What Is the Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit?

The Atonement is one of the most misunderstood aspects of the Christian faith. From cultural trends to popular teachings, the meaning of Christ's sacrifice is often lost. But do you understand what it means that God became human and took the punishment for our sins? Saved From What is a booklet that helps you grasp the heart of the Atonement. It's the foundation of salvation and the Christian faith. Your understanding of the cross shapes how you see sin, salvation, and the hope we have in Jesus. Thanks to your support, we are offering this booklet for a donation of any amount.

Visit solomedia.org slash offers to receive your copy today. I can remember a time, years ago, I was a newer Christian, and I was distraught because I thought I had committed the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Really, I didn't even know what it was. But I just thought, whatever it is, I probably have done it. I'm a sinner, I'm messed up, and God is through with me. And now as a pastor, many years later, I've talked to several people over the years who were in that same state, distraught, really struggling, because they felt like, I've sinned away the grace of God. I've done something that God just can't forgive. Some people don't realize this, but Jesus actually said that there is a sin that God will never forgive.

What is that sin, and what do you do if you feel like you've committed it? The unpardonable sin is described in the synoptic gospels. We're talking about Matthew, Mark, and Luke, so not including John's gospel. And it's actually, as I mentioned, in each of those gospels, which is something that's significant. There are instances where a saying or a parable of Jesus is found in one gospel, or one of the synoptics, but not the others. Here we're talking about something, this idea of the unpardonable sin that appears in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

And so that seems significant. It's in all of the gospels, and even though it's not in the Gospel of John, some people have highlighted what John says in 1 John 5 with regard to the sin unto death as being parallel to this idea of the unforgivable or the unpardonable sin. The relevant citations in the gospels are Matthew 12, 22 through 32, Mark 3, verses 22 through 30, and Luke 12, verses 8 through 12. I encourage you to sit down and read through them.

But let's look first just at Mark's account in particular. And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, He, that's Jesus, is possessed by Beelzebul, and by the prince of demons he casts out demons. And he called them to him and said to them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand but is coming to an end. But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man.

Then indeed he may plunder his house. Truly I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man and whatever blasphemies they utter. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness but is guilty of an eternal sin.

For they were saying, He has an unclean spirit. Now first let me just begin by saying that it's called a sin against the Holy Spirit, not because it's not a sin against the Father and the Son. We believe in the Holy Trinity, right?

These three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory. To sin against the Spirit is to sin against the Father and the Son as well. But it's called a sin against the Holy Spirit because in particular it's a sin against the work or the operations of the Holy Spirit in the world today.

And this is something that we see very clearly in that passage I just read from the Gospel of Mark. There the scribes and the Pharisees begin to accuse Jesus of being demon possessed because they've seen him do something miraculous, cast out a demon. He's operating by the power of the Holy Spirit but they say, No, you're operating by the power of Beelzebul. Now who in the world is Beelzebul? Well Beelzebul was a nickname for Satan. It means Lord of the Flies or Lord of the manure pile.

A form of the name appears first in 2 Kings 1 verses 2 and 3 where the pagan God of Ekron is called Beelzebub. The religious scholars in Jesus' day are seeing with their own eyes these miraculous works of the Holy Spirit and they're so blind, they're so blind to the Lord that rather than see what's happening, they deny Jesus and they deny the work of the Holy Spirit attributing it to the devil. Talk about blindness. They can't even tell the difference between God, the Lord, and the devil.

Here's the second thing I want to say. The blasphemy of the Holy Spirit isn't just falling into some general sin like lust or drunkenness or even struggling with the habitual pattern of sin. It is possible for true believers to grieve the Holy Spirit, Ephesians chapter 4 verse 30, and to quench the Holy Spirit, 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 19. And while those things are sins against the Spirit, they are not the unpardonable sin or the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. We're talking about a kind of apostasy, that means turning away from God that is total and complete. It's not committed by those who long for the mercy of Jesus Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

Actually, it's committed by people who could care less, who hate God and his people. Now in calling it apostasy, I don't mean to say that all apostasy is unforgivable. There are people who turn away from the Lord, even who have backslidden for years, and then who are restored by the mercies of God.

Maybe that's you or maybe you know someone and that's what they experience. They came to Christ and then they turned away for many years, and then they came back and experienced the goodness of the Lord and the goodness of fellowship with his people. No, that's not the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. And so what distinguishes general apostasy, which is forgivable, from this kind of apostasy?

I think there are a few things. Number one, the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit isn't committed by true believers, by genuine believers. Rather, it's committed by hypocrites, like the scribes and the Pharisees there in the Gospels. These are people who experience the work of God in profound ways, but never truly grasp it by faith.

This is a terrifying thing, but it's true. It's possible, like the Pharisees, to be inundated with scripture, and yet for the work of God never to travel from your head to your heart. Those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit never had their hearts transformed. Second, the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is total, final, and willful.

In other words, it's willful. A person doesn't accidentally commit this sin. I've talked to so many Christians who are concerned that they've committed this sin, and they feel like because they continue to struggle with the same thing over and over again, God has just gotten to the point where he's fed up. It's sort of like he's thrown up his hands and said, I believe you've done this again, you've crossed the line, now my grace is no longer sufficient for you.

And the person despairs. And the reality is that if you confess your sins, God is faithful and just to forgive you and cleanse you of all unrighteousness. The person who blasphemes the Holy Spirit isn't confessing their sins, but they've totally rejected Jesus, they've trampled him underfoot intentionally.

That's the language that the author of the Hebrews uses in Hebrews chapter 10 verse 29. Third, the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is a conscious and consistent continual repudiation of a truth that maybe was once confessed even though it wasn't truly believed. And the person who goes this route isn't usually weeping over their sins, instead they're shaking their fist at God. Oftentimes they become those people who just are persecutors of the Church, they're so hostile towards Christianity and Christians. And again, here we have to be careful because we know people who have gone through a season of that, maybe even a long season, and yet the Lord softened their hearts and brought them back once again into the fold. And so as we're talking about this, one thing we have to be especially careful about is not jumping to conclusions saying, oh, well, that person is blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Even as we consider ourselves, I think Satan wants to convince us that we're too bad for the grace of God, that Jesus wants nothing to do with us.

Why? Because it's a way of handicapping us in our relationship with the Lord. It's the lie that your sins are too much for Jesus to handle. No, brother, sister, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ is greater than your sin.

Go to him believing that. And I realize that as I mentioned those three things that are characteristic of the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, this particular kind of apostasy, that there are those with sensitive consciences who as I was going through those still might say, I don't know, maybe that's me. I get mad at my brothers and sisters in Christ.

I've thought some terrible things lately. We'll look at the horrendous thoughts we've had or a time where we sinned and we knew better, or even a period where we walked in darkness and will despair because we feel like we sinned away our last chance. Again, to you I'd say, brother, sister, your sin is great indeed, but the Savior is greater. The scribes and the Pharisees rejected that Savior.

They hated him. If you're discouraged by your sin and despair over your lack of righteousness, you're very different from them. Don't buy into the lie that your sins are greater than Christ's grace because you feel their weight. Even that is itself a sign that God's Spirit is at work in your life, not that God has abandoned you.

So take heart. And we oftentimes focus on the unforgivable sin in that passage, but we don't consider the unmatched mercy of God that's also described there. Jesus said, this is Matthew's account, 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. Before Jesus identified the unpardonable sin, he highlighted just how great the mercy of God is, God's forgiveness, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people. God is not stingy with his mercy, waiting for you to make one more mistake before he pulls the plug on his love for you.

He's a good Father. In fact, in Luke chapter 11, right before in Luke's Gospel, he described that scene where the scribes and the Pharisees are accusing Jesus of working by satanic powers. Here's what Jesus said, and I think it's interesting that this is placed right before that. This is Luke chapter 11, If you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?

Luke chapter 11 verse 13. God is a good Father who is eager to give his Holy Spirit to you. May he comfort you with his peace, and especially if you're weighed down in terror. May he remind you of his great grace and mercy in Jesus Christ, which is for all of those who confess their sins. Here at Sola, we're passionate about drawing on historic Reformation theology to equip thoughtful Christians for practical wisdom, connecting the dots between the Bible, doctrine, the Christian life, and contemporary culture. All that we produce is free thanks to the many who give monthly as Sola partners. If you join us as a monthly partner, we'll send you a complimentary copy of Michael Horton's book, Ordinary, Sustainable Faith in a Radical Restless World. In an age marked by burnout and sensationalism, Horton shows us what it looks like to live a deeply normal yet profoundly meaningful Christian life. To get your copy, simply head over to solamedia.org slash partner to join us in encouraging even more people to grow in knowing God and seeing everything in his light.