Question from a Site Viewer
I am dealing with some deep rooted issues. I was a former drug addict in marijuana and drinking all the way to crack cocaine. I started soon after I was saved at age 15. I am now 21 and sober for 5 months. I was getting off drugs when I heard a voice in my mind telling me F*%! the Holy Spirit. I was tormented. To make the story short I found Matthew 12:31 which tells about the unpardonable sin or eternal sin. The same voice led me out of impulse to curse the Holy Spirit . . . I felt so doomed and betrayed about what I had done because Jesus said He would never forgive you for speaking against the Holy Spirit. So, that one day last month I was without hope and alone. I deliberately cursed the Holy Trinity saying, “F*#! you Holy Spirit, Jesus, God, and the Trinity.” I even said, “Satanic Jesus.” I even said that the Holy Spirit was in Satan. I called the Holy Spirit evil and bunch more names. I even told Satan that I would give him my soul, that I wanted him to be my god if he would make the voices or insults stop. I believe in Jesus. Who am I not to believe if even demons believe and tremble? But what’s the point of faith if He said in 3 gospels I couldn’t be forgiven? And the thoughts still run through my head every day. I feel Satan tormenting me, trying to make me curse out the Holy Ghost again. I have a dvd where an ex-satanist says that they have to blaspheme the Holy Spirit and deny Him. Maybe you can help get out of this dark bed of doom.
Tim’s Answer
When our minds have been given over to evil for a significant period of time, it is a long and difficult journey to transform them into pure and holy minds. The evil that is there will continually seek to assert itself. But, we can overcome the evil thought patterns if we are willing to fight the good fight in our minds. It is our privilege to refocus our minds on the things that are pure, good, holy, and right (Philippians 4:6). These wars are not won in a day or two, or even a month or two. To develop new habits of thinking take considerable time. But it is a worthy task. I encourage you to redouble the fight. Even though you may have lost a battle or two, you have not lost the war. Begin reading Scripture. Memorize Scripture. Think about Scripture. And pray always. Also, find a good church and get into fellowship with other strong believers in Christ. These are the steps to changing the way one thinks.
You are concerned that you may have committed the unpardonable sin. You have spoken ill of the Holy Spirit. I am glad that you recognize that one should not curse God. In cursing God, you have given in to the sin within you and to the enemy. But this does not mean that you are lost forever. God tells us that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. My encouragement to you is to seek His mercy, commit yourself to pursue after Him to the end of your life, and to not let sin have dominion over you. A good passage to read is Romans 6 through 8.
If cursing the Holy Spirit was the unpardonable sin Jesus spoke about, then many of us would have no hope of Christ. While among scholars there is a great deal of debate as to what constitutes the “blasphemy of the Holy Spirit” spoken of by Jesus in Matthew 12:31-32, Mark 3:28-30, and Luke 12:10, I believe it certainly means something other than cursing the Holy Spirit. The great Apostle Paul, before He came to Christ, certainly did not believe that the works of the Holy Spirit were of God. He actively opposed Christ and blasphemed God (1 Timothy 1:13). When Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the words of God, Paul (then called Saul) did not ascribe those words to God (Acts 7:55-8:1). If anyone blasphemed the Holy Spirit in the sense of ascribing the works of the Spirit to Satan, Paul did. Yet, he obtained forgiveness. I tend to believe that the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit Jesus had in mind in the Matthew, Mark, and Luke passages is the hardening of the heart against the presence of the Spirit to the extent that one dies without ever acknowledging the work of the Spirit in Christ. This is what the Jews of Jesus’ time did, and Christ said that the Gentiles would gain the kingdom of heaven before they did. Christ also said that their father was the devil because they rejected the Son whom God had sent (see John 8:37-47). But whether I am right or not about what Jesus meant when He spoke of blaspheming the Holy Spirit, I know that these three passages do not annul the great promises of God to receive all who will come to Him; to receive those who are of a broken and penitent heart; and to love freely those who come to Him. I also know that even when God has pronounced judgment on a person or nation, when that person or nation seeks God in repentance, God will forgive. It is His very character to turn away from wrath to mercy. This is the lesson of Jonah. It is also the lesson of Joel 2:12-14; see also Jeremiah 18:7-10. God responds favorably to all who seek Him.
So I encourage you to pursue God, despite these recent setbacks in your walk. God, who called you out of darkness into His great light, has mapped out a plan to conform you into the image of Jesus Christ. Engage in the battle. Take up the armor of God. Every day, add to your faith virtue, add to virtue the knowledge of God, add to knowledge self-control, add to self-control perseverance and to perseverance godliness and to godliness brotherly kindness and love (2 Peter 1:5-8). These are the building blocks for a transformed mind.
I am concerned about the voices you speak about in your email. It is possible that the voices simply represent evil thoughts that are present in all of us. If so, when they come we should simply choose to think about other thoughts. While this can be a difficult struggle, it is a worthy struggle. Part of self-control is gaining the control over our mind, so that we decide what we think about rather than let our minds decide for us. Often, we have let our minds become flabby and we let our thoughts control us. We need to reassert control over our minds. We need to exercise our minds to be disciplined to think about the things we choose. A good way to do this is to memorize Scripture. This may be very hard at first. But if you simply repeat the verse over and over, you will both get it memorized and at the same time begin to exercise your mind to think on good things. As Scripture says, we need to set our minds on things above, and not on things on this earth (Colossians 3:1-3). It may take a year or more, but by choosing to think about the good, you will find that the bad will fade into the distance. Though evil thoughts can always resurface as long as we are in this life, once we learn how to put them aside and focus on Jesus and on helping and praying for others, we will have the victory over such evil thoughts.
It also is possible that the voices may represent a malfunctioning of the physical properties of the brain. If this is so, you may find appropriate medication to be most useful. Paul told Timothy to take a little wine for his stomach’s sake and his many illnesses. God is not against using medicine, and often provides medicine for the benefit of people. Thus, medical doctors have been used greatly by God in many countries of the world.
I have friends who have struggled with voices and have never been able to gain the victory until they were able to stay on proper medication. With the medication, they have lived most noble and godly lives, being a blessing to God and to others. Some initially struggled with whether it was proper to take medication for what seemed to them to be mental issues. But, in my mind, if the condition is treatable by medication, then it is not a mental problem but a physical problem. It has to do with the connections in the brain. Such medicine is no different than the chemotherapy I take in my ongoing battle with cancer. So, if the voices are persistent, I encourage you to seek some help from a good doctor.
My prayers are with you. May you always pursue Christ and come to know the victory that Christ has gained at the cross. And may the God of grace grant you His peace and love.
A fellow servant of Christ,
tim
Related Articles:
The Unpardonable Sin, Part 2
Focus on Jesus
Blasphemy
Ive recently been having blasphemous intrusive thoughts because if my ocd and I’ve written people asking them if I committed the sin which it seems I haven’t. However does writing down the blasphemous stuff to let them know what they were count as blasphemy of the spirit.
I was just explaining the thoughts into detail and I had no blasphemous intent behind writing them. Plus I wasnt trying to make people believe them. I even refuted the blasphemous stuff because I know Jesus was not possessed and his miracles are not Satan’s doing.
I also repented for all my sins and I accepted Jesus as my lord and savior. So did I commit the unforgivable sin by writing down the baphemous thoughts explaining them or does it not count?
I do not think it is wise to either think about or to write down prior blasphemous thoughts. But such is not the unpardonable sin. The unpardonable sin is the sin from which one does not repent. Those who repent and come to Christ, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us (1 John 1:9). I encourage you not to think about matters of sin, but think about things of Christ. Focus on Him, on His goodness, His mercy, His love, and the hope of heaven that He brings to us. Think about things that are pure and lovely (Philippians 4:8). Set your mind on things above (Colossians 3:1-3). If you do, these other matters will recede away as the mind is reformed and transformed into the image of Christ
I believe (and i am not a scholar in any way) But I believe the unpardonable sin, is not accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior.
Jesus says in john 14:6 “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the father except through me.” Hence if you deny Jesus Christ as your Savior, you loose your full connection to God and that is pretty much spiritual suicide. It’s not my judgement to say people will go to Hell, but without Christ’s Sacrifice, God can not hear us repent or blot out our Sins. The Unpardonable sin, is denying Jesus as your savior. john 1: even states “In the begining was the Word (Jesus Christ) and the Word, was with God and the Word was God.
We agree.
Telling people to take Medication Is a Worldly thing to tell them. Peter. Judas. King Saul heard Satan’s voice but did that mean they needed medication
It’s interesting when Someone says God spoke to them Nobody says nothing. But the minute you say Satan spoke to you they label you crazy
very good point
Well denying Jesus can be forgiven. I agree with what your saying but I think what you also mean is continual denial. Peter for instance denied Jesus three times while saying vile words towards him and Jesus still forgave him. Paul was the biggest blasphemer and became an apostle and received the forgiveness of Jesus. The Pharisees could have even been forgiven if they turned to Jesus despite their heart condition because God can soften a hardened heart. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 1:9 KJV
Jesus died on the cross to save everyone who would ever exist. No sin is to big to be forgiven.
First off I pray that you will find God’s Healing Mercy and through GOD BE VICTORIOUS IN DEFEATING CANCER. I too am a cancer survivor of stage 3 colon cancer and stage 1 melanoma skin cancer. Since 2007 I have had my share of hell on earth. However, instead of doing what I had promised to do for God since he let me live I was to follow and worship him more. Unfortunately I have succombed to the wrong side again. My wife left me after she told me she had an affair with her college girlfriend while I was in the hospital, She told me she didnt love me anymore and that she was gay. I lost my job of 5 years, I lost the home we had, I lost my car and I had to sell everything we had because she left me. Now I am at home with my parants. I’m thankful for them and for them letting me live here. My weakness is pornography and I have seen it all. What bothers me is I have been becoming addictive to it and some of it is very wrong. I am very lonely for female companionship. I masterbate almost 4-5 times per week Recently when I get extra money I pay for prosttutes at massage parlor for sexual favors. Everything I have been doing has been wrong. I’m thinking that God has decided not to forgive anymore and he realized he made a mistake. I’m ashamed to be in church and I am ashamed to be in the sight of God. I know he is disappointed and probably angry. I’m thinking I am going to be punished again. I think the cancer was punishment. They found it by mistake and I was very blessed not to have a bag attached to me nor have radition with the kemo. Is there really any hope for me? If it wasn’t for my mom and dad I think I would have killed myself by now. I really pray, hopefully God will here me that youy are healed from your diffculty..God bless and do exactly what your doctors says! Even if you dont want to..God bless and awaiting reply-
I suggest that you turn off the computer, do not go anywhere near where you know there may be any images of women that may be scantily clothed, and spend the next month of you or life memorizing Romans 6 in its entirety. Repeat it over and over.
All pornography is wrong. Anyone who looks at a woman who is not their wife to lust after her is sinning. What begins as a seemingly small sin becomes our enslavement. We develop pathways in our brain that are very addictive.
Jesus said to the woman taken in adultery that He did not condemn her but that she should go and sin no more. The same holds true for you. Christ will forgive, but He does not forgive so that you can jump back into the same sin the next moment. He forgives so that you can pursue righteousness. So my question to you is: “What are you doing to pursue righteousness?” I plead with you to be serious about turning to Christ and following Him. You do not want to lose your soul over the temporary and fleeting pleasure of sex. Instead, set your mind on things of heaven and give no occasion to the flesh to fill its lusts.
During your month of sobriety from sexual images and engaging in sexual activity, besides memorizing and meditation on Romans 6, develop a strategy that will strengthen your walk with Christ and trigger you to flee from any temptation to sin. This may include finding a sexual addiction support group in a local church, or finding a brother who will help hold you accountable. Think through the strategy and share it with someone else and see if they can help make it stronger. Then carry out the strategy you have made. Draw close to God and you will find that God will draw close to you.
Life is more than sex, far more. God created us thinking creatures in His image to accomplish His will. We need to apply the resources He has given us to advancing His kingdom, and not to the indulgence of the flesh. You want your life to count for Him. Focus your mind and heart in loving Him. Then, you will not need to concern yourself over the unpardonable sin.
I’m being attacked Right now. I’ve been Attacked hard since I’ve been Witnessing for Christ
It’s hard to hear Gods voice sometimes when I’m led to Scripture its hard to tell who is talking to me
Talking to others about it Doesn’t help. Some people just make me feel alot worse than ever
I’m probably Lost Anyway
Do not let the voices tell you that you are lost! If you accepted Jesus’ salvation, you won’t be lost -so don’t give up!
I have heard the same thoughts, but these are lies to deceive us…
When you witness for Christ, you have to be ready to defend yourself against the enemy.
Many say that life became much harder for them when they came to Christ, because before when they were into the lusts of the flesh and living the secular lifestyle, Satan was not bothering them, they were already doing what he wanted.
So, be strong, don’t fall back to the ways of the world.
It will be worth it in the end, this time is temporary, we aren’t meant to love this fallen world.
Do not talk with those who make you feel worse if you are not strong enough.
You are not lost!
God blesses even the wicked God provides for the fouls of the earth how much more do u think he loves you? I tell u he loves u more then u can image more then u know how to love it is not his will that anyone should perish but for us all to live with him forever as long as there is breath in ur body you can repent and come back to Jesus ask God for the holy spirit and I believe you will never lose it because it belongs to God and what is God’s remains with God forever. Satan was cast to hell cuz he was an angel we are better then the angels therefore we do not receive the same fate. Satan is lying to u he wants u down in sin lift up in the word of God and move forward don’t look back and u will overcome. God bless you
Thanx for this. I have gone through similar things and am going through it. It helps me to know that I’m not alone, although I wish this on no one. Thank you for being brave enough to talk about it. It has given me a bit of peace. God Bless and I’ll be praying for you. Please email me anytime. Ttyl
I as well has gone through this but I never repeated the words I always Rebuked them
To all of you who are struggling as I am- and I’m saying this to myself in spite of what I feel and think (I believe many of our thoughts are not our own but whispered into our minds by Satan)- please be encouraged and never give up the fight. Tim, God bless you, dear brother, and thank you for your time and effort on this site. I speak healing into your body right now in the name of Jesus Christ and I claim full recovery for you. I sinned earlier tonight and after I asked God’s forgiveness I went on a search that led me here. I believe nothing happens by accident or coincidence in the sovereignty of God for His children. I’ve never seen such a fight in my life like that between the flesh and the spirit. Thank You God for Your amazing grace
Will god forgive me for painting a satanic painting of Jesus?
He will. He desires that all come to Him (1 Timothy 2:4).
Yes.
Jesus paid the price for ALL sin.
With God there aren’t big sins and little sins, sin is sin and the blood of Jesus washes them all away.
Thank you Tim and everyone. You are healed by the stripe of Jesus Tim. I find comfort in the words I have read here today. I pray the grace of God will not elude us in Jesus name. Amen
Thanks brother Tim for your very helpful and comforting website its much appreciated
Kind regards Steve
I need your help. Sometime ago, i’d prayed to God for forgiveness for the immoral life i’d been living. I stuck to my new life for a while but then i fell back. I asked for forgiveness again and fell back again after a while. And so its been going. Sometimes i feel like I’m mocking God with my prayers for forgiveness and i worry that perhaps i’m not really sorry. I know that God is merciful. But i feel like He’s tired of my prayers for forgiveness for since i deliberately commit.
Turn from your sin. Return to God. What do you have to lose?
Joe Repent and turn from that sin. You have nothing to Lose
Hey there. How are you doing now? I want to check in
Hey I grew up a Christian my whole life but recently I was saved. Before I was saved I might have sinned purposefully thinking God will forgive me. Since then I am truly sorry and asked for forgiveness but sometimes I feel I am not forgiven and feel like at the end of time I won’t make it to heaven. Also when reading about the unpardonable sin I feel like I cursed the Holy Spirit by accident. I really didn’t mean it if I did and I didn’t say it out loud but I still feel as if I did it and am not forgiven. It changes a lot sometimes I will feel forgiven and other times it will just come back and haunt me. I need help anything you can say will help. Thank you so much.
Hey bro how are you
I have seen porn even after saying sorry in Jesus name and still feel good is with me wy when it says if you do the same sin all the time there is no forgiveness and my friend says if you sin you by sining tern away from God
Hello:
I was raised in a Christian home but fell into immorality during my twenties. I knew it was wrong and have always believer in Jesus as lord but failed to follow him. I met my now wife and she was a strong follower. So I pretended to be stronger in the lord than I was so that our relationship would work. I started going to church and actually began to feel closer to the lord and asked for forgiveness for my past immorality before I met my wife but had a hard time accepting. About 2 years ago I had spiritual voice in my head tell me I had committed unpardonable sin of blasphemy by making a mockery of the Holy Spirit and I should hurt myself. I have suffered great anxiety over this incident since then. Please help. I want assurance
just the fact that the spirit told you to hurt yourself tells me that it is not a spirit from God but a voice from the devil trying to keep you away from God. As the Bible says that God has plans for good and not for evil. Stay strong not through ur own strength but through God
These comments are all really good advice, I used to struggle with voices but I always prayed to Jesus, asking Him to help. After some years of doing crosswords, reading, and daily learning, logic puzzles, listening to relaxing music and praying, God sent to me my life partner. He can banish evil spirits and he did banish one from me, afterwards it kept coming back to me to try and turn my mind to it again but I heard Jesus Christ say, “ignore it. Pay it no heed.”
If you believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord, repent and study the word, draw close to him, you will find you are saved.
Now my mind is quiet and I have Joy, so always pray it works miracles.
Also I would like to add to others struggling with voices, I would submit to you that perhaps you are a spiritually sensitive individual that can hear beings from the other realms, clairaudience. In which case, I would suggest seeing a deliverance minister and then staying away from all things that open spiritual doorways.
Search, spiritual doorways and how to close them, also the renouncement prayer.
Also, you can speak directly to the spirit that is causing you unhappiness and say, “spirit or creature, I order you to leave now out of this room, out of this house, out of this neighbourhood, out of this town, out of this state, out of this country, back to the realm where you belong, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, the son of God.
Remember, it must obey. Jesus Christ has the authority, and therefore you do too.
God knows that we will sin, we will be tempted, and we will fall. He does forgive, but he knows our hearts, if you love sin more than God, he knows this. If you love the world more than God, he knows that too. Make God the very Centre of your life. You will find that He will do a better job at your life than you!
Love Jesus Christ’s faithful servant, who also sins on a daily basis and sometimes sins wilfully, even though it pains me afterwards, the pain of repentance is not worth the pleasure of the Sin!
I just want my Lord.
One more thing, I believe that the Lord can do more in the world with a loyal believer that is trying his or her best to follow Christ than he can with an unbelieving person, so please do not be disheartened, the enemy wants to distract you from the calling of the Lord, he says he has forgiven you, you must believe it. The blaspheme of the Holy Spirit is to deny Jesus Christ the honor and the glory that he as God and King deserves, also to deny God the power to change you into His good work. The enemy will want to make you believe you are unsaved which you are not.
God can do more with a believer, the good work of the Kingdom of Heaven. Always, always, hearken on to God in prayer, confide in Him your fears that you are unsaved, tell…
Remember, God LOVES you. He really truly LOVES you.
He is real, and loving and so so kind. He will happily help you in your walk, he desires nothing more but your company and intimate relationship with you, he wants you to be happy, whole and fulfilled. The Devil is attacking more and more, he is running out of time and he knows it. So pray, harder and more than ever. The Rapture is imminent, the antichrist is Obama, the pope is the false prophet
Google NWO conspiracy
End time dreams and visions
Jesus Christ is coming!
I have sinned against God and I keep asking for forgiveness and then I do it all again. I don’t want to be living in the evil spirit anymore. I want to walk with God and believe in him. I have watched horrible things such as pornography and I want God to still forgive me. I believe I should be stronger in my faith and also tell my mind not to complete the sin to. What should I do?
For those struggling with the unforgivable sin, know that you are not alone. Thousands of Christians all over the world stuggle with this fear. Voices in their head, etc. There is even a medical diagnosis for this within the realm of OCD. This is the enemy folks. It is a pattern. Know this.
Michael, this is precisely the OCD that I have. You are correct. It’s horrific and debilitating. I’m wasting my life on account of this scru-pulocity OCD and the depression it is causing.