Alan Lewis
Elon, North Carolina
October 2010
And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone 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. (Mathew 12:31-32 NIV)
Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.” (Mark 3:28-29 NIV)
And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. (Luke 12:10 NIV)
Today, we want to look at one of the sayings of Jesus. This saying is mentioned in three Gospels. It is found in Matthew, Mark and Luke.
This saying is SHOCKING. God is a merciful God. He is compassionate and loving. Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. (Micah 7:18-19 NIV). God is a forgiving God but this sin he will not forgive.
This saying is DISTURBING. This is also one of the most solemn warnings that Jesus ever uttered. It is one of the most sobering statements in all the Bible. Many struggle with this verse. This verse scares people. It has caused psychological trauma to many people, especially those with an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
People have been tortured by these words. Many conclude that they are hopelessly doomed to hell and there is absolutely nothing they can do about it. Their fate is sealed. They have no hope. They cannot be saved.
This saying is CONTROVERSIAL. It is one of the most controversial things Jesus ever said. It is one of the hard sayings of Jesus. Since it is hard to understand, there are many different opinions on it.
This raises all kinds of questions and people answer them differently. What is this sin that Jesus talks about? How is it committed? What is so bad about it? Why is it unforgiveable? Can it be committed today? Can a Christian commit this sin? Have we ever committed this sin?
Today, we want to look this saying. We want to start by looking at the context. The biggest mistake that people make today is that they read this saying by itself outside of its contest. Context is key. What is the context of the passage?
Historical Context
Jesus made this statement after He performed an incredible miracle. Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see (Matthew 12:22 NIV).
It begins with a man who has a physical disability. He has a medical condition. He was the biblical Hellen Keller. Hellen Keller could talk but she could not see or hear. This man could hear but he could not see or talk. He also had a demon. Jesus healed him.
There were two completely different reactions to this healing. The people saw it and were amazed. They thought Jesus might be the Messiah. The Jews believed that this was something only the Messiah when he comes would be able to do. The Jewish leaders had a different reaction. They said that Jesus did this miracle only by the power of Satan. Both groups believed in three things. They agreed on three things.
First, they agreed that the man was sick and is now better. They did not say that the man was faking an illness.
Second, they agreed that the healing was completely supernatural. It is one thing to heal a man who was blind. That would be incredible enough but Jesus healed a man who was couldn’t see, couldn’t talk and was demon-possessed. He did it instantaneously, not over a period of time. He was not healed by natural medicine.
Third, they also agreed that Jesus was responsible for the healing. The man got better because of what Jesus did to him.
The disagreement was whether the healing came from God or from Satan. Jesus answered the Pharisees with logic. If He cast the demon out of the man in the power of Satan, then Satan would be fighting Satan. Satan would be doing God’s work by casting out demons. A house divided against itself cannot stand.
He also gave a serious warning. There is a lot of bad teaching on the topic of the unpardonable sin in the church today. There is a lot of misunderstanding about this topic. We want to look at seven myths about the unpardonable sin.
Seven Myths about the Unpardonable Sin
Myth One – This sin is unforgiveable because it is so bad
There is one sin that God will never forgive. That is where people get confused. It is a sin that God will never forgive, but NOT because it is too bad to forgive. It is not unforgiveable because it is too monstrous and barbaric for God to ever forgive it. Many horrible sins can be forgiven and have been forgiven.
Religious sins can be forgiven. Blasphemy can be forgiven. Idolatry can be forgiven. You can blaspheme God and be forgiven. In fact, the Apostle Paul said that he used to be a blasphemer (I Timothy 1:13). He persecuted the church and he was forgiven.
Sexual sins can be forgiven. Adultery can be forgiven (John 8) and so can homosexuality (I Corinthians 6:9-11). The unforgiveable sin is not adultery or homosexuality. It is not rape, incest or child abuse. The worst sexual sins and perversions CAN be forgiven.
Homicides can be forgiven. Murder is not the unpardonable sin, contrary to what the Mormon Church teaches.[1] Abortion is not the unpardonable sin. Abortion and murder can be forgiven. David committed murder and he was forgiven (Psalm 32:1-2). Even mass murder is not the unpardonable sin. Serial killers can get saved. In fact, some have, such as the Son of Sam (David Berkowitz).
Not only can murder be forgiven; the worst murder ever committed on the planet can be forgiven. Nailing the incarnate Son of God to the cross could be forgiven. The Apostle Peter preached to some people who were responsible for the death of their Messiah and he did not say that they could not be forgiven. Peter did not say that they had committed the unpardonable sin.
This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge and YOU, with the help of wicked men, PUT HIM TO DEATH by nailing him to the cross. (Acts 2:23 NIV)
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37 NIV)
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF YOUR SINS. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38 NIV)
This sin has nothing to do with sex or murder. It has nothing to do with divorce. Some Baptists think that divorce is the unpardonable sin, but it is not. This sin has nothing to do with suicide. Many think it is the unpardonable sin, but it is not.
The assumption that most people have about the unpardonable sin is it was too bad to be forgiven. Many think it must be the worst sin on the planet, but they forget that the ones accused of this sin were the Pharisees.
The Pharisees were outwardly moral people. They were people who had a good reputation in the community. They were religious people and yet they were the ones who were in danger of committing this sin and standing under divine judgment in danger of Hell fire.
Myth Two – You have to say something really bad about the Holy Spirit to commit this sin
The truth is that you can commit this sin and NOT even mention the name of the Holy Spirit. The Pharisees who committed this sin ironically did not even mention the Holy Spirit.
They did not go around cursing the Holy Spirit. They just slandered the WORK of the Holy Spirit. Apparently, it is possible to blaspheme the Holy Spirit without mentioning His name.
Myth Three – There is only one way to blaspheme the Holy Spirit
Many think that the only way to do it is to attribute the miracles of Jesus to Satan. This is a blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, not a blasphemy of Jesus. Some blaspheme the PERSON of the Holy Spirit. Some blaspheme the WORDS and WORKS of the Holy Spirit.
Some blaspheme the Bible today. The prophets who wrote Scripture were carried along by the Holy Spirit (II Peter 1:21). David wrote Scripture by the Holy Spirit (Mark 12:36). It is dangerous to slander the WORDS of the Spirit.
Many have blasphemed the Virgin Birth. The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. (Luke 1:35 NIV). Some profane people have read this in a sexual sense which slanders the incredible miracle of the Virgin Birth. It is also easy to refute biblically.[2]
Some have blasphemed supernatural miracles have been done in the power of the Holy Spirit. Some Christians are skeptical of modern-day miracles done today. It is one thing to deny that the supernatural gifts continue to the present day, as cessationists teach.
It is quite another thing to attribute every miracle in the charismatic movement to the Devil. To call every miracle and healing as demonically inspired is very dangerous, in light of this serious warning of Jesus.
Myth Four – You can commit this sin out of ignorance
Many are worried about something that they said out of ignorance in the past. The only example we have of this sin is of the Pharisees. They did not commit this sin out of ignorance.
They were not people who had an open mind and did not have enough evidence to make a decision. They witnessed Jesus heal the man. It happened right before their eyes.
The evidence was powerful. It was undeniable. The Pharisees had hard hearts. Their hearts were hard as a rock. They had all kinds of evidence in front of their eyes and they refused to accept it.
They were given a revelation about Jesus. They saw it. They understood it. They rejected it. They slandered it. Instead of saying it was from God, they said it was from Satan. They called it “evil” and “demonic.”
They did not just slander Jesus, they hated Him. They wanted to kill Him. They had a meeting on how they could kill Jesus. In the same chapter, we see the words, “But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might KILL Jesus” (Matthew 12:9 NIV)
What is shocking is that were Bible students. Apparently, you can study the Bible all day and still have a hard heart. You can be a pastor of a church and have a hard heart.
Some preachers are full of hatred. There is no sign in the Gospels that the Scribes and Pharisees who committed this sin wanted to repent or were trying to repent. They had no desire to come to Jesus.
The ones who said this ware not just anybody. These were the official Bible scholars of the day (the Scribes) who said this. These were the Jewish leaders.
This was the official rejection by the Jewish leaders of Jesus as the Messiah. They did not just reject Him and say that he was not the Messiah. They said that He was demon-possessed and performed His miracles by Satan himself
Myth Five – You can commit this sin by accident
A common concern among people is that they have committed the unpardonable sin by something that they have said in the past. This is not an unintentional or accidental slip of the tongue. It is intentional, deliberate and willful sin.
“Speaking against the Holy Spirit was not merely a sin of the tongue. It was a sin of the heart, expressed in words.”[3] Jesus said, “out of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34 KJV). “The mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (NIV). Words are often a reflection of our thoughts. What we are thinking comes out in words. If we are angry or depressed on the inside.
This sin is not just saying the words. If that was the case, then every preacher who read Matthew 12 as the Scripture reading would be guilty of the same sin. It is saying the words intentionally as a reflection of an inward heart attitude.
What the Pharisees said was in their heart and it came out. An accidental slip of the tongue does not come out of the heart. When you say something accidentally or misspeak, it is unintentional. It is saying something that you do not mean to say.
Myth Six – This sin is unforgivable, even if you confess and repent of it
If a person were to commit the unpardonable sin and ask for forgiveness, would that person be saved? The answer is Yes. The problem is that the person who commits this sin will never ask for forgiveness.
As John Walvoord put it, the thought is not “that one seeking pardon will not find it, but rather that one who rejects the Holy Spirit will not seek pardon. It is the ultimate in unbelief.”
We like to tell people that they always have hope as long as they are alive. The Bible teaches that some do not have hope. The truth is that it is possible to get to a place where you CANNOT believe and where you CANNOT repent.
Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. 38 This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: “Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”39 For this reason they COULD NOT BELIEVE, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere: 40 “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn—and I would heal them.” (John 12:37-40 NIV).
It is IMPOSSIBLE for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. (Hebrews 6:4-6 NIV)
The Bible teaches that you can get to a point where repentance and faith is literally impossible.
This sin is unforgiveable because a person who commits this sin is INCAPABLE of repenting. Any sin can be forgiven with genuine repentance, but this sin makes one incapable of asking for a pardon.
It is scary to think that you can actually get to a point where your heart is so hard that you are unable to even ask for a pardon. No matter how much evidence you place before someone, that person will never believe. As Ryrie says, this sin “can never be forgiven, not because God withdraws His grace but because people withdraw themselves from all contact with God.”[4]
The very fact that you want to repent proves that you have not committed it.
The Bible teaches if we con fess our sins, God will forgive us. “If we confess our sins, he is FAITHFUL and JUST and will forgive us our sins and purify us from ALL unrighteousness” (I John 1:9 NIV)
The Bible teaches that Jesus does NOT turn anyone away who comes to Him in faith. He said so. Jesus said, “All those the Father gives me will come to me, and WHOEVER comes to me I will NEVER drive away. (John 6:37 NIV).
Jesus does not drive some people away. This verse says that He does not drive anyone away. He does not turn anyone away. He receives them. He accepts them. He does not reject them. In fact, in Greek, it is a double negative (οὐ μή). That is used for emphasis. It means that He will never ever cast that person out.
Myth Seven – Sins against the Spirit are worse than sins against the Son
Why is blasphemy against God forgivable but not blasphemy against the Spirit? Why is blasphemy against the Son forgivable but not blasphemy against the Spirit?
People can blaspheme Jesus and call him a liar, a deceiver, a Sabbath breaker or a lunatic and still be forgiven. Why are crimes against the Spirit worse than crimes against the Son? Is the Spirit greater than the Son?
They are all equal members of the Trinity. The Spirit is not greater than either the Father or the Son.
You can blaspheme Jesus and be saved but when you blaspheme the Holy spirit, you can’t be saved, because the Holy Spirit is directly involved in the salvation process.
It is the job of the Holy Spirit to bear witness to Christ and to convict the world “of sin, of righteous and of judgment” (John 16:8 KJV). Blasphemy of the Spirit removes a person from the sphere in which forgiveness is even possible. The Holy Spirit is the one who makes faith and repentance possible.
The Holy Spirit’s job is to bring people to Christ. A person who blasphemes the Spirit is slandering and rejecting the only one who can lead them to a place of saving faith. As Grant Osborn puts it, The Holy Spirit is “the divine tool of salvation.”[5]
Myth Eight – No one can even commit this sin today
Some erroneously teach that the sin cannot be committed today. The argument is that since Christ is not on the earth, casting out demons, people cannot commit this sin today. It is a very popular view in some circles to say that Jesus has to be on earth to commit this sin.
This was the view of Charles Ryrie. He writes, “To commit this particular sin required the personal and visible presence of Christ on earth; to commit it today, therefore, would be impossible.”[6] “The special circumstances involved in this blasphemy cannot be duplicated today; therefore this sin cannot now be committed.”[7]
As much as I like Ryrie, are many flaws with this position. Jesus did NOT call this a DISPENSATIONAL sin. He called it an ETERNAL sin (Mark 3:29). Jesus NEVER said, “If you commit this sin before 33 AD, you won’t be forgiven.” He said, “If you commit this sin at all, you will not be forgiven.” Jesus does not give a time limit or expiration date for this sin.
You will not be forgiven if you commit this sin in the first century. You will not be forgiven if you commit this sin in the twentieth century. You will not be forgiven in this life or the next life.
Furthermore, this is NOT a sin against Jesus. This is a sin against the Holy Spirit, so does NOT require the physical presence of Jesus on the earth. The Holy Spirit is still present and work in in the world today. In fact, when Jesus left the earth, He said that the Holy Spirit would come to replace Him.
People can still do that today. The Holy Spirit is still at work in the world today and His person and His work can still be blasphemed today. Hebrews 10:29 says that people can still insult the Spirit of Grace.
Myth Nine – Christians can commit this sin today
This sin was committed by religious people. The Pharisees were very religious. They were scrupulous about keeping a bunch of religious rules. It was committed by people who studied the Bible. The Scribes were the Bible scholars of the day but none of them were saved. They were not disciples of Jesus. They were His enemies.
There is no evidence of a genuine Christian ever committing this sin. The only example of anyone committing this sin were the Pharisees and scribes, and they were clearly unbelievers. Jesus called them “a brood of vipers” (Matthew 12:34). He called them “evil” (Matthew 12:34). He called them “children of hell” (Matthew 23:15)
This sin was committed by people who were completely close-minded to the truth. They were not open to the facts. It was committed by people who were stubborn and hard-hearted. They saw Jesus heal a man who was deaf and dumb right before their eyes. They could not deny it. It was clearly supernatural.
Myth -I am okay if I have never committed the sin
4) The unpardonable sin is the same thing as final impenitence
[1] Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, said, “The blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven, which is shedding innocent blood after ye have received my new and everlasting covenant.” (Doctrines and Covenants 132:26–27).
[2] The Holy Spirit is not male. He does not have a physical body. He is an immaterial spirit. Jesus is never called “the son of the Holy Spirit.” The words for “overshadow” (ἐπισκιάσει) and “come upon” (ἐπελεύσεται) are not ever used of sex in the Bible. The child who is born is said to be “holy.”
[3] Charles Caldwell Ryrie, The Miracles of our Lord (Thomas Nelson, 1984), 69.
[4] Charles Caldwell Ryrie, The Miracles of our Lord (Thomas Nelson, 1984), 69.
[5] Osborne, Grant R. Matthew (Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on The New Testament series Book 1) (p. 680). Zondervan Academic. Kindle Edition
[6] Charles Ryrie, Basic Theology, (Moody Press, 1981), 252.
[7] Charles Ryrie, The Ryrie Study Bible Expanded Edition (1995 update) on Matthew 12:31, p. 1534
Hi all! I just wanted to ask a little question about Matthew 9:32-34.
Before I ask I would like to point out that you are the only one to mention Matthew 9:32-34 in any article that I have read on this topic.
Now as for my question, would you say that since in Matthew 9:32-34 the Pharisees basically did or I should say said the same thing they said in Matthew 12, but as you know in Matthew 9 Jesus doesn’t mention Blasphamy he doesn’t mention it till they do it again in Matthew 12, so would you say that Matthew 9 is proof that this isn’t just saying something one time, or slipping and saying soothing by accident but that it is a persistent thing?
The reason I ask is because when I mention to my friends that this isn’t something that can happen if someone has a slip of the lip and say something by accident, or just some thought that they didn’t mean. They quote Matthew 12 telling me that we are condemned by our words, and that the bible doesn’t give acceptation to those who say or think it by accident.
And I have no scripture to support my argument against them. I mean the bible doesn’t say if you didn’t mean it its ok. So I really cant argue with them.
Gladys:
I would just point out to your friends that when Jesus talks about the Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, He uses the imperfect tense in Greek which always means repeated action, not to an isolated act. They “were saying this”. I would also point them to Matthew 9 where this was done before, showing that it was not the first time that this was said. I would also point out to your friends who the ones were who said this and why they said it. It was said by the professional bible scholars of the day (the scribes) and it was not said out of ignorance. They had the facts right in front of them. Jesus performed a stupendous miracle right before their eyes. The miracle was undeniable and clearly supernatural. This is not the situation of someone who one time said something stupid out of ignorance. Hope this helps.
I have a question if someone commits the unforgivable sin and they didn’t know it was a sin will they beheld accountable ? I committed it when I was a teenager my dad was forcing God on me and he said the HS words than I blasphemed but I never knew what blasphemy meant and never knew it was a sin until I found out after I got baptized and I was stressed and worried and my dad will never stop forcing God on people he’s in a cult called the way international and other Christians helped me learn that it was a cult and I still worry because I get bad thoughts about unforgiven sin obsessive thoughts and it may be OCD because I cannot control my mind and its tough for me to think
Your question is not answered in the biblical text. It is a situation that Jesus does not deal with or address in Matthew 12. The blasphemy He speaks of refers to something that is done voluntarily. It is done deliberately and intentionally.
It does not even deal with a sin done in ignorance. The Pharisees were not ignorant about Jesus. They just witnessed the power of God displayed in His miracles. They could not deny it. They hated Jesus and the only way they could discredit Him was to make up this false charge.
This sin was not just words but words that reflect an inner heart attitude (in the context of the passage). This does not describe your situation at all. Therefore, I would not be troubled about this sin at all. Your experience does not fit the biblical criteria of this sin.
Thanks for your reply its just that I been worried a lot and i get unwanted thoughts about this sin and i learn that if we have ocd we can get religious thoughts i get obsessive thoughts
Are you plugged into a good local church you you area that you attend regularly? Do you have any support from other believers that might be able to help or counsel you as well?
I haven’t been to church in years but there is one church I wanna go to and I have been doing a lot of research recently some how my mind did calm for a while when I did research on the word holy the word came into English in the 11th century and I do have support from friends they know I have problems with my mind because I struggle with OCD and it’s been going on since I was a kid I started getting obsessive religious thoughts after I got baptized and the unforgiven sin came to my mind after 2009 i almost had the sin thought before 2009 but would try to stop the thought if we try to stop a thought it makes OCD stronger i did wash hands a lot for many years but that stopped than my OCD got worse i had to take some nician to calm my mind at the time and i use to be on medicine for ADHD and OCD i stopped when i turned 18 but i do wanna get help
My suggestions is to first make sure you are saved and then do two things: go to a good church and go to a doctor. If you have a genuine medical issue (which it sounds like you do), you may need to take medication for it. There are a lot of different medications available besides the one you mentioned. This would be my recommendation for you.
What about when someone gets mad and said the hs is evil one time and later regrets it
Did you do this? What is your story? What would cause someone to get mad and out of the blue say that the Holy Spirit is evil? Just curious. Ordinary people do not do this.
Is this the unpardonable sin?
I need help breaking this down…. So here is my situation…
I had some knowledge but I didn’t fully understand what constitutes blasphemy against the Holy Spirit or what blasphemy was. Was confused about what it really was..I just remember as not to say anything bad against the Holy Spirit and I remember that I didnt ever wanted to commit this sin…
But I forgot about it as time went on
My intention was never to blaspheme (speak) against the Holy Spirit, but maybe I did because I let my anger/situation get the best of me…
What happened was I was in an argument with my boyfriend. Things were getting pretty heated and he made a really good point at the time, I wasnt walking in the spirit. Such as being slow to anger, being patient, meekness etc…
So in the moment of anger because I thought he was saying that to control me so I purposely said I didnt want anything to do with hs, hs is evil; just to prove a point toward him, bc i thought he was using that to control me. I don’t actually believe what I said is true nor do I mean what I said….
After things calmed down
I remember thinking to myself did I just committed the unpardonable sin and I remember being distraught about it….and doing even more research hoping I didn’t commit it but it seems like I did..
There is only one example of what the blasphemy of the Holy spirit looks like. It is found in Matthew 12 and its parallel passages. It was done by the scribes and Pharisees and is nothing like your situation. In Matthew 12, Jesus healed a man who cold not talk or see. Everyone was amazed by what he did but the Pharisees said that he did it by the power of the devil. they were intentionally slandering the works of the Holy Spirit which they witnessed with their own eyes. It is more than losing your temper or saying something in ignorance. What the Pharisees did was on a much greater level.
Jesus also said in Matthew 123 that words of the Pharisees were a reflection of an inner heart attitude (Matthew 12:34). It sounds like you said something that you did not mean or believe. That is something different. Hope this helps.
I would add that just because you have not committed this sin does not necessarily mean that you are saved. What is your spiritual condition?Have you ever accepted Christ as Savior? Are you a professing christian? Do you attend church regularly?
In mark 3 30
Explain what the unpardonable sin is. I feel llike my only hope is maybe it’s on going sin. N not a single act n yes im a believer
There is no evidence you have committed the unpardonable sin based on that one statement in anger which you later regretted. you are correct it is more than an act and people who commit this sin are unrepentant. You do not see the Pharisees who wanted to kill Jesus because they hated him coming to faith in the gospels. If i were you, i would confess that sin to God and ask for His forgiveness but I would also be more concerned about your spiritual life now than dwelling on one word spoken in the past in anger.
I have been dealing with constant fear of the unforgivable sin for about a year now. I read the passage above and in my brain, it thought something bad about Jesus being evil. I do NOT believe that, I fought it and told my brain to stop thinking it. Well now it’s a fear and a habit to keep getting hit with that horrible thought. I do NOT believe it at all and I fight it and fight it but I fear the thought and I fear that I committed the unforgivable sin. I’m so scared, I need help. I love God, I love Jesus and I believe in His truth. This fear is just so constant though.
Caitlyn, Before I give you an answer, can you tell me a little more about yourself. How old are you? What is your spiritual background? Have you ever made accepted Christ as your personal savior? Do you attend church? How long have you been a Christian?
Thank you so much for responding! I pointed Matthew 9 out to them and they really didn’t say much, I honestly don’t think they knew what to say. Though I do have another question you say the Greek used shows something that was continuing. A gentlemen I know, not really a friend but a friendly acquaintance, said that the aorist used was a singular statement, he said that his Greek professor had told him that. So my question is how do I prove that the word ‘speaks’ is not singular?
Then again he was quoting Matthew 12, is there a difference between the way the Greek words are used in Matthew 9 compared to Matthew 12?
Thank you again for answering! GOD BLESS
Your friend is right. The aorist tense generally refers to a single act in the past. The imperfect tense in Greek refers to a repeated act in the past that is continuous. Matthew 12 uses the aorist tense. “But when the Pharisees heard this, they SAID (aorist), “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.” (Matthew 12:24). If we just had Matthew 12, we might think that this was the only time that they said this but we know from Mark that this was not the only time that they said this. Mark uses the imperfect tense. “And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem SAID (imperfect), ‘He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.'” (Mark 3:22). Matthew gave a hint that this was not the first time that they said this because the Pharisees said the same thing earlier in Matthew 9:34.
Thank you for your help. I have found it hard to believe I had not committed this sin for the simple fact that the only argument against it was the theory “if your worried about it, you haven’t done it” And I had never been able to fond biblical proof that that was a valid argument. And a couple people I know think that that is just something the Church came up with to make people feel better. I cant argue against that since a lot of churches do honey cote scripture so as not to step on peoples toes.
Plus I have been taught in a very strict way of reading the bible. Where its a sin for a woman to have short hair, or even using the words “I swear to…” is a sin because of the scripture that tells us to let our yes be yes and our no’s be no. You know things that are sins even though it doesn’t make since that they are.
So to be honest the idea that even a slip up or saying something by accident could still be this unforgivable sin made more since to me than saying that a slip or accident wasn’t this sin. Though I didn’t verbalize my blasphemy I had a blasphemous thought. I know that your article says that it is verbal only but the reason I worry is for the simple fact that if our words come from our heart and are thoughts come from our hearts, it would make since that a thought would be just as bad as saying it.
GOD BLESS!
Glad to be some help. While this sin is possible today, I believe that it is rare. We should also remember what Jesus said before He talked about the blasphemy of the Spirit. He said that “”EVERY KIND OF SIN AND BLASPHEMY can be forgiven” (Matthew 12:31). He also said that blasphemy against the Son is forgivable (Matthew 12:32). We tend to focus on the one exception, rather than seeing the general rule that all sin can be forgiven, even the specific sin of blasphemy. Paul used to be a blasphemer before he became a believer (I Timothy 1:13). After his conversion, he became one of the greatest Christians who ever lived, going on missionary journeys, starting churches and even writing multiple books of Scripture. This should be an encouragement to others who have had blasphemous thoughts or words at some time in their life.
This isn’t an argument against what your saying, its just a question, But when Paul said that he was forgiven because he did it out of ignorance, wasn’t he just blaspheming Jesus? He wasn’t blaspheming the Holy Sprit? I mean I don’t recall Paul ever saying Jesus got his power from well you know who, instead of God. Did he?
Paul called himself a blasphemer. To blaspheme means to speak evil or or to slander God. Since he was a religious Pharisee, he would not have blasphemed God directly. He must have blasphemed Jesus in some way (who the Bible teaches is God in bodily form). Paul did not blaspheme the Holy Spirit but he must have blasphemed Jesus before he got saved. He did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah. He did not believe that he was the Son of God or Lord. He did not even believe that he rose from the dead. He thought that he was an impostor and a deceiver, the leader of a false movement. Before he became a Christian, he thought that Jesus was leading people astray. We do not know exactly what he said but we do know that he hated Jesus before that time. He hated all Christians and persecuted them, even to death.
I get what you mean.
Now this is just me thinking things out so feel free to correct me if I am wrong.
The first part is that the Greek word in the original text is being used in its imperfect tens of the word meaning it is showing its a continuous sin which is supported by Matthew 9 where they said the same think but were not warned of it at that time.
The second part is that we have a sin that has no forgiveness, we think that the reason we have no forgiveness is because the Holy Spirit draws us to repent and that he would be taken away from us if we did this, there fore we would not feel drawn to repent.
The third part is that is kind of tied into the 2nd part as where there are tons of scripture that ‘we need only ask for forgiveness and we have it’. I think this is the part most people have a problem with, A lot of people think that this unforgivable sin is the exception to the whole ‘ask for forgiveness and you get it’
I know a lot of people that think that even if they repent that they won’t be forgiven because they think this sin is the exception. Because the scripture says they have no forgiveness it doesn’t say they wont ask for it.
A scripture they use to support this theory is Hebrews where Esau asked for forgiveness with tears but couldn’t get it.
Now correct me if I am wrong but it wasn’t repentance Esau was asking for was it? Wasn’t he trying to get back his birthright that he gave up?
Thank you again for all your help!
Your last letter was interesting. I had not really thought about the situation of Esau. I see why some might draw some kind of a parallel but the two situations are not really parallel. Esau sold his birthright. It had nothing to do with salvation. It had to do with something material. It was his inheritance. It had to do with inheritance rights of the first-born. They got twice as much. Birthrights could be sold in the Ancient Near East.
Furthermore, there is no evidence that Esau repented for what he did. He felt bad that he lost it and later wanted it back but he did not think that he did anything wrong. It is like someone who is sorry that he is caught doing something but does not show any true sorrow for the act itself. Esau was sorry for the consequences of his actions, rather than the act itself. A better example would be Judas. He betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. Judas confessed what he did was wrong. He said “I have sinned” (Matthew 27:4). He acknowledged that Jesus was innocent. He felt sorry for what he did and even returned the money but biblically he did not actually repent because he never turned to God and asked for forgiveness. He just felt complete despair and went out and killed himself. That shows how far one can go and yet not actually repent in the biblical sense.
I would question whether this sin is the exception to the ask-for-forgiveness rule. Peter preached to the Jews responsible for the death of their Messiah in the Book of Acts and offered them forgiveness of sins for genuine repentance. In fact, to no group of Jews did the Apostles say in the Book of Acts that they could not be forgiven because of what they said about Jesus while he was on earth performing miracles during his ministry. That, I think is significant.
I am curious what your religious background is. Are you a Christian? If so, how long have you been one? How old are you? Do you attend a church somewhere? What is your denominational background? This might help me better understand your point of view.
Well this may sound a little strange, but I am from a Mormon family, but we really didn’t go to church much and none of the beliefs only Mormans have were ever pushed onto me. I was homeschooled with Abeka, a Christian program and I believe they have a Baptist church I’m not sure really. I have been a Christian for….. well I really don’t know see I was real close to god as a kid and one day about 2 or 3 years ago I started having doubts and questions and found that my love had turned into indifference, I know that indifference is no way to have a relationship with god so I picked up my bible for the 1st real time in my life. I am now 22. And I honestly don’t know if I am saved or not. I hope so. I mean I know Jesus died for my sins, but I have been told that knowing and believing are 2 different things, so like I said I don’t know if I am saved or not. And in my refusal to go to a Mormon church and my moms refusal to let me go to anyother kind I do not go to church.
I don’t believe in once saved always saved and I am not a Calvinist.
And to be honest the things I have mentioned like this unforgivable sin just being an exception to ask for forgiveness and you get it, or the question of can this be done my thought, etc are not really my own personal views, but I am cursed as someone who sees both sides to an argument and I can see how one belief can be as true as another.
For example many people believe that if you are worried that you may have committed this sin then you haven’t because the Holy Spirit would leave you, Because the Holy Spirit convicts of sin.
On the other hand many believe that the Holy Spirit doesn’t convict believers of sin, in which case the entire theory of if you are worried then you didn’t do it fly’s out the window!
Or like the question from my last post, Many say that the reason this sin isn’t forgiven is because you wouldn’t as for repentance, because whoever asks for forgiveness is not denied. And naturally people say that one scripture cant prove another wrong so this conclusion must be correct.
While there are others who like I mentioned last time think that you would still want repentance but would just be denied because they think this is the exception to the ask for forgiveness and you will get it rule.
And as someone who like I said is ‘cursed’ with the mind that looks at both sides, which is correct?
And like I said before in a different post, the person who helped lead me back to god is a rather strict believer, I mean you cant cuss, you cant have short hair if you are a woman or long if you are a man, you cant use the words ” I swear to…..” He even thinks that eating meat rare is against the hole don’t eat blood sin, and that lying is still a sin if done to save a life.
And saying that that couldn’t be true because it doesn’t make since, is not a valid argument against the scripture.
I think that’s what gives me personally such a hard time with this sin.
even though the thought of this being done my accident if you didn’t mean your words or thought doesn’t make since, didn’t mean it wasn’t true. And that has really tripped me up in finding the truth.
Thanks for your last post. It really helped me see where you are coming from. You are about the same age as some of my kids. I have five kids – four boys and one girl. Two are right now in high school (one a freshman and one a senior). I have three boys who are finished high school, ages nineteen, twenty-four and twenty-five.
Seeing both sides of an issue is not a curse. It is a blessing. It is an important skill called critical thinking that most people do not have. The topic that we have been discussing is a controversial one. All Christians do not agree on it, so we do not have any final answers. I can give you my opinion based on my study of the Scriptures. Someone else may hold a slightly different view. Do not feel bad if you do not have all of the answers to a question that everyone does not agree on. Some issues in the Bible are clear. Others are less clear.
For you, the most important thing to do right now is to know for sure if you are saved. Most religions teach that no one can know if sure if they are going to heaven. I John 5:13 says something very different. It says, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may KNOW that you have (not “hope to have someday”) eternal life.” It is NOT pride or arrogance to say that we know that we have eternal life. The Bible says that this is something that we can know that we have.
We are saved by faith. John 3:16 says that you can get eternal life by believing in Christ but faith is not just intellectual or mental. The demons also know that Jesus is the Son of God but they are not saved. You have to first acknowledge that you have a problem and need to be saved. Then you have to trust Christ to save you. It is not knowledge ABOUT Christ but trust IN Christ that saves you. You can be dying of some deadly disease and have a bottle of pills in your hand that can save you. You can know all about the contents of the bottle and all of the medical research on the product but none of it will help you unless you take it.
That is why John 1:12 talks about being a child of God by RECEIVING Christ. You have to ask him to save you. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13). The God who promised eternal life to all who genuinely believe CANNOT lie (Titus 1:2). Jesus promises to save you. He says, “ALL those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will NEVER drive away”. Jesus accepts everyone who comes to him in faith and repentance. He doesn’t reject them. He accepts them, regardless of their background, regardless of their past, regardless of what terrible things they have done. In fact, in Greek this is a double negative for emphasis.
The next thing you desperately need to do is to get into contact with other Christians. Right now you can listen to entire sermons online from some of the best preachers on the planet but eventually you need to get into fellowship with other believers where many of your questions can be answered in a local church setting.
I know exactly what you are going through. I faced the same type of opposition when I became a believer in 1976. My dad was Jewish and, as you can imagine, my conversion did not go over too well with him.
Jesus said, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it“. (Matthew 10:34-39).
I will definitely keep you in prayer. I hope this small reply will be of some help to you. One day, I definitely hope to see you in heaven.
I guess what I mean is not that seeing both sides of a issue is a curse but the indecisiveness is. I guess it’s just part of my personality but I when it comes to this I want to discredit all possibilities then I might feel safe.
Honestly I might not have been in this predicament if I hadn’t read a certain article. See I looked up why people think worrying is a sign you haven’t done it, and there are a couple articles that say worrying or feeling bad are not signs that you have done it and that such thinking is just teachings made up my churches to make people feel better, and from there is kid of spiraled down hill for me.
And I honestly agree that feeling bad isn’t a factor in if you have or haven’t done this. But I would think that still wanting to serve the Lord is a way to determine that you haven’t. Because I don’t know much about the Pharisees but I do know they did not want to serve Jesus.
You pointed out a scripture that says we can know if we are saved, and that its just a matter of Receiving Christ, how do you know if you have received him? Or is it something you just do, and do you think depression can interfere with this?
Thank you for helping me and thank you for sharing info about your family, I Graduated College about a year ago, and I have a Brother 13 and sister 11, but they live with our mother, I like with my Great-grandmother.
You had a question about assurance of salvation. Let’s review the verse. I John 5:13 says, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” That tells me two things. One, it is possible to know if you are saved. John says know, not hope to have or wish to have. Two, eternal life is something that you can have right now.
Notice that John does NOT say you can know that one day when you die you will get eternal life. He says that you can know that you HAVE right now eternal life. He uses the present tense verb. How can we know? There are many ways we can know. I will boil it down to two basic proofs of salvation.
One, we can know we are saved simply because God says we are saved and God cannot lie. It is impossible for God to lie. God says that “whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have (present tense again) eternal life” (John 3:16). This is not a matter of feelings but simply taking God at His word. He keeps His promises.
Another way we can know we are saved is by our life. The whole book of I John explains this point. If you go from being darkness to light, it will be clear to you and others around you. If there are changes on the inside, they will manifest on the outside. Your life will be different. You will want to read the Bible and pray and be with other believers. You will want to stop doing some of the things you did before you accepted Christ. You will have a joy that you never had before you were saved.
You will have these changes because you have the Holy Spirit in you after salvation. “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children”. (Romans 8:16). “And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us” (I John 3:24)
If a person makes a profession of Christ and has absolutely no change in his or her life at all, that is a sign that he or she is not saved. Jesus said that a tree is known by its fruits. “Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit” (Matthew 7:17). He said that “by their fruit you will recognize them” (Matthew 7:20).
As for the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, you mentioned one particular article that troubled you. Could you send me the link so that I could read it and review it. I could give you my feedback on it. It is good to see that you are taking care of your great-grandmother. There must be some longevity in your family. Hope this is somewhat helpful. God bless.
Sure here is the link. http://propheticinsight.hubpages.com/hub/Blapheming-the-Holy-Spirit
So an emotional feeling isn’t a way to know you are saved? Because that’s why I even picked up my bible in the first place is because I didn’t feel anything. But I mean I do believe god will keep his word and save me (if I don’t do something to screw up on my end that is)
And I don’t have a desire to read more of the bible (mostly because that seams to get me into more trouble than if I hadn’t in the first place) Or to commune with a group of people that could just be because my experience in the past with religious people was never good.
But I do act differently, I have tried to stop cussing (though I only sometimes succeed) think differently about everything I do to see if this is okay or not, though I hardly ever come to a decisive conclusion. I don’t even go onto YouTube to listen to music anymore because even though its legal to use most of the music was uploaded illegally by someone. So a lot of what I do had changed.
Maby I am not as lost as I thought, maybe.
I do not know you personally, so I cannot say conclusively if you are saved or lost but what I got from your letter is that you do see some changes in your life (e.g., language and music selection) which could be a sign of regeneration. An emotional feeling is one way to know you are saved but it needs to be combined with other ways (e.g., outward changes in your life) because your feelings can be deceptive and can change. The Holy Spirit does testify to your spirit that you are a child of God but you would never want to rely exclusively on your feelings for your assurance of salvation.
You also mentioned a few things that have not changed. You say that you do not want to read the Bible but you have a deep burning desire to find the answer to this one question about the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. That is good and comes from the Holy Spirit.
You said that you do not want to fellowship with other believers but even that is only partly true. You have been burned in the past but you write me regularly, so there is at least one believer that you want to communicate with. My wife calls you my pen pal.
I will challenge you on one point. One clear sign of salvation is that you love other believers and want to be with them. If you are part of God’s family, you will want to be with your brothers and sisters in Christ.
I John 3:14-15 says, “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him“.
I John 4:19-21 says, “We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister”.
One clear sign that you are not saved is that you hate Christians and do not want to have anything to do with them. There is a danger is saying, “I love Jesus but it is the church that I hate”. Jesus said that the church is his body. When Paul persecuted and killed Christians, Jesus said, “Why do you persecute Me” (not them).
Persecuting the church was the same as persecuting Jesus. If you have had a bad experience with a group of professing Christians, I would challenge you to find another body of believers to fellowship with. There is no perfect church on the planet but it is still God’s program on the earth today. Jesus said that He is building His church (Matthew 16:18).
I will look at your link and give you my feedback on it in my next letter. I did not want to make this post too long.
I do not have time to write a thorough critique of the entire article you sent me but I would like to make a few comments. The article contained some good points and some highly questionable points.
I agree completely with the author that “the church is plagued with untruthful teachings regarding blasphemy of the Holy Spirit”. He is absolutely correct that “nobody with unforgiven sin will enter heaven”. That is a thoroughly biblical concept. The author is also correct in saying that people should “think twice before you say that anything is demonic, or satanic.” It is not something that should ever be said casually.
Where the author makes his biggest mistake is saying that the Pharisees attributed the miracles of Christ to evil demonic forces out of ignorance. He believes that they just did not know any better and actually believed this to be true. There is simply not a hint of this in Matthew 12. We know that they did NOT say this out of ignorance for several reasons.
1. Their Motives
Matthew 12:22-24 says, “Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?” But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.”
Why did the Pharisees say this? It is clear from the text that they were upset that all the people were beginning to think that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of David. That bothered them. To change people’s opinions, they came up with this ridiculous accusation against Jesus. Their motives were suspect at the outset. They did not say this based on any evidence in front of them. This charge was intentional and deliberate. It is the exact opposite of a casual remark about the Holy Spirit that people are worried about today or some accidental slip of the tongue.
It is the same thing that politicians do today. The way to get someone not to vote for a politician is to try to throw as much dirt on them as you can. Again, this is not the case of someone who looked at all of the evidence with an open mind and come up with the wrong conclusion.
This was the case of someone who is biased against Jesus and wants others not to follow Jesus, so they deliberately make up a lie which they know is false to deceive others. They could have been wrong about who Jesus was but they could not deny the supernatural miracles, wrought by the Holy Spirit, which He did right in their midst. The charge was inexcusable. The problem was not that they did not have enough evidence in front of them. The evidence was overwhelming.
2. Their animosity
This was said by people who hated Jesus and wanted to kill him. Matthew 12:14 says, “But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.” They did not say this out if ignorance but out of intense hatred, a hatred that led to violence and murder.
3. Their profession
The fact that this charge came from the scribes supports the idea that this was not out of ignorance. The scribes were the professional bible scholars of the day. They knew the Word. They were not ignorant people. They were very well educated.
4. The reply
What Jesus said immediately after contradicts the view that they were ignorant. Jesus said, “You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him” (12:34-35). Jesus called these Pharisees evil. Their evil words came from an evil heart. He did not say that they were ignorant and only said these words because they did not know any better or have all of the facts. Jesus does not excuse their comments. He condemns them.
The author rejects the notion that “If you worry about, you haven’t done it”. I am not so sure that this is incorrect. The only example of this sin in Scripture is in Matthew 12. The people in that chapter are not humble, broken repentant sinners. They are stubborn, self-righteous, heard-hearted, Christ-rejecting and close-minded. They do not just reject Jesus, they want to KILL HIM (12:14).
They do not just reject Him, they want everyone else to reject him and the way they do that is by slandering him. It is one thing to reject Christ on intellectual grounds. It is quite another thing to attribute His miracles to the agency of Satan and call good evil. This not only insulted Jesus, it insulted the Holy Spirit.
“What to do if you blasphemed the Holy Spirit? Quite frankly, there is nothing you can do other than warn others not to do it.” That is true. However, we never really know for sure when this sin has been committed. Jesus did not even say that they committed the sin of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. He just said to beware of it. We do not know if they committed the sin or were just close to committing the sin. The only one who knows for sure if this sin is committed is God.
Instead of focusing on the exception. We need to focus on the general rule. Jesus said that “every kind of sin and blasphemy can be forgiven” (Matthew 12:31). He said “repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47). Peter told the people who crucified Jesus, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). Paul said that Christ forgives us of ALL our sins (Colossians 2:13).
The best advice I can give you is to focus on the clear passages of Scripture, rather than the unclear ones. Rather than to be constantly tortured about one obscure passage, you should take comfort in the very clear passages which are repeated over and over again in Scripture. When read in context, the obscure passage does not support the idea of an accidental comment made in ignorance. In fact, it has nothing to do with such a comment.
I said something recently causally to someone I work with about Her HS being more lienient than mine (because she’s bad about taking food and doing other things like tattoos) then I thought what if I had done this? I keep telling myself that I didn’t but now I’m scared. I just recently was baptized and I love the lord and want to go to heaven
How old are you? How did you become a Christian? You do not have to worry about committing the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. You have not done it. What the Pharisees did in Matthew 12 was far more serious. They did not just blaspheme the Spirit, they wanted to KILL Jesus. They HATED him. Their comment was NOT causal. It was deliberate and intentional. It was not a one-time slip of the tongue.
Pen pal? LOL I love that. I honestly never bother writing to others most of the time, as you can probably tell I do not have a good grasp of grammar or spelling really. But I rock at math!
It is true what you say about me wanting to read the bible, I do want answers but it just always seams that when I do read it I just confuse myself even further so I honestly avid it. At least until I finish figuring out one problem.
As for talking with other believers, I do like talking one on one to have a serious discussion, but most of the time when I contact a pastor, or bishop or whoever, they tell you what they believe but hardly ever give an explanation as to how they came to that conclusion, and when I ask they have a beat around the bush answer, its almost like they don’t know the answer. And to be honest they seam to not wish to speak after you question them about it. Actually you are the 2nd person I have spoken to who actually seams to want to help in about 2yrs.
Outward change, like I said you know I try to not cuss, um…cant say that my music selection is different, I just don’t use YouTube or other sites that I know upload music illegally.
I’ll respond to your opinions of the article in a different post, unfortunately I haven’t really had time to more than skim what you have written so far and I would like to get a better look at it before responding.
Thanks for the last letter. I started the morning with a smile on my face. God must be trying to tell you something if He has had two people speak to you in the last year. I am am honored to be one of the two people that God used to speak to you. Your writing may have some grammar or spelling issues but I was not that great of a writer when I was 22. I am 51 now. When my wife read your posts, she said that she thought you were smart. You rock at math. That is my worst subject. What was your major in college?
I did encourage you to go to church but I need to qualify what I said. There are plenty of churches that I would have nothing to do with. There are good churches and bad churches. Some churches are spiritually dead. Others are completely legalistic. Others do not preach the Word. The challenge is to find a good one that honors Christ and is thoroughly biblical. You want to look for one that is balanced. If you need any help with that, I would be glad to help any way I can.
I look forward to reading your reaction to my brief critique of the link you sent me. Have a great day.
k, so I guess I am kind of in the middle on the Pharisees situation, See I know that there were many situations that would lead them to believe that Christ was our savior, yet remember after Matthew 12 (I think its Matthew 12) His apostles ask why he spoke in parables, and Jesus told them it was because they wouldn’t understand other wise. I was under the impression that they didn’t know who he was because there hearts were so hardened that they couldn’t recognize him. Yet I never thought it was done in total ignorance cuz like I said there were many times where he showed who he was, plus he was fulfilling the prophecy from Isaiah. (It was Isaiah wasn’t it)?
And I’m going to quote a part of what you said here.
“The author rejects the notion that “If you worry about, you haven’t done it”. I am not so sure that this is incorrect”
Sorry I think its the wording that is confusing me, I don’t have that high a level of comprehension to be honest. When you said that your not sure if its incorrect did you mean you think he is incorrect or that the If you worry about it you haven’t done it theory is incorrect?
I mean the rest of what you said in that paragraph seams like your think he is wrong but I just wanted to check.
You know to be honest when I read his article I got the vibe that he thought this was only a verbal sin, and like I said I thought it I didn’t say it, even when I have tried to tell someone what I thought I cant say the words, I just hint at what I thought and they get what I mean, searisusley I can not physically get the words out of my mouth! So even by his standards I didn’t do it, but like I said it only seamed like he was saying it was only verbal, as you noticed he didn’t really say.
As you pointed out there are a lot of true facts in his article, I guess I thought if he is right about some he might be right about all of what he said.
SECOND POST
O I didn’t really have a Major, it was just my AA degree, see I want to go into acting, I know I know quite a leap especially for a Christian, but in school I was mostly a B and C student, kind of a Jack of all trades that just wasn’t that awesome as her trade, and I love movies, I wont lie I can hardly enjoy my movies because when watching I am so jealous that I don’t get to be a character in it.
The problem is I am very shy, as a kid I was in pageant and stuff and a large group of people looking at me was okay, cuz I could look out at the crowd and see that some were talking or something, they weren’t just focused on me.
but you take only 3 people who are boring holes into you just focusing on you and I would freak out, I don’t think acting would be the problem but getting past the audition.
And then like I said a Christian in Hollywood, um…..ya.
I have a problem with movies it kida strange, but I don’t know what roles I could take.
I mean I know I wouldn’t do a leasbend movie, or a porno, or anything gruesome like Saw or anything like that.
And I know if I was in a movie that required a nude scene I could have a body double, but then that would fall under the ‘causing your brother to stuble’ if someone else has to be nude in my place so I couldn’t do any of those.
but I love action movies, like Lord of the rings or Avengers, batman, could I take a role as a Greek god for example in like Clash of the Titans? Could I ever be the bad guy? Could a play a with dabbling in magic, or a vampire.
And stuff like that. See I don’t know when something is actually following scripture and when your just taking to far and going outside the scope of scripture ya know what I mean.
I mean I have stopped watching movies that have other god in them all together, I don’t watch clash of the titan anymore, or the Mummy. Surprisingly I will watch Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings, which I have been told are both anti Christian, and what really shakes me is that fact that I can see there point when they say that.
I miss the time when I considered it just pretend.
I guess what movies I watch or act in would fall under Romans where it tells us that something may be wrong for me and therefor I shouldn’t do it, but the same thing could be okay for someone else to do. That was what Romans is about right? The gray areas of life? Didn’t Romans use the example of ‘its okay to eat meat but if it makes your brother to stumble then don’t do it’ (So not a word for word but ha at least I remembered it :)
As for Churches, I don’t really have that many near me, I have the Mormon Church, I mean the beliefs that separates Mormons from the rest of the Christen community were never preached, and I have recently talked to a member, and she had never even heard of those beliefs, so maybe I could go there. There are a few Baptist churches, and then we have a few cults around us.
And dude I like your wife! And lastly I feel I should apologize, I use Gladys as a pin name. I learned at a young age giving out your name online is a bad ideah! Sorry I usually put in my first posts that its just a pin name, and it donned on me that I hadn’t done that this time. I just forgot to I honestly didn’t wish to mislead you. Sorry! :)
You mentioned that you like acting. That is very interesting because one of my kids also loves acting. He graduated from high school last year. He is extremely gifted. We do not know where he got it. It certainly did not come from me. He acted in the High School Musical and other plays put on by his local high school. He is very funny. He is a natural performer when he steps on the stage, something that I would never want to do.
He also has been involved in some community acting in plays since graduating from high school. Have you ever tried that or is the audition process just too difficult? I get your point about it being unchristian. You just have to choose what to be involved in. Based on Romans 14, you should not play any role which you are not comfortable with.
I lead a Bible study at my church for your age range (20s and 30s). My wife and I have led a small group for this age bracket before. Right now, I am teaching the Ten Commandments. I will be on the Third Commandment this Sunday. You can read the website if you want to follow it.
I enjoy talking to you but feel free to communicate with my wife any time you want to as well. You could either email her or contact her on Facebook, if you do Facebook. I could give you her contact information. I do not have a Facebook account. I am old school. Feel free to comment on any other posts from the website as well.
As for churches, I would not encourage you to go to the Mormon Church, simply because it is a different religion. I am not an expert on Mormonism but I know that it has a completely different view of God, Jesus and salvation. They even use a different Bible and add to Scripture. The Apostle Paul said, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!” (Galatians 1:8). That is exactly what Mormonism is. It is a religion based on a revelation from a so-called angel from heaven which results in a different gospel. Definitely stay away from the cults. I wonder what advice your other Christian friend gave you. I wonder if it was similar or different to mine.
As for the blasphemy of the Spirit, it definitely was a verbal sin, as I pointed out on my website. I do not think that the If you worry about it, you haven’t done it theory is necessarily wrong. I do not think that the author you mentioned soundly refuted that theory. The Pharisees in Matthew 12 were not spiritually sensitive and worried if they have committed this sin. They were defined by Jesus as evil. They were hard-hearted and trying to kill Jesus.
As for the Pharisees, I think you missed my point. They were ignorant about a lot of things. No doubt about it. They may have not known that Jesus was the Messiah or Son of God. That is not the issue. The issue is whether they made the charge of demonically inspired miracles on Jesus’ part out of ignorance. There is not a shred of evidence for that assertion, as I documented in my last post. Not believing that Jesus is the Messiah is not the same thing as attributing his miracles to Satan. They are two completely different things. I gave three or four reasons why they did not make this charge because they believed it ignorantly. It was clearly a trumped up charge.
WOW so sorry it took me so long to get back with you! Work…yuck.
I myself have never had a community theater to act in though when I was a child I was in to plays, I was a puzzle piece then I was a munchkin in a Wizard of Oz remake. But besides that I was just in singing and dance competitions. If you don’t mine the question, does your son plan on going into acting as his career? If so does he know how he would handle certain situations like using cuss words or something like that, Cuz I know you can turn down parts if there is something you don’t like about it like nudity or something like that, but when it comes to what the director will make your character say, sometimes you don’t even have a scripture until the movie starts shooting. So has he mentioned how he would handle that situation, Or is he mostly interested in theater only.
I would love to talk with your wife! That sound cool but I don’t do Facebook either, I must admit I am rather antisocial to some extend and I really am more of a face to face talker for the most part.
I would also like following your discussion on the 10 commandments, but when I went to the homepage of this site I didn’t see the link, Did I miss it or is it on a different site?
as for churches, well my friend didn’t really have any good suggestions, his suggestion manly consisted of just going to different ones till I found the right one and don’t tell my mom what I was doing. I see 3 problems with his plan one…that is doing what my mother told me not to. Kind of going against that whole honor thy mother and father thing, and two that would involve lieng to her. Not only that but despite my age I am still using a permit, I would have to steal her car to get that done. FYI considering I work at a DMV I do understand the weirdness of still having a permit.
And lastly back on topic I honestly never considered that the Pharisees could know that the power was from God and not know who Jesus was at the same time. But that does make since.
I finally got my lesson on the Third Commandments up on the website. I do not find it unusual at all that you just have a permit. We did not encourage any of our kids to get their license at 16 because our auto insurance rates would skyrocket and they are better drivers when they are a little older.
I see your point about your mom but it is important to put God first even above parents (cf. Matthew 10:37). You shouldn’t lie and if you have to wait until you can drive on your own, you may have to, unless you can get a ride from a friend.
I talked to my 19 year old son Eric about acting. I know nothing about acting, so he filled me in a little. He originally planned to go to Liberty University and major in either theater or video but Liberty is very expensive and we were not able to send him there. He could have gotten some loans but he did not want to graduate with huge debt. He is right now getting a degree in film and video production at a local community college.
There is no right answer to your question about acting. Different Christian actors would answer the question differently. In general, you would set your own standards and take only the movies that you feel comfortable with. Different people would be comfortable with different things, although there are some things that you could be involved in which would not have this problem (family oriented or kids films). You are right that some actors get their script the day of or right before filming but you already have a general idea what the movie is about and what the director is like. Some directors you may trust more than others.
My son probably will not go into acting as a career. While anyone off the street can go audition for a part in a movie, acting is one of the most unemployed professions because the competition is so high. To be a successful actor or actress, you have to be not only extremely talented, you have to be driven, because it takes many auditions to find the director who likes you. He has made a little money from YouTube. That is another option. He also has been in a play at a local studio, which is something else that you could look into doing. In addition, some big churches have a drama department.
I hope this helps a little. God bless.
Hi again, so sorry for the late reply, life so got in the way. Kind of a new question that really doesn’t have anything to do with this topic, and I don’t really know where in the bible it is, I don’t know if it was acts or where, but there is a scripture that says people will cry to god but he wont hear them, Is that bout people trying to repent or is that scripture about prayers being answered?
I am not sure of the specific verse you are referring to but there are many verses like it dealing with answered prayer. God does say in Scripture, “Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.” (Psalm 50:15). “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:3). On the other hand, when there is unconfessed sin, God says that He will NOT answer your prayers. Isaiah 1:15-16, for example, says, “When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood! Wash and make yourselves clean“. Isaiah 59:2-3 says, “your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken falsely, and your tongue mutters wicked things”. Psalm 66:18 says, “If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.” Hope this helps.
I found the passage Proverbs 1:24-33.
This is the one I meant! But what is it about? I mean it seams to talk about people who don’t want to answer gods call. But part 28 says that god wont answer when they do come to him.
Is this saying that people will come to god and he wont accept them when they do, or is it saying that they were not genuine in wanting the lord?
Proverbs 1 is an interesting passage. What we learn from that passage is several things.
1. Wisdom is offered to all
Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice (1:20), Wisdom is even offered to those who are antagonistic to it (fools, simple ones and scoffers).
2. Accepting or rejecting is a choice.
Some accept it but fools reject it. They REFUSED to listen and did not CHOOSE the fear of the Lord (1:24, 29). The people in this chapter, did not just reject wisdom, they despised it (1:30).
3. Rejecting wisdom has serious consequences.
In this chapter, it mentions calamity, terror, distress and anguish (1:26-27).
4. At some point in time, repentance will be too late.
Of course, it is never to late to repent while you alive. Many hardened sinners received eternal life on their deathbed but many others plan to live a life of sin now and repent before they die. Often times, they do not get an opportunity to repent because they die suddenly. Everyone in Hell would love to repent but it is too late. That is why the Bible says that NOW is the day of salvation.
O.. So Proverbs is talking about people who want to repent after they are dead?
Proverbs 1 could be applied to people in Hell but would not be limited to them. The chapter begins with the statement “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (1:7). That is the theme of the book. It is not a description of people who are humble, broken and deeply repentant of their sin and call out to God. It describes what ultimately happens to fools. They reject God, mock God, and ultimately cry out to God to get out of trouble, not to genuinely repent of their sins. They are described in the very end of the chapter as fools. I challenge you to take time to read the whole book in a good modern translation. It is one of my favorite books of the Bible.
O okay so the people in Proverbs are not repenting at all. Kind of like Esau, like you said he was like someone who was sorry for getting caught doing something, not sorry they did it. Kind of like that.
You are absolutely correct. This passage must be compared to other passages of Scripture. God never rejects anyone who comes to Him in genuine faith and repentance, even if they do this right before they die. On the other hand, some come with the wrong motives and show no true repentance at all. That perfectly describes the fools in Proverbs 1. It also describes Esau. Esau despised his birthright (Genesis 25:34). It meant nothing to him. He is described in the NT as a profane person (Hebrews 12:16). He was upset about losing his birthright but there is no evidence of genuine repentance on his part.
Proverbs describes a case of poetic justice. These fools not only rejected the truth, they laughed at it (1:22). God laughs at them when disaster strikes (1:26). They refused to listen when God called out to them (1:24), so when they call out to God He refuses to listen to them (1:28). Like Esau, they also come to God but not in genuine repentance. They are called fools to the very end.
A good example of this in the Bible is King Saul in I Samuel 15. God gave him specific instructions. He deliberately disobeyed those instructions. He denied disobeying them. Then he said that he did it for good reasons (as if there is ever a good reason to disobey a clear command). He later said “I have sinned” but did not mean a word of it. The prophet Samuel said that God had rejected him as king.
One totally unrelated comment. Last night, the movie “Son of God” opened. I went and saw it with my wife and kids. I strongly encourage you to see it ASAP. It puts some of the statements about blasphemy of the Spirit in a little context. I think you will like it. Let me know if you ever see it.
Wow I was totally going to mention that to you! Me and my mom are going to try and go see it this Friday, but we did see the series when it was on TV!
I actually had a question about Saul. Now I admit I am ignorant to a lot if this but David as in David and Goliath was the one who took over for Saul right? If I am correct, even after God stopped favoring (for lack of a better word) him didn’t Saul still love God?
Keeping in mind the only real knowledge of this event was what I saw in the Bible series I just mentioned.
Glad you are going. If you liked the TV series, you will love the movie, although parts of it are graphic because you are dealing with a crucifixion.
Where to begin with Saul? He is a very fascinating character. He was Israel’s first king. The three kings of Israel’s United Monarchy are Saul, David and Solomon. Each ruled forty years. I challenge you to read I Samuel 8-31. You may want to read the whole book to get the context. The book begins with the prophet Samuel. There were no kings. The people asked for a king like all of the other nations. The first king chosen was Saul. He had a great start but eventually became apostate. He became disobedient and was rejected as king by God and David was chosen. Saul became insanely jealous of David and tries to kill him three times. David even marries Saul’s daughter. When Samuel dies, Saul tries to communicate with him after death through a medium or psychic. You can read about that in I Samuel 28. The book ends with Saul killing himself.
Scholars argue about this but I do not believe that he was a true believer. I do not believe he was ever saved in the first place. The second king David was, despite all of his sins. God called him “a man after my own heart”.
Could he maby have become apostate? That is what Hebrews is talking about right? Believers becoming apostate? Cuz if he was never a believer then why would God pick him for something so important?
Yes. Hebrews is talking about apostasy. It deals with people who once made a profession of Christianity. They claimed to believe in Jesus and went to church but, at some point in their life, they completely and irrevocably give up their faith and no longer believe in Jesus. The Bible says that people who commit apostasy will be lost. It is only those who endure to the end who will be saved (Matthew 24:13). I personally do not believe that a genuine believe will ever commit apostasy. Apostasy is not the same thing as falling into sin or backsliding. Christians (even mature Christians) can and do fall into sin but they do not commit apostasy. A professing Christian can commit apostasy but not a genuine believer. A good example of someone in this character was Judas Iscariot. He committed apostasy. He betrayed Jesus and then killed himself but he was never saved. Jesus called him a child of the devil, not a child of God.
Darn good point about Judas.
O by the way some strange news, I had been asking god for a sign that I hadn’t committed this sin, and I asked him to make it obvious cuz I admit I am thick! Seriously I could miss a neon sign above my head, sadly. Well about a weak ago when me and my mom were at Arbys roast beef, as we were about to leave out of the corner of my eye I saw a little card on another table, I thought it was a coupon or something so I picked it up, and lo and behold it was a little card with a pic of Jesus holding up a man and on the back it was little story about forgiveness.
Now that could have just been a coincidence, but it would be one heck of a coincidence.
Now don’t get me wrong I still worry that I may have committed this sin, I think I will always worry about it just for the simple fact that I am a worrier. I mean I am the girl who freaked out about if it was a sin to have a tattoo and I don’t have and never will have a tattoo! I really am just a worrier when it comes to scripture!
But I would like to think that little card is a sign that I didn’t do it.
Great story. It sounds like you have a tender heart, which is good. You have not committed this sin. You do not have to worry. I believe that it is Satan who wants you to think that you have committed this sin to keep you away from the Bible and away from Christianity. He is the one who wants to rob you of any hope of heaven. As for worry, I want you to read several verses on worry. God has a lot to say about that topic. Read Proverbs 12:25; Philippians 4:6-7; I Peter 5:7; Matthew 6:25-34; John 14:27.
Read them. I see what they are saying but I’m not sure what to take away from them. Does it mean not to worry, or…is there more?
Don’t forget to go to the movie “Son of God” tomorrow. Worry is a sin because it involves a lack of trust. God does not want us to worry about things but to trust him and to cast all of our cares upon him, rather than worrying. It is something that I have to remind myself. It is not only sinful, it is unhealthy. It is not good for you. It causes stress and as Jesus says, it accomplishes nothing. You cannot add a cubit to your stature by worrying. One other thing I forgot to mention in my last post is the difference between conviction and condemnation. This is an important distinction for you to know, since you have been troubled about whether you have committed the blasphemy of the Spirit. What is the difference between conviction and condemnation? One comes from God and one comes from Satan. One tears you down and shows how bad you screwed up. It causes you to despair and give up hope. The other comes from God. It leads to hope. It does not just show you the problem. It shows you the answer. One leads to change and the other makes you feel that you cannot change or that change is futile. One focuses on yourself. The other focuses on Christ.
It’s a sin? I honestly didn’t get that from the scriptures, but I only read the ones you gave me I didn’t really read all the scripture before and after them.
I may not be able to god to the show 2marow, a lot has happened in the past few days. Almost everyone at work is sick and I may be called in, and my Aunt is for some reason going through a divorce! Don’t know what’s going on there but ha. If worse comes to worse I can purchase the DVD if I don’t make it to the theater before it’s out of theater.
As for what you say about Conviction and Condemnation, I see what you mean thought I would have to say by your description I would fall under the list of Condemnation, but as of late I have started not to worry quite as much, but I honestly think that’s just my brain getting tired of worrying about it more than anything. As strange as it sounds it feels like there are 2 separate parts of me, one is just plain sick of this fear being the norm, and the other part of me keeps saying that this is something that’s worth worrying about.
You know even before this happened I had always got a bad feeling when I turn to a sermon on tv you know there are a handful on, on Sundays. And I don’t know why, but I get a horrid feeling and change the channel as fast as I can, and I honestly don’t know what that means.
I figured that there was something wrong with me.
Kind of like I am not saved or something. For instance like I said I don’t cuss, or listen to illegally uploaded music.
But I cant say I have changed all that much, I don’t make sex jokes anymore but I can still come up with one on the spot in my head, and despite the fact that I am against gay marriage ‘modern family’ is still the best darn sitcom on TV, and despite the fact that the bible says the only reason for divorce is ‘sexual immorality’ I still think getting the living snot beat out of you almost everyday by your spouse is a pretty darn good reason for divorce to.
Is the fact that I believe these things proof I am not a good Christina or is the fact that I try to do what the bible says even if I don’t always agree prove I am a Christian.
And like I said before I totally trust The Lord will keep his promise I just want to make sure I don’t screw up on my end. All I can do is cling onto the belief that that card I found at Arby’s was a sign.
GOD BLESS!
I have not forgotten about you. I live in nc and I have not had any power for two days. I will write soon.
O no prob, take your time. I understand life keeps you from things such as this. :) Hope your power is back soon. I remember being without power for about a week when I was a kid, we were trapped in one room of our house, and even went as far a buying a generator. Don’t remember why we thought it was a good idea to risk our lives on the road to go purchase on thought.
I do not have any idea where you live but I live in North Carolina and we had a terrible ice storm. I did not have power for three days and we do not have a generator. I could not imagine going without it for a week. Still hope that some way you can see the movie “Son of God”. It is so much better to see it on the big screen, rather than on a little TV.
I cannot say for sure if you are saved or are a real Christian. I have given you a few suggestions based on biblical principles but you really need to get plugged into a good local church (even if it means a little drive). You can learn so much more by talking to a godly believer one on one. They could probably help you far better than I can in person and could talk to you about salvation and how to know if you are really saved. I am sure that you could get to know a godly Christian woman who could give you some counseling that might help you.
If EVERY time a sermon comes on, you immediately change the channel, I might be a little concerned. I would ask you, Why do you do this? Is it the result of conviction or something else? Do you feel guilty or do you do this for some other reason. Only you could answer this question. I oftne change the channel because many TV preachers are not that good or teach false doctrine.
In terms of divorce, there is a lot of controversy over whether domestic violence or spousal abuse constitutes biblical grounds for divorce. There are some issues that even godly believers who believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God cannot agree on. Some believe that spousal abuse (while wrong and while it would be correct to go to a safe place for protection in this situation) is NOT biblical grounds for divorce.
One website from this viewpoint can be found at http://sbcvoices.com/is-abuse-a-biblical-grounds-for-divorce/. Others believe that spousal abuse IS biblical grounds for divorce. It looks more at the spirit, than the letter of the law. If adultery is a violation of the marriage vow, how much more is domestic abuse?
One website that believes that spousal abuse is biblical grounds of divorce is http://cryingoutforjustice.com/2013/08/05/carl-trueman-and-todd-pruitt-believe-that-abuse-is-grounds-for-divorce/. The proponents of that view are solid evangelicals. I am not sure which view is correct. Both make excellent points. Hope this is of some help.
Me and mom plan on going to the movies 2marow!
And I do change the channel every time, and I do think its guilt.
Though I am not sure why I feel guilty, at first when I was younger it was because it was just so darn boring was the reason I didn’t watch them, and if I had a question I couldn’t approach the pastor after and ask a question. I think maybe that’s where my guilt comes from maybe, because I find it boring and would just rather watch something else, and I think I feel bad about that.
I mean I like Joel Osteen, but he makes it a little entertaining, he opens with a little joke, is good (in my opinion) at applying scripture to life, and he has a warm personality. Others are just so darn boring that I just don’t care to hear what they say.
I think another reason I feel guilt is maybe because I find myself to be a hypocrite. Like I said in my last post I haven’t really changed that much, an example is what I watch, now I don’t watch anything like porno, or slasher movies, O heck no, but for example I love ‘Modern Family’ and ‘The Big Bang Theory’ Now these are just shows, yet I get so much slack for watching them when other Christians say they are anti Christian shows I guess I feel bad about liking them, I could stop watching, but that wouldn’t change my opinion of them being 2 of the best shows on TV, And I think that makes me feel guilty, or makes me feel like maybe I am not as good a Christian as I thought or not a true Christian at all or my opinion of them would change.
And of cores there are other things that I am fine with that other Christians are not, and I wonder if that means I am inadequate, and watching Sermons on TV just makes me feel this guilt all the more for some reason. Maybe it is because when you watch a sermon the scripture is right in your face and all shortcomings just seam so much more apparent. And knowing that we all fall short of the glory of god doesn’t really help me feel better.
Or maybe it is the fear of the unknown, a fear that someone will read a scripture about something else that is unforgivable and I will find it pertains to me, or something.
But these are the only reasons I can think of.
PS. Glad your power is back! I know it suck being without it!
Saw the movie. FABULOUS!
Glad you were able to see. Glad you liked it. I thought you would like it. Did your Mom like it as well? In terms of your TV shows, I have a few comments. This is all in the realm of grey areas. Paul talked about this in Romans 14. You should read the chapter. There are some things that are not black or white. There is no explicit command to do or not do some things. Each one has to decide for himself, as Paul put it in Romans 14:5.
I have had pastors say it is a sin to go to a movie. I do not feel that way at all. There is no verse in the Bible against it but if that is the way they feel, they should not go to a movie because it would be a sin for them. Anything that goes against your conscience is wrong to do, even if there is nothing wrong with it. Some think it is a sin to drink alcohol. It is not (as long as you do not get drunk). Jesus drank wine and even turned 150 gallons of water into wine (that is five bath tubs full of wine) but if someone feels that way, they should not drink at all.
You mentioned two TV shows. I have only seen one of them. I saw part of the Big Bang Theory one time. I think my wife had it on. I thought it was hilarious, although I am told that parts of it are inappropriate. It is the kind of thing that each person has to decide for him or herself. It is not a big deal.
Watching TV preachers may be good or bad. Some of them are biblical but many are not. I would not encourage you to watch Joel Osteen simply because he does not do serious in-depth bible teaching or preaching. What I am going to insist that you do (and I am going to sound like a broken record) is to go to church this Sunday. I can tell you for sure that this is God’s will for your life (Hebrews 10:24-25). I once heard a pastor say that if you do not have enough faith to go to church you do not have enough faith to go to heaven. Just a thought.
O she liked it as well, as a matter of fact, it was her idea to go see in while in theater and this is an 89 year old woman (I mentioned she was really my great grandmother haven’t I?) Who finds absolutely no joy in going to the theater, plus she gets cold in the theater room. I was a little supprised she wanted to go, and a little proud of her to be honest. I cried, and I wouldn’t say this is a sign or anything but for the first time in a long time when I cried my eyes didn’t sting so bad I had to close them, when I cried I didn’t have any pain at all, and was able to keep watching the movie :)
I totally see what you mean about Movies and TV shows!
And you do not sound like a broken record at all, I understand the need to go to church, like I said though I don’t have a license, and the only one mom will go to is a Mormon church. There is a Baptist church right up the street mom told me I could walk up there though I am a little concerned that I may be locked out of the house when I came home. I mean she said it wouldn’t but I really don’t believe her.
I don’t mean to be putting a person before god, but I don’t see how ruining my relationship with mom will help my relationship with god. Add that to the fact that I don’t really know what doctoring they practice it seams a little bit like a risk.
Though I must admit the strange Mormon beliefs that so many dislike, have never been taught at the Mormon church we went to. Now don’t get me wring, not all churches are the same, I know some of those strange Mormon beliefs are practiced in other churches, but not in ours, so maybe I could go once and kind of test the waters and see how it goes.
That is interesting about your mother. My mother lives with me. She is 83 and I took her to the movie as well. I was wondering if your mother was still alive. Can you not get another key, so you do not have to worry about being locked out? That would solve that problem.
All I can say is that if you are staying with your grandmother and she is 89, you need to get your driver’s license FAST. You do not know how much longer she will be living. That would solve the whole problem with your church situation. You can go to the Mormon Church but that it is not a place where the Bible will be genuinely preached from the pulpit. Just my opinion but I do not think that you will not learn the Bible there in any depth or substance.
It is interesting that you mentioned having a good relationship with your grandmother. That is the topic of my Sunday School lesson this week. I will be talking about the Fifth Commandment, which says “Honor your father and your mother”. It will be up on the website by Sunday evening, if you are interested.
I just dropped three of my kids off at their high school. I will not see them for several days. They are taking a bus to New York City. They will be in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, performing with their high school band on Monday. Only fourteen high school bands in the country were invited to perform in the parade and my kids’ high school was one of them. Talking to you, I feel like I am writing to one of my kids. Have a great weekend.
I hope I did not say anything to offend you in my last post.
No no you didn’t offend me at all, I have just been super buisy, One of our girls gave a 2 week notice and we have been swamped more so than usual at work that’s all. LOL! I don’t know if your kids are back from there trip yet but I hope they are doing well, hope you and your wife haven’t been or didn’t I should say worried about them.
As for me nothing really big to report really, I haven’t been worried as much about ‘IT’ though small sparks of terror creap up on me they dissolve fast, O and I took my driving test yesterday, totally failed :( Cry!!
Apparently I had enough points to pass, but I did what I call a rolling stop at a stop sign, and they considered that running it, (I disagree) but there is always next time, there were a few other things that I goofed on but they are things that are easily corrected.
And honestly I still deal with confusion about a lot of scripture but I try to read just a little bit at a time and deal with the confusion as it comes.
But ya you totally didn’t offent me at all, and I had intended to wright about 2 nights ago, but it was 3 AM and I just wanted to sleep.
Good to hear from you. Glad I did not offend you. I was worried. My kids are back from New York and were completely wiped out after walking for so long. I told my son that he looked like he lost twenty pounds. He said, “I almost died”. He came home and went straight to bed but I think they had a good time, despite the cold weather there. I am so sorry about your driving test. I assume that you have a learner’s permit now and are driving with an adult. That is at least how it works in North Carolina. I have two kids left who do not drive at all but will be going to the DMV soon. Hope you have a good week.
Aw man wish I could loose weight like that :(. But don’t worry about the test Ill get it, I did plan on passing but to be honest I was told by my mom and aunt that I probably wouldn’t this time and that I would at least know what to work on, I hate it when they are right. Hope your kids do well with there tests :)
And I don’t know about the good week you should see the work schedule I have, ewwwwww. But I shall try. Hope you and your family have a good weak also!!
Okay so I am going to apologize for doing this a head of time, but I have 2 questions about the same stupid problem, I was talking to my friend again and these questions were brought up so I just thought I would ask so I could tell him if this subject once again comes up. AGAIN!!(Memo to self get new friends)
Ok so…you point out that the imperfect tens of the Greek word was being used in Mark. As you pointed out that means that this was something being done more than once, but could the fact that they used the imperfect tense in Mark just be Mark’s way of pointing back or referencing back to Matthew 12? How does the imperfect tens being used in Mark, show that this is something that would have to be done more than once?
The other question is about idle words. Ok so I guess my friend was raised to believe that idle words would mean words that you say without thinking, even words you say by a slip of the tong. Was this an incorrect view of what idle words means, in the context of Matthew?
I need new friends man, I really do. And I totally get if you don’t want to answer the question, I know these questions are darn near identical to the ones you answered for me a while ago, but different enough that I really didn’t have an answer.
Bless you. You are no trouble at all. Let’s start with the imperfect tense question. Tenses in Greek do NOT just say when something took place, as in English. They tell the TYPE OF ACTION as well. They refer either to simple action, continuous action or completed action. The present and imperfect tenses refer to CONTINUOUS action, not something that is done one time. The present tense means continuous action in the present. The command to be filled with the spirit (Ephesians 5:18) is a present tense command. It is something that we are to keep on doing.
The imperfect tense means continuous action in the past. In Galatians 1:13 Paul said that he “was persecuting the church of God” before he became a Christian and tried to destroy it (cf. Acts 8:3; 22:4; 26:10-11). He uses the imperfect tense there. It is something that he did more than once. It was something that he did continuously before he became a Christian. If you wanted to refer to something that took place in the past and was not repeated, you would use the aorist tense for simple occurrence. Jesus opened (aorist) the scroll of a book and read from it (Luke 4:17). Greek tenses are pretty clear.
Jesus point is that one day we will be accountable for every word we ever spoke, the idle words, the bad words, as well as the good words. If we are saved, the blood of Jesus covers every sin (cf. I John 1:9). However, his point in Matthew 12 is that the words that we do speak (good or bad) come out of our heart. “For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him”. I hope this helps.
This is completely unrelated to my last answer but I have question for you. Is there any way I could get you to go watch another movie that is playing right now? Last night, our family went to see the movie God is Not Dead. That movie is so good that you have to see is ASAP. It is even better than Son of God. You have to see it and you have to see it on a big screen. I went because my wife wanted to see it. It didn’t think it would be that good. It was incredible. Let me know if you see it or have seen it already.
Wow work has been swamped that I didn’t even have a day off last week, and Im part time LOL! So I haven’t had time to really think and process what you answered yet but I am determined to get to it!
I haven’t seen it but I totally want to go see that movie, I mean when I saw the trailer with the dude from Duck Dynasty in it, heck ya. But I don’t know if it is in our theater, Ill look. To be honest I didn’t even know it was out yet.
“The present and imperfect tenses refer to CONTINUOUS action, not something that is done one time”
So even in Matthew 12 it was being pointed out that this was something that they were doing more than once? Cuz he keeps talking about how the aorist was used in in Matthew 12. And I know when we first started talking you mentioned that the aorist was used. And he has come to some strange conclusion that Jesus was just showing mercy to the ones who said it in Matthew 9 or that something happened between Matthew 9 and 12 that made the words matter more. I guess he couldn’t see how it would be something done more than once, if the aorist was used in Matthew 12.I guess. I really couldn’t say anything to that cuz I thought the aorist was the same thing as something being present tense.
And in Mark, it’s pointing out that this was something that they had already done more than once?
As for the idle words, I get what your saying, but it doesn’t seam to make a lot of since when it comes to applying it to your everyday life. For instance think of someone in acting, if its in the script to call someone a jerk or a cuss word then what. I mean you would be saying the words, but the anger or hate or whatever wouldn’t be in your heart as it would if it were real life and you were really angry with the person instead of acting.
Or like when we pull a prank on one another I look at my friend and I say “O you jerk” (sometimes a cuss word is used instead of jerk) I’m just kidding and she knows that and laughs along with me, But would my reasons and motives behind saying something matter, or would it merely be the fact that I said something rude or used a bad word that would matter weather I meant it to hurt the other person or not?
The Greek is very clear. It is cut and dry. It is not open to too much debate. One Gospel uses the aorist tense and one uses the imperfect tense. The tenses are different and do not mean the same thing. One means solitary action and one means continuous action. There is also no contradiction. One Gospel mentions what the Pharisees said on one occasion. Another Gospel mentions the fact that they said this at other times as well. There is no contradiction. Matthew does NOT say that this was the only time that they said this. The two fit together perfectly.
You are right about words. You have to look at how they are used and what the intent is as well. I talked about this in my lesson on the Sixth Commandment at the very end of the lesson on Jesus and the Sixth Commandment and What did Jesus Mean?. Check that out when you get a chance. I think it helps to answer your question. Jesus is making a generalization about words. Hope this is somewhat helpful. Have a great weekend. Go see the movie!!!
And see I guess he things the aorist means that it has to be a one time thing ever. He never seams to think that it just means they only did it once at that particular time. And I didn’t say this to him cuz I didn’t want to start a fight, but I was thinking at the time, if the aorist meant that it was one time only, then the instance in Matthew 9 couldn’t have happened.
I think he may be afraid that he did this, he finally said he had had similar thoughts as the one I had.
And were going to go see the movie next Friday, that’s when I get my check, I think it just came out yesterday in the theater where I live.
Happy Easter!
Thanks. Same to you. Hope you and your family had a great Easter. It is my favorite holiday of the year. My wife’s favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. One of my pet peeves is going to church on Easter Sunday and NOT hearing a sermon on the resurrection. It drives me crazy but it happened again last Sunday. To me, it is one of the cardinal sins of a preacher. I saw another good movie – “Heaven is for Real”. You need to see that as well but only after you see “God is Not Dead”. They are very different kinds of movies but the first one is based on a true story. I know these movies can get expensive but they are worth it. Hope you have a great day.
Gladys:
You still out there? I haven’t heard from you in a while. Just wanted to make sure you are still breathing and everything is okay.
Hi, ya I’m still here sorry. I don’t know if I mentioned this but my monitor to my home computer died, so I had been using my laptop since forever. I recently got a new monitor so until tonight I hadn’t used the laptop for a while. I actually busted the laptop out again tonight to check this site to see what you had to say about The Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy commandment.
I am actually going to e-mail this site to myself so I can find it on the home computer.
Hope you and your family are all in good health. :)
Great to hear from you again. I was wondering what happened. Glad you got your computer fixed. Two of my sons work in the IT field but they do not live with me any more. They got jobs in Chicago and moved there. I hope the lesson on the Sabbath is helpful. I have a different approach than some on that topic. I will probably be starting the Book of Genesis in September. My newest post is from John 8 and is called “A Woman Caught in Sin” in case you are interested in that one. Have a great day.
http://www.elonsmallgroup.com/a-woman-caught-in-sin/
I have been having really dirty and Nasty thoughts about the Holy Spirit but the thing is that I feel really bad once I realize them .I rebuke them and pray for forgiveness immediately and I have read many devotionals that are helping but I just want to confirm would I be forgiven??
You are forgiven based on I John 1:9 which says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness.”
Does this mean that as far as its just a thought it is not blasphemy
Basically yes. Blaspehemy in the Bible involves words, not just thoughts. The only passages in the NT which deal with the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit deal with spoken words and not just thoughts.
I have been having evil and blasphemous thoughts such as Jesus is a DeMon.i always link good things to sexual thoughts anytime am reading the Biblethe thing is that when these thoughts come I feel guilty and I ask for forgiveness immediately but the thing is that in Matthew 12:31 The Bible says that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit won’t be forgiven and JESUS KNEW THEIR THOUGHTSam I doomed forever did I blaspheme or was it just a bad thoughts? Would I be forgiven byGod?
You are NOT doomed forever. Just bad thoughts. It is not a sin to have bad thoughts. Satan sometimes puts bad thoughts in our head. The problem is not the thoughts but what we do with the thoughts. Martin Luther used to say that you can’t keep the birds from flying over your head but you can keep them from nesting in your hair. When those thoughts come into your head, simply replace them with the truth. Replace them with what God says. Read the Word and fill your head with Scripture.
What I can say is this; if you can come to Christ, you can and will be forgiven. There is no scripture that denies the fact that if you come to Jesus he won’t cast you away (John 6:37). There being a sin which God does not pardon you for contradicts a variety of scripture. Is there a sin which makes it
impossible for one to repent?
Yes. Will the person who has committed this sin want to repent and be forgiven? No. I’m positive that if one confessed this sin to God then he can be cleansed from all unrighteousness and be forgiven (1 John 1:9). We need to realize
that God doesn’t want any man to perish and all to repent (2 Peter 3:9).
So if there was a sin which God denies pardon for when asking to be pardoned that contradicts what 2 Peter 3:9 says that he wants all to repent! God wants to forgive you! But if you continue to reject and resist Gods mercy, there will come a point where the lights shut off, the door closes. I think we can know for one reason why this sin isn’t committed in the snap of a finger is that the Pharisees in fact made the same accusation in Matthew 9:34 as in
Mathew 12:24 and Jesus had not yet warned or condemned them.
So we know that the Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is never an act but more so a resistance against Gods mercy. A person who has committed this sin will never desire Gods forgiveness.
I can say that yes a Christian can commit such a sin, but it becomes a continuous act and rejection against the Holy Spirit. Those who
feel they have done something that God won’t forgive, all I can tell you is to take it to cross, confess it, beg for mercy, and mercy will always be given!
True but I think the main concern is could blasphamy against the holy spiring be the exception to 1 John 1:9. I know some who think you wold want and ask for forgiveness but still not get it.
I know it seams a little strange but there are sometimes when we find contradictions and exceptions in the bible that are hard to explain away, the example off the top of my head is like belief is all we need to be saved, its a universal given, yet the bible tells us that faith without works is dead, that makes it seam that even if we believe if we have no good deeds to go with it we still wont be saved. Im not saying thats true I am just saying its an example of what many would call an unhappy exception or contradiction. and many will apply that to blasphamy of the HS when 1 John 1:9 is mentioned.
You do realize that you responded to a post written by someone else here but I will give you my comments. I agree with you the the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit would have to be an exception to I John 1:9. If you could confess that sin and be forgiven, then the sin would not be unforgivable. In fact, any sin which is not confessed could not be forgiven either. That would make many unforgivable sins. This is not a problem or a contradiction, just an exception. However, this should not cause any concern, because there is no evidence that a true believer can or will ever commit this sin. It was committed by people who hated Jesus so bad that they wanted to kill him and made that statement (an outward reflection of an inner heart attitude) despite the evidence that was right in front of them (undeniable stupendous miracles performed by the Son of God while He was on earth).
Um.. smething else to toss out there, I dont know if this is solid thinking or me just grasping at straws, but the bibe seams to be a little nit picky about some things so I know where the idea of it only being a matter of words comes from. I mean that is what screpture says, but if it was a matter of words then a lot of pastors, prists, bishops or whatever would probably be in searious trouble, I mean can you really preach from the bible and not mention this? I mean a man or woman in that position would have to tell there congragation what the pharaees said would they not? And we are supose to teach from the bible, so if it was a matter of words and words alone, I dont think it would have been put in the bible in the first place. Or surley there would have been a warning to those who preach to warn them of commiting this sin.
Any thoughts?
I am not quite sure if I understand the question. Preachers and pastors who do their job to teach the whole counsel of God (and not just parts of it) will tell their congregation about the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. They will also explain what the sin in the context of the passage (e.g. what the Pharisees were doing at the time). Unfortunately, many do not do this. They do not teach or preach the Bible in-depth. Preaching today in many churches is shallow and superficial. What is usually done is proof-texting. Many may quote the passage but not explain it in depth. Part of this may be due to laziness. In other cases, it may be due to ignorance.
Gladys:
You say, “I mean can you really preach from the bible and not mention this? I mean a man or woman in that position would have to tell there congregation what the Pharisees said would they not? And we are suppose to teach from the Bible, so if it was a matter of words and words alone, I don’t think it would have been put in the Bible in the first place.” You are absolutely correct here. I agree with you completely. A preacher who reads what the Pharisees said is not guilty of this sin, nor is anyone who preaches on the blasphemy of the Spirit. It is not the words alone but the words which are a reflection of an inner heart attitude which are guilty of this sin, as Jesus says in Matthew 12.
I have noticed that a lot of the time preaching is superficial, totally agree.
But I didnt really have a question as much as an observtion. I mean I know there are a lot of things in the bible that are sins yet it dosent really make since as to why its a sin, an example would be tattoos, I cant imagin why on earth thats a sin, I just know it is.
The observation was that I think one reason people worry that they have committed this sin is because they apply that type of thinking to this sin, people who worry they have done it think ‘it dosent make since that saying a few words is a sin but it is’, and that thinking leads people to worry if it is an exception to I John 1:9 The poeple who worry about this think that because if it really could be committed so easly then it would have to be the exception to I John 1:9 or else it wouldnt matter that you said it. And the thoughts keep going in that circle.and I think thats why it is so hard for people to find comphort from just being told they didnt do it.
And the point I was trying to make is that its not a sin that you can avoid like you can avoid gettign a tattoo, its something that if you are a postor or priest or whatever if you are doing youre job right, you will have to tell youre congragation how this sin is committed if this sin was so easly committed then every religious leader who talkes about it would have committed it. I mean there really isn a way to tap dance around what the pharasees said wihtout confusing youre congragation. At least thats what I tell myself. Thoug I dont know if I have a good thought here or if its a weak explination.
O sorry I didnt realize you had responded to both posts sorry LOL
No problem
Wow I have read this article so many times and I am a little shoced that I ddint notice this before but you say in one part “Some have blasphemed the Bible which is inspired by the Holy Spirit. Some have blasphemed the Virgin Birth or (in more proper terminology) the virginal conception, a pregnancy which took place because of the Holy Spirit . The Holy Spirit overshadowed her”.” when you mention other ways of commiting this sin.
But how would you blaspheme the bible or virgin birth? There are many who interpert the bible in different ways, or some who think that mary wasnt a virgin and that the virgin birth is figurative, that isnt the same thing is it?
And I also notced that Jesus says blashemes aginst the HS and speaks a word against, why is there a clarification? Is blaspheming and speaking agisnt diffrent or is speaking against just a clarification if blaspheming?
Gladys:
You asked two questions in your last post.
1. Is there a difference between blaspheming the Spirit and speaking a word against the Spirit? There is no difference. It is another way of saying the same thing. They are parallel thoughts. This is clear from the passage.
“Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the BLASPHEMY AGAINST the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever SPEAKS AGAINST the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come” (Matthew 12:31-32)
“And everyone who SPEAKS A WORD AGAINST the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who BLASPHEMES AGAINST the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven” (Luke 12:10)
2. How would you blaspheme the Bible or virgin birth? I used those as modern examples because the Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit. The biblical writers “spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (II Peter 1:21). Many terrible things have been said about the Bible by unbelievers and skeptics. They mock a book that came from the Holy Spirit.
How did the Virgin Mary get pregnant? She never had sex with Joseph. Luke 1:35 answers that question: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born[e] will be called holy—the Son of God.” Some Pharisees in Jesus day mocked him and said that he was born of fornication (John 8:41). It is a form of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.
Is this the same thing as what the Pharisees did in Matthew 12? I am not sure. Many can mock the Bible out of ignorance. The Pharisees in Jesus day did not sin in ignorance. They had no excuse with the miracles of Jesus staring them in the face. It may not be exactly the same but it is a parallel.
Another example of this would be non-charismatics who attribute all of the modern miracles in charismatic church to Satan. I thnk it is very dangerous to make an accusation like this, as many Baptists do. Some miracles may be demonic but you have to be very careful before ever making an accusation like this without any proof.
had a conversation with my mom about what blasphamy was and she took it like a champ, suprising considering how nervous religion makes her, then she had to tell me of a story where her father and another member of there church went to someone elses church as guests and they claimed they could preform miracles I guess make tables movie or something like that and it was not a satnic church or anything like that . Well they could’nt because there was someone who did not believe among them, so of corse when her father and the man he was with left,they were able to perform the miracles. Then my mom says that was the work of ‘you know who’ and I just looked at her and asked if she had just really said that then asked if she had hurd a word I had said, I mean the bible tells us people shouldnt be able to do stuff like that so I dont think she blasphemed the Holy Spirit, but I am still so mad at her.
Gladys:
I wouldn’t read too much into her comment but I understand your frustration. A better approach is to explain to her why some can still perform miracles today. God still does this. Jesus is the same “yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). Having said this, every person who claims to have this gift may not actually have it. That is where discernment comes in.
I’m afraid is saying curse words against the Holy Spirit the blasphemy against the Holy I AND ALSO THERE’S WAS A DAY i said MARy HADN’T HELPED ANYBODY HAVE I BLASPHEMEd THE HOLY SPIRIT
Grace:
Not likely but I would need more information about what you did. Just about everyone who is worried that they have committed this sin, has not committed it. It is the exact opposite of the Scribes and Pharisees who were unrepentant.
I mean when someone uses a swear word against the Holy Spirit is that speaking against The Holy Spirit
I would say that this is something far more serious than saying one swear word against the Holy Spirit. The men who committed this sin wanted to KILL Jesus (Matthew 12:14). They HATED him and deliberately spoke evil of his good works which came from the Holy Spirit. They did this more than once and they were completely unrepentant. This does not describe someone who said a few bad words, feels sorry for them and is worried about being forgiven. The men who did this in the Gospels did not think that they did anything wrong. They were not “humble, broken repentant sinners. They are stubborn, self-righteous, heard-hearted, Christ-rejecting and close-minded” as I said in another post. Does this describe you? I doubt it or you would not be writing me about this question.
But then the Bible says we woUld give account for every careles Word spoken
It is true that we will one day give account of every idle word we have spoken. In fact, we will given an account of EVERY word that we have spoken, good or bad. That is NOT to say that this particular sin is an idle word. It is clear from the Gospels that the blasphemy of the Spirit was NOT an accidental slip of the tongue. It was not a casual comment.
It was intentional and deliberate slandering of the undeniable power of the Holy Spirit displayed in the supernatural miracles of Jesus and it was not just done by anyone. It was done by the top Bible scholars who came down from Jerusalem (Mark 3:22). This was not a comment made by somone in ignorance who made an honest mistake.
Jesus also made clear that this sin is NOT just a matter of words. He said in Matthew 12:34 that “out of the heart the mouth speaks” (KJV) or “the mouth speaks what the heart is full of”. If this sin was just a matter of saying a few words, then every preacher who reads Matthew 12 would be guilty of the same sin.
Thank you very much for the clarification. God bless you
No problem. Have a great day.
hey I’m really worry because I said I should said f*cken after that I said the name of the Holy Spirit with my mouth did I committed the unforgivable sin ? blasphemy against the Holy Spirit this happen after I read that verse of the bible since 2012 until now I’ve been suffering with this in my head also I when I read that the Jews called the sprit the devil and they attribute his works to him too I started having those thoughts in my head and everytime I would run to my mom and confessed it to her like mom I said the hs is the dem** and I think just by confessing that with my mouth for years since 2012 I’m 19 I think I’m going to hell and God is not gonna forgive me I’m very scare and depress all this happen since I read that story when Jesus mention that he’s not gonna forgive the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit on mark chapter 3 verse 20 to 30 please reply back to me when u see this message as soon as possible thank u !! and I also think that once I got mad at God and said those things out of anger too :(
Jessica:
Bless you. You can rest assured that you have NOT committed the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. You do not have to worry about that. You would have to read my entire teaching on the subject to know why. A more important question is this. Are you saved? Do you know for sure if you are saved? I do not know your religious background. Have you ever accepted Christ as Savior? Do you attend a Bible-believing church? Are you in contact with other Christians where you live?
I think this has something to do with the heart. Not thoughts or just words alone but the heart. Many a times I’ve noticed verses about “Jesus knowing thoughts” just as in the case with the Pharisees. I’ve also seen many worried about it, troubled by psychological disorders. Some during great stress and under bad judgments and finally some out of hatred and disgust and are really against the Spirit or any things of God. It would makes sense as why these who “truly” despises the spirit would not just once or wasn’t just a mistake but “out of the abundance of the heart”. They wouldn’t come to faith and strongly against it and have made a choice. They are proud of what they said and could care less contrary to those who didn’t really mean it and are worried about having committed this sin. It was out of their hearts of hearts. A permanent decision and will. I’ve seen blogs about those saying once its done or said it cannot be undone, saying it’s just a verbal sin alone. Blasphemy is rooted in the heart. Of course Jesus said what comes out of the mouth is what defiles a man but can it defile when the heart really isn’t in it?If what comes out of the mouth alone is just what makes one guilty then I’m assuming the mute would surely be blessed. Teach children about it and would it ultimately damn them?
This sin is rare indeed and why is that? Because this is the only thing in the bible that hasn’t been much preached about. At least where I’m coming from.
http://jamesbradfordpate.blogspot.in/2008/04/matthew-1222-37-blasphemy-against-holy.html?m=1
This is a sin of the heart but it expresses itself in words. Blasphemy is verbal. It involves a sin of the tongue but I agree completely with you. That is what the context of the passage is dealing with.
Is there a difference between saying a swear word TOWARDS and AGAINST tge holy spirit?
I don’t think so. Matthew 12:32 says whoever sins against (the preposition KATA in Greek). Mark 3:29 says whoever sins toward or unto (the preposition EIS in Greek)
Ok so please be honest.
I have concerns about the unpardonable sin. I’m not so sure anymore. The time I did it was when I was young and I was crying. I did swore and used a F word. I did still curse Jesus and God Himself but never did I do so again with the holy spirit, thinking about it now maybe God shut my mouth I don’t know.(sounds like I’m making excuses) I can’t say it was ignorance. I roughly know what it was about though honestly speaking I dont know much about what the holy spirit is or what it does not that it matters. It wasn’t because I despise out of heart or is dead set out against the Spirit in anyway. My heart knows I don’t really meant it, it wasn’t out of abundance either or I would have done so many a times. I’ve always been struggling seeking God.I know it is a verbal sin, but does it counts when the heart really isn’t involved?After all blasphemy is rooted in the heart. What confuse me is that those who say if you have done it you won’t worry much about it and could care less about salvation or even Jesus. I do care, i long to be with Him, knowing Him now i even want more. What’s even more confusing is that those who have done it won’t come to faith as the holy spirit itself won’t draw you towards God or Truth anymore. Something about man won’t come unless The Father draws him to The Son. So Is The holy spirit still drawing me to Christ then? I couldn’t understand whether my blasphemy was taken seriously or was excused or whether I’m guilty of it. I couldn’t understand why now? Why would God makes me see the Truth about Jesus, only to show me that I won’t receive Him??
Before I try to answer your question, I need to ask you a question. What is your relationship to Christ now? Do you attend church in regular fellowship with other believers? Do you have a close relationship? Are you saved? If you are, when did you get saved?
Natsu:
I am going to give you a quick answer to your question. It is obvious from your last post that you are seeking God. You wrote, “All I’m feeling is that I just want to run to Him and hugged Him close”. That does not describe someone who is running from God but running to him. It does NOT describe the Pharisees that Jesus spoke to regarding the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. They hated Jesus and wanted to kill him (Matthew 12:14). There was open animosity and hostility to Him to the point of violence. You are also absolutely correct that this is NOT just a verbal sin. It is a verbal sin which reflects an inner heart attitude, as is clear from the context of the Blasphy of the Holy Spirit (cf. Matthew 12:34). If this sin was just a matter of saying a few words, then every preacher who reads Matthew 12 would be guilty of the same sin. This is not somehting that you should be losing any sleep over but I would again strongly encourage you to be in regular fellowship with God’s people. Hope this answers your question.
While I don’t lose sleep over it. I sleep more so I tend to forget about it. I’d wake up with discomfort and worry going over through this, begging for forgiveness. “Voices in my head,no,thoughts maybe? Stuffs like give up, give up, fill yourself with hate, it doesnt matter, Your God has spit on your face. Jesus never died for you, He loves some, but definitely not you, if He had, you wouldn’t come close to this, if He wants you saved, you will know. He doesn’t care even if you will cry a river of tears, He’ll laugh as you cry, even if you lift up your filthy arms, He will cut your arms, Stuffs like you worm, you swine, even the sparrow has more worth in His eyes than you’ll ever be. Your pet is more precious in His eyes.” Is there someone whose going exactly or somewhat like this? I do really feel like giving up, sometimes I wish I could not believe in Jesus anymore but I honestly couldn’t.
It is obvious WHERE those voices come from. They do NOT come from God but the Devil. There is a difference between conviction and condemnation. One comes from the Holy Spirit and one comes from Demons. “There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Eveyr time you have those thoughts, you need to respond verbally with the written Word of God, just like Jesus did when he was tempted by the Devil. When you feel that way, quote Scripture. Replace the lie you are hearing with truth. That is what Jesus did when thrtee times He said to Satan “It is written…It is written…It is written”.
I don’t know what my relationship with my Lord is to be honest. All Im feeling is that I just want to run to Him and hugged Him close, you know that child-like feeling when a child missed his father so much and just want to wrap around his father’s chest.Every day every moment whether watching tv or doing stuffs, I’d pray in my heart begging, longing, hoping sometimes it feels like I don’t even know what to pray about anymore. It feels like I’m losing my sanity. If I had known better how much He loves sinners like me I wouldn’t have cursed. It wasn’t because I hated Jesus that I cursed Him or spoke ill of Him, it was because I was desperate for the need of Him and feeling like He don’t want me. Now seeing the truth about how much he welcomes sinners, I’d teared up reading about how he welcomes those who are cast off, the lost sinners, like me. Anyway I love going to church sure there are those lazy moments. But I’d love hearing what the pearcher is preaching, no matter how sleepy I felt at church. I just want to seek the Lord, Truth, something.I just really want to be with Jesus. But now since I recalled those words I said when I was young, I’m scared of going to church again even though I wanted to. I wanted to see my brethren, I wanted to sing along hymns, I love it when we all gather along. Sometimes I wish Church is my home so I could be there everyday. It’s a great feeling to be with them, I do love them. I’d often feel sadden and let down when they ask me why don’t you come back to church. My church is so small, hardy 100 members.. As for being saved I dont know if I am. Most of my searchings for God was all alone struggling in sins. When I was young I hardly understand things. But when I got older I begin to understand His love, I’d often pray, still do. But now I feel as all is vain, like I’m losing hope but even so I couldn’t go a day without Him in my thoughts. I’d still pray in my heart even when I’m not praying. I’d still sing in my heart I’d teared up to my favorite hymns like pass me not, rock of ages, follow me, and many more that touched my heart. I can’t truly express my desire and my longings, all I know is that I’m really sorry for the sins that makes Him heavy on the cross, the sins that led me away from Him everything I said and done. Everytime I went astray, I’d always end up on my knees praying, I couldn’t even when I tried running away. There was a time I’ve completely ignored and “TRY”not care anymore but still I couldn’t, I’ve been brought down on my knees again. So I’m not really sure whether God still cares, I’m not really sure if it’s His patience and longsuffering, I’m not sure if my desire to go to Him is because God’s still is calling me, I’m not sure whether He still cares. If I’m not really saved then I guess it’s just what it is. Salvation is His alone.
Based on this explanation, it looks like you are genuinely saved. You have feelings for God that the unsaved do not have. You are seeking God and the Bible says if you draw near to God, He will draw near to you. On the other hand, there also seems to be a lot of confusion in your tone. You need two things. First, you need to be in regular fellowship with God’s people. Translation, you need to be in church each week. You need to be in a good church and not just any one. I do not know if the one with one hundred members does or does not fit the bill. Second, you need to find a godly person in that church that you can go to with your questions. There are answers in Scripture to all of them. I will try to addess the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit in my next post.
Keep me posted if possible. Thabks for your time and by the way I’m a member of the Church of Christ. It’s a pretty small Chruch. There are certain events when all other chuchers gather together though.
Hello, admin, I don’t know if you’re still active in responding to posts however I’m plagued with the fear that I may be guilty of the unpardonable sin. It is because it is a verbal sin.
One day, I was experiencing OCD type blasphemous thoughts and I, being a perfectionist, tried to verbally *make sure* I wouldn’t say it the wrong way.
I kept repeating to myself (in a chant like way), “The Holy Spirit is not evil”
Or something along those lines and I ended up saying it opposite!! I remember, I was at work at the time.
I was living in sin, living unequally yoked with a man for a long time.
Then another time, one day I was half asleep and spoke something blasphemous again!!!
I’ve been in torment since then. I tell God “you know those were not from me”.
But at the same time I feel drawn to follow Jesus.
Then I constantly tremble that our every idle/careless words will be judged and that can be condemned or justified.
The only verse that offers comfort is where Jesus states that all that The Father gives Him will come to Him and whoever comes to Him He will never cast out.
It’s true that they say if you fear you’ve committed it, then feel assured you haven’t committed it. It makes sense however how did they figure this from God’s Word?
Im highly angered that those Pharrisees made up that sin against Jesus.
I wish this was never said by Anybody!!
Amber:
You have NOT committed the blasphemy of the Spirit. I could explain why in another response. You have nothing to worry about that sin. Are you saved? That is another question which I cannot answer. What is your current spiritual state? Are you a professing Christian? Do you worship God regularly in church? Are you still living in sin? I would be glad to give you better advice when I get a little more information.
Then what makes it difficult is that Jesus says from out of the heart the mouth speaks. I do not have hatred toward Jesus or God The Father. I want to be one with Them. I want the company and the filling of The Holy Spirit. I desire to spread The Gospel.
Its true that our hearts are deceitful.
I desire God and forgiveness. I feel im a worse sinner than anyone.
I tell God I wonder if He believes me, that I did not mean those words. I dont want to wait until Judgement Day to know my eternal destination.
I was living in fornication and there were roommates too. One roommate blasphemed God’s name daily and always spoke profane things. I think that evil spirits were oppressing me then.
They say that seven demons can go back to a person?
What I hear from you is that you believe you are a sinner and want to be forgiven and to know if you are really saved. All of that is a good sign. You also have spiritual desires (to spread the gospel), which is also good. Have you ever accepted Christ as your personal Savior? When and how did you do this?
My problem is basically the same as Ambers. Though I don’t go to church. Honestly I don’t like church, I prefer to gather in a small group or one on one with someone. I personally find you get more out of scripture when you do that. Though My problems started more like Gladys did, a thought I didn’t want growing into a huge life consuming problem
By the way where would be the proper place to ask you about 1 timothy 2 8-15
What is the question and I will try to answer it, if I can.
Sorry been so long since I checked back to this site. Sorry. Well the question is really simple though I don’t know if the answer will be. I find the answer to biblical questions rarely are. Is it really saying that women can not preach the bible. Or that she must never argue with her husband even when knowing he is wrong about something?
You are right the question is not simple. I do not have the final answer. I Corinthians 14:34-35 says, Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church” (NIV).
I know very few churches that take this verse literally. Part of what is going on here has to be cultural. In the first century, women wore head coverings in church. They did not talk or ask questions.
The principle of submission which this passage mentions is still in effect but the application of the principle may be different in the same way that we no longer greet one another with a holy kiss in our churches today, even though Paul commanded it in the NT. We would still obey the principle today but in a different way (hug or handshake)
That is very different from asking if women can be pastors today. That is a completely different and more complicated question. Some churches tend to take passages like I Timothy 2:11-12 at face value. Some churches completely throw the passage out and have women pastors but if we do that to that passage, we could do it to any passage that we do not like (e.g., verses on homosexuality).
Again it has been a while since checking this site. I am a woman but I personally have no desire to be a pastor or anything like it, but how broad of a statment is that? Woman should spread the word just as any man should we. Or mothers they should teach there children should we. Or is the passage strictley speaking of women holding a position in the church.
Non one that I know who takes the prohibition in I timothy 2 literally believes that women cannot teach at all. They believe that they simply cannot exercise authority over men but can teach other women and can teach children. There are many different viewpoints on this. Some churches have women pastors. Some churches do not have women pastors but have women elders. Other churches do not have women elders but have women deacons. I hope I have not thoroughly confused you.
I do want to post a question on Blasphamy of the Holy Spirit. I know from the your blog I guess is what it is called that you feel that this sin is a verbal sin. Though I find that most of the time people have a blasphamous thought instead of just blurting something stupid out. So hypothetically if this sin could be committed by thought, Would your beliefs on weather or not someone had committed this sin, still be the same.
While reading one of the last posts from Gladys, she stated that her mother said that years ago her own father went to a church who made tables or something like that move, I believe she said in her post that her mother said that having the power to do that wasn’t from god. From what I gathered from her posts over time her mother is a believer, so can a believer commit this sin by acciadent out of ignorance or no? After all we have no real proof that the Pharasees knew who Jesus was, weather they should have or not, and yet they were guilty of this sin were they not. Or were they, Jesus did say that whoever did it was in danger of a sin that has no forgiveness, could it have been a worning to them to not say it agian.
Your wrote, “So hypothetically if this sin could be committed by thought, Would your beliefs on weather or not someone had committed this sin, still be the same”. The answer is No because blasphemy is a verbal sin but the Bible teaches that what is in the heart often comes out in words, as Jesus said “out of he heart, the mouth speaks”. A bad thought, however, is not quite the same thing. This sin CANNOT be committed by accident or ignorance. Read some of the previous answers to questions where I clarify that point. The Pharisees had clear evidence of the power of God in the miracles of Jesus. It was undeniable. Since they could not deny them. They witnessed them. All they could do was slander them.
K. I see where you are coming from. But what exactly does the bible say about our thoughts, or does it say anything about them? I personally have always thought that our thoughts are more honest than our words.
Jesus said that our thoughts come out of our hearts (Matthew 15:19). He said, “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart” (Luke 6:45) He also said that words are an expression of our thoughts.
He said “out of the heart the mouth speaks”. The mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Matthew 13:34 NIV), so words are often a reflection of our thoughts. What we are thinking comes out in words. If we are angry or depressed on the inside, it comes out in words, as well as actions.
In one sense, thoughts are more honest than our words, as you say. God knows our thoughts. We could say one thing and think something else. On the other hand, we are not responsible for every thought that comes into our head. Some of those thoughts can come straight from Satan. He can tempt people with evil thoughts. Hope this helps.
Hello, admin.
Yes, I do believe that Jesus Is The Son Of GOD and the Messiah.
I believe that The Father sent His Only Begotten Son to die for our sins and that He rose from the dead 3 days later.
He IS seated at The right hand of The Father.
I found this page once again and am now able to respond.
This is what greatly concerns me.
When Jesus says what comes out of our mouths is a reflection of what’s in our hearts. And also, every idle word spoken, that our words can either condemn or justify.
One day at work a few years ago, i was constantly writing and saying in my mind, “The Holy Spirit Is Holy” over and over and other Truths about Him,
because i was afraid of committing a sin such as this and tried to make sure NOT to commit it, that it became OCD in nature.
i was dealing with attacking thoughts against my Lord from the enemy (still am) until, as i was walking, when i opened up my
mouth, the exact words the pharisees said came out mine!
i was so devastated. Then time afterwards, one night, i was half asleep / half awake that those words came out my mouth again!
which led me to think i needed deliverance.
i fear The Day we have to give an account of ourselves.
The only verse that provides hope is John 6:37 (KJV)
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
I want to come to Jesus, will He reject me?
the verse also states those whom The Father gives Him will come.
Does this mean im one of those whom The Father has given?
Please pray to our Father before responding.
You have not committed the unpardonable sin. We will be held account for every careless word but that does not mean that careless words can’t be forgiven. They can. The only one that can’t be forgiven is the unpardonable sin and that is not an unintentional or accidental slip of the tongue. It is deliberate and willful like the Pharisees were doing. It sounds like what you are experiencing is clearly demonic. Satan wants you to think you have committed this sin to give you no hope. I would encourage you to have other believers pray for deliverance. Are you in a good local church?
Hello, and GOD bless you for responding!
i, too, know that im being severely under attack. im having difficulty believing Jesus will forgive ALL of my sins.
I strongly desire Matthew 5:6 (KJV)
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
I need to find a church where my brothers and sisters are but i want to make sure it’s a biblically sound one. i surely desire deliverance and freedom!
Bless you. I will keep you in my prayers for your deliverance and for wisdom regarding a local assembly of believers. It is God’s will for you to be in a group of godly believers who will support you. Any way I can help, let me know.
You said that you have trouble believing that God could forgive you. I found a sermon that I would like you to listen to. It is located at the following link – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKSofu9YlyQ
It is a little slow at first but what he has to say in the crux of the sermon is POWERFUL. It is life-changing. One of my sons brought it to my attention once. I really think it may help you.
Thank you, i will view the video you have posted!
and about a church, i went to one today, called Spirit Filled Ministries, however, im not quite sure if this is where i should be?
It’s been a while but this is still relevant. Some part of me is always pushing the limits, which is terrible because I heard about the unpardonable sin and some part of me started saying evil stuff I didn’t believe about the Holy Spirit. I know He’s not evil or any of the things I called Him but it felt too intentional. Do you think I can be forgiven if I said things pushing the limits but I didn’t mean them against the Holy Spirit? I just said some stupid things I shouldn’t have said? I pray and pray but I feel like I cannot repent, and I’m worried I have committed the unforgivable sin.
You do not have anything to worry about. You have not committed the sin. It is not an accidental sin. In the context of the passage, this was done deliberately by the Pharisees. It was not something that they said but did not mean to say.
Hello admin. I am sorry for not leaving my full name but I learned long ago that I shouldn’t do that LOL.
Now I have suffered from a serious fear, I guess you could call it an irrational fear. I decided to contact you because my experiences are similar or in some cases identical to many of the others who have posted on this site.
My first experience with this sin was when a friend of mine {who I no longer have contact with} were talking about forgiveness. I said that it was comforting that we can be forgiven for any sin if we just ask for forgiveness {If we mean it of course}. And he mentioned that there is one sin that has no forgiveness. Well that sucked! As soon as I heard this I looked it up so see if what he was saying was true, and Lowe and behold there it was in Matthew 12.
And like many who worry about something, it soon became the only thing on my mind. I kept repeating this mantra, “Don’t do it, Don’t do it” So of course I did it. Or thought it would be more accurate. Now this is where my situation is similar to the first person who responded to your post, I thought the exact words that the Pharisees said. “Jesus got his power from…..” Well you know how the thought ended. I refuse to post it.
I went into a tail spin! I even tried to explain my situation to others and of course I had to tell them what I had said, so then I had spoken the words which let me tell you Did. Not. Help. At. ALL!!!!! So I was convinced well if I hadn’t done it before I had now!
Now I have read Matthew 9 and found some hope in it but the fear would always came back.
I know that Matthew says that from our heart our mouth speaks, so I guess my question is, is it always condemnation to hell for saying such a thing? Or would our reasons for saying these words matter to? As you said, a pastor or priest would be guilty of this sin if it were just a matter of saying words, but how do we know that GOD makes such a distinction? I mean there are many things in the bible that by our human standards would seam unfair or cruel, but they aren’t by GODs standards.
Thank you and I am sorry for such a long post :)
Sorry for the delay. You have nothing to worry about. Thoughts come into our mind which are demonic. We are not responsible for every thought that we have.
You are worried that you had some bad thoughts or said some bad words. This situation in Matthew 12 is much more serious than that.
The real question is this: If Jesus were on the earth today, healing people left and right and raising the dead right before your eyes, would you think that his power came from Satan? Would you slander his miracle working power? Would you want to kill him like they did?
If you can say YES to both questions, you might have something to worry about. I don’t think you would think or say these things. I believe you would probably fall down an worship Jesus and not try to kill him like they did.
That is why it is so important to look at those words of Jesus in light of their historical context. Are you a professing Christian? Has he ever saved you?
I think I am a professing Christian. I honestly don’t know. I want to be saved and I fear hell clearly, but sometimes my faith is much smaller than a mustard seed.
Do you have a clear understanding of the gospel? Do you understand how to be saved? John says that all who receive Christ become the children of God (1:12) and all who believe in him have eternal life (3:18, 16). Has there been a time you have acknowledged that you are a sinner, personally received Christ and asked him to save you? If the answer is YES, my next question is, Are you involved in a good local church where you live? Do you attend it regularly? Are you in regular fellowship with other Christians in your area?
I have a sickening problem now. It started like this…
I have been able to picture faces or things under my eyelids. Usually better in light rooms. I`ve pictured Jesus a few times and I had not so long ago wanted to picture him after I asked a question in prayer. I managed to picture his face quite decently and heard my own voice in my head answer the `no` to my question. This was worrying, but confusing. Then I saw this same thing multiple times, but I came to suspect more and more that my mind was playing tricks on me. It became obsessive overtime rather fast, the only time that it seemed to be remotely possible to have come from God was the first time and perhaps the first three. But, I knew that there was evidence to the answer yes to my question. Solid evidence. And I just kept on finding evidence to the contrary. I had asked God a lot to tell me if that image and the voice were from him. I remember asking it very emotionally at one point, and I had a realization that made the answer yes to my question grow significantly. I thought for sure it was from God (because I have never had a manifestation of God ever. God almost always talked to me through realizations and the world around me exterior of me). I recalled that I had directly wanted to picture God and that I could picture him even more vividly then that one incidence. I realized it was easy for it to have been just my mind playing tricks and I made the mistake. I became convinced that the devil was playing a trick on me. I don`t remember exactly what I said, but it revolved around: I know these were of (you know who) or: I know now that (you know who) was playing tricks on me. I was convinced but I did not know 100%. I had been searching the Bible and the internet to consult the matter and I saw the passage about the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. As far as I have researched, committing blasphemy against manifestations of the HS is what it would be if I was wrong. That meant, if I was wrong about what I said, then I cannot be forgiven. And I considered again that the answer might be no to my question. Though I have no proof, I worry about it. God never has appeared to me before, I feel confused and angered by this now. That God would not forgive a mistake of my judgement. Is this just a trick of my mind because I was so focused on that question?
I’ve looked up what that was and I got the answer that: ‘It is almost certainly personal interpretation and the structure of the eye, that I am interpreting light signals on the back of the eye’.
I had willed these images, but I often question wether or not the Holy Spirit might have spoke through them. That, too, was another question. Who would have spoken or used my thoughts to tell me that. God? Or God through the Holy Spirit?
But it means, if the answer to my question was yes, then this thought/voice was not telling the truth. As God cannot lie, I would be fine. I looked this up to verify and found that God can ‘decieve’ (withholding the truth) for certain periods.
I was angry with God that he might have withheld telling me wether or not this voice was true and ALLOWED me to blaspheme. And I commented again on the voice saying: “it wouldn’t be deciet, it was a lie”
I realized what I was saying after a few seconds and blurted out: “but only if it were not true!”
And now I have to think to myself that if I have a spontaneous thought, and I say something against it, and it were to ever be the Holy Spirit…
http://www.vincentcheung.com/2012/06/07/blasphemy-against-the-holy-spirit/
This man’s words did not help. Though I can say I find a lot of what he has said illogical themselves, I know I cannot know that for sure. I ask you to please help me know. Because if it is more than just the works that can be blasphemed, then that means that every thought, every man claiming to be of God, or a spontaneous thought one thinks is God but is more likely to be simply just a spontaneous thought. Or any tiny thing that just MIGHT be of God but that one logically sees the opposite more likely or not knowing even in the first place who that was. It makes testing the spirits a minefield.
Does this mean that a slip up as well provokes God’s anger? Or even someone who has misspoken.
This all comes from the fact that Jesus didn’t just say blasphemy against the HS, he said speaking against the HS.
How correct is it then for this person to say how “easy” it is?
Aaron, I have a few simple observations from your situation.
First, when God appears to you or speaks to you, you will know that it is God. If Jesus appears to you, there will be no doubt about it. Everywhere in the bible where God shows up, everyone knows it.
Second, making an error of judgment is not the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. The case in Matthew 12 does NOT deal with that situation. Jesus performed incredible miracles in front of the Pharisees.
They could not deny them. The only thing they could do is to discredit them because they hated Jesus. That is different from someone who makes a bad statement out of ignorance or incomplete information.
Third, it might be a good idea to get counseling from a christian counselor or pastor to answer any additional questions you have about your experience. A local person in your area might be able to further assist you in a way better than I could online. Hope this is some help.
It isn’t that simple, because I don’t know. All I can say when I saw it was that it was surprising. The last place I asked about these said: the images you are seeing are almost certainly a combination of the structure of the eye and personal interpretation. Your eyelids are not perfectly opaque, so especially in a lighter room, you might still get light signals hitting the back of your eye. At the same time, blood pressure and pressure on the surface of the eye often cause “noise” in the optic nerve. In normal lighting, this is invisible. When there is nothing else to see, this might look like swirls, colors, patterns, and so forth. How you choose to interpret those has a lot to do with personal thoughts and preferences.
I caused that to appear, but how do I know God did not speak through it? Nowhere in the Bible does it tell me wether or not this has any validity. There are even websites dedicated to help you try to know if you are hearing God, Satan, or one’s own thoughts. Not even this helps.
I thought about what if it weren’t true what was said, but still was from God. There were parts of the Bible where he held back the truth.
I got angry that it might have been some test and said it wasn’t deception, but instead that it was not true. After a few seconds I had blurred out “-if it were not true”
I wasn’t even trying or thinking to blaspheme, I was just mad that it might be an occasion of him withholding the truth.
I think what if the parts of the Bible where it says the blaspheme are simply as hard said as they mean. That the site like with Vincent Cheung is right, and that the uplifting sites like these may be incorrect or ‘false hope’ as is worded. I am hateful to this thought. That any case of ‘reviling, speaking evil of, and railing against’ from the Greek translation means even a mistake or saying it without meaning it the way it was worded are of eternal condemnation. I simply now just want to find the yes answer to my question and not ever talk about the Holy Spirit in any regard.
I remember hearing stories of near death experiences of Jesus showing people hell. And the tormented people who even still scream out for forgiveness. And only to be replied that it is: too late.
And it is monstrous, to try and amend your mistake, to serve and Love the Lord and ask forgiveness constantly. And be thrown away from heaven regardless.
It is written that the Lord will not turn away anyone who seeks him. But like the one author of the article you reviewed from that Gladys linked you to: ‘No unforgiven sin can enter heaven’. If scripture means just that, that what I do does not matter and it is so rock hard in it’s meaning in ‘speaking against’ and blasphemy, then I might be doing the same asking for it in torment without Christ to bring me out.
These people in this nde didn’t repent and for blasphemers it would not matter.
I do want to be forgiven, and to be with God. I do not remember a day I haven’t.
He knows what is in my mind, so he will know that not a day would go by where I would not attempt to climb out of hell to go back to God, and to shove away anything that tried to stop me.
But with the problem I have I may have to. The possibility that these ‘images’ might be of the Holy Spirit or God, and the voices along with. They might just be thoughts, or straight from God.
And there is not hardly anyone else that I know of with a fear of committing the blasphemy quite as dangerous as this.
That is the what haunts me the most about it. I need to ask, how I can know, without doubt, without the slightest doubt, that I can look in the Bible with the Greek translation of the passages detailing blasphemy, that God will save me from this mistake? Otherwise, I can only look for the evidence and hope that voice was wrong after all.
Before I respond to your last post, I need some more information. How old are you? What is your spiritual state. Are you a genuine Christian? Have you ever accepted Christ as Savior? Do you currently attend a good church on a regular basis? Do you see other believers on a regular basis for fellowship?
I am fifteen. I don’t understand what you mean by spiritual state, but I can say for certain that I never recall God, or Christ, or the Holy Spirit ever audibly or mentally speaking to me outside of realizations and God acting through the world around me.
Spiritually I am confused and mortified. I am baptized, I receive communion and I talk to God on a near daily basis. I need to go to church more, but it does not hinder my wanting to speak and be with God.
I most often meet other believers here on the internet, if you mean people who I converse with religiously.
Wow. Can’t believe you are fifteen. I am fifty-four. I have five kids. My youngest is just a little older than you (senior in high school).
Before I say a few things about your main question, I just want to make sure that you are saved and have an assurance of salvation. It is possible to pray, go to church, take communion and still be lost. Do you know for sure if you were to die today that you would go to heaven?
The Bible teaches that we are all sinners. We are born sinners. We sin everyday. It also teaches that God is holy and must judge sin. That means that we all deserve Hell.
It also teaches that God loves the world, which means that he loves us individually. He loves us as we are, not as we should be (because none of us are as we should be).
Jesus died on the cross in our place as a substitute for our sin and rose from the dead. God offers eternal life to all who receive him personally. However, it is possible to know all of this and not accept it.
You may be deadly ill and have a pill that can save you life and you may know all about its healing powers but, if you refuse to take it, it does you no good. You must ask Jesus to save you.
“Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). Once you do this, you can have an assurance of salvation. You can know without the slightest doubt that you are saved, because God promises eternal life to all who believe. God never lies. Once you do this you are forgiven of all of your sins.
Two basic observation about your previous post. You view of God is not quite correct. God does not play games with people. He does not withhold the truth form anyone who genuinely seeks him. If you draw near to him, He will draw near to you (James 4:7).
Second, the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is not some mistake that someone blurts out by accident out of ignorance, as one of your posts implies. If you read the passage, it may sound like that on the surface but whenever you read the Bible, you always have to look at the CONTEXT of the passage.
Many fail to do that. That is NOT the type of sin the Pharisees committed in Matthew 12. It was a different kind of sin. What I am saying is that you have absolutely nothing to worry about when it comes to this sin.
You have not committed it. One rule of thumb is that conviction comes from God. Condemnation comes from the devil. Whenever you feel like there is no hope from you, those feelings do not come from God. Sorry for the long letter. Hope it helps.
I ask God almost daily for the forgiveness of my sins. This was the only thing left. What I have been wondering now is, would that image have even been from the Holy Spirit. If it was Christ appearing and speaking, can I say it would simply be that?
The second time I had thought I had done wrong was when I was angry with God saying that the words wouldn’t be deciet but would be untrue. Yet I did not mean to blaspheme even then. I had said afterwards though to finish: “if it were not true”.
This seemed closer to what I didn’t want to commit.
Then there is Vincent Cheung, the things he wrote. Which don’t fail to remind me that God means what he says. His yes being yes and his no being no.
Also, I like the longer letters for informativity.
Aaron, I have a son who has the same name as you. I finally did get a chance to look at the article by Vincent Cheung. I had not read it before. I see what is causing you some problems. Mr. Cheung and I have very different views on the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.
I have studied the topic for almost thirty years. He believes that it is a casual word and can easily be committed, because Jesus said “every careless word men will give account.” That is true but He did NOT say that every careless word is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.
The reason I strongly disagree with Mr. Cheung is the CONTEXT of the passage. The only people every said to possibly commit this sin were the Pharisees. We know exactly what they did immediately before Jesus gave this stern warning
It was not a sin of ignorance or an accidental utterance but one that was intentional, deliberate and slanderous. That point is indisputable. That is why there is absolutely nothing you need to worry.
You also wonder if the image was from the Holy Spirit and if Jesus actually appeared you. I am not saying this was not Jesus but, as I said before, if Jesus appeared to you, you would know it. You would not have to wonder. When God shows up in a supernatural and miraculous way, it is undeniable.
Apologies, this is just a username. My name is Nick.
The other thing I am wondering was if it was Jesus, it would not have been in reference to the Holy Spirit because I referred to “this voice” or “those voices” in reference to my image of Christ. Or that (you know who with horns) was trying to trick me.
Either way, I don’t think it’s possible that the Holy Spirit could have come as Jesus. Even Jesus himself said he was not a Spirit! John 24:37-39. Would that not have meant if God truly wanted to tell me something Jesus in and of himself to speak to me as all those other people have?
Even with documented cases today of Christ appearing to people. Is that not Christ himself?
I don’t remember an audible voice, it was a mental one just out of the blue. But it was the exact same one that I was thinking with. I don’t always think with my own voice if I am talking to myself about something. But I remember the voice I heard as that image appeared sounded strikingly similar to the one I had been using to think.
I also recall being quite calm before I saw it, not so much after though.
But I don’t remember having extremely incredible peace. Frankly, I had to be reasonably calm whenever I was trying to picture anything like that at all.
I remember reading through, the Holy Spirit is said to be the giver of dreams and visions, and to be my contious and morality. Yet this image was only limited to the black and white colors we all see under our eyelids. You say I would know if it was Christ and I notice it wasn’t extremely extravagant. There were two times I remember when they were the most clear pictures of Jesus was when I saw him the first time and then at a time later. There was no speaking the second time. A couple times I thought I saw the face as sad. But this was both of those times as well.
As time progressed, I had a few times where I was not calm and found it near impossible to picture Christ to verify where they were coming from. Then it just became the constant repeating of the same words multiple times over and over during prayer or even thinking about it. Even once after I had prayed hard for forgiveness after fear I had committed the blasphemy.
So it led me to think the only ones even remotely plausible to have been of God were the first four or five. The ones that didn’t appear to become an obsessive compulsion.
The worry is how strict God really is and how straightforward. But for the things that are far from clear like my experience, I do not see how God can tell us to “test the spirits” and not be lenient with mistakes. Even that near death experience, all those people in hell were ones that did deliberate acts. Then I look at Cheung’s page and the apparent “easiness of committing it”.
His definition is irritatingly loose to the point of illogic.
But even Christ himself said “THE blasphemy”.
That means that all of those stories of those teenagers that have obsessive compulsive disorders. Where they read that sin and accidentally say it without meaning it. If any preacher speaks of that verse. If anyone makes a mistake in testing the spirits, does this mean it is so easy? If Cheung were to preach the verse and it were to be blasphemy or do any of the above, I can only imagine how quickly his words might change.
He goes on to say that it doesn’t need to be a deliberate offense and refers to Paul because he indicated he was a blasphemer. But even Paul said afterwards: Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in IGNORANGE and UNBELIEF. 1 Timothy 1:13.
Cheung seems to cherry pick his evidence.
But the insinuation that it is possible to blaspheme the Holy Spirit, or that it might be that easy is the most worrying.
I wonder if there is biblical evidence to the contrary of Cheung’s accusations. Something about his arguments seem weak and that is a hopeful sign.
And what I meant above is, I sometimes can hear the voice without the image. And it became compulsive. One of the reasons I ever dared to say it might not be God.
But the other thing I am wondering is would what I have done be blasphemous?
Is it Jesus who appears by God’s power? Or by the Holy Spirits?
And if it truly was Jesus then would it not have been a blasphemy against him instead.
You won’t believe this but I have a son named Nick too. I have five kids and four of them are boys. You are right about Cheung. He quotes I Timothy 1:13 but if it proves anything, it proves too much.
The verse says, “Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.” That verse has nothing to do with the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.
As I pointed out in my last post, the context of Matthew 12 is NOT dealing with someone who commits blasphemy out of ignorance. It is dealing with something entirely different.
If Paul was a blasphemer of the Spirit, he could not be saved. He definitely is saved. Prior to his conversion, he was a blasphemer of Jesus, which is different.
You are correct that an appearance of Jesus to you (if indeed it happened) is not the same thing as the Holy Spirit appearing to you. You are correct that the Holy Spirit does not appear as Jesus.
I would love to have Jesus appear to me supernaturally but have not had the privilege. I will see Him in heaven.
The thing that also bugged me is that some people reported seeing the Holy Spirit in visions. Some said he looked twin-like next to Jesus except for the white hair that flowed outwards. I definitely don’t remember hair flowing outwards. Perhaps the white color, (that, too could even have been the light hitting my retina) but I could look at that image and say “This is a picture of Jesus Christ”.
My worry is that the Holy Spirit had anything to do with it. But I know I said something on the basis of it being a trick of (you know who down below). Or these voices or those voices being of you know who. Jesus said the job of the Holy Spirit was to convict us of sin. As well as to show us visions and manifestations. But I am wondering if this was one of his visions, even if not a manifestation of himself.
“God reveals himself through the power of the Holy Ghost. Now when he does that if the person who he has shown himself to denies the vision or other manifestation they have sinned against the Holy Ghost. That is the only sin for which you cannot be forgiven from thus damnation is made sure. Thus the chance of damnation is very high for those who have seen God or talked to him. God realizes that faith is a more sure testimony than such a manifestation so he has to have a great reason to show himself to someone”. This was one of those examples. This was an answer to a yahoo.com post entitled:
“Why does God appear to some people and not others?”
This is now what I have to be afraid of.
As I said before, I cannot say whether your experience was real or not but I do believe that if it was genuinely supernatural, you would not have to even ask. You would know innately. No one can have an encounter with the living God and be unchanged. If you have any doubts if this came from God, I believe that this is something God will reveal to you, if you ask Him in faith.
I would be wary of seeing the Holy Spirit in a vision. God is a spirit and so is the Holy Spirit. He does not have a body. Spirits are immaterial. When the Holy Spirit took on a physical manifestation in the Bible, He took the form of a dove at Jesus’ baptism. Jesus is the only one who came to earth, became incarnate and took on a human body, which He has to this day.
You quoted a post that said, “God reveals himself through the power of the Holy Ghost. Now when he does that if the person who he has shown himself to denies the vision or other manifestation they have sinned against the Holy Ghost. That is the only sin for which you cannot be forgiven from thus damnation is made sure.”
This post is inaccurate. Denying a manifestation of the Holy Spirit is NOT the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. A person can reject the Holy Spirit and not commit the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, every person who has heard the gospel and rejects it once could not be saved. Wish I could be more help.
You are very good help for me, and I am very grateful for that. I thank you for your patience with me, I have had many overbearing fears about things out of my control in the past. This one has and always will be the worst of any of them.
The other thing is that I see certain places state that Jesus now speaks through the Holy Spirit through the Bible. But…what does the Bible say about Jesus talking to human beings like myself? Is it Him only? Or Him through the Holy Spirit?
Some even state that the Holy Spirit and Jesus became one.
I had read that Satan can disguise as an angel of light, that he has at least some capacity to influence us even if he cannot read our minds:
https://thelife.com/is-that-you-god
I had also received other mental pictures of people of muslims around when I had pictured Jesus. It was strange, and it wasn’t even intentional!
Though that too was something I had been bugged by with the most recent attacks on the news.
Then there was the one picture I had unintentionally of Jesus distorted or with the unholy numbers on his forehead.
Whatever I don’t want to think about or have been made uncomforted by, that’s the first thing to pop into my mind on certain occasions.
These were some of the reasons I didn’t trust the picture of Jesus. I became convinced that Satan might have been messing with me.
That is why I either said in prayer to God:
I know now these voices are of (you know who)
Or: (you know who) is playing tricks on me.
Even as I thought it more likely it would’ve just been of my mind.
I realize now I had no right to open my big mouth without more evidence if it were (you know who with horns).
I had asked God over and over where they came from. I thought he was giving me more fuel to say ‘yes’ to my question and that God was trying to tell me that it wasn’t correct and that these words were dismissed.
It does me no good to try and recreate hearing God in my mind, because I keep hearing the same old thing that may have gotten me into serious trouble.
Or it being “too late”.
At least I’m not alone to know some of your other readers have had similar chilling repeations of that phrase. Or discouraging ones at least.
Yet, now that I do not know still, I ask God’s forgiveness for my stupidity.
But would not Jesus be the one these came from? Is the Holy Spirit really his mouthpiece? Or is the Holy Spirit an aid to my hearing so that I may hear?
http://www.piney.com/HsComPau.html
And the one that says: “The Son speaks to us today through the Holy Spirit in the Bible”
http://www.challies.com/christian-living/how-does-god-speak-to-me-today
I worry that if I said negatively about the voice, that it references the Holy Spirit. Or there being tricks from (you know who) . I’ve seen places say the Holy Spirit is even one with Jesus. But Jesus said he can be blasphemed separate from the Spirit.
But what if that changed?
The one other thing I can consider is if I myself had pictured that image and Jesus spoke through it. But was that Him? Or him through the HS?
I was worried the answer to my question would truly be no, when I heard that voice. I shouldn’t have called it what I did. I read that Satan can appear as an angel of light. When I got the evidence that made this voice seem almost the only evidence left to the contrary, I looked up on it. I never said it was of (you know who) until I had so much evidence and to realize it was more likely to have been of my mind.
I didn’t want that voice to be true, but I only said it was of (you know who) after I had rechecked enough to say the voice might more likely be something my own mind made up. But I know if I knew it was Jesus I would’ve never said it. It was wrong of me to say it was of (you know who). But I said it because I thought God had told me something else as well. I never even considered the Holy Spirit being behind it. I thought it would be either Jesus or either my mind.
When it became obsessive I didn’t think it could be of God, that the only one of those images with any credibility was the first. But even that one I wanted to picture. That I could’ve easily been thinking that voice.
But I know now I was incredibly wrong to say something being of (you know who) without completely evidence to it being so. I should have instead said it was being of my mind. I looked at a few things that said Satan can appear as an angel of light. But I don’t remember anything being conclusive.
I worry that I might have said it because I didn’t want it to be so, but I know that I would never say it if I knew it was truly God. I thought so much that it wasn’t true that I dismissed it as something else. I was ignorant, but I know that I still don’t know where that voice came from, that in my heart I would NEVER call something of God’s anything else if I knew it were truly him. I never even thought of the Holy Spirit in regards to this voice.
I ask forgiveness constantly for it but I worry still. I thought it being just repeated assertions of my mind. I worry I might have opposed it like the Pharisees, but this wasn’t anything like that. This was something I could imagine and had evidence against, theirs was undeniable. I thought my mind was just repeating empty assertions to me.
I want God to forgive me for it. I said something evidence-less and ignorant, but I would never try to say anything like that knowing it was God. I had thought of the possibility it was still Jesus but saw the evidence again, and how it could be a product of my mind. And I read about Satan appearing as an angel of light.
I said something ignorant and I want to know God forgives me.
Nick, Sorry for the delay. I have been extremely busy. I would say it is unlikely that Jesus would speak through an image you conjured up.
One of the Ten Commandments deals with images. We are not to make images of God. God is invisible. Jesus was a man but we do not know what He looked like, so it would be wrong to imagine Jesus in your mind.
On the other hand, you said something out of ignorance, which you said that you would never say if you knew it was God. That is the key. It is PROOF that you did not commit the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.
That was not a sin of ignorance in Matthew 12. You can trust that you have been forgiven and need to stop torturing yourself about it. I would not give it any more thought.
Also…did the Bible ever say Jesus spoke from the Holy Spirit? Or in any way that he said that calling Jesus or God untruthful is unforgivable? I still need to consider a few other things. Or would that have possibly been the Holy Spirit causing Jesus to appear?
I had a slip of the tongue where I had said in prayer: May I never commit the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit again.
I meant to say not ever instead of again. I know I’m probably overthinking this part and I will have dismissed it later, but would even implying it by mistake have any effect? I even told God five times I misspoke, but I want to make sure.
Then I ask this totally separate from that question. I wondered if the Holy Spirit could have possibly spoken to me and the image was of Jesus and tight-lipped. But, I ask myself why God would. It would seem unnessecary.
Thank you so much for the help.
I am not aware of any verse that specifically says that Jesus spoke by the Spirit but the Bible does have a lot to say about Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
It says that Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:1). It says that He was led by the Spirit (Luke 4:1). It says that He was full of joy through the Holy Spirit (Luke 10:21)
He performed miracles in the power of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:28). He was anointed in the Spirit (Acts 10:38). He was given the Spirit without limit (John 3:34)
There was a second time I thought I had committed this sin.
There was someone on a chat board I was with, and she was talking highly perversely. She/he was saying her father was abusive in the most wrong way possible. But she was saying it as a very sick joke. She went around with the name: drug dealer. And saying things to me like (what she really said was quite worse): *confound me*.
She said finally *my body is a temple*. I said: yes, of Satan. I wasn’t completely serious when I said it, but I had because the things she was saying were just flat out wrong. She even agreed with me saying quote on quote *yes I worship Satan*. I felt regrettable saying it afterwards. I remember the passage saying the Holy Spirit values the believer as a temple.
But I wasn’t trying to say it in regards to who was with her spiritually. I was saying it in contrast to her actions.
I worry though, if she has ever been Christian and I accidentally insulted the Spirit. The Bible says the Holy Spirit never leaves us.
I do not think you have any reason to be concerned here either. The body of believers is a temple of the Holy Spirit according to I Corinthians 6 but it does not sound at all that this woman was a believer, if she went by the name “drug dealer” and admitted that she worshiped Satan. The kind of life she lived demonstrated who she worshiped and it was not God.
But this was the internet, she could have been lying. She could have been a Christian once.
I had a strange feeling right before I sent those three words. I don’t remember if I was regretting it the second before I was writing it or I was still worried about the first time I might have committed the sin. Afterwards I realized what I might have said. I fear that I might have said something knowing it was wrong. But not even then was I trying to. The only reason I ever said it was because of the vile speech.
She wasn’t being by any stretch acting or saying anything the Holy Spirit would. I didn’t have any intention either though of insulting the Holy Spirit.
I only remember regretting it after rereading the context. The only thing I was referring to was her immoral words, not wether or not she had the Holy Spirit.
I remember feeling odd about it about a second before I sent it off. But I was never aiming for the Holy Spirit, I was aiming for her. I know I should’ve listened to myself before I sent it, but I knew I was only referring to her. I felt like I did something I knew was wrong, but I wasn’t intending once to speak against the Holy Spirit. It was only when after that I saw I might have said something relating to that.
That is why I am worried.
But it says in the Bible: “he that doeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. To this end was the Son of God manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”
1 John 3:8 ASV
I ask for forgiveness from God frequently now.
I dont know why I ignored that feeling before I sent it, but I know for sure I wasn’t aiming for the Holy Spirit. I made a mistake, and I have told God I would never say anything like that again.
It should be of some comfort to you to note that there is a world of difference between what you describe taking place here and what the Pharisees did in Matthew 12 in response to a clearly supernatural miracle of Jesus which was undeniable and incontestable.
They could not deny it, so they slandered it to discredit it. It was not a mere mistake. they did not merely misspeak. What you did is not in the same category as their sin in any way. it is completely different.
Talked to her again, asked if she ever believed in Jesus. Or baptized.
She said no and nope, never.
Then proceeded to say she accepted the infamous German leader of world war 2.
That she was Jewish…then she proceeded to talk against the Jews.
My worry is that she is lying, or that she once believed in Christ. Even as a child. Because now she is just pulling my chain and I don’t know what to believe out of her mouth. Though, I don’t know many people who would have believed and not said: I did once but not anymore.
You have absolutely no need to worry about this. Your friend says that she does not believe in Jesus. She says that she is not baptized. She also makes anti-Semitic comments.
According to the NT, words are just a reflection of the heart. What is on the inside comes out on the outside or, as one country preacher put it, “What’s in the well comes out in the bucket.”
Jesus said, “You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.” (Matthew 12:34-35)
Is it extremely easy to receive the Holy Spirit? The worry I had was that she might have believed once before. Even if he/she really was Jewish.
Salvation is by faith but the Bible teaches that there is true and false faith. James says that faith without works is DEAD. It is completely useless. It saves no one. People who claimed to believe at one time and made a profession of faith at some time in the past but have no change in their life are not saved and never were.
A changed life is the way to determine the difference between true and false faith. Even if your friend made a profession of faith in the past, it is clear by her life that she is not saved. People who profess God with their mouth but deny him with their life, as Paul says, are not saved.
What about where Paul mentions people recieving the Holy Spirit before they were even baptized?
What exactly is the connection with your situation? Just trying to understand the connection before I can answer the question.
If he is a liar and was born into a Christian family. And believed once for a time.
The Bible said the Holy Spirit would never leave someone.
P.S. I apologize, I looked back through the conversation that person and I had had. I had asked if he accepted Jesus as his savior and he said no. When I asked if he believed in Jesus, he said hail (you know who)
Hi again. Hope you are doing well. okay so B of the HS I know that Blasphemy is basically saying something bad about someone in order to ruin there reputation right? If so I’m guessing that this sin is not just verbal but could also be committed by writing a nasty article that says the same thing the Pharisees said. I have seen such an article online though I did NOT read it thank you very much. So I assume that is why some think this could not be committed by thought, because a thought cant convince others of the horrid rumor you are spreading about someone. Personally I do think it could be a thought if you really believed the thought. But if it could not be committed by thought then why do people say that taking the lords name in vain in ur head as a thought is just as bad as saying it out loud. Or is it?
Interesting point. In the context of Matthew 12, blasphemy refers to words, not thoughts. That point is indisputable. However, Jesus also says in the same chapter that words are merely expressions of inner heart attitudes that one has. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. If someone has thoughts to this effect, they no doubt will some out in words some day. Words are just a reflection of the heart.
I’d like to give a large thanks to the author of this page again for helping me. I know I might be back with more questions.
But I wanted to say you have helped me quite a lot. It’s been a rough time in my life.
God bless you!
Bless you. Thanks for the kind words. Glad to be able to help you in any way I can. Have a great day.
As I can see you get a lot of questions about this, so I figure you could help if you are still active on this site. Just a little back ground on me. I was saved (or so I believed so) when I was young. I’ve been through some rough times recently (namely pornography and sickness in the family), and I looked to the Bible for comfort. Then I came across the verse mentioning the unpardonable sin. Since I have been into pornography I have been trying to get out to no avail. I ask so many times for a way out no matter what. I liked to place verses about forgiveness as wallpaper on my phone. I searched for one on the internet to find the unpardonable sin. I was concerned that I had done so due to curses against God that had crossed my mind. I later found out that what had crossed my mind was not the unpardonable sin. Fast forward about 2 weeks (my time may be off). I decided to look at the passage again for reasons I can’t remember. I read the passage, and in my stupidity did not take the warning seriously. Curses once again swarmed my mind (I honestly do not remember what all they were, but I’m scared it could have been thoughts similar to what the Pharisees said). I remember having an absolute feeling of despair come across be, and I became upset once again. After this I can remember feeling this sudden strange feeling that I can’t describe. Was that the Holy Spirit leaving me? I want to be forgiven more than anything, but can I? I’m afraid it was me that thought those thoughts because I wasn’t thinking strait for a bit. I fear that I’m my stupidity I though the unpardonable sin. This sparked a dark spiral of thoughts in my head. I met with the youth minister at the church, and we discussed it. He said that the unpardonable sin was attributing the work of Jesus to Satan. I agree with this definition of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. I remember I felt relieved by his words, and went on; however, the worry was not all gone. Again with the dark spiral of evil thoughts. One thing that particularly crossed my mind was (I do not want to state the first thought it because the phrase alone scares me) “Insert phrase that says the glory of God was actually the glory of…….you can guess” then I thought “maybe it was” then “oh gosh no no no that’s not true”. Then despair came across me. Again the dark spiral of bad thoughts. To this day I have not found genuine lasting peace. I don’t remember the vast majority of my thought, but I’m almost certain that one of those evil thoughts was me commuting the unpardonable sin. I still despise myself to this day for my stupidity in that moment following my reading of the unpardonable sin chapter a 2nd time. How could I have been so stupid as to loose reverence for the word of God, and not take it seriously. I am almost certain that because of this I have committed the unpardonable sin. For the past 6 months or so I have been living in a constant state of fear that I committed the unpardonable sin. I can’t believe I thought those things, and I hate myself for it. I’m afraid what I did was kinda intentional (but without meaning). Let me say I do not agree with those thoughts, but I’m afraid I allowed them to enter my mind because I was just plain stupid (or done in the heat of the moment). Honestly I’m not sure if I knew 100% what I was actually doing. I just kinda happened. I didn’t think about it. I’ve been researching this topic a lot, and I have come across so many interpretations. I do agree with the idea that the unpardonable sin is giving Satan credit for God’s work. I am terrified, and scared out of my mind. Not a day has gone that I haven’t worried about it. I’ve lost 21 pounds, been depressed, and most importantly I’m afraid of my spiritual condition. To this day I’m having crazy thoughts, and I’m scared I’m entertaining them. I also don’t feel convicted like I use to (if at all). Or is my fear of committing it conviction? I don’t agree with my sin by an means, so don’t get me wrong their. I’m also having a hard (if not impossible) time feeling God’s presence. I have spoken with the head pastor of our church, and he believes that if such a sin could be committed today that I have not committed it simply because I’m worried. He is also convinced that God has a big plan for me, but I’m afraid God has given up on me. Can I ever get out of this worry? Could this sin unsave me? Does it mean I wasn’t saved to begin with? I want to come to Jesus more than anything, but I’m afraid he won’t accept me. I’m afraid the desire to come to Christ is from me, and not the Holy Spirit. Have I committed the unpardonable sin? Do I have hope, or am I hopelessly condemned? Is the Lord going to reject me?
Dear William:
Thanks for the letter and sharing your heart. Salvation cannot be lost. I have some comments for you about your fear but first I need to get some more information. How old are you? You say “I was saved (or so I believed so) when I was young.” Tell me how you got saved? How do you know you were saved?
I am 16 (so perhaps I should have said when I was younger). I don’t remember much about it, but I do know that the way I acted was unusual for my age. All I really remember was a dear family member dying somewhere near that time, and me realizing death was something everyone must face (at least physical death). Basically put I realized I need Jesus, so I wanted to give my life to him. I would also like to add I fell away in middle school at some point; however, I rededicated my life to Christ, and if I wasn’t sincere when I first accepted Christ I was then. I’ve always just believed I was saved because I trusted in Jesus. I can remember a couple instances where I could feel that peace that surpasses understanding. I’ve always believed 100% I was saved. That is until now.
Let me reassure you that you have NOT committed the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Your youth pastor is absolutely correct. Jesus said that “all manner of sin and blasphemy is forgiven men” (Matthew 12:31). You can curse God and be forgiven.
You can even blaspheme God and be forgiven. In fact, the Apostle Paul said that he used to be a blasphemer (I Timothy 1:13). This is very important for you to understand. The negative thoughts you have do not come from God but from Satan. God brings conviction to people. Satan brings condemnation.
When you feel a voice inside you condemn you, quote the words, “all manner of sin and blasphemy is forgiven men” (Matthew 12:31). You can also quote “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (John 6:37).
Both statements are words of Jesus. Jesus promises that if a person comes to Him in genuine faith, He will not turn him away. In fact, in Greek, it is a double negative which means that He will never ever cast that person out. It is used for emphasis.
What is your opinion on me not feeling the same way as I use to?
While it may not be the only reason, a large reason why you do not have peace right now is that you are worried that you have committed this sin.
As you said, you have lived in constant fear that you have committed the unpardonable sin and it is a false fear. Is your depression medically based? Have you been diagnosed for depression or is this not a medical issue?
I think my family has a history of depression, but I have not been diagnosed. What would your advice be to breaking free of this fear?
My first step would try to rule out a medical diagnosis, especially if you have a family history. I know people in my church who went to the doctor and found out they were bi-polar or manic depressive, began taking medication and are night and day different. I do not know if you are in that category or not but it is definitely worth looking into. It is nothing to feel bad about. I had a heart attack a year ago and almost died. I survived by God’s grace. Now, I take all kinds of medicine for blood pressure and cholesterol and feel great.
Ok thank you for the advice. I do want to know soemthing tho. How can I know 110% that I have…..
1. Not committed the unpardonable sin
2. True repentance (as in my repentance is legitimate and not fake)
3. A true relationship with Jesus Christ
4. A home in heaven
5. Hope
You get hope, when you get the first four items on your list. We have already dealt with the first topic. You have not committed it. If you lived in the first century and saw Jesus heal the sick, raise the dead and cast out demons, would you attribute that work to Satan? I seriously doubt it.
The only people who would were people who wanted to kill Jesus in the first place. A home in heaven comes with genuine salvation.
If you acknowledge that you are a sinner, deserving Hell and have turned to Christ to save you in authentic faith, you are saved. If you ask Jesus to save you, He will. He turns no one away.
Having a true relationship with Christ is a different thing. You can be a child of God and not close to God. Salvation and fellowship are two different things.
The way to have a true relationship with Christ (as you put it) is to talk to him every day and let him talk to you. I did not learn this until I was in my 50s. I never really understood prayer. Now I get it. Jesus said shut the door and pray to your father in heaven. You need privacy.
Get up in the morning and pour out your heart to God. Talk to Him like you talk to your best friend. Tell Him every one of your fears, concerns, and joys. Whatever is on your heart, share it with God from the depth of your heart.
Once you do this, you will eventually get into a habit and look forward to this time. It will not be something that you do to check off. It will be something that you actually look forward to. Of course, you need to add spending time in his Word and time with his people.
This is a big topic. I may not have answered everything but this is a start. You can follow up with whatever questions you have.
Sorry for the long delay. Life has been a little rough lately. I have another question. Is it normal to go through phases in your life where you feel as tho God has abandon you?
You must be out of school now. You gave me an easy question this time. Jesus said, “I will NEVER leave or forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). He said, “I will be with you ALWAYS” (Matthew 28:20). These are PROMISES. Your question is key.
it normal to go through phases in your life where you FEEL as though God has abandon you? Yes. It is normal. However, we should not go by our feelings but by God’s Word. God’s Word is true, even if it contradicts our feelings.
If you are a follower of Christ, Jesus is with you. He is called Immanuel in Isaiah 7:14 which means “God WITH us.” Of course, every time you go through something hard it seems like Jesus is not with us.
I went through a period when I was unemployed for a year and half and had five kids to support. It seemed as if God was not with me and not answering my prayers but he was with me all of the time.
The disciples were in a boat in a very bad story and thought they were going to die but Jesus was with them in the boat. Hard times and trials do not mean that God has left us. Read the Psalms. They are a great comfort.
Funny enough my Sunday school class is doing a study on Psalms. I don’t know that it’s just hard for me to imagine that I could be forgiven for such an awful though crossing my mind. Sure I don’t agree with it, and I shot it down seconds after; however, I still feel guilty. Is a passing though sin tho?
All thoughts are not sins. Sometimes Satan puts thoughts in our head. It is only acting on those those thoughts, agreeing with those thoughts or encouraging those thoughts that make them sin. Martin Luther used to say that he could not keep the birds from flying over his head but he could keep them from making a nest in his hair.
Hi all, so I’m just gonna jump right in here. I have on many occasion thought wrote about and spoke the words that the Pharisees said.
Now when I did these things it was intentional when I first thought it it was kind of a surprise though but I think I thought it of my own free will I’m not sure. I remember being surprised when the thought struck me yet I think a small part of me thought it intentionally just to make sure the floor wouldn’t fall out from under me if I did.
since then I have written and spoken the words the Pharisees said in order to ask about it or explain it to someone but my question is does it matter if you did it intentionally or does the reason you did it make it matter. For example, me trying to explain it vs someone saying it to do whatever the Pharisees were trying to do by saying it.
I know you have probably had a question like this, but there are so many questions it made more since to me to just ask my own.
The answer to your question is YES. It does matter WHY a person says this. CONTEXT is key. This sin is NOT just a matter of words. Jesus said in Matthew 12:34 that “out of the heart the mouth speaks” (KJV) or “the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” If this sin was just a matter of saying a few words, then every preacher who reads Matthew 12 in church would be guilty of the same sin.
On the other hand, it is not just a matter of saying something intentionally. One could make this statement intentionally out of ignorance. That is NOT what is going on in Matthew 12. They made the statement deliberately and intentionally but out of full knowledge and with malice intent. They wanted to kill Jesus. They hated him. They wanted to slander him. It is not only the words but the motive and the context in which the words are spoken. Does this make sense?
Ya, that makes sense. I guess it’s just hard for me to imagine people dedicating their life to the Lord then doing something like that intentionally. I think thas why its so hard for me to understand what makes is unforgivable for them, I just don’t get why they would do that knowing how he was. They were So stupid!
I accidentally said something today I didn’t mean to say what I said. A coworker who goes to church asked me me a question and then let out a loud cackle of a laugh. I said that she sounded like a demon then I realized what I said and she replied that she was. Have I committed this sin?
No. If you read Matthew 12 in its context, it is clear that the ones who committed this sin were the Pharisees because of what they said about Jesus’ miracles. Their statements were not accidental but intentional and deliberate. They hated Jesus so much that they thought of the worst thing they could say about Him and they knew it was false. It is not dealing with an accidental slip of the tongue.
Thank you for your reply. I’ve been dealing with a fear of committing this fear for about 3 months now. My pastor at my old church mentioned it but really never explained it. My aunt said that it was when you said that god wasn’t real. When I was younger I was really confused about his existence. I’ve searched the internet trying to find the answer.
You can rest assured. you have not committed the sin. How old are you? You said you are confused about God’s existence. What are you confused about? Is there any way I can help?
Thank you I appreciate you talking to me. I’m no longer confused about God. I know now he’s real. When I was younger I went back and forth in my belief. I’m 35 now. I lost my dad a year and a half ago. He was saved and I believe he went to heaven.
Hello everyone. So I have read the article and the responses to it, I am like a few of the other people on here where I thought the words but didn’t have the courage to say them out loud. However, I did think them on purpose, I wanted to make sure the floor wouldn’t fall out from under me if I did. And I know it states in the article that this is a verbal sin, but I must admit that I don’t understand why it is. I mean I cuss a lot in my head and I take the Lords name in vain, is that not as bad as saying it out loud? If not why and if so why isn’t this sin? Or Matthew 5:28 If looking at a woman with lust is as bad as sleeping with her then why isn’t thinking the words as bad as saying them? Thank you in advance. God Bless.
Shelby, I would go back to the point that this is a verbal sin. Thoughts are not enough. Some of the thoughts that come into our head are not even our own. They are demonic in origin, while others do come from our sin nature. This sin of the Pharisees who wanted to kill Jesus was more serious than just an evil thought that you or I have. Let me rephrase this. If you lived two thousand years ago and saw Jesus perform this miracle before your very eyes, do you think that you would have had the same thoughts that the Pharisees had. They are not the normal thoughts one would have to that event.
Two thousand years ago…..well I don’t know, I would probably been a little scared but if I knew that Jesus was the only one who could cast out the demon without know its name, then I guess with the beliefs of the time I would also think he was the son of god. If it happend now….I don’t know, dosent the bible warn us against false prophets who will be able to do the same kind of thing? How can we tell the difference?
One of the things that confuse me though is do we know that the Pharisees knew this was the son of god? Is the reason we believe that they knew who he was is because the regular people knew and these biblical scholars surely should have also?
Is it possible that they didn’t know? And if so is it just they terrible luck or would that have meant they were evil?
Jesus himself warned about false prophets but said that you would know them by their fruit (Mathew 7:15). Jesus had good fruit. He went about doing good, not evil. He made people better, not worse. In this case, he did three things: cast a demon out of a man, gave a blind man sight and a mute man speech, all by the same miracle. He was doing miracles that only the promised Messiah could do. The people knew this. The leaders knew it as well but hated Jesus and wanted to kill him. They had ulterior motives. Their comment was not an example of intellectual honesty by an objective observer. It is not that they did not have all of the facts or just drew the wrong conclusions from the facts. They had ulterior motives. The facts were staring them in the face.
Hi. I was wondering if you confess that Jesus is the son of God and is Lord does that show evidence that you are innocent of committing the unpardonable sin?
Thanks.
Anthony
I would say Yes and No. It depends on the situation. If you are a genuine believer right now and believe Jesus is Lord from your heart and have a changed life, the answer is yes and you would have nothing to worry about. On the other hand, if you made a profession of faith years ago and it meant nothing but were just words, that profession would be meaningless. To use James’ words, “faith without works is dead?” Does that make sense?
It makes sense. I ignorantly called the Holy Spirit “Satan” two years ago and now fear that I am bound for hell. I do have OCD, so I’m not sure if Jesus is going to cut me a break or not. I’ve read your explanations about this sin as well, and they bring me some comfort, but I’m still afraid.
– Anthony
Anthony, based on what you told me. you have not committed the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. I have explained to several people in the comment section that this sin is not the result of an accidental slip of the tongue in ignorance. That is not what the Pharisees did in Matthew 12. They did something far worse. They knew what they were saying. They meant it. They said it more than once and wanted to kill Jesus and they said it after witnessing His stupendous miracles. Does that describe you? Not likely.
On the other hand, just because you have not committed this sin, does not necessarily mean that you are saved, so I have a few questions for you. How old are you? Have you ever accepted Christ as Savior? Do you regularly attend a good church? If so, what kind is it? If you have accepted Christ, do you have an assurance of salvation?
I’m 29. Yes I accept Christ as my savior. I am looking for a good church to belong to. I’m not sure if I am truly saved because of what I’ve spoken and based upon Matthew 12:37 where Jesus says we’ll be justified or condemned by our words. What bothers me is there is no mention of meaning things we say, but I wonder if the context behind what we say with our words will be considered. Could it be that’s what Jesus meant in that verse? That’s what I’m battling with. Jesus does not say intentions, meanings, but he just says “by our words” which concerns me. Perhaps by the mentioning of “good things and bad things” he was implying intentions and meanings and context in our words? I hope that is the truth. I will say that I am very sensitive to the spiritual and have a conviction/gut feeling (if you will) that there is a high possibility that I’ll be going to hell when I die because of what I said. Just being honest.
Jesus does say, “For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned” but you have to read what he says before that.
You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. 35 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36 But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.
Jesus does say that we will be judged by our words but he also says in the same passage that words are a reflection of the heart. What is on the inside comes out on the outside. That is an important difference. Sometimes we say things that we do not even mean. Sometimes we misspeak. Jesus is not dealing with that. He is not dealing with words perse but words as a reflection of the heart.
It seems to me that what you describe yourself doing is very different from what the Pharisees were doing in Matthew 12 with Jesus. It is not on the same level at all. I would encourage you to find a good church in your area where you could get even more help by a godly pastor. Hope this helps.
It does. Thank you admin. God bless! Curious: what church do you go to?
I have been in many churches in my life but I live in North Carolina and go to a church called Lamb’s Chapel. If you are ever in the area, you are welcome to visit it. If you need me to look up some good churches in your area to possibly visit, I could do that for you. God bless you as well.
There is one question that I always battle with driving and that question is “what did he say that was so blasphemous?” It’s a question in my mind that I can’t seem to get over and overcome. Can you please help?
Yes. Just want to make sure I got the question right. Do you mean what did the Pharisees say that was so blasphemous?
No. I mean, the question that I asked before is a question that bothers me because it seems that in order for a spoken sentence to be blasphemous there has to be certain words spoken in a certain order and that’s what’s really bothering me right now.
You were absolutely correct in your suggestion that Jesus is not just talking about words perse uttered in a particular order but words that are a reflection of an inward heart attitude. That is what Jesus is referring to in the context of Matthew 12. He is not just talking about certain words uttered outwardly on the lips. You could misspeak. You could say one thing and mean something else. God always looks on the heart.
Hey Alan. I just want to let you know that I am doing a lot better thanks to your explanation of this issue. I really appreciate you taking the time to explain it to me. At first it was hard for me to accept this understanding, but the more I accepted it the more I felt at peace and healing taking place in my mind. I realize that my OCD plays tricks on me and I have to trust God in everything; every in my intellectually and understanding of things. I’ll be going back to church soon too. Thank you and keep in touch. God bless- Anthony Tran
Alan,
I am batting with a thought that bothers me and somewhat makes me afraid. The thought is: “what are the evidences of blasphemy?” I then had a thinking process of what constitutes as evidence of blasphemy and how does one know when someone is committing it. I am also asking because of this passage:
64 Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
65 Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy!Please help. (Matthew 26:64-65). From this passage, it appears that Jesus word’s condemned him and the evidence of blasphemy (in the eyes of the Pharisees) was his words. I know Christ didn’t utter blasphemy, but in my mind it seems like the evidence of blasphemy is within ones words.
Please help.
Anthony, you are correct that blasphemy is evidenced by words. Blasphemy is a verbal sin but blasphemy can be forgiven. Paul said that he used to be a blasphemer before he got saved.
12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. 13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. (I Timothy 1:12-14 NIV)
It must be taken with everything else that Scripture teaches. It must be understood in light of some of the other teachings of Jesus. One incredible promise from Jesus is found in John 6:37. It is a powerful promise.
Jesus said, “All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away” (NIV)
When people come to Jesus in genuine faith, He accepts them. He does NOT reject them. He does NOT turn them away. He does accepts them, like the father of the prodigal son (Luke 15), no matter what they have done. That is a promise that you can count on. It comes straight from the lips of Jesus.
So I’m confused…. if this is true… then I’m guilty of the unpardonable sin. I called the Holy Spirit “Satan” and the evidence is within my words….. so how can you say that blasphemy it’s more than words perse but words of a reflective heart attitude? What you say makes little sense…
Ok. I understand the problem. This is what I need you to do. Explain the context of those statements. What led you to say these things? Why did you say them? What is the background to the statement? Did you just wake up and say this?
I was battling these intrusive thoughts to say those things. I thought you had to mean such words in order to commit the sin. To prove the enemy this point I said out loud in my kitchen “you can’t just say ‘I believe Holy Spirit is you know who’ you have to mean them.” I thought I was proving the devil wrong when saying these words out loud. After reading your comment above, I am confused and doubtful of hope of salvation.
Yes, you are getting hung up on mere words. That is not what the Pharisees did in Matthew 12. Their sin was not just uttering the wrong words. They hated Jesus and wanted to kill him. In your case, it sounds like the intrustive thoughts you are battling is demonic, just to get you to say words that you think will make a person unsavable. Recognize the source of the temptation to speak these words. They come from Satan but have nothing to do with a person not being able to be saved. That is precisely what the enemy wants you to think. He wants to take away all hope. God is the source of hope, not defeat. When you are tempted like that, just quote a verse of Scripture back, like Jesus did.
What you say doesn’t really make sense. If the evidence of blasphemy is within ones words how then how does my situation have any hope? You are contradicting yourself when you say that and how this sin sin if committed through one’s heart’s attitude behind the words they say and how this sin and the sin of blasphemy is not words alone.
I strongly believe the evidence of blasphemy is not merely ones words but also one’s heart attitude of evil behind the words they speak. If this what you believe as well you should be more clear in communicating that.
Anthony:
You are absolutely correct that “the evidence of blasphemy is not merely ones words but also one’s heart attitude of evil behind the words they speak.” I am sorry if I did not make that clear. This post is very long going back several years. I have said what you expressed in different words in other posts. I apologize if I didn’t make it clear to you as well.
Hi Alan,
I read your comment about the exception of 1the unpardonable sin in regards to 1 John 1:9. Could the same exception of the sin apply to John 6:37 and 44? In other words, what if someone were to commit the unpardonable sin yet have a desire to come to Christ for salvation? Is such a situation possible? That’s where I am concerned and confused.
That is a great question. Jesus made three statements in Matthew and John. He said that that anyone who speaks a word against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven (Matthew 12). He says that anyone who comes to Jesus, He will not turn away (John 6). He says that people cannot come to Jesus unless the Father draws them (John 6).
All three statements are inspired. All three statements are true. None of them contradict each other. If you do come to Christ, we are told that two things are true: the Father has drawn that person to come and when that person does come, Jesus will accept him or her every time. There are no exceptions.
What is the clear implication? A person who commits the sin of the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit will NOT come to Christ. The only example of this sin is Matthew 12. The people who committed this sin were Pharisees who hated Jesus and were planning to kill him.
There is another inference here. If a person does genuinely come to Christ, he or she knows that she has NOT committed this sin, because that group will NOT come and if you do come to Christ in genuine faith, He will not turn you away from Himself.
Alan,
Kinda of a last question: what does it mean to speak against the Holy Spirit? Is saying something negative or bad about Holy Spirit considered speaking against Him?
John MacArthur defines it as “defiant irreverence, the uniquely terrible sin of intentionally and openly speaking evil against holy God or defaming or mocking Him (cf. Mark. 2:7).” The idea is not just saying something negative about the Spirit (as you put it) but intentionally slandering the Spirit in an irreverent way.
To do this, you have to look at not only the words spoken but the context in which they were spoken the the motive of the person speaking the words. It is interesting to me that the Pharisees in Matthew 12 did not even mention the Holy Spirit when they did this. It is not limited to the PERSON of the Spirit but also to the WORK of the Spirit.
I see. Just as I first thought and believed. Thank you for your clarification. You appear to be a person of high intelligence and true Bible scholarship. Do you have a email I could use to stay in contact with you?
You do me too much honor but my email is lewisfest@aol.com
Hey Alan. I sent you an email about a few days ago. Do you regularly check your email?
Usually but I have been out of town. I will look for it.
HELP ME PLEASE
today I was reading about the unforgivable sin and I called the Holy Spirit a bad bad word in my mind and then I called my dad and said what my mind thought AND IM SCARED!! I DIDNT KNOW YOU COUPDNT SAY IT OUT LOUD HELP ME PLEASE
Lily:
Glad to help but can you give me a little background information first? How old are you? Do you attend church? If so, what denomination? Have you ever accepted Christ as Savior?
I’m 17 I go to church and I was recently saved but I feel horrendous about all this
Almost everyone who thinks they have committed this sin has not but I need one more piece of information before I can answer you. How did all of this happen? What caused you to say this? Did you just out of the blue for no apparent reason say this? What is the background to it?
Hi
I’m afraid I committed the unforgivable sin because I had thoughts that said Jesus is the devil and it’s true and my mind said that’s what you believe and I don’t mean it and i’m scared and guilty and accepted Jesus as my lord and savior.
I also had other thoughts and can you commit the sin just by thinking about it.
And can a sin be a thought
This is NOT the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said in Mark 3:28, “Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter.” He said, “Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven” (Matthew 12:32; Luke 12:10).
Please help me, I’m scared to death I committed the UPS. I was so distraught, grieving angry and scared and I might of said Jesus cast out devils by Beezlbub or something close to that. I’m not even positive I said it at all, like I said I was so distraught that day and this was over a year ago, but about 4 months ago I was out walking and the thought ” you spoke those words” popped in my head and now I am terrified I spin e that awful stuff out of my mouth. Please help me. I want to be forgiven. I didn’t mean it I was so hurt and distraught that day. If I said it at all. I don’t know what to do. Dear God please help and forgive me.
Daphney:
It sounds to me like the thought that popped into your head was demonic. It did not come form God. It came from the evil one. There is a difference between CONVICTION and CONDEMNATION. One is of God and one is not. Condemnation comes in your head and just beats you up. That is not from God.
You are not even sure that you spoke these words. That does not fit the criteria for the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit recorded in the NT by the Pharisees who wanted to kill Jesus. It was not something that they might have done that they cannot even remember taking place. Hope this helps a little.
But what if I did speak that stuff? What if I said that stuff out of my mouth? If I did no one was around it was just me. If I DoD will God forgive me? Please
If you genuinely spoke those words you would remember them. This sin in the Bible was not just a verbal sin; it was a sin of the heart. Jesus says that out of the heart the mouth speaks. Words are a reflection of an inward heart attitude. The sin of the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit in the NT is intentional. It is deliberate. It is not an accidental slip of the tongue in the Bible. That would not be a reflection of an inward heart attitude but a slip of the tongue. It is something that you do not forget because it is a big deal. Hope this helps.
I am so sorry I do not understand. If I did speak it I was very very distraught that day, confused, scared, and angry all together, I was kind of having a nervous breakdown, so if I said it wouldn’t it be intentional? Or would it just be out of all that I was going through? I guess this is why I’m confused. The reason why I can’t remember for sure is because I was so distraught. All I know is that I am grieving and praying that I didn’t and I’m so scared that I don’t know what to do or think, am I doomed forever. I’m just trying to understand and I’m not quite getting what you me I guess. Thank you
What I am saying to you is that you do NOT have to grieve. You do NOT have to worry you have committed this sin. You haven’t. You do NOT have to worry that you are doomed to hell. You are NOT. On the other hand, this does not mean that you are saved and going to heaven. I do not know your spiritual state. I do not know for sure if you are saved but I do know for sure that you can be saved. How old are you? What is your spiritual background? Do you attend church regularly? Have you ever accepted Christ as Savior?
Thank you so very much for your reply, yes I got saved in 1997 and I attend church regularly. I am very involved in church. I love my Lord and Saviour Jesus. I accept him as my Lord and Saviour. Thank you so much for replying.
Hello,
My name is Brandi and I have contacted you through your email. Ive been dealing with unwanted blasphemous thoughts for 10 years. I just need help.
Kind Regards,
Brandi Summers
Brandi:
I read your email. I have not read the book by Mary K. Baxter, so I cannot comment on it. I am not a professional counselor but this is what I think about your situation. My recommendations for you are to do three things:
One, make sure that you are genuinely saved. I am not saying that you are not saved but many people think that they were saved when they were a child and are mistaken. Do you know the gospel message and have assurance of salvation?
Two, attend a good bible-believing and Spirit-filled church. You say you have not been to one in several years. Go to church but don’t go to any church. Some churches do not believe the Bible. Other churches believe the Bible but are not open to the work of the Holy Spirit. Not attending a good church leaves you more vulnerable spiritually to attacks. You need the support of a good local church.
Three, get some professional counseling, either by a pastor or some other Christian counselor in your area.
In your specific situation regarding your thought life, it seems that the source of these thoughts is demonic. Satan puts these thoughts in your head and even wants to use God’s Word to make you question whether you can even be saved. That thought does not come from God. Any thought of suicide NEVER comes from God. Satan comes to steal and to kill and to destroy, as Jesus said.
When you get these thoughts, you need to rebuke them out loud. You need to “I rebuke you. In the name of Jesus, get out of here.” You can have power over your thoughts. You also need to quote Scripture. When you are tempted to say something bad about Jesus or the Holy Spirit, quote a verse about them. that is what Jesus did when Satan tempted Him in Matthew 4. This is spiritual warfare. Christians have authority over demons. There is power in the name of Jesus.
Yes, God’s forgiveness applies to you. The Bible says, though you sins be as SCARLET, they can be WHITE AS SNOW. That is the message that the evil one does not want you to hear. Jesus said that ALL manner of blasphemy and sin may be forgiven among people. God’s Word also says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness.” Jesus died for our sins. When we confess them, he is faithful and just to forgive us, not just merciless and kind.
Hello everyone. So I was plagued with fear for years that I had committed this sin and as the years passed I started to get over it with the help of this website. But there is one thing that has always been at the back of my mind, I have been told that taking the lords name in vain even in my thoughts is a sin or looking at a woman with lust is just as bad as adultery. Well then what makes this sin different? Why isn’t thinking blasphemous thoughts the same as saying them out loud? I know you have said that its not the same thing so sorry for making you repeat yourself but I don’t recall reading any posts that explain why it not as bad, There are a lot of posts on this particular problem so you could have explained and I just missed it, Sorry if that’s the case. Thanks in advance and Merry Christmas!!!!
Shelby, you ask, Why isn’t thinking blasphemous thoughts the same as saying them out loud? Great question. The only thing I would say is that sometimes Satan puts thought in our head. That is why were are not condemned for every single crazy thought we have in our head. What is important is not what thoughts do we have in our head but what do we do about those thoughts. Don’t know if this helps. Hope you have a great Christmas as well.
So is there any particular part in the Bible that deals with thoughts or anything like that? My situation was very similar to Anthony t it wasn’t just a fleeting thought .I intentionally had the thought it was only after I did it that I realized it sounded more like an accusation even though I knew what I was thinking wasn’t true I’ve also said the words out loud but That’s when I’m trying to explain to somebody what it is. I like how you mention that in Matthew nine people who said it before and they weren’t condemned for it so I guess what always stops me is the whole out of the heart the mouth speaks kind of thing personally I’ve always found our thoughts to be a more accurate representation of what we believe than what we open our mouth and speak.
Shelby:
I am with family right now but if you go to biblegateway.com and type in thoughts in the search bar you can see what the Bi me says about thoughts. There is not one section of the Bible. There are many verses in the topic in different parts of the Bible. I would encourage you to do your own study and see what you learn from it.
Hi have a question. Why or how does the sin of speaking against the Holy Spirit make it so the person that does it can not repent?
There is nothing about repentance in the verse (for or against), so you have to look at the context of the passage, namely, the type of people committing this sin (people who hated Jesus and wanted to kill him).
You have to look at the nature of the sin. A person who blasphemes the Spirit is slandering and rejecting the only one who can lead them to a place of saving faith.
You also have to compare it to other passages of Scripture. Jesus said that whoever comes to Him, he will never drive away (John 6:37).
The clear implication is that the person who committed the sin of the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit will not come to Jesus because He does not drive anyone away who comes to Him. Hope this helps.
Hi Brandon…. it’s me Anthony again. So I want to know what about “idle words”. I can’t understand that scripture. What does Jesus mean by that? Isn’t Jesus implying that we shouldn’t speak things accidentally? I’m confused…. because I feel like what I did was careless…
Sorry! I meant Admin, not Brandon!
Anthony:
The point of the passage Matthew 12:36 is that words matter. They matter to God. They matter because Jesus says in the next verse, “For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:37).
On the other hand, Jesus is NOT speaking of accidental words. Jesus says, “For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Matthew 12:34 NIV). He says, “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him” (Matthew 12:35 NIV)
Furthermore, all bad words, even from a bad heart are not unforgivable. Paul said that he was formerly a blasphemer (I Timothy 3:13). Jesus says in our very passage “all many of sin AND BLASPHEMY can be forgiven.” All of these points should be kept in mind in order to avoid taking this verse out of context.
Okay. I see what you are saying. However, in light of the definition of blasphemy in a secular dictionary, how are we as Christians to view what blasphemy truly mean? By the Word of God? In other words, should we value what the Word of God says and it’s contexts’’ above the definitions of words in a secular dictionary?
Words of Scripture have to always be interpreted in light of their context or we are taking verses out of context and misapplying them.
I would just add the the situation with the Pharisees and the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit in the NT did NOT involve accidental blasphemy. It was intentional, deliberate, premeditated and planned. It was said by people who wanted to kill Jesus.
“Accidental blasphemy”? If it’s accidental, then how is it blasphemy?
You are right. It is not. I was referring to people who say things that they do not mean. Words come out and people misspeak sometimes.
Question: Given Matthew 12:37 and John 6:37, 44, how is what you say about words being a reflection of an under heart attitude hold to be true? Is it because of Matthew 12:35? It is confusing of how John 6:37 can be true and Matthew 12:37 to be true as well. Could you please clarify?
John 6:37 and Matthew 12:37 are both true. There is no contradiction. John 6 is dealing with coming to Christ. It says that you cannot come to Christ unless you are given to Jesus by the Father (John 6:37) and drawn by Christ (John 6:44) Matthew 12 deals with people giving account on the day of judgment for the words they have spoken and outward words being an evidence of what is on the inside of the heart (out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks).
Hey Admin. I have a question: let’s just say a Christian speaks something disrespectful or mean, on the day of judgment will Jesus condemn them and send them to hell because of what they said? It’s confusing because of Matthew 12:37. Form this scripture it seems as if our eternity is more in our works rather than trusting Christ for salvation. That’s at least what I get from the scripture and other sources… clarify?
Thanks
Anthony
Anthony: Thanks for the question. The error you are making is to build a theology of salvation from this one passage of Scripture. Our eternity is not based on our own works and we know that from the rest of Scripture.
Passage after passage state that salvation is not by works (Acts 13:39; Romans 3:20; 4:1-7; 9:16; 31-32; 11:6 Galatians 2:16, 21; 3:10-12, 21; 5:2, 4; Ephesians 2:8-9). A basic rule of biblical hermeneutics is that you never take an obscure verse to interpret a clear verse. Hundreds of verses teach that salvation is not by works and cannot be by works.
Furthermore, Matthew 12 does NOT say that works are the CAUSE of salvation but are the EVIDENCE of salvation. Jesus says that a good tree brings forth good fruit and a bad tree brings forth bad fruit. What is in your heart comes out in words. Words on the outside just reflect what is in the heart on the inside. As one former pastor of mine put it, “What’s in the well comes out in the bucket.”
Salvation is not by our words or our works. On the other hand, our words are still important to God. That is the other point that Jesus is making. Apparently, even our idle words are important and noticed by God, even if they are not noticed by people.
So…… if we are saved by faith… why will we be justified and condemned by our words in the end? This is extremely confusing… None of it makes sense… To be quite honest I almost stoped believing in God tonight because of this issue. I am still concerned that I will not make it in the end of my life and that I will not be saved.
Great question. Easy answer. We are saved by grace. We are judged by works. We are NOT saved bu works but we are judged by works. All through Scripture the Bible talks about people being judged by their works. Believers will be judged by their works (II Corinthians 5:10). Unbelievers will be judged by the works (Revelation 20:11-15). While salvation on is not based on works, works determine the degree of punishment in hell for unbelievers and the degree of reward in heaven. Works are also an evidence of salvation.
I would have to conclude that what comes out of that bucket is judged by God… I would also assu,e that Jesus would know the context of what is in those buckets… as in He will know the context of our words correct?
You are correct on both points but Jesus said “out of the heart, the mouth speaks.” They are a reelection of inward heart attitudes. The Bible also teaches that the blood of Jesus can forgive all sins.
Hey Alan. I need help. What does the term “speaks against” mean in Matthew 12:32? Also, What does Jesus mean by “idle words” in Matthew 12:36?
Thank you
Anthony
Let me deal with the speak against question first. Context answers your question.
Matthew 12:23-33 says, And so I tell you, every kind of sin and SLANDER can be forgiven, but BLASPHEMY against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone 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. (NIV)
Speaking a word in Matthews 12:32 is parallel to “slander” and “blasphemy” in Matthew 12:31. This is even clearer in Luke 12:10 where speaking a word against and blasphemy are parallel thoughts in the same verse.
And everyone who SPEAKS A WORD AGAINST the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who BLASPHEMES against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. (NIV)
Right… so based off this does “speaks a word against” mean to merely say something that disrespects the Lord? Or does it mean for one to use their words to be against God?
I am not sure what the difference is. Blasphemy against God is extreme disrespect to God. It is speaking evil of God and insulting Him. The Beast of Revelation 13 does this.
The Beast opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. (Revelation 13:6 NIV)
See how these enemies insult you, LORD. A foolish nation has dishonored your name. (Psaalm 74:18 NLT)
However, the Bible says that ordinary blasphemy can be forgiven.
What about in regards to the unpardonable sin? With all due respect, I asked you the same question about a month earlier and you said this “ The idea is not just saying something negative about the Spirit (as you put it) but intentionally slandering the Spirit in an irreverent way.”. So I’m confused….. if you don’t want to respond to this I understand. I just want to better understand the Word as it confusing in many parts.
I would agree with what I said a month ago. Blasphemy is intentionally slandering the Spirit in an irreverent way but you have to distinguish ordinary blasphemy which is forgivable and blasphemy of the Spirit which is unforgivable. What is the difference. People blaspheme God all of the time. They curse God and say evil things about God. Many of them get saved. There have been many testimonials about this type of conversion experience. That is different from having the work of the Spirit undeniably right in front of their eyes (through the stupendous miracles of Jesus) and then to say that they were demonically inspired all because of a hatred for Jesus and a desire to kill him. That is what the religious leaders were doing in Matthew 12.
I feel pretty hopeless. My anxiety is through the roof and I feel like the spirit of death is upon me. I feel nothing but severe anxiety in the middle of my head. I feel this way because I think I’ve realized that I ignorantly spoke against Holy Spirit when I ignorantly called him “Satan” I feel that my words are idle and that I am going to hell for them. Thank you for help… God bless and stay safe
Anthony:
There is absolutely no need for you to feel this way. I have said this many times. Jesus mentioned the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit only one time (recorded in three Gospels) but the one and only biblical example of this type of sin does is not the kind of sin you describe at all. The Pharisees did not speak ignorantly. In fact, based on the example of the Pharisees in Matthew 12, this sin cannot be committed out of ignorance.
I see. What are idle words then? You never got to that part.
Sorry for the delay. Matthew 12:36 says, “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment” (NKJV)
What does this mean? The Greek word (ἀργός) rendered “idle” words in the KJV has been translated differently. The words πᾶν ῥῆμα ἀργὸν have been translated “every careless word” (ESV, NRSB). They have been translated “every useless word” (GNB). They have been translated “every thoughtless word” (ISV). They have been translated “every worthless word” (NET Bible).
What is Jesus saying here? He is saying that our words matter to God. We will be held accountable to God, not just for mean hurtful words we say to people (Matthew 5:22) and not just for irreverent blasphemous things we say (Matthew 12:24) but also for trivial and causal words that we say that are completely worthless.
He does NOT say that idle words spoken cannot be forgiven and that we cannot be saved if we ever spoke an idle word in our life (for who then would be saved?), just that we will be held account for them. His point is simply that our words matter to God, all of them. Hope this helps a little.
Alan… I am writing to you out of desperation… it’s like.. I finally realized that what I said about Holy Spirit was wrong, and should never have been said, at this point I have lost all hope and thinking about suicide. I didn’t realize what I did was wrong and dumb. I didn’t think that calling Holy Spirit “satan” was disrespectful. I don’t know what to do. I am anxious, depressed, and giving up on God.
Anthony:
What is your religious background? Have you attend church anywhere in the past? What denomination? Have you ever trusted Christ for salvation? Have your ever experienced an assurance of salvation? Have you ever had an absolute assurance that when you die you will go to heaven?
Non-denominational Christian. Yes, Pentecostal and charismatic churches. Yes, I have trusted Christ for salvation.
Is this something you say you did before or after your salvation?
After my salvation. Why do you ask?
Anthony:
I want to share two verses with you that should help you. When you put together what they say, it is powerful and undeniable. Here are the two verses.
“ALL those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will NEVER drive away” (John 6:37 NIV)
“And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose NONE of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day” (John 6:39 NIV)
What does this tell us? It tells us five important things.
One, God the Father gives certain people to God the Son (John 6:37). This is the biblical doctrine of election.
Two, those people He gives come to Jesus. If they are elect (given by the Father), they will come to Jesus (John 6:39). None of them wil,l say, “I don’t want to come.”
Three, when they come, He accepts them. He does not reject them and say “I don’t want you” (John 6:37). He accepts them and gives them eternal life (John 6:40).
Four, Jesus says that He will NOT lose any of the people given to Him (John 6:39). Jesus does not say that He will not lose some. He says that He will not lose ANY. None lose their salvation.
Five, Jesus will raise the same people up on the last day (John 6:39, 40). ALL who have come to Christ in salvation will be raised on on the last day and have final salvation.
That may not be what some churches teach but that is what Jesus said very plainly. That is why if you accepted Christ for salvation, you do not have to worry about losing your salvation.
With all this noted, could it then be established that if someone comes to Christ they have not committed the unforgivable sin?
Most definitely. Otherwise, either Matthew 12 or John 6 is not true. We know that they are both true. Jesus said both things. They are both true.
Sorry you may get this twice. Wasn’t sure it took the first time I’m on the phone. I’ve been reading through this and it’s been helpful. However I wanted to write to you about my personal experience with this and get your thoughts on it. One night a while back while under the influence. I realize I shouldn’t be under the influence in the first place. It was during a Time where I couldn’t get that passage out of my head about blaspheming the Holy Spirit. I was so concerned about trying not to say any such thing that thought started popping in my head. Well like I said one night while under the influence I could feel Phil starts wanting to pop in my head. I ignored them and then began to think that these thoughts are also causing me to possibly not allow the Holy Spirit In My Head. I got to thinking that maybe a lot of my fear is because I know better and I shouldn’t be under the influence and this shouldn’t be causing me to ever be in a situation where I’m afraid to allow the spirit of God to be available to me at all times. So then my thoughts doubled, I started to think what is it going on here. Is the devil messing with me is God trying to say something to me and in the middle of all of that a sudden thought popped in my head. The thought was “that’s the devil (saying that) ” or something like that. Not exactly sure because I immediately ignored it. I continued to think a little bit about the good tree bearing good fruit and Battery bearing bad fruit. Debated a little bit about whether or not it was God reaching to me in all this. I decided to leave the thoughts all together and left it to leaning not on my own understanding I told myself that God is always welcome to me. But then a little time later I began to wonder if that popped up thought was me committing the unforgivable sin. Did I commit the unforgivable sin?
Thanks for the post. Before I answer your question, can you tell me a little about your spiritual background. How old are you? Have you ever been saved? Have you ever accepted Christ as Savior? Do you attend church regularly? I will answer your question but need to know a little more about you.
I am 48. I don’t attend church regularly but I know I should. I can’t find what I’m comfortable with. The one I would like to go to is very far from here. I watch online Bible studies. I have grown up believing that Jesus is my savior. Yes, I believed myself to have been saved at an early age. I tend to wander and have weak moment’s. I struggle sometimes buy do my best to get back to prayer. I pray daily. My belief is strong but my faith is weak. I wish it to be stronger.
Dave,
You are about ten years younger than me. I would encourage you to go to a local church somewhere when churches begin meeting, because that is the will of God for believers today. He wants us to be involved in a local assembly and not just worshiping online. In terms of your question, the answer is simple.
Do not listen to anything while you are under the influence of any kind of drugs. In fact, do not get under the influence of drugs. Get filled with the Spirit instead. Let Him control and influence your thoughts and mind. Do not listen to any thing you tell yourself while your are under the influence of something. That is not what the Scribes and Pharisees were doing when they committed this sin in Matthew 12.
Thanks. I appreciate the quick response. I will do that. I will begin looking when the churches open up. I have been clean for a while and intend to do better. I kinda knew I was ok but wanted someone else with experience and knowledge to verify it. Needed to be someone who didn’t know me that would be honest. There was never an intent. I was going through a couple of months where I just couldn’t seem to get that passage out of my head. The thought of someone permanently destroying their ability to go to heaven it’s just so frightening that I couldn’t get it out of my head. And that’s when all those thoughts started up. Since then I have been better, cleaner, a little closer to God, and praying more often. There are other areas of my life that I need to do better as well and intend to find a church to help me with that. I know you don’t know me but believe me when I tell you you have had a great impact on me. Not just your response but all the responses you gave me but the responses you gave others that I read. My heart tells me you are a Godly Man and thank God for that. I will visit your website from time to time and if I’m ever in your area I will try to make effort to visit you. Save my email. I am from New Braunfels Texas so if you’re ever vacationing down here reach out to me. Thank you so much and God bless
Sorry to bother again. I wanted to reach out to you for clarification. I didn’t mean to completely blame in any way that this incident occured just because I was under the influence, although I was. If the same scenario occurred if I wasn’t under the influence I would like to know if there would be any difference. And although I know I didn’t Mumble those words, I may have been mumbling my other thoughts. But if I mumbled that, would that also have changed anything? You said its not what the Pharisees did but i want to be sure I haven’t permanently damaged my chance or my relationship with God.
I think the real issue is that it is Satan who will use the Bible to keep people away from God. He will use the Bible to keep people away from Christ and away from Christianity. It is Satan who will make you think that you are unsavable or too bad to be saved. Conviction comes from God. Condemnation comes from the Devil. He often uses drugs to accomplish this goal.
I would share with you two verses. Jesus said, All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. (John 6:37 NIV)
He also said, “For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” (John 6:40 NIV)
If you put these together, you get this: a promise of eternal life to everyone who believes in the Son, a promise of final salvation (raised up on the last day) and a promise of complete acceptance to the person who comes to Jesus. Jesus does not turn anyone away who comes to Him or reject them because they are too bad. Hopefully, these verses will be a comfort to you.
Thank you. Thank you. THANK YOU. I will take that with me and hold on to it. I hope I never forget your help. You will be in my prayers…
I am convinced that I am going to hell because of the words that I have spoken regarding the Holy Spirit. The background to the context of my words were I was pressured by my OCD thoughts to say it out loud and I did. And now I have to face the consequence of going to hell for all eternity I’ll because of my ignorance. Is there any hope to Matthew 12:37? I just can’t believe that Jesus would be talking about words as an expression of an inner heart attitude. I’m sorry but I just don’t buy that.
Anthony, you may not buy it but that is the context of the passage. There is no doubt about it. If you want to rip a passage out of its context and read it any way you want to, you can but the correct way to read Scripture (and any other book) is to interpret a statement in light of its original context.
Yeah but words are words. Words are not intentions or motives. If I may be so bold I feel like you’re teaching something that’s extremely New Age.
No, nothing new age. I am just saying what Jesus said. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of (or as the KJV says, “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks”). 35 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. – Matthew 12:35-35 NIV
If that is the case, then how do you explain 12:36 regarding idle words? Ideal words are not a heart attitude, they are an aspect of speech. How can words in the context of this passage be of a mere heart attitude if we are dealing with speech? Forgive me, but this is all confusing. I know I sound legalistic but it just doesn’t make sense to me.
Yes but idle words are different from deliberately blasphemous words (which the Pharisees were doing in Matthew 12). Their words were not idle words and even idle words can reflect a heart attitude. Idle words are empty foolish words which can also be a reflection of inward heart attitude. For example, if you have a foul mouth, the idle words that might come out of your mouth may involve profanity or vulgarity but that comes out of a sinful heart on the inside.
Hi Alan. I need guidance. I confess that Jesus is the son of God and because of that I believe that I have knocked me to the unforgivable sin. However I am confused about what constitutes the sin of blasphemy . I’ve been reading the Bible a lot lately and in the cases where the Pharisees accuse Jesus of speaking blasphemies it appears that what constitutes the sin is merely saying something false about god or when one says the they have the same attributes of God. Any clarification? Thanks- Anthony
The word blasphemy literally means to speak evil of. It means more than to make a false statement (e.g., to misunderstand the trinity). It refers to slander or disrespect, mocking God or making a statement about yourself that applies only to God (e.g., claiming to be God when you are not).
Ordinary blasphemy can be forgiven, blasphemy against God and blasphemy against Jesus, which many do today out of ignorance. The Apostle Paul did this (I Timothy 1:13). Blasphemy against the Son can be forgiven. Blasphemy against the Spirit cannot be forgiven because salvation is mediated through the Holy Spirit.
Alan, once again I am struggling. I feel like what I said about the Holy Spirit out of ignorance was evil and that God is going to send me to hell. I don’t see how my words can be good since I didn’t maliciously speak what I said. Can you please help?
Anthony,
I am not trying to ignore you but we have gone back and forth to no avail. I have already answered this question repeatedly in so many different ways. I have done what I could to answer your question. I really do not have anything more to add. Since I cannot help you any more, I hope you find someone else in your area who can (perhaps a pastor or professional Christian counselor). Sorry, I could not be more help.
Hi admin. I have had blasphemous thoughts against the holy spirit that iverbalized out of fear of falling out of grace. So this was because no Christian can commit blasphemy of the holy spirit. Am I still saved because I believed no word of what my mouth said and is it possible to lie verbally to ones own self as well.
These words in the context have to be a reflection of an inward heart attitude (per Matthew 12). If you are uttering words accidentally or words that you do not believe or intend to say, you have not committed this sin. in the context, these words are intentional and deliberate, uttered out of hatred and malice. Words you do not believe clearly are not in this category.
Thank you. You will notice that Jesus implied their heart said. Their heart well we know the heart is evil beyond compare.. The spirit we got from Jesus does all things good. A Christian is incapable of commiting the sin of blasphemy. Because the spirit always gathers. No matter what a Christian says he always gathers. It’s the spirit that is meek and full of love. It is the spirit that is gentle, it’s the spirit that obeys the law perfectly. It’s the spirit that loves God perfectly. We have love because He loved us first. The spirit is loving God back even if we don’t love back perfectly. Christians always gathers seed. Woe to you who do not gathers it says in the bible. Christians always gather, even Sam Kineson.
Need help please
So one day I was sitting on my bed saying GOD is great GOD is good and all of a sudden God is Evl slip out of my mouth but I dont know if I said it or not but I do feel lost and hopeless and it feels like my heart is hardened.
This is a very common problem. No, it does not mean that you are necessarily lost and hopeless. Have you accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior? You can’t stop all of the thoughts that come into your head. Satan puts thoughts into your head. The question is what do you do with those thoughts. When we get those thoughts in our head, we need to rebuke them and recognize the source.
So those people who blasphemy only had their heart, were never enlightened, never had a spirit. They weren’t even proper Jews at the time. If a Christian curses God he cannot do it by the spirit. And that will get burned up as well. Anything not out of the spirit gets burned up and yet the Christian goes unscathed. The things we do of the spirit goes to our rewards in heaven.
I committed blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. I just found out about this unforgivable sin about 3 weeks ago and remembered what I had said on December 5th. I said it verbally out loud to my sister and her husband while I was drinking. I am now damned to hell. Do you have any recommendations for continuing life each day while waiting for the inevitable eternity?
I am lost and cannot eat or function. I want nothing more than a relationship with God, but there is no hope now. I am living in such fear that I threw up blood this morning.
Jodie: Can you give me some more information? How old are you? Do you attend church? Have you ever made a profession of faith for salvation? What caused you to say what you did? What is the context of the statement?
I am 30 years old. I have attended church once in the last 10 years or so. I have made a profession of faith before and accepted Jesus as my savior.
In November of 2020, I was having blasphemous thoughts when I was reading verses in Revelations about the mark of the beast and about how it will be the greatest deception. I started thinking “what if Jesus is the evil one?” and googled things for a few minutes related directly to that. I then realized I was thinking bizarrely and asked for forgiveness in a prayer immediately after.
I do not know if I already committed it at that moment of typing what I was searching through google.
A few weeks later, I was visiting my sister and her husband on December 5th. I was drinking heavily, and for some reason we started talking about religion. I believe we were talking around the subject of “how do we know for sure what to believe? what does this all mean” and talking about the afterlife. I got into my conspiracy mindset and blurted out “what if Jesus is the anti-*****? wouldn’t that be a great deception?” or I might have said “maybe Jesus is the *****?” I might have also mentioned the miracles, but I can’t remember 100%.
I believe what caused me to say it was that I was having fear and skepticism after reading verses in Revelations and I began having intrusive bizarre thoughts. The problem is I said it verbally while I was drinking.
I carried on life as normal and lately felt compelled to read the Bible myself in order starting with the New Testament for the first time (not just reading Revelations verses). I have been desiring a stronger relationship with God and wanted to be a better person. I wanted to lead a life more like Christ’s example instead of continuing how I was continuing. I started reading the book of Matthew, and when I got to verse 12:30, what I said before hit me like a ton of bricks.
I believe I have been convicted of this sin to know what I did was wrong, but I have lost my salvation.
I’m not sure how to continue life waiting for hell.
Thanks. I am close to being able to give you an answer. Just one more follow up question or two. You say that you made a profession of faith. How would you say that a person gets saved? What does a person need to do to be saved. Also, just out of curiosity, why have you not been in church in ten years? What would you say the reason is?
A person needs to believe that Jesus died on the cross for everyone’s sins and that He is the only way to salvation.
I have not been to church in 10 years I guess because I have not lived a Christian life. I am realizing I have been a bad person
Jodi:
I am going to give you a reply. You are free to ask follow-up questions but you might want to get counseling from a good pastor in your area. I will start the process by giving my thoughts.
Based on what you have said, it does not look like you have committed the sin of the blasphemy of the Spirit at all, because it was done in connection with drinking. Alcohol alters your mind. You cannot even remember exactly what you said.
The big myth about this sin is that it is done accidentally or unintentionally when you blurt out some things that you did not even intend to say or said when you were not in your right mind (because it was altered by a foreign substances).
That is NOT what was happening in Matthew 12. The Pharisees did not commit this sin accidentally but intentionally and deliberately.
They were NOT drinking. They also did NOT do it out of ignorance (What if Jesus was..). They knew he was not what they said. They were just trying to slander Him.
Have you committed the unpardonable sin? No. Are you saved and going to heaven? I cannot answer that question, because I do not know you that well. That is where you need help with a local pastor.
To get saved you need to accept Christ as Savior but many think they have done that and have not. Some who walk down to the front of a church and say a prayer are saved and some are not.
It all depends if they really understand what they are praying and believe from their heart that they are a sinner and that Jesus died for their sins and rose from the dead and they ask Him to save him or her.
Thank you for your response I really appreciate it. I met with a local pastor last week, and I am meeting with him again in the next few weeks. I want nothing more than to get stronger in faith and live a life that is in Christ. I thought I had lost it and that I was done for. This is no excuse, but I never knew there was an unforgivable sin and when I learned more about the related verses, I lost the will to live because of what I had done.
I know there is a verse in the Bible that mentions being of sober mind, and this is a prime reason.
I hope and pray God will forgive me for what I said. I have been praying for forgiveness, but it felt in vain since this is unforgivable.
I wish you the best. Hope I was able to be of some help and trust that the local pastor will be able to help you as well. Let me know if you have any other questions.
As a sufferer of OCD, I have done alot of study on it. While I believe at the heart of it it is a sin issue (anxiety, having certainty as an Idol, control), there are also some biological factors. Every part of our being, including the brain, is subject to imperfections due to living in a fallen world.
One of the causes is through strep throat. It has been found that children with strep throat when it is not taken care of properly may, develop OCD, tics, or Tourette’s. This is due to the immune system mistakenly attacking parts of the brain. As a child I developed scarlet fever (extreme case of strep throat). Afterwords there was an immediate change in my behavior and I developed OCD like behaviors. I was too young to even know what was going on but my mother noticed a sudden change in my behavior.
OCD takes on many subsets, scrupulosity (religious OCD) being one of them. Some would argue that Martin Luther battled with this, and that it played a role in him leaving the catholic church.
I feel for many of the people who comment on your page saying they have OCD. Their are a couple great christian resources I would recommend passing along to them if you speak with any of them again. If you have any interest in learning about it yourself, it is also great.
The people I recommend are Ted Witzig, Mike Emlet, and Ed Welch. Emlet and Welch are associated with the CCEF (Christian Counseling and Education Foundation).
The topic of the Unpardonable sin is extremely common in those battling with religious like OCD. I also noticed that people on your page of come to you for re-assurance time and time again. (I am also guilty of this at times). This would be a “compulsion” labeled “reassurance seeking.” It provides momentary comfort, but can many times increase the anxiety. It is like an addictive drug that briefly calms the anxiety, which is why people become so persistent, even though they are provided the same answer time and time again. It is an endless cycle. I myself am guilty of it.
This type of OCD always manifests in morbid introspection as well. Examples: “did I mean that thought? What were my intentions? How can I know for sure?” Etc.
I would also encourage many of you to do some research on Cognitive Distortions. This is usually the issue behind the fears. Our idea’s about the nature of this sin, and our thoughts and actions become distorted. Cognitive distortions can often lead to FALSE conclusions regarding certain fears.
The most important of all of this however, is TRUST IN CHRIST. All of scripture is inspired by God. Scripture does not contradict scripture. Christ says There is an unpardonable sin. Christ also says he will not cast out anyone who comes to him. There is no contradiction, None who commit the unpardonable sin ever come to Christ. “ The reprobate (that is, the non-elect) are never given grace to come to Christ, nor are their sins ever forgiven.” Faith and repentance are gifts of God.
I myself have struggled for 11 years with fears of possibly having committed this sin. Many times when we come have these fears, we AREN’T SURE if whatever we did / said constitutes this sin. But what DO WE KNOW? When know that every person who believes in Him shall not be put to shame.
Admin, I want to thank you for your years of returning to this page to help people. I recognize a lot of what is said here, because this issue is the great struggle of my life as well.
I’m researching and writing about this topic, a project that is only possible for me because God has given me comfort and hope. I’d like to share my story; I bet that what God has done for me is not just for me. The following is something I wrote for my church’s annual “Gratitude Journal”.
When I say that I “became afraid I committed the unforgivable sin,” what I specifically did was say out loud the same words the Pharisees did (Jesus cast out demons by the power of Satan, etc…), and I tried to make myself mean it or feel it, despite knowing the truth about Jesus.
I was afraid I could so easily throw away my salvation, so I tried it to kind of prove to myself that it wasn’t a danger and that I was safe. Then I collapsed into terror, OCD kicked in, etc…. Without further ado:
When I was growing into my faith as a teenager, I became afraid that I had committed the “unforgivable sin” mentioned in the gospels. I remember the exact day: Nov 10, 2002. Despite much anguished study I could not resolve this, and my life collapsed into mental and emotional torment.
The acute fear receded over the years, giving way to a perpetual, grinding anxiety. I went through the motions of life but was paralyzed and had no peace; I felt like I was excluded from all of God’s promises.
“The Kingdom Within” series a few years ago started a renaissance of faith in me. It broke down some of my mental boxes, and I started walking more steadily with Jesus, but I still had no resolution to the fear that had haunted me my whole adult life.
I divide the Bible into six categories, and I listen to a passage from most of them each day. On July 21, two of my “readings” happened to be 2 Samuel 22 and Psalm 18, which are identical.
The coincidence made me pay attention. As I reflected on Psalm 18, I found many meaningful intersections with my unforgivable sin struggle and with different aspects of my recent spiritual walk.
I can’t articulate everything here, but note this line from my journal as I was reflecting: “David’s psalm could be like THE passage of my life.” I remember hoping that this could finally mark the endpoint of my suffering.
Wondering about the significance of this and perusing a list of supposed Biblical meanings of numbers (from a class at Third), I looked for any additional coincidences. An online calculator told me that the interval between Nov 10, 2002 and this day, July 21, 2020 was 6463 days.
A long time to live under under a cloud of fear, but I found nothing significant in it. I wrapped up my journaling, having to prayerfully leave it in Jesus’s hands because I was obsessing over its messiness and disorganization.
Then, out of curiosity, I plugged my birthday into the calculator. How much of my life had I lived before the fear took over? Turns out the interval between March 1, 1985 and Nov 10 2002, is ALSO 6463 days.
So the day that I, by coincidence, discovered and hoped in Psalm 18 for the relief of my greatest burden was the very day that I had lived exactly half my life under that burden. That is extraordinarily unlikely, and to quote my journal at this point, “is there such a thing as a coincidence if Jesus is on the throne?”
That interval between 2002 and 2020 worked out to be 17 years, 8 months, and 11 days. I looked at that number list I had next to me. 17 means “Victory” (!); 8 means “New Beginning” (!!); 11 means “Imperfection, Disorder, Incompleteness” (the subject of my prayer 20 minutes earlier).
This critical mass of coincidences led me to conclude that God had given me a sign and that, as Psalm 18 says, “my cry to him reached his ears.”
God reached into my life and comforted me in a very specific way that shows how deeply he understands me. The boiling cauldron of fears, what-ifs, and skepticism that is my mind can’t wave away so many independent layers of coincidence. My hope does not ultimately rest on this sign, but I think God understood that I needed this to be free from my prison. Thank you, Good Father.
The verse that I held onto all those years ago, and that keeps coming up as I read about the topic, is John 6:37. “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” If you’re in despair, that’s a good place to park yourself.
And for all the daily, unrelenting questions, blasphemous thoughts, introspections, and every single soul-piercing fear, take them all straight to Jesus. He’s alive, he’s reachable, he knows exactly what’s going on with you, and he WILL NOT cast you out.
I want to make sure I didn’t blaspheme the HS. I am a Baptist Christian and I’m 30 years old my name is Dylan. What I had done was i was trying to see why the Pharisees called Jesus’s miracles that of satanic. So I put myself in their shoes and for a split second I believed what the Pharisees said and I may have uttered something about the miracles I can’t remember i was so distraught as soon as i did that and prayed a lot. I repent from what i said and did. I don’t wanna lose Jesus and I want to go to heaven so i can give Jesus a big hug like a family and thank him for his sacrifices.
No, This is NOT the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Putting yourself is someone else’s shoes to understand their thinking process is not the same thing and it resulted in instant repentance, another sign of conversion. The ones who said these words in Matthew 12 meant them, did not repent and, in fact, wanted to kill Jesus. They hated him. That does not describe you.
I am a self professing Christian but I backslider for close to 20 years. I am 45 this year.
About 6 years ago, I was on drugs and during that time, I began to hear voices from the devil as I was on drugs. Audible voices. I was very surprised and upset with God at that point in time and cursed the Holy Spirit many times. I scolded the Holy Spirit to be evil spirit and used vulgarities against the Holy Spirit. This continued for quite some time until I simmered down. I had thought to myself that I am justified to do so because how could God allowed evil spirits voices to attack me. I had known its an eternal sin for saying these but I had thought I would be justified for doing so. I only knew I was wrong subsequently.
Some weeks later, I felt bad and told God I should not have done it.
However 2 years later, the voices told me that God loves me and would forgive me even if I said the Holy Spirit was an evil spirit. I stupidly believed the voices again and said “Holy Spirit is an evil spirit” out loud. This time, I only said it once.
Ever since, I have repented and didnt speak any word against God or the Holy Spirit. I am clean now.
Is repentance useful? This is because the bible is not so clear as to whether repentance is useful or not. But from what I think, repentance doesn’t seem to be useful because in the previous verse of Matt 12:32, Jesus said all sins would be forgiven. Now this makes sense only if these all sins are repented of. Then in Matt 12:32, he said BHS is not forgivable. If we connect the precious verse where all sins are forgivable, this implies this sin is not forgivable even if its repented right? It only makes sense this way. If this sense can be repented, then the previous verse wouldn’t make sense.
For eg, all sins are forgiven (provided they are repented). But blasphemy against Holy Spirit is not forgiven (even though repentence is there too). If Repentance factor comes to play in the previous verse, then repentance should also comes into play in the BHS verse.
This means, even with repentence, blasphemy against Holy Spirit is not forgiven.
I am currently attending a local church and they said I didn’t attribute Jesus and Holy Spirit works to be Satan and hence not considered blasphemy against Holy Spirit. How could that be? If I use the same yardstick and called Father an evil spirit, I am blasphemying heavenly Father. Then if I now address to the Holy Spirit to be evil spirit, this also means I am blasphemy Holy Spirit, even though I didn’t meet Matt 12:32 biblical context.
Is context still important then? Not in my view. I still blasphemy against Holy Spirit.
Do hope for your comment and I look forward to your replies. Thank you.
Regards
Willie Lim.
Willie:
I don’t have your email address. I would simply say, based on the historical example given in the NT of the Pharisees, this is a sin which precludes repentance. It makes repentance impossible. If you have a broken heart and are truly repentant, you will be forgiven. Jesus also said that “All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will NEVER drive away.” (John 6:37). This is confirmed by I John 1:9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from ALL unrighteousness.
I have also emailed you yesterday. I hope we can communicate via email as my browser can’t see the fonts of this website very nicely.
Dylan, your story is kinda similar to mine (see above). I don’t think you’re anywhere close to the sin of the Pharisees and would be willing to discuss further if you want.
I don’t know if the admin still looks at this page, but I have a question that is similar to Anthony’s concerns. Regarding blasphemy, what about the concept of hearing it? Wouldn’t blasphemy be easily recognized by merely hearing it? Not trying to cause doubt or scare anyone, but it’s something that I think needs to be considered.
Tony:
Could you elaborate a little more on what you mean?
Wouldn’t God condemn someone for merely hearing someone calling the Holy Spirit satanic, evil, etc? That’s what I’m asking.
Tony,
No. That is not blasphemy. Blasphemy is a verbal sin. It is saying certain words. In the context of this sin, it is deliberately saying them as a reflection of inner thoughts and attitudes. Hearing someone else say something is not blasphemy on your part.