quick blasphemy question

[strayed]

i should jump in at this point and clarify my motives, i suppose. when i turned away from god during my adolescence, i felt that i didnt need god. i had it stuck in my head that i was responsible for my own peace of mind. 25 years later, not only have i not found that peace, but have dug myself into quite a mental rut. i thought i could handle the whole existential outlook, and make myself happy. obviously, that didnt happen. im searching for peace. im searching for happiness. im searching for grace. im searching for love. yes, there is a fear of hell, and yes, i do question myself about if that is the driving force behind my search. i even mentioned that doubt in one of my introductory posts. im beginning, however, to think that those doubts are merely residue from all those years of self deprogramming. my head goes a mile a minute; i question my motives constantly.
that being said, thanks so much to all of you for sharing with me. i do feel better about the situation. =)

 

[azzy]

hiya everyone. i got kinda freaked out this afternoon before work. i was reading a post when i saw a quote: "all things can be forgiven, except blasphemy" im sure i paraphrased that, but either way, yikes! i completely forgot about blashpemy! during my time as an atheist i was quite the little blasphemer. am i just plain out of luck salvationwise because of this? i mean seriously; i was downright hostile towards god during those years, and i know ive said alot of nasty things. ive already asked sincerely for forgiveness, but im really worried that thats not going to make any difference. help, please?

No friend,God will not turn away from you.Jesus never turns any away who come to him.Those who are reprobate have no desire to serve God.Their hearts have been hardened,and because they would not retain God in thier knowledge,God gave them up to a reprobate mind(Romans 1:The whole chapter).

They cannot be saved.When they knew God,they gloriefied him not as God,so God gave them up,to defile themselves.They are doomed.

But if you desire to be holy,and desire to know God,and you are repentant,and are sorry for your offence,God is still with you.And he will always be with you.The cursing you did was probably as someone who didnt know God,but when God made himself known to you,you repented,and believed,so you did right.

Dont let the wicked one lie to you in this matter.You are saved,and God is faithfull to keep you,even if he has to chasten you.God knows what he is doing with your life,and knows how to keep you.

so,as far as the east is from the west,so far has he removed our transgressions from us,as a father pities his children,so the Lord pities them that fear him.

God is faithfull,you can trust him to keep you.

May the Lord bless you.

 

[Tawny]

I asked a fellow mod for help in wording a reply to this, and this is what he said....

The Bible says that blasphemy against the Son of Man will be forgiven; it is only blasphemy against the Holy Spirit the will not be forgiven. I would tell him that the mere fact the he is worried about it is proof the he probably has not blasphemed the Holy Spirit. People that blaspheme the Holy Spirit have no shame and place themselves above God in judgement of Him. It is not a casual sin that can be done accidentally or without full knowledge of its evil.

Tell him to accept God's forgiveness and think about how best to serve Him, rather than concentrate on his past sins.

 

[strayed]

Thank you, Tawny, and everyone else for helping me to understand this better. I think what was getting me down was not so much Matthew 12:31 on its own, but in combination with verse 32, ("speaketh against the Holy Ghost"..). I know that I have been desensitized to alot of things over the years, but lately I've begun to realize that my heart hasn't hardened completely. When I stop and actually am honest with myself, I realize that my jaded and cynical outlook on everything is nothing more than my feeble attempt to defend myself from being hurt. This has been a very interesting and enlightening month for me... Thanks again, everybody! =)

 

[Mea Culpa]

hiya everyone. i got kinda freaked out this afternoon before work. i was reading a post when i saw a quote: "all things can be forgiven, except blasphemy" im sure i paraphrased that, but either way, yikes! i completely forgot about blashpemy! during my time as an atheist i was quite the little blasphemer. am i just plain out of luck salvationwise because of this? i mean seriously; i was downright hostile towards god during those years, and i know ive said alot of nasty things. ive already asked sincerely for forgiveness, but im really worried that thats not going to make any difference. help, please?

NO! You are by NO means out of luck for salvation.

For the first part, there are so many people who don't know Christ use His name when the swear, etc. Same with God and the Holy Spirit. To swear to God is the same as swearing to the Spirit.

When Jesus died on the cross He died for all. No one is excluded. He knows the heart, and there is no way anyone who acknowledges his sins will not be forgiven. Otherwise why did Jesus go to the cross? God gave the whole world His Son. Forgiveness is for everyone. Don't worry, we are all in the same boat.

Romans - No one is righteous, no not one.

If we sin, we have already broken every law, and if we sin once we are guilty of it all, including sins against God and His Holy Spirit.

Hope that helps.

 

[DawnTillery]

Isn't there a difference if the person is saved or unsaved prior to committing this sin?
If they don't know any better because they were never taught that how can they be held responsible?

I guess that may go along with our daily learning, we DO NOT know everything from day 1, we come as we are and through God we give up all our bad habits.

I dont see how anyone can be held responsible for something they dont understand.

Any thoughts on this? Thanks

 

[ChristianWife]

I just had a discussion about this today and read Matthew 12 and Mark 3. It talks about blaspheming the holy spirit.

When Jesus was casting out the demons, the Pharisees said that Jesus didn't do it by the power or the Holy Spirit, but by the power of Satan. After reading those chapters I understood it a lot better. By the way, so happy you are my brother in Christ now!

 

[PaleHorse]

Isn't there a difference if the person is saved or unsaved prior to committing this sin?
If they don't know any better because they were never taught that how can they be held responsible?

I guess that may go along with our daily learning, we DO NOT know everything from day 1, we come as we are and through God we give up all our bad habits.

I dont see how anyone can be held responsible for something they dont understand.

Any thoughts on this? Thanks

Well, you certainly have a point - a righteous & fair God would not hold one responsible for something they honestly didn't know. The scriptures tell us that God "winks" at our times of ignorance (Acts 17:30) but once we know the truth we are obligated to follow it.
The example in the OT when the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant is a good one to illustrate this. God had given the Israelites explict directions on how the Ark was to be transported and warn that death would ensue if the directions weren't carried out exactly as given. The Philistines of course were ignorant of God's direction as such they transported the Ark on a cart and not the poles (for no one was allowed to touch it). As the story goes, the Philistines end up giving the Ark back to the Israelites. But forgetting God's command on how to transport the Ark, the Israelites decided to do as the Philistines had done and put the Ark on a cart. When enroute back to the city the cart got jarred and the Ark wa about to fall when one of the Israelite men, not wanting the Ark to fall from the cart, caught it with his bare hands. God struck that man dead where he stood. God winked at the Philistines because they honestly didn't know His command even though they were handling the Ark in a contrary manner. The Israelites on the other hand, knew exactly what God's command was but just decided not to heed it - afterall, if the Philistines can get away with it then certainly the children of Israel, God's chosen, should be able to. NOT. There are lessons to be found in the story that go well beyond the topic at hand.

 

[Just Me Garry]

It has been already said: Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit can not be forgiven.

 

[hlaltimus]

In all fairness, it is possible to so persistently and willingly defy God Almighty so that He gives that soul up to it's resolute defiance and allows that poor wretch to fall irrecoverably away. This final apostasy may be a sin other than the sin against the Holy Spirit, but also includes that sin against the Holy Spirit, given it is truly committed. Why then, in particular, does this soul actually fall away? 1- On it's own part, because it deliberately chooses to do so. 2- On God's own part, because He permanently withdraws all saving graces and therefore also all abilities derived from those graces. There is the jewel of hope: As long as a soul retains a sincere desire to find and know God, he or she need not worry about having committed that sin. The very fact that there is an honest desire to know God evidences the operation of the Holy Spirit of God, the source of all good fruit. If God had walked off the scene forever, there would be no genuine seeking of God for this reason. If you want Him....He is still there!

 

[WAB]

Spiritual growth often comes slowly. Most always it is slowed (sometimes halted) by either forgetting (or not knowing about) 1st John 1:9... "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Note the first word is "if"... maybe we will, and maybe we won't. But if we do, "...He is faithful..." which means He will always do it; "...and just..." which means He does not violate His righteous nature or any law of the Spirit by doing so; and it is not just the sin confessed that is cleansed, but "...all unrighteousness." That we are conscious of, and that which we might be unaware of.

Note that the Apostle John wrote this, and included himself as one who needed to confess any known sin.

Paying attention to this instruction from God's Word is probably the most important step in the life of the new Believer, and will guarantee spiritual growth.
WAB

 

[guysmy]

I just had a discussion about this today and read Matthew 12 and Mark 3. It talks about blaspheming the holy spirit.

When Jesus was casting out the demons, the Pharisees said that Jesus didn't do it by the power or the Holy Spirit, but by the power of Satan. After reading those chapters I understood it a lot better. By the way, so happy you are my brother in Christ now!

This is an excellent example. The Pharisees definately spoke against divine will here.

 

[TruthSetsYouFree]

A person who is truly guilty of the unpardonable sin would NEVER in a million years repent and turn to Jesus. The Bible is clear that if a person can repent of their sins, they can be forgiven of ALL unrighteousness:

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The Bible is also clear that if we can believe upon Jesus, we are capable of obtaining eternal life:

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

NOBODY who comes to Jesus will be rejected:

John 6:37 ...him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

I hope this helps!

Bobby

 

[copticorthodoxy]

Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit means refusing the holy spirit work in your life

 

[Im-revived]

Many Christians would have different answers to this, and quote different parts of the bible. As an Athiest lets admit it you probably said alsorts of blasheming, now you are a Christian all you need to do is ask for forgiveness for those times and if you really mean it your forgiven by the Lord. As a Christian though the section or Chapter I always relate to is the 10 commandments, one being, do not take the Lords name in faith.


Im-revived

hiya everyone. i got kinda freaked out this afternoon before work. i was reading a post when i saw a quote: "all things can be forgiven, except blasphemy" im sure i paraphrased that, but either way, yikes! i completely forgot about blashpemy! during my time as an atheist i was quite the little blasphemer. am i just plain out of luck salvationwise because of this? i mean seriously; i was downright hostile towards god during those years, and i know ive said alot of nasty things. ive already asked sincerely for forgiveness, but im really worried that thats not going to make any difference. help, please?

 

[BelieverOfOne]

It funny that I found this,not to long ago my sister was saying how she wanted to start her life alittle new this year (shes working on it) but she use to curse at god (ugly to) but its safe too say she doesn't aim for him any more but anyway Blasphemy is a big sin indeed the bible says it many times but I think this scripture will help...
"I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection! But I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me and wants me to be..."Philippians 3:12
That is what paul wrote and if you read the rest it will really help with your problem,I'll admit I'm a bit of a blasphemer to,I know I'm a teen and its usual for me but no thats no excuse I have to over come this I want to be the christian I've alway wanted to be so I manage to cut down alot to only minor words but I replaced the big ones with silly words that make my friends laugh,I'm not saying you should do that but there an alternative especailly with God

hiya everyone. i got kinda freaked out this afternoon before work. i was reading a post when i saw a quote: "all things can be forgiven, except blasphemy" im sure i paraphrased that, but either way, yikes! i completely forgot about blashpemy! during my time as an atheist i was quite the little blasphemer. am i just plain out of luck salvationwise because of this? i mean seriously; i was downright hostile towards god during those years, and i know ive said alot of nasty things. ive already asked sincerely for forgiveness, but im really worried that thats not going to make any difference. help, please?

 

[Mea Culpa]

hiya everyone. i got kinda freaked out this afternoon before work. i was reading a post when i saw a quote: "all things can be forgiven, except blasphemy" im sure i paraphrased that, but either way, yikes! i completely forgot about blashpemy! during my time as an atheist i was quite the little blasphemer. am i just plain out of luck salvationwise because of this? i mean seriously; i was downright hostile towards god during those years, and i know ive said alot of nasty things. ive already asked sincerely for forgiveness, but im really worried that thats not going to make any difference. help, please?

We are all sinners, there is no sin that out weighs another.

I believe, and I am only speaking for me now, that the sin of blasphemy to the Holy Spirit that Jesus spoke of was applicable only to the apostles at that point in time. It was a time before the Holy Spirit was given, and it was a point before Jesus died on Calvary.

It might have even refered to Judas, but to be honest I have to study that more.

The death on the cross covered ALL sin. Nobody is outside the reach of the love of God. So that being the case then the sin that Christ spoke of against the Holy Spirit is one that was for a time.

Just a thought.

 

[bethdinsmore]

Here's a good thorough answer:
http://www.intouch.org/myintouch/exploring/bible_says/single_questions/unpardonable_129541.html

Referring to the article in the website, therefore, any person is saved who makes the decision to trust in Christ alone to pay for all their sins on the cross, and relies on Him (and not on themselves or their good works or promises) to get them to Heaven one day. (See verses in my signature area).

You are free to make that decision, no matter what you have said or done in the past. Furthermore, your salvation cannot be lost. Here are God's promises about that:

Rom 6:23
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(NIV)
Rom 11:29
29 for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable.
(NIV)
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.
(NIV) (We can't even take ourselves out of His hand.)

If you see verses that seem to contradict these verses, just see which can be possibly taken more than one way, for God never contradicts Himself.

Please let me know if I can help. I'll pray for you, friend.
Aloha in Jesus