I know I said I had said all I was going to say on this, but I have been moved to respond to this.
Can I jump in with a question?
Always, it is the only way to grow.
MatthewR said:
Supposed you have been saved.
Now consider:
Matthew 12:31 (NIV)
"And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven."
And Mark 3:29 (NIV)
"But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin."
So, keeping OSAS in mind, can a saved person who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit lose salvation?
I'm not sure myself. The verses speak of not being forgiven. Is losing salvation the same as not being forgiven?
Sorry if I'm missing the obvious (I'm a very new to Christianity), but I do struggle with things like OSAS.
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This is not possible,for the one doing the unpardonable sin is displaying their unbelief in the first place.
It is a permanent disposition against the working of the truth of God.
The scribes and Pharisees did what they did with knowledge.
Would any saved person say that Jesus did his miracles by the power of belzebub?
Don't think so.
So nether can a saved person commit this unpardonable sin of blashemy against the Holy Ghost..
I'm not sure that the first is a true statement PeterAV, it is very conceivable that some one as Cris413's friend was a true believer that was not equipped as Paul told the Ephesians to be in
Eph 6:12-20.
When the tribulations came, as they always will, Satan's words can weasel their way into the mind and lead us to reject what we know to be true. We also know that if we accept again that truth we are no longer guilty of the sin of rejection. My hope is that anyone that comes under that kind of spiritual attack while they are faced with some tragedy can be reached and my prayers go out for them.
The scribes and Pharisees had not committed blasphemy against the Holy Ghost by saying what they did against Jesus. If it were the case then Peter would have bought it three times before the [bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse] crowed. Matthew 12:32 gives him and them a reprieve:
Mat 12:32And 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 is the Holy Ghost?
Jhn 15:26¶But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, [even] the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
27And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.
Jhn 16:7Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
8And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
9Of sin, because they believe not on me;
10Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
11Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
It appears that the only sin that is unpardonable is to reject the gift given to us all from the Father, through his Son. No true believer can lose his salvation, To be forgiven we need only ask under the conditions laid out in the gospels ie: In the faith that Jesus is our Lord and Savior, confessing our sins.
Us rejecting it is the only way to miss out.
Pastor Chuck Smith has a lengthy commentary on this available on Blue Letter Bible
here.
MatthewR, Brother in Christ Jesus. This is kind of a long winded way to say that losing salvation and not being forgiven are two very different things. As you can tell by the length of the answer and the the length of this thread, it is not a very obvious thing, it is something believers struggle with. Welcome brother, drink deep of the word. Study. Be always joyous in Jesus.
God Bless
BustedFlat