Following is a true story of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Only the name has been changed and I have added some details to make the post clearer.
Because some people are confused about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, I’m compelled to write this.
Because some conscientious Christians think they may have committed an unpardonable sin, we need to clarify this question: What is the unpardonable sin?
Because Mormonism teaches there are limitations to what sins the Atonement of Jesus Christ covers, people influenced by the Church of the Latter Day Saints need to know what the blood of Christ covers. In other words, Mormons teach that the blood of Jesus covers only some sins and not others, we need to be aware of this mistaken doctrine about the atonement of Christ.
Here's a quote from The Three Most Abominable Sins by H. Dean Garrett writing for the Religious Research Center for Brigham Young University: “Because the sin against the Holy Ghost is unpardonable, no redemption will be made through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.” According to Mormon teaching, the three most horrible sins are 1) denying the Holy Ghost, 2) shedding innocent blood, and 3) sexual sin.
Because you may wonder if you have ever blasphemed against the Holy Spirit, and therefore have committed the unpardonable sin, please read on. . .
You need to know without a doubt if your sins are forgiven or not.
Let's secure a dictionary definition of the word “blasphemy.” Here’s a definition from the Cambridge English Dictionary: “Something that you say or do that shows you do not respect God or a religion.”
Here’s the controversial Scripture from Matthew 12:31-32 NASB:
Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.
Remember now the cornerstone, the foundation of the faith of Christianity is simply this—Jesus Christ died on the cross to save us from our sin. He paid the price of death in our behalf.
Let me tell a story, a true story. Only the name is changed (to protect the man) and some details are added to make the point of the story clear.
I met a man who owns a septic cleaning company. When Fritz came to our house to pump our septic tank in 2019 I witnessed to him about Jesus Christ. He did not respond well. In fact, he was recalcitrant. His father, his senior partner in the company, accompanied him. His father had also witnessed to him many times and related to me how he had tried to help his son receive Christ as Savior. Fritz remained stubborn in his stance that he wanted nothing to do with Christ.
Fritz, however, did a great job of cleaning our septic tank. For that I give him credit.
Now, 5 years later in 2024, it came time to repump our septic tank. I called Fritz and his company. He came and started to pump.
“How’s your father?’ I began the conversation.
“I told Dad to stay home and take care of mom, “ Fritz replied.
“Dad has this thing,” he continued, ”about God (blah, blah, blah,)"
Have you accepted Christ as your Savior yet?” I replied as I remembered our conversation from five years earlier.
“No, Dad did not get everything right,” Fritz returned.
I have an actual photo of Fritz laying on the ground reaching down into the septic tank. If I find it, I'll post it.
Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3).
Although this man’s father, I, and apparently others, had witnessed to him about salvation through Christ Jesus, He was rejecting the promptings of the Spirit.
This is the denial, the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
The sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit is basically the sin of rejecting Christ.
It is attributing the works and words of the Holy Spirit to a foreign source as did the Pharisees in Matthew 12.
Blasphemy not only attributes the words of the Spirit to another source, but it denies in ongoing fashion the inner promptings of the Spirit.
Remember, the Holy Spirit is the One who leads us to salvation. When we respond to God the Holy Spirit, we are saved by grace through FAITH.
The following segment with a dark background is a quote from Focus on the Family. It's the best source I've found regarding blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. I wish I'd written it, but I didn't.
Before anything else, we want to assure you: If you’re worried that you might have committed the sin of “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit,” then you haven’t.
What is “Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit”?
By continually rejecting God’s free gift of salvation in Jesus, a sinner sears his conscience (ignores the voice of the Holy Spirit) and stiffens his neck. Eventually, he gets to the place where genuine repentance is no longer possible.
This stubborn and unrepentant attitude — persistent self-hardening — is the chief mark of true blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
That’s why we feel certain that you can’t possibly be guilty of this sin. If you’re afraid that you may have offended God without realizing it, your heart is obviously in the right place.
Context is Key
Jesus’ statement about this “unpardonable sin” of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit came as He was speaking specifically about the grumblings of the scribes and Pharisees.
After witnessing the power of Christ in the healing of a demon-possessed man, these religious leaders made comments like, “It is only by Beelzebul,” or “By the prince of demons he casts out the demons” (Matthew 12:22-24 and Mark 3:22).
Basically, the scribes and Pharisees were rejecting the grace of God revealed in Jesus Christ. They were rejecting it by attributing Jesus’ works to the power of the devil. They weren’t just doubting or even denying the truth. Instead, they were wickedly contradicting what they had seen with their own eyes. This is the context of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit!
Their proud and high-minded attitude was exactly the opposite of yours.
So have you committed the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? To reiterate, if you’re worried that you might have committed the sin of “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit,” then you haven’t. https://www.focusonthefamily.com/family-qa/blasphemy-of-the-holy-spirit-and-the-unforgivable-sin/accessed 10/23/2024.
There are other sins against the Holy Spirit in addition to blasphemy.
We can resist the Spirit.
A common “Christian sin” is to quench the Spirit. A popular song we sing in worship has the line, “Who can stop the Almighty?” Any time we refrain from delivering a prophecy which God has given us to deliver, we are choosing to stop the Almighty! Any time we choose not to share our faith when God wants us to share is quenching the Spirit.
We can grieve the Spirit of God.
We can lie to the Holy Spirit as did Ananias (Acts 5:3). Sapphira also put the Spirit of the Lord to the test (Acts 5:9). These were grave sins (no pun intended), and they paid with their earthly lives, but this is NOT the same as blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
There exist other sins against the Holy Spirit. Each is different. But they are not the same as the unpardonable sin—the ongoing rejection of Jesus Christ who by the Holy Spirit is trying to lead a person to salvation—This is the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. It is the continual and ongoing rejection of the Holy Spirit and therefore the ongoing (and eternal) rejection of Jesus Christ.