Blaspheming in the Holy Spirit.

love1sagain said:

Hi there,

What exactly is blaspheming in the Holy Spirit? I've never heard somebody say "Oh my Spirit!", so I'm assuming it's quite different to regular blasphemy...

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I always thought that blasphemy of the Holy Spirit was when we deny Christ. I don't have time to look up the Bible verse, but the Holy Spirit is a witness for Christ.


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Jesus stated that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the only sin that will never be forgiven which sure will be a surprise to the "once saved always saved" sub-cult.

Jesus defined this sin as attributing to Satan the work of the Holy Spirit such as divine healing or speaking in tongues.

Here are the Bible verses that describe how this sin was committed with Jesus:


MATTHEW 12:22-32

22 Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. 23 And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”
24 Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub,the ruler of the demons.”
25 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. 28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. 30 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.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. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.

Agree-its denying Christ.

This is one sin that won't be forgiven if one does this throughout their whole life and never repents.

There is only one example of it in the Bible.

It is when the Pharisees saw a miracle of God performed by Jesus, and since they could not deny it and they hated Jesus, claimed that it was of the devil instead. These people knew better, but their anger and arrogance and hatred for Christ moved them to blaspheme rather than give honor to God. That's blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. I don't believe Christians can commit this sin. We don't have the evil motives, we don't get to see Jesus performing miracles. Besides, the Holy Spirit's job is to convict people of sin - if one were to commit this sin, I don't see a Biblical reason why the perpetrator would even care.

The unforgiveable sin is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 12:31-32 (NKJV)

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.
32 "Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or the age to come.

From the commentary in The Orthodox Study Bible (p.35):
"12:32 Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is blasphemy against the divine activity of the Spirit--the accusation that Jesus healed the demoniac by demonic power (v.24) rather than by the power of the Holy Spirit (v. 28; see Mark 3:29, 30). Every sin against the Son of Man can be forgiven, because the Jews do not yet know much about Him. But blasphemy against the Spirit, whose divine activity they know from the OT, will not be forgiven. This blasphemy is willful hardness of heart. It attributes the saving action of the Spirit to Satan and refuses to accept God's forgiveness and mercy."

So, in a nutshell, if a person can be worried enough to fret about it, then they haven't committed the unforgivable sin. In other words, there is hope for such a person. Those blasphemy challenge individuals you see all over the internet are missing the point.

I'm confused, honestly.

So if someone who was raised Christian, and really believed it, became an atheist, that would be unforgivable. But then the same person went back to Christianity- would they be forgiven for being an atheist for whatever amount of time?

poeticlurker said:

I'm confused, honestly.

So if someone who was raised Christian, and really believed it, became an atheist, that would be unforgivable. But then the same person went back to Christianity- would they be forgiven for being an atheist for whatever amount of time?

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I think you are confusing this verse. Blasphemy of the Spirit was when they saw the miracles of Jesus, but attributed it to the devil instead. Modern Christians can not do this.

As far as a Christian turning to atheism, the first thing you'd have to question is if their faith was actually true. James tells us how we can know if a persons faith is real.

If they really did believe and then turned to atheism, I honestly think they are still saved.

John 10:28-29

28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.

29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.

"No one" includes myself.

love1sagain said:

Hi there,

What exactly is blaspheming in the Holy Spirit? I've never heard somebody say "Oh my Spirit!", so I'm assuming it's quite different to regular blasphemy...

Click to expand...

Matthew 12
31And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

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I understand it is the act of misrepresenting God, so you are blatantly lying when you say "this is the truth according to God" or even quote a verse in a context that your conscience tells you is wrong, yet you proceed to lie anyway. In this way by lying and expecting people to trust you, you are downright misrepresenting what the holy spirit says, and you can dig yourself into a hole like that if you allow your heart to become hardened.

Evaler said:

I think you are confusing this verse. Blasphemy of the Spirit was when they saw the miracles of Jesus, but attributed it to the devil instead. Modern Christians can not do this.

As far as a Christian turning to atheism, the first thing you'd have to question is if their faith was actually true. James tells us how we can know if a persons faith is real.

If they really did believe and then turned to atheism, I honestly think they are still saved.

John 10:28-29

28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.

29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.

"No one" includes myself.

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Oh, okay. This makes a lot more sense. Thanks!

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is just this, denying Jesus into death. Non-believers have their entire life to make the choice, and when they consistently turn away from God eventually they will run out of chances (death). The only sin that can never be forgiven is unbelief at the last chance.

I have never seen somebody look at the argument like this: Could it be that someone who once believed, but chooses to turn away from God never truly believed in the first place? Jesus taught in parables about the different foundations of God's word, and how the seeds which landed on a stone foundation sprouted quickly, but then quickly died.

Mathew 13: 5Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: 6And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

23But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

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I have always understood the person illustrated in this example to be somebody who likes the idea of eternal life, but doesn't understand or fully accept what it means to believe. They have no roots, no sincerity in their belief, all it takes is the temptations of the world for them to completely forget about Jesus. The keyword I think is found in verse 23 and it is "understand" when the seed lands in good ground the word is desired, believed, and understood.

During Jesus' time on earth he taught to a group expecting a messiah, he fulfilled prophecy. Some people will say a lot of these teachings are not for us, but I understand them to relate perfectly well to us in this day. The old Testament helps to unlock the mystery that Jesus was, it has many uses, but it also lets us go back and see what the Jews expected in their messiah. If we study the Old Testament with Jesus in mind, we will see why certain things were taught, and why other things were emphasized by Paul after Jesus returned to Heaven. Many will try to tell you the Bible is full of contradictions, but in reality it has been relabeled externally by our misunderstandings, over and over ideas are twisted by men. People often don't put faith in God to show them the truth which, does exist. Pray for the truth and He WILL lead you down the path of truth.

In this thread alone you have been faced with at least 5 different doctrines concerning your question. This must lead you to the conclusion that man is not the best place to seek your answers. God has given you His word and He will help you to understand it. Keep on reading and praying, and you will know his eternal grace.

love1sagain said:

Hi there,

What exactly is blaspheming in the Holy Spirit? I've never heard somebody say "Oh my Spirit!", so I'm assuming it's quite different to regular blasphemy...

Click to expand...

Blaspheming the HolySpirit is 1. Knowing something is of the Holy Spirit and yet calling it evil. (to me, this is a person who has no intention of ever accepting Christ though is aware He is real) and 2. Never accepting the free gift of the Salvation of Jesus Christ until death.

Death is not the only cut off between mans eternal destiny and God. The Holy Ghost isnt going to waste his time on a hardened sinner whom he is well aware will never repent of his sins and trust Christ. There can come a day while still alive on this earth that the Spirit can give a man up to hardness of heart, the book of Hebrews has plenty to say about this. Im not getting on to anyone around here so please dont take it that way, im only saying this because I would never want anyone to get the idea that he or she can sow their wild oats and then think that they can call on the Lord for salvation in the last moments of their life, it doesnt work that way, salvation is on Gods terms, not mans.

"Today if you will hear his voice harden not your heart"

RobertZ said:

Death is not the only cut off between mans eternal destiny and God. The Holy Ghost isnt going to waste his time on a hardened sinner whom he is well aware will never repent of his sins and trust Christ. There can come a day while still alive on this earth that the Spirit can give a man up to hardness of heart, the book of Hebrews has plenty to say about this. Im not getting on to anyone around here so please dont take it that way, im only saying this because I would never want anyone to get the idea that he or she can sow their wild oats and then think that they can call on the Lord for salvation in the last moments of their life, it doesnt work that way, salvation is on Gods terms, not mans.

"Today if you will hear his voice harden not your heart"

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Lately, as I immerse myself more in ministry, I must say I see your point. I hope that no one is ever 'given up on' and that we all have still got a chance at that last moment. But it does seem that some people won't believe even when they get the answers they seek. Just an observation.

RobertZ said:

Death is not the only cut off between mans eternal destiny and God. The Holy Ghost isnt going to waste his time on a hardened sinner whom he is well aware will never repent of his sins and trust Christ. There can come a day while still alive on this earth that the Spirit can give a man up to hardness of heart, the book of Hebrews has plenty to say about this. Im not getting on to anyone around here so please dont take it that way, im only saying this because I would never want anyone to get the idea that he or she can sow their wild oats and then think that they can call on the Lord for salvation in the last moments of their life, it doesnt work that way, salvation is on Gods terms, not mans.

"Today if you will hear his voice harden not your heart"

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Many, many times God uses the last moments, on the death bed, to reach out to people. It's a time when a lot of people look back on their lives and realize how blinded they had lived. God has no limits, and never once in the Bible does it talk about people unable to know his grace. God always gives the chance to take his hand, If your friend sins against you seven times in one day and repents seven times forgive him, just as our Father does.

What your saying is some people will never be saved, and that is true, but you're also saying that some people can never be saved which is not. Take a look at Paul he once tortured believers, but in a single moment, by God's grace, he turned and walked a life in Christ. The verse about blasphemy towards the Holy Spirit has been ripped so far out of context that religions have been formed and divided because of what we say about its meaning. God died once for ALL and whoever calls on his name will not perish, no matter what man tries to say about it. God is the ultimate being we have no power over him. As you said we are saved on God's terms not mans so we must turn away from mans teaching.

In this thread alone you have been faced with at least 5 different doctrines concerning your question.... God has given you His word and He will help you to understand it.

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There is another angle that is seldom taught, probably because people don't want to err in that direction. In the same conversation, Jesus was explaining about the nature and management of demonic spirits.

Demonic spirits typically have their own agendas, and do not make the effort to obey God. They will eagerly blaspheme without repentance.

Jesus says that every sin will be forgiven men.

30 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad. Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the spirit will not be forgiven men.


Click the links... it does not even say "he," but these/that... very fitting with the theory that this applies to harassing spirits.

Bouke285 said:

Many, many times God uses the last moments, on the death bed, to reach out to people.

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Im not saying its impossible for one to be saved on their deathbed, what I am saying however is not to count on living your life the way that you want to live "ignoring Gods convictions" and then expect for him to save you during your last moments here on earth when you cry out to him not out of a repentant heart but rather a cry because you realize your getting ready to suffer the consequences for all eternity from pushing salvation to the side. True deathbed conversions are a rare thing.

Most of those if not all who are saved on their deathbed's are people who have not ever really been exposed to the Gospel therefore while they may have lived lives of sin they can still be saved because they didnt harden their hearts to the Gospel since they were never exposed to it to begin with.

God will have mercy on such an individual in their last moments who has had little light before he will have mercy on someone who has ignored his every call and plea and then decides he wants to get saved at the last minute to avoid going to Hell. Its Godly sorrow that leads to true repentance and life, worldly sorrow only leads to death.

Bouke285 said:

never once in the Bible does it talk about people unable to know his grace.

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Oh yes it does, their are plenty of warnings against sinning against the grace of God in the Bible. The book of Hebrews mentions this several times and shows that its possible to fail the grace of God and not be able to repent.

Bouke285 said:

God always gives the chance to take his hand, If your friend sins against you seven times in one day and repents seven times forgive him, just as our Father does.

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That particular passage of scripture is most often taken out of context as its not dealing with the subject of salvation at all.

Bouke285 said:

Take a look at Paul he once tortured believers, but in a single moment, by God's grace, he turned and walked a life in Christ.

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Take a look right here at what Paul states in regards to his finding forgiveness and salvation.........

1 Timothy 1:13
"even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief;"


Now once the Holy Ghost showed Paul his sins Paul repented and was forgiven. Now had Paul decided to keep on sinning against God after being enlightened of his sin he could eventually find himself in a position of never being able to repent of his sin.

Hebrews 10:26-29

If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?

The Holy Ghost is the one who convicts us of sin and leads us to repentance, if a person in his stubbornness will not heed to the warnings and continues to sin directly against the Holy Ghost convictions the person can find themselves walking on a dangerous cliff's edge as the Holy Ghost will eventually give you over to your desires and sins.


Read the book of Romans, God gives over the reprobate to the desires of their flesh. Im not teaching what man says, only what God's word says. Yes God is merciful, very merciful but we cannot expect a person who constantly takes advantage of Gods grace to ever find mercy and pardon, the Bible warns us of this possibility and that warning should be taken seriously.

That's really interesting Heron, and I agree about taking other's advice for what it's worth. I don't think using forums is wrong, but only when somebody forgets that they have the best and only teacher, the spirit of Truth within them. I don't agree with a person who will completely fall on what any person says without their own personal study in the matters, even if it's an interpretation that I present; I always hope the person seeking advice will go back and search for themselves.

As always I appreciate your advice, and your posts force me to step back and check what I'm saying. Thanks Heron!

RobertZ:

Hebrews 6: 4For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
6If 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.

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This is one of the most controversial passages on this subject, and I assume the passage you are most strongly pointing to in your references to Hebrews.

Look at the words used, If THEY SHALL fall away, it is impossible to renew THEM again because THEY Would be crucifying to THEMSELVES Jesus Christ AGAIN, putting him to open shame.

No where in this passage does it say somebody has fallen away, or somebody will fall away. Paul is answering a hypothetical question probably asked by one of those listening to him. What would happen if somebody fell away? I somebody could fall away, then they could not return to grace because they would be sacrificing Christ again for themselves, but Jesus died once for all, for all sins, and for all people.

The second part of your post you quote another section of Hebrews

Hebrews 10:23-29
23Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised
24And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
25Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
26For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
27But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
28He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
29Of 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?

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It is a shameful thing for us to sin under God's grace. Jesus gave his life for us, and when we still sin (we all still do at times) Don't we deserve a punishment greater than those under the law of Moses, for stomping on the name of Christ in our sin? Shouldn't we suffer for eternity because we turn away and fall back onto our flesh? Yes, we should. But... God is Awesome! He has sanctified us through the blood of Jesus, awakening our spirits, killing our flesh. He sees us in the light of Christ, in the perfect form we will once become.

There are two problematic sides to this situation, those who take sin too lightly, much too lightly, and those who believe sin after salvation will cancel your salvation. Jesus is awesome, and he has freed us from sin. We no longer need to fall into the old ways, because he is in us, we are a part of his family. Jesus will answer for us to our Father, we are undeserving, but nothing we could ever do would make us deserve God's grace, that is why he sent the only one who could do anything about it.

I have a feeling this thread will be closed, or moved but As Paul said he prosecuted in ignorance, so did we before our salvation. Paul was given the chance to live a life completely devoted to God's ministry, even after what he did. God allowed him to live through his ignorance, so he could be used to fulfill the biggest surprise in history, the grafting in of the Gentiles. God will knock us down many pegs in our insolence, but he will not separate us from his eternal bond.

Titus 1:15Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.
16They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

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There are those who call themselves Christians, taking on the benefits of the name, but in persecution denying Christ. This passage verse 16 is the summary of my post, and I think the entire reason behind this argument. There are those who call themselves saved, but they never truly understood or believed in God's gift this is why so many have been blinded into believing a true Christian can lose his/her salvation, or that God shuts the doors on some people within their lifetime.

love1sagain said:

Hi there,

What exactly is blaspheming in the Holy Spirit? I've never heard somebody say "Oh my Spirit!", so I'm assuming it's quite different to regular blasphemy...

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Hi, love1.

Please forgive Dr. Frank. He is right about the passages of scripture, but he sometimes uses such questions to reach out and attack any who disagree with his theological position: i.e.

DrFrank said:

Jesus stated that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the only sin that will never be forgiven which sure will be a surprise to the "once saved always saved" sub-cult.

Jesus defined this sin as attributing to Satan the work of the Holy Spirit such as divine healing or speaking in tongues.

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A person realizing that much of what is called speaking in tongues is nothing more than feelings and the flesh is certainly not commiting blasphemy against the Holy Spirit; anymore than his denigrating of the grace of God and insisting that God will revoke the irrevokable gift of eternal life is blasphemy.

It is merely a difference of understanding of the scriptures, both points of view being from people whose hearts belong to the Lord, but with some, their minds not totally being renewed yet, they are driven by fleshly fear rather than primarily by faith and love and the totality of God's Word.


The scriptures he used are accurate, and reveal that attributing the works Jesus didn while here on earth to Satan instead of Him having done them by the Holy Spirit, that is blasphemy.

MATTHEW 12:22-32
24 Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub,the ruler of the demons.”

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Hope that helps,

Blessings,
H.

The blaphemy of the Holy Spirit is a sin condition of the heart which the mouth betrays.
The instruction concerns election.
The ministry of the Holy Spirit in the earth is to apply the salvation bought by Christ on the cross. Those not chosen by God to receive this redemption, by their presence in the world are a blasphemy to the Holy Ghost whose ministry is to apply salvation.