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What is Blaspheming the Holy Spirit?
 Today's
Question: What is blasphemy against the Spirit?
Bible Answer:
I appreciate the question. Many sincere believers have feared that they have
committed this unpardonable sin.
Fear came over me when I heard those scary words: "God will forgive you for
saying anything bad about Him or His Son, but if you speak against the Holy
Spirit, God will not forgive you!"
I'm sure
that Mrs. Rutton did not know the impact her words would make on me and the
rest of her second grade Sunday school class, but her words put the fear of
God into us!
Some may
legitimately question the wisdom of a Sunday school teacher warning young,
impressionable children about blaspheming the Holy Spirit. I can understand
that concern. For one thing, my little, immature mind couldn't comprehend
what that sin was; all I knew was that I didn't want to commit it. I thought
it had something to do with cussing.
I heard my
peers using God's name in vain and even saying "Jesus!" as a dirty word. But
I never heard my friends speak against the Holy Spirit. As far as I was
concern they were safe!
Obviously, blasphemy against the Spirit has nothing to do with cussing; it
has to do with mocking the works of the Holy Spirit, with the intent on
keeping others from wholeheartedly following Christ.
Jesus
alerted the Pharisees to the possibility of them committing this
unpardonable sin when they accused Him of driving out demons by the power of
Beelzebub, the prince of demons. (see Matthew 12:22-32 and Mark 3:22-30).
Did Jesus
take this slander personally? No. He, in fact, steers their criticism away
from Himself and directs their criticism toward the Holy Spirit. He
indicates that their judgment, though it seemed targeted against Himself,
was really aimed at the Holy Spirit.
"I drive
out demons by the Spirit of God," Jesus proclaimed to His accusers. To
criticize a miracle from Jesus was equivalent to criticizing a miracle of
the Holy Spirit. His power came from the Spirit.
I'm aware
of the differences of interpretation concerning blasphemy against the Holy
Spirit. One group says that it is impossible for anyone to commit this sin
except those in Jesus' day. But they miss the point. Today is the age of the
Holy Spirit. If there ever was a time that a person could commit this sin it
would be now.
Another
group claims that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is simply the act of
rejecting Christ. But they, too, seem to miss the point. The unpardonable
blasphemy is not action against Christ, but words against the Holy Spirit.
"Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven," Jesus
assured. The unforgivable sin is not related to Christ but to the Spirit.
It is clear
that Jesus was endeavoring to protect the charismatic ministry of the
church. On another occasion Jesus seems to bend over backwards to do this.
He cautions the disciples from misusing their authority when they tried to
silence a renegade disciple who obviously had a supernatural ministry.
"Do not
stop him," Jesus said. "No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next
moment say anything bad about me" (Mark 9:39).
Perhaps,
for the sake of unity between evangelicals and charismatics, we leaders have
been hesitant to echo Christ' warning against blasphemy of the Spirit. But
we should not think doing so will bring division. Most non-charismatics do
not even come close to blasphemy. They wisely remain silent, instead of
talking against the manifestations of the Spirit. At worst, they simply
propagate their view that the gifts have passed away without condemning
those who believe differently.
But there
appears to be a vocal segment of anti-charismatic leaders who arrogantly
speak against the gifts of the Holy Spirit. (Of course they claim only to be
speaking against charismatic leaders, not the Holy Spirit. But after
listening to their scathing accusations I can't tell the difference.)
I met two
Mormon missionaries who had more fear of God than these charismatic-bashers.
They politely shared with my wife and me their view that only Mormons could
be saved.
I kindly
objected and told them how I was born again. I shared how I was filled with
the Holy Spirit.
"How do you
know that you have the Holy Spirit?" the head missionary asked.
"I know
because I have the gifts of the Holy Spirit, including speaking in tongues,"
I answered boldly.
And without
hesitation, he questioned, "How can you be sure that your speaking in
tongues is from the Holy Spirit and not from an evil spirit?"
I cleverly
answered, "You tell me, did I receive the Holy Spirit or an evil spirit?"
The other
missionary interrupted, "It is not our place to judge."
"But you
say that no one can receive the Holy Spirit without being a Mormon," I
baited.
The leader
spoke up. "I'm prepared to tell you whether you received the Holy Spirit or
an evil spirit!"
"Go, ahead.
Tell me."
He paused.
He thought for a moment. His mind seemed to drift. Finally, he forced the words
out slowly, but almost wishing to keep silent, "You received an evil
spirit."
With a
boldness not my own, I pointed my finger at him and fired the words, "Jesus
said you can blaspheme Him or His Father and still be forgiven, but if you
blaspheme the Holy Spirit, you'll not be forgiven in this age or the age to
come! If you're right, then you have nothing to fear; but if your wrong,
then you are in danger of eternal damnation!"
The other
Mormon jumped in, "I didn't say it." Then he pointed to his friend. "HE SAID
IT!"
A couple of
minutes elapsed when the leader softly said, "I want to take back my
statement." And with humility, he apologized, "Sir, not only should I not
have judged you, but I was wrong in my judgment of you. According to my
Mormon teaching, you can not have the Holy Spirit. But, I believe, you are
the first non-Mormon I've met who has the Holy Spirit."
I wish some
fundamentalist would have the same fear of God as these Mormons.
Instead
many anti-charismatics have spewed their venom to ministers like me who
operate in the gifts of the Spirit and will actually judge our salvation.
They will tell others that we are not even saved. I have noticed that when a
person vehemently rejects the ministry of the Holy Spirit that eventually
they will hate those ministers who operate in the gifts of healing, miracles
and casting out demons. They will turn their hatred toward the charismatic
ministry into a crusade.
I get many
hate emails from these people who are very opposed to the supernatural gifts
of the Holy Spirit. Many have told me that they do not even think I am
saved. Why? Simply because I heal the sick, cast out demons and speak in
tongues. If I would abstain from the gifts of the Spirit, then they would
accept me, so it is clear that what they really reject is the Holy Spirit
and not me.
On the other
hand, I get many that write to me telling me they are afraid that maybe in
the past they have blasphemed the Spirit out of ignorance, now they accept
the gifts of the Spirit. They do not need to worry, because Jesus was not
speaking to those who get carried away by wrong teaching, rather He warns
those who have a hateful attitude toward the gifts of the Spirit.
I think most people may have simply "grieved" the Holy Spirit, instead
of blaspheming Him. To grieve Him is to simply limit what He wants to do
because of doubt. But blasphemy involves "hate" not "doubt".
The word
"blasphemy" is a term that speaks of damnable heresy, not
misjudgment. Many, because of poor teaching, misjudge others—
that's forgivable. The Pharisees, on
the other hand, went beyond judging to trying to keep others from following
Christ. Blasphemy against the Spirit is the absolute, permanent,
hateful rejection of the gifts of the Holy Spirit with the motive to keep
others from fully following Christ as well as to keep one's position of
power. A person who has committed this sin has no desire for repentance,
will divide the body of Christ, judge the salvation of others, and will
ultimately die in this state.   Send
your comments
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