Blasphemy

Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. 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 (Matthew 12:31-32).

Jesus said every sin can be forgiven except the specific sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Luke is more specific, And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven (Luke 12:10).

The two phrases who speaks a word against and who blasphemes mean the same thing. Blasphemy is speaking against God. It is profaning the holy character of God by insulting, mocking, or dishonoring Him.

Jesus said, Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him doesn’t seem right. He was abused, mistreated, and crucified. But as He hung on the cross He looked at those who had delivered Him to the Romans and mocked Him as He was dying, and said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do (Luke 23:34). Even though they opposed Jesus to the point of executing Him, there was still hope of forgiveness for them. Peter told the Jews that they had denied Jesus and delivered Him to the Romans, but he added, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers (Acts 3:17), He then called them to repent. So, on at least two occasions it is clear that forgiveness was possible for those who blasphemed Christ. 

But what about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? To understand this we need to see it in the context of the Pharisees accusing Jesus of being in league with Satan by healing the demoniac rather than by the power of the Holy Spirit. They were not, however, slandering the Spirit. They were slandering Jesus. But He said to them: “You can blaspheme Me and be forgiven, but when you question the work of the Spirit, you are coming perilously close to the abyss of hell. One more step and there will be no hope for you.” 

Humanly speaking, every Christian is capable of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. But I don’t believe the Lord who has saved and sealed us in the Holy Spirit will ever permit us to commit that sin. For those who are not sure they are saved and are concerned they may have committed this sin, I believe worrying about it is one of the clearest evidences that they have not committed this sin. Those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit are so hardened in their heart they don’t care that they commit this sin. 

“Father, I thank You that the unpardonable sin is not a sin You allow Your people to commit. I thank You that Your Holy Spirit has placed within me the desire to praise Your name, to honor You, and to show You the respect You truly deserve. Guard my lips that I will never dishonor You, Jesus Christ, or Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name I ask, Amen.”

Pastor