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Question #24

24. What is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit (see Luke 12:10, also Matthew 12:31-32)?

The Holy Spirit is to testify about Jesus (see John 15:26). In matters of conversion and spiritual growth (sanctification), the Holy Spirit works through the Word of God to convict of sin and to point to Jesus as the sole solution to the "sin problem."

Blaspheming the Holy Spirit is not some inadvertent curse invoking the Holy Spirit or denouncing Him with an oath or vulgar expression. It is instead, the total rejection of the Holy Spirit’s testimony about Jesus. The Holy Spirit does not seek to draw attention to Himself. He points to Jesus as the source of genuine power to deal with sin and its curse.

In Matthew 12:31-32, the Pharisees had attributed Jesus’ works to Satan. The Holy Spirit used Jesus’ miracles to reveal His deity. By deliberately refusing to acknowledge God’s power in Christ the Pharisees revealed a determined refusal to recognize God’s power in Christ. They purposely chose to deny what was clearly true.

The context of John 15:26 specifically speaks of acknowledging Jesus before men. In a parallel statement, Jesus says if you acknowledge me, He will acknowledge you. He then says that, if you disown Him, He will disown you. It is then that He says those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. Those who disown Jesus by their own determined choice to deny Him as Lord may commit blasphemy against the Spirit.

The sin against the Spirit, then, is unforgivable, not because it is worse than any other, but because it indicates an irreversible hardness of heart and rejection of the Spirit’s testimony about Jesus. Only those who turn their back on Jesus and reject faith in Him totally and irreversibly need worry. A person who commits this sin shuts himself or herself off from God so thoroughly that he or she is unaware of any sin at all. Or if aware, they do not care! A person who fears for their salvation has not reached that point!

see also
Question #16: Can a Christian fall away into sin so far that they lose the hope of salvation?
Question #16a: Follow-up to: Can a Christian fall away into sin so far that they lose the hope of salvation?
Question #29: Is it true that once you are saved, you can never be lost?
Question #40: Can God forgive me if I told him that I rejected him?
Question #47: Is giving up on Christian activities and leading a life of sin blasphemy against the Holy Spirit?

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