
1. The
person is fully aware of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the only Savior and
refuses to believe this until their death, OR
2. “The
former believer” The person heard the Gospel, believed and received salvation, and
then wholeheartedly decided to leave that estate forever in rejection of the
truth.
Like the watchers mentioned in Jude 6: "And the
angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he
hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the
great day."
Scripture warns, in Hebrews 6:4-6 KJV
4 For it is impossible
for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift,
and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5 And have
tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6 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.
This category of people will never be forgiven. After all,
there is no other sacrifice, person, or god that can save, except Jesus Christ
of Nazareth.
SILENCE THE ACCUSOR: Your Freedom Declaration
Therefore, whenever you feel like you have blasphemed
the Holy Spirit, do not be afraid. After all, it is the Holy Spirit who has
convicted you of sin. Repent wholeheartedly in Jesus' Name, turn away from your
wicked ways, and ask the Holy Spirit to come back and abide with you, to help
you live a life that is blameless before God.
If you endure in this belief to the end, you shall be
saved.
The very fact that you are concerned about this sin is
evidence that you have not committed it. Those who have truly blasphemed the
Holy Spirit have no concern for their spiritual state. They have exchanged
truth for lies and good for evil with complete knowledge and deliberate intent.
Comprehensive FAQ: Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit
Q1: Can a true believer commit blasphemy against the
Holy Spirit?
Answer: No. The sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit
is essentially the sin of rejecting Christ. A true believer, by definition, has
accepted Christ. While believers can backslide or sin grievously, the Holy
Spirit will convict them and draw them back to repentance. The unforgivable sin
involves a permanent, willful rejection of the Gospel with full knowledge of
its truth.
Q2: What if I've cursed God or said terrible things
about Jesus—is that the unforgivable sin?
Answer: No. Cursing God or speaking against Jesus,
while serious sins, are not the unforgivable sin. Scripture clearly states that
blasphemy against the Father and Son can be forgiven. Jesus said, "Truly I
tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they
utter" (Mark 3:28), but then He gives one exception: "Whoever
blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of
an eternal sin" (verse 29). If you're concerned about these words, repent
sincerely and receive God's forgiveness.
Q3: How can I know if I've committed the unforgivable
sin?
Answer: If you're worried about it, you haven't
committed it. Often referred to as the unforgivable sin, is not a single act or
statement (yes, even such sins as cursing God) but a state of persistent,
willful unbelief and rejection of God's grace. It's a conscious, continual
hardening of one's heart against God and His workings. Those who have truly
committed this sin have no spiritual concern whatsoever. They've completely
hardened their hearts against God.
Q4: Can mental illness or intrusive thoughts lead to
blasphemy against the Holy Spirit?
Answer: No. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit
requires deliberate, willful rejection of known truth. Mental illness,
intrusive thoughts, or unwanted blasphemous ideas that you don't embrace are
not sins, let alone the unforgivable sin. The Holy Spirit understands your
struggles and doesn't condemn you for thoughts you don't choose or control.
Q5: What about doubts? Can doubting God be the
unforgivable sin?
Answer: No. Doubt is not the unforgivable sin. Many
biblical figures experienced doubt: Thomas, John the Baptist, and even Jesus'
disciples. Doubt often leads to deeper faith when we seek answers. The
unforgivable sin involves absolute, final rejection of Christ with full
knowledge, not honest questioning or struggling with faith.
Q6: Can someone who once believed but later rejects
faith commit this sin?
Answer: This is more complex. If someone truly
believed and received salvation, they remain sealed by the Holy Spirit.
However, if someone merely had intellectual knowledge or temporary emotional
response without genuine conversion, then permanently rejected the Gospel with
full understanding, this could constitute the unforgivable sin. The key is
whether they were truly born again or merely had a superficial experience.
Q7: Is there a time limit for committing this sin?
Answer: The sin can only be committed while alive
on earth. After death, there's no opportunity for repentance, but also no
opportunity to commit this sin. Also, when a person blasphemes the Holy
Spirit, they disconnect their source of conviction and are handed over to a
reprobate spirit. When this happens, there is nothing or no one who will move
that person to repentance, and without repentance, there can be no forgiveness.
Q8: What role does the Holy Spirit play in salvation?
Answer: The Holy Spirit convicts of sin, reveals
truth about Jesus, and draws people to salvation. He points to Christ as the
only way of salvation. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit involves rejecting His
testimony about Jesus with full knowledge of the truth.
Q9: Can I pray for someone I think has committed this
sin?
Answer: You can always pray, but recognize that if
someone has truly committed this sin, they are beyond repentance. However,
unless you have clear biblical evidence (complete rejection of Christ with full
knowledge, no spiritual concern whatsoever), it's better to assume they haven't
committed it and continue praying for their salvation.
Q10: What should I do if I'm worried I've committed
this sin?
Answer: The fact that you're worried is strong
evidence you haven't committed it. Do the following:
1. Repent
of any specific sins you're aware of
2. Recommit
your life to Jesus Christ
3. Ask
the Holy Spirit to fill you and guide you
4. Study
Scripture to understand God's grace
5. Seek
counsel from mature believers or pastors
6. Remember
that God's mercy is greater than your worst sin
Q11: Can the unforgivable sin be committed
accidentally?
Answer: Absolutely not. The unforgivable sin
requires deliberate, willful, persistent rejection of Christ with full
knowledge of the Gospel truth. It cannot be committed accidentally, in
ignorance, or in a moment of weakness. It represents a final, permanent hardening
of heart against God.
AMEN.
May this truth bring freedom to every captive soul and
silence the accusations of the enemy. In Christ, there is always hope for the
repentant heart.
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