In order to understand what blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is, we must first understand what salvation is.
Salvation is receiving the Holy Spirit that connects us back to God. We receive the Holy Spirit by acknowledging that we are sinful, have gone our own way, are separated from God, and that we are in need of his complete forgiveness. Once we acknowledge this, we then put our hope and trust in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for forgiveness of our sins and receive the promised Holy Spirit that spiritually connects us back to God and makes us one with him. Yes, it is that simple; that is the only work required for salvation. Thank you Jesus!
Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
John 6:29 ESV
“In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”
Ephesians 1:13 ESV
Now that we have established that, let us dive in to what blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is.
In Matthew 12:22 the Pharisees witnessed Jesus perform a miracle that should have alerted them that Jesus was truly the Messiah. They witnessed Jesus do many miracles that should have caused them to believe, but this was the grand finale. He cast a demon out of a man that was blind and mute. It was so epic, the crowd marveled.
“And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.” Matthew 9:33 ESV.
The Jews held a belief that in order to cast out a demon you had to interview the demon to get its name, then overpower the demon by its own name and cast it out. So only the Messiah would have authority to cast a demon out of a person who could not speak or see who He is. God used their own methods to draw them in and they still refused to believe in Him. Even though they had all the evidence they required, they utterly rejected the Holy Spirit that brings eternal life.
Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is quite different than unbelief. Unbelief can be resolved over time once a person has the evidence or experience they need. Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is not calling the Holy Spirit a name or the devil; people have often have these thoughts and sometimes don’t even want to think them.
I believe that blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is when an individual has all the facts they need, and has still decided in their heart that they have no need for the salvation Jesus came to offer. This individual rejects salvation even after being shown the truth multiple times. This individual even rejects the truth when it is shown to them exactly how they want it shown to them! They may say they’ll believe if they win the lottery, but even if the they win, they won’t believe. The person chooses this path until they die. What else could God do? This person has decided that they will never believe, no matter what proof is provided.
May you rest in truth.
Nick
Thanks Nick for your article.
I have always had the fear that this sin was an isolated act or utterance so the article was a reassuring one.
It’s a pity that the scripture doesn’t offer more clarity as to what this sin is as it can cause a lot of distress for Christians.
Do you think that the subsequent verses in Matt 12:32-35 reveal the nature of this sin to be an attitude and expression of it rather than just an isolated act?
Kind regards