Beth-El Baptist Church
7/18/04
What does it mean
to blaspheme the Holy Ghost?
The scriptures describe a sin that will never be forgiven. That sin is the “blasphemy against the Holy Ghost”. The meaning of this phrase and its applicability to us today will be investigated.
1. What does it mean to blaspheme?
“The American Heritage Dictionary” –
a. To speak of (God or something sacred) in an irreverent or impious manner.
b. The act of claiming for oneself the attributes and rights of God
c. Any word or deed meant to dishonor or revile the being or the work of God, as a curse or profanity
2 Kings 18:33-36; 19:3-6 (Isaiah 36:18-20; 37:3-6)
2 Kings 19:22 (Isaiah 37:23)
Isaiah 65:7
Ezekiel 20:27-31
Matthew 26:63-66 (Mark 14:61-64)
John 10:33
Romans 2:23-24
James 2:6-7
Revelation 2:9
Revelation 13:1-8
Revelation 16:8-11
Revelation 16:21
There are two aspects of blasphemy according to scripture. The passages in 2 Kings 18-19 deal with the attribution of idolatry to the true God. The Assyrians considered the one true God to be nothing more than like the Gods of the rest of the world. They are improperly attributing the power of the true God as being the same as the power of other Gods. In Psalm 74, blasphemy is identified with unbelievers (Psalm 14:1) who reproach or belittle the name of God. In Matthew 9 (and parallel passages), the Jews associate blasphemy with Jesus placing upon himself the power and authority of God.
To summarize, to blaspheme is to attribute the power or authority of God to something or someone that is not God.
2. What is the penalty for Blasphemy?
1 Kings 21:9-13
John 19:7
According to the Mosaic Law (Leviticus 24), those to blaspheme the Lord are to be killed. In Mark, Jesus is declared to be worthy of death because of blasphemy.
3. Where does this phrase appear?
Matthew 12:22-32 (Mark 3:22-30; Luke 11:14-23; Luke 12:8-10)
Acts 6:11-14
The primary passages associated with blasphemy against the Holy Spirit are found in Matthew and Mark. These are essentially the same event and the analysis will be primarily focused on the Matthew passage with some comparisons with Mark. The textual analysis will be done in the next question.
4. What is the Holy Spirit?
Matthew 1:18-20 (Luke 1:35)
Matthew 3:11-12 (Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; Acts 1:5)
Mark 13:11
Luke 1:15-17
Luke 3:22
Luke 11:13
John 7:38-39
Ephesians 4:30
1 Thessalonians 4:7-9
The Holy Spirit is the very spirit of God that throughout time represented the truth of God to the people of God. It is the power of God that indwells people, especially Jesus.
5. What is happening in the text?
Matthew 12:22-23 – Demon possessed man is brought to Jesus and is healed. Upon seeing the healing of the demon possessed man, the people proclaimed him to be the Messiah (Son of David – Isaiah 9:6-7; 2 Chronicles 21:7).
Matthew 12:24 – The Pharisees proclaimed that Jesus cast out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of demons. They said that the power that controlled Jesus was not God but was Satan.
Matthew 12:25-26 – Jesus provides a parable to show that he cannot be casting out demons by the power of demons otherwise the power of the demons would be weakened and destroyed.
Matthew 12:27 – Jesus questions the Pharisees about the power behind their disciples’ casting out of demons. The Pharisees would obviously associate the casting out of demons by their disciples as being the work of God and not of Satan.
Matthew 12:28 – Jesus identifies that his ability to cast out demons is by the Spirit of God and therefore is bringing in the very Kingdom of God that the Pharisees have been looking for.
Matthew 12:29 – Jesus presents another parable about the source of His power over Satan (strong one).
Matthew 12:30 – Division of power, either of God or of Satan. There is no such thing as being for both.
Matthew 12:31-32 – There is forgiveness for sins and blasphemy of all kinds. There is no forgiveness of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
Through the analysis of the passage in Matthew, Jesus is casting out demons by the power of God, which is the Holy Spirit. The Pharisees proclaim that Jesus is himself demon possessed and is therefore enabled to perform the removal of demons from people by demonic not Godly powers. They are therefore attributing the Power of God that is in Jesus Christ as coming from Satan and not from God.
Mark 3:29-30 – Mark clearly identifies here that the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which is unforgivable, occurred because the Pharisees said that Jesus was demon possessed and not controlled by the Spirit of God.
6. What are the requirements for committing blasphemy against the Holy Spirit?
a. Must be an unbeliever (Psalm 74:18; Psalm 14:1)
b. Must believe that Jesus was demon possessed (Mark 3:29-30)
Believing that Jesus was demon possessed is attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan and is thus blaspheming the Holy Spirit. In the text being evaluated
7. Is this blasphemy of the Holy Spirit by someone today an automatic rejection by God to eternal damnation?
Hebrews 7:25
Jesus associates a different level of “tolerance” to those who are judged having heard the Word from those having seen the Word. Those who were eyewitnesses to the power and authority by which Jesus carried out his miracles were being warned by Jesus not to attribute the work of God from Him as the work of Satan. Having seen the Word of God in action and still insisting that it is the work of Satan would result in a permanently seared heart by God resulting in their eternal rejection by God.
Today, there is still forgiveness available for all who come to Jesus by faith, even if you had at one time rejected Him or even “blasphemed” the Holy Spirit. It was done in ignorance (1 Timothy 1:12-13).
The continual blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and continual rejection of Jesus demonstrates the eternal hardness of the heart and thus eternal damnation in hell. Forgiveness is always available to those to truly come to Jesus (John 6:37) out of repentance for sins and love for Jesus.
8. Is there any unforgivable sin today?
Through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, all sins are forgiven to those who seek His forgiveness. No sin is so bad that forgiveness cannot be found. The only sin identified in the scriptures that is unforgivable is the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, but only someone who was there personally and who believes that Jesus was demon possessed can possibly commit that sin. Anyone who is concerned about having committed the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit has not committed it. The very fact that they are concerned is sufficient to demonstrate that they have not committed that sin. After all, anyone so concerned about their eternal state would not believe that Jesus was demon possessed nor would they care about such eternal things.