What is blasphemy of The Holy Spirit?

[Free]

Is this a sin we could possibly commit? Wasn't it meant for those who were seeing the works of Jesus Himself and attributing it to Satan?

The context of the passage says as much.

This is correct - basically it is saying to Christ to his face, "Your works are of the devil!" Since Christ is not physically in the flesh on earth today this sin is not possible to commit.

God bless

I disagree. That would be akin to saying that God doesn't do any works today. Whether Christ is here physically is irrelevant; he is present in every believer through the Holy Spirit.

 

[Rick W]

Whether Christ is here physically is irrelevant; he is present in every believer through the Holy Spirit.

Agreed.
People will ask, "Why don't we hear from God?" or "Why don't we see God doing things today?"
Through the Holy Spirit moving within the body of believers we hear His voice every day if we care to seek Him out and listen.And one who repents and accepts Christ is a miracle of God's mercy and grace celebrated in Heaven.

 

[brakelite2]

Ac 7:51 Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.

Here is an example of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. By their constant stubborn refusal to acknowledge and accept the clear evidence of the Messiahship of Jesus, the rulers of Israel had placed themselves beyond any possibility of redemption and thus sealed the fate of their nation.

Mt 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

 

[duval]

Resisting the Holy Spirit and blaspheming the Holy Spirit do not always equate--Duval

 

[Imagican]

Whether Christ is here physically is irrelevant; he is present in every believer through the Holy Spirit.

Agreed.
People will ask, "Why don't we hear from God?" or "Why don't we see God doing things today?"
Through the Holy Spirit moving within the body of believers we hear His voice every day if we care to seek Him out and listen.And one who repents and accepts Christ is a miracle of God's mercy and grace celebrated in Heaven.

Wow, DEEP words Pot. And words that are about as inspirational as they come. Thanks for the offering.

MEC

 

[AVBunyan]

Is this a sin we could possibly commit? Wasn't it meant for those who were seeing the works of Jesus Himself and attributing it to Satan?

The context of the passage says as much.

This is correct - basically it is saying to Christ to his face, "Your works are of the devil!" Since Christ is not physically in the flesh on earth today this sin is not possible to commit.

God bless

I disagree. That would be akin to saying that God doesn't do any works today. Whether Christ is here physically is irrelevant; he is present in every believer through the Holy Spirit.

Mark 3:29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:

The issue is always a lack of understanding of scriptural justification for toady. Many run back to books written to pork-abstaining, uncircumcised Jews under the law before Christ even died for sins and before the body of Christ was formed (Gospels) and try to cram it in for doctrine today and then you are left with a problem.

Here is the problem one gets into when they say one can commit this “unpardonable†sin today.

The verse says the person who commits this can never have forgiveness. Now the fun begins – for those of you who believe one can lose it (and this forum and others is full of them) then you have no problem with one never getting forgiveness for this means that if a person commits this sin there is no forgiveness and one cannot enter into heaven unforgiven. This view fits your Armenian theology of losing standing.

The scriptural position is that the true saint today who is blood bought, sealed with the Holy Spirit and placed into the body of Christ (literally) and seated in heavenly places (Ephesians) is safe. So what is the answer – one of only 2 choices:

1. Yank the verse out of context and believe the saint can lose it or…

2. Believe it means what it says where it says it and to whom it says it to which leaves the one who commits it back then in a mess and thus leaves the saint for today safe.

But you will always chose #1 for you just can’t accept justification by faith alone – instead you want to be able to stand before God and say, “See Lord what a fine fella I am! I never committed such vile sins because I did this and I didn’t do this and I and I and I and I, blah, blah, etc.†Christ can be found nowhere in this picture.

You are either resting in Christ alone or resting in you - can't have it both ways today. :crazyeyes:

Gal 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

 

[Free]

What in the world does that have to do with anything?

 

[GuitarIntro]

Sorry for the late reply, but I was out of town for a while.

Free, what/who are you disagreeing to?

 

[Free]

I am disagreeing with AV. This has nothing to do with Arminianism vs Calvinism or any other ism.

 

[brakelite2]

Gal 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

I agree with Free, that this subject is a stand alone one outside of any osas debate.
But seeing as how you quoted the above scripture, I have a question. That righteousness doesn't come by the law is clear, but note that it does come!!! If so. how? And if you don't accept it, what happens? Perhaps you would care to answer either on another thread, or just answer for yourself. Don't want to derail this thread. :

I have a further question. If after having received salvation by faith in the justifying act of Christs blood, and the Holy Spirit reveals to you a sin of which you were formerly unaware (eg you bear great resentment against someone for a former offence against you) and God makes it clear that He desires for you to forgive that person, and you refuse, is that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? Take into account the parable of the wicked servant, and Jesus' words that if you do not forgive your brother then God will not forgive you.

 

[Vic C.]

HI brakelite2,

AV and others are free to respond because IMO your questions and concerns are related to the topic.

I do have a comment; the act of blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is a single action. It isn't referring to denial of sins which you are convicted of by the HS. That would suggest a variety of sins. The context, as I pointed out above, speaks of one particular act (or action)... spoken words... words that take the works of the HS through Jesus and attribute it to the Adversary. Nothing more, nothing less. I know people will disagree, but it was addressed to a certain people in a particular place and point in time. If one is truly saved (post Cross, people) can you really commit this sin?

2 Cor 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
2 Cor 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
2 Cor 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

We are on this side of the Cross, where the atoning, blood sacrifice of Jesus dealt with our sins... and now they are no longer sins that sentence us to an eternity of spiritual death. That penalty was nailed to the Cross. We are reconciled! We are reconciled to Him! We know Him and His powers and abilities. How could a saved person ever attribute His works to the devil? :o

Anyway, if I may quote the Adam Clarke commentary that explains this sin:

Verse 31. All manner of sin and blasphemy
βλαÃÆημια, injurious or impious speaking. {Anglo-Saxon}, mocking and deriding speech, Anglo-Saxon. See Matthew 9:3.

But the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost

Even personal reproaches, revilings, persecutions against Christ, were remissible; but blasphemy, or impious speaking against the Holy Spirit was to have no forgiveness: i.e. when the person obstinately attributed those works to the devil, which he had the fullest evidence could be wrought only by the Spirit of God. That this, and nothing else, is the sin against the Holy Spirit, is evident from the connection in this place, and more particularly from Mark 3:28-30. "All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme; but he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation; BECAUSE they said, He hath an unclean spirit."

Here the matter is made clear beyond the smallest doubt-the unpardonable sin, as some term it, is neither less nor more than ascribing the miracles Christ wrought, by the power of God, to the spirit of the devil. Many sincere people have been grievously troubled with apprehensions that they had committed the unpardonable sin; but let it be observed that no man who believes the Divine mission of Jesus Christ, ever can commit this sin: therefore let no man's heart fail because of it, from henceforth and for ever, Amen. See below.

http://www.studylight.org/com/acc/view. ... hapter=012

 

[Free]

Then what happens to Christians who do that very thing?

 

[stovebolts]

Hi Vic and AV.

I actually think I see what your saying and I'd have to agree.

What I'm now forced to think about, is the context. Where does that place the devout Jew today who have the scriptures? Or... does it only apply to non believers who recognize the miracles that Jesus performed, and attribute them to Satan?

 

[Vic C.]

Hi Vic and AV.

I actually think I see what your saying and I'd have to agree.

What I'm now forced to think about, is the context. Where does that place the devout Jew today who have the scriptures? Or... does it only apply to non believers who recognize the miracles that Jesus performed, and attribute them to Satan?

Hi Jeff, it wasn't just AV and myself; it was also to an extent Bob and Potluck as well who see it in it's context. So, I don't think you are "forced" to do anything. In context, it was directed to those who possessed the Messianic prophecies, knew them, taught them, but still did not know their Messiah as He performed the miracles... right in front of them. They weren't saved; they denied the very salvation offered to them by Jesus Himself. They denied His works; they made fun of Him, called Him names, accused Him of blasphemy.

They heard this from the mouth of Jesus:

Luke 16:29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
Luke 16:30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
Luke 16:31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

They just weren't spirit-filled people, they rejected the Spirit of God. We who have accepted God's Grace are not in this category; we are indwelled by that very Spirit of God. It's already too late for saved individuals to now blaspheme the Spirit.

I believe we are secure in our salvation and need not question it by thinking this is a sin we can commit. I also believe Clarke's observations on this passage were right on.

but let it be observed that no man who believes the Divine mission of Jesus Christ, ever can commit this sin: therefore let no man's heart fail because of it, from henceforth and for ever, Amen

 

[stovebolts]

Hey Vic,

By forced, I meant context and not doctrine. Sorry about not making that clearer since you guys were more on the lines of a born again believer loosing his salvation.

This still leaves me with a new thought and a question. Let me see if I can better ask this.

The Jews of today still have the same scripture that the Jews of the time of Jesus had. Now then, I am not speaking about born again Christians here, but rather, I'm speaking of the Jews that profess to know God, which seems to exclude folks of other religions including the atheist. Within the context of this scripture, is it still possible for blasphemy of the Holy Spirit to occur?

It would appear to me that yes, a staunch Jew (They still memorize the Torah, if not the whole Tanak verbatim) could blaspheme the H.S. in the same manner as the scribes of old.

I know this a a little different direction than the thread was heading. Sorry about not clarifying it better the first time.

 

[Vic C.]

Jeff, goto the studylight link I posted above and scroll down to verse 31 and 32. I think Clarke and Lightfoot did a great job of putting this passage into perspective... better than I could.

You mentioned context vs. doctrine. I know many people, including preachers, who let doctrine dictate context. One has to ask themselves, which came first? Hopefully one would say context. Therefore, in most cases, shouldn't context dictate doctrine? If it doesn't then we could make the Bible say and mean just about anything. I'm not excluding practical application but not all things in proper context make up Christian doctrine... nor should they.

We'd still be under the Law if that were so.


Hmmm......... 8-)

 

[brakelite2]

Hey guys. I can see where you are coming from with regards to the attributing to Satan the works of Jesus. I'd like to delve into this a little deeper. What were the works that Jesus was performing that the scribes etc denied Him glory for? Miracles of healing, deliverance from demons, miraculaous provision of wine at the wedding (oh yes, they might not have been there but they sure would have heard about it), the provision of food on the mountain a couple of times, among many others. The point being, that Jesus proved He was Who He claimed to be. I would like to strongly suggest that the rulers of Israel knew exactly Who He was. But because of pride, and entrenched selfishness, greed and lust for power, and jealousy, they denied the truth, even though they knew it. They actually lied every time they claimed that they believed Christ to be false.

A parable that Jesus told them verifies this. The parable re the vineyard and the owner coming to collect His just fruits. His emmisaries (the prophets) were beaten, abused and killed. Finally Jesus said that their attitude had gotten so bad that when the Son Himself came, they killed Him in order to keep rule over the vineyard. This is precisely what the rulers did. They knew He was the Son. They knew He was the rightful heir!
Quote: KJV Mathew 21:37 But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.
38 But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.
39 And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.

Sin always springs from attitude. The blasphemy against the Holy Spirit would be no exception. The attitude of the Pharisees and scribes was one of obstinate refusal to acknowledge revealed truth. When they ascribed the miracles of Jesus to Satan, they did not really believe their own words. It was merely a sop to their own intransigence. The real sin lay in their refusal to repent and acknowledge their Messiah despite all the evidence that attested to the truth.

 

[AVBunyan]

The Jews of today still have the same scripture that the Jews of the time of Jesus had. Now then, I am not speaking about born again Christians here, but rather, I'm speaking of the Jews that profess to know God, which seems to exclude folks of other religions including the atheist. Within the context of this scripture, is it still possible for blasphemy of the Holy Spirit to occur?

Hi Steve - Can I jump in?

This sin cannot be committed today by anyone – Jew, Gentile. Greek, etc. We are talking about two different ages here. During the Gospels God was dealing with Israel as a nation, prior to Calvary. Isarel was seeking to get into the earthly kingdom promised to them from the OT. The messenger of this message was non other than God manifest in the flesh himself– Jesus Christ. If they faced Christ and attributed his works to the devil then they were in a mess (to put it mildly).

This sin cannot happen today for the following reasons:
1. Christ is not physically here walking around today. :crazyeyes:
2. The message today is not (as it was back then) “Believe Christ is your messiah and get baptized, etc.†Our message is I Cor. 15:1-5.
3. God is not dealing with Israel as a nation today but his plan is to complete the body of Christ where there is neither Jew nor Gentile.
4. The blood-bought saint who is in Christ seated in heavenly places is in danger of absolutely nothing! God be praised!!!

Summary – that age is long gone – Aren’t you glad? :-D

When one gets a firm grasp of scriptural justification for today then this "blasphemy" becomes a non-issue.

I trust you could make sense out of my nonsense.

God bless

 

[AVBunyan]

Then what happens to Christians who do that very thing?

Nothing at all. 8-)

 

[Free]

Nothing at all. 8-)

Western Christianity at its best--sin without consequences.