Q&A.333.VB.THE BIBLE – Blaspheme against the Holy Spirit?
Q.What does it mean to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit? How do we
know we haven’t committed this “unpardonable sin”?
Jesus speaks in Matthew 12:31, 32, about blasphemy against the Holy
Spirit. He says, “All manner of sin and blasphemy will be forgiven man, except
blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.” Now this blasphemy against the Holy Spirit
does not mean you lose your temper, shake your fist at God, and call Him names.
That is certainly an outrageous sin, but that is not the “blasphemy against the
Holy Spirit” of which Jesus is speaking.
The Jewish leaders accused Jesus of blasphemy when He claimed equality
with God and the right to forgive sin. Of course, they would have been correct to
do so if Jesus were not God.
However, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is a perpetual, constant resisting
of the drawing love of God’s Spirit, so much so that you lose the capacity to hear
the Holy Spirit’s voice. The conscience becomes seared (1 Timothy 4:2). This
deadly blasphemy is also called “grieving away” the Holy Spirit. Paul refers to
“Grieve not the Holy Spirit, wherewith you are sealed,” meaning we can
permanently grieve away the Spirit.
Eventually, a person loses the capacity to repent, and therefore cannot be
saved. It is for this sin that a person cannot be forgiven, because they have
rejected the Spirit that convicts of sin (John 16:8). So if we still feel convicted of
sin and have the desire to repent, then we have probably not committed the
unpardonable sin.
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