Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit

[Guest shiloh357]

Shiloh, is this not a bit of a stretch? The Bible does not tell us that they knew He was the Messiah does it?

Yes because they committed the sin of blasphemy. They knew the truth. That is why blaspemy amounts to slander. You do it in full knowledge of the truth.

Well the conventional wisdom points to them knowing, but scripture does not state it does it? The only inference we can draw, is because of His words, Jesus knew that they understood who He was.

Which is why I referred to it as evidence and not proof. Implicit in the accusation of blasphemy is the outright knowing that they were slandering the Holy Spirit and they knew that Jesus' claims about Himself were true. It would appear that it was hardness of heart and determined unbelief on their part, and not a case of Jesus just not presenting enough evidence or anything like that.

[Guest shiloh357]

Can someone explain how one can blaspheme the holy spirit?

First of all, no Christian can blaspheme the Holy Spirit. Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is rooted in unbelief, thus precluding a Christian from committing it.

The only people in the Bible who committed that sin were unbelievers. There is NO record in Scripture of a Christian committing that sin, and there are no warnings to Christians in any of the epistles about that sin.

Blasphemy is an act of conscious defiance against God. To Blaspheme the Holy Spirit is a conscious and deliberate attempt to defame and injure the Holy Spirit's reputation. What's more, it is done in full knowledge of the truth.

I said that it is rooted in unbelief because it stems from a irretrievably, delibrate impenitent heart, which is also why it cannot be forgiven. The heart of a person engaged in this sin is characterized by a stubborn, unreprentent, wicked heart that will not seek forgiveness, and that is why it is unpardonable.

The only time the sin was committed was during the earthly ministry of Jesus and applies only to the context of casting out of demons. The Pharisees who were Jesus' enemies accused Jesus of operating by the power of the prince of demons AND accused Jesus of being indwelt by the prince of demons, therefore, accusing the Holy Spirit of being a demon.

This was done in full knowledge of the truth. Jesus' enemies knew JHe was operating under the power of the Holy Spirit, but they were so wicked and so completely given over to that wickedness, they deliberately defamed the Holy Spirit in order to discredit Jesus' ministry.

I feel a litle more at ease after reading this. So, as long as the Holy Spirit can convict of of our sins, that we may repent, and we are believers in Jesus Christ, we have not committed the sin, right, Shiloh?

That is right. If you have to ask or wonder if you have committed that sin, you haven't. A person who commits that sin would not care, as they are caught up in purposed, determined unbelief and are happy to remain in that condition.

[Guest shiloh357]

Grace IS unconditional and wholly free, but that does not mean that God does not test us, and it certainly does not mean that God has taken His hands off of the world. God is intimately involved with every sphere of existence in this world, according to Scripture. He keeps and sustains it. Nothing happens that He is not aware of it. A corrrect understanding of grace should spur us on to holy living.

There is a difference in not believing in the modern operation of supernatural gifts (known as cessationism) and genuine unbelief. Unbelief in Scripture is tied primarily to the claims of Christ and our acceptance or rejection of His claims. A person who rejects Christ is in a state of unbelief. Skepticism by the modern Christian of modern supernatural events is not "unbelief" as the Bible uses that term.

Unbelief cannot be forgiven due to the fact that a person in unbelief is unable to repent or seek forgiveness.

Ok. I agree that nothing happens that God is not aware of. Everything, even our future actions. What is being proposed is that by taking His hands "off" He will not change the course of events, He allows us to do that, even though he knows the outcome.

Yes, if a person persists in unbelief, God will allow them to remain on that course. God does not always strive with man. There is a point when God stops dealing with an unbeliever and gives them over to their sin even though He knows the consequences they will face.

[Fez]

Thank you all, I am really enjoying taking part in this thread. It has been conducted with reason, questions with no ulterior motives, graceful answers, and is furthering knowledge and the desire to question and read more scripture.

One really wishes all threads could be conducted in the samer manner

[Shiloh62]

Thank you all, I am really enjoying taking part in this thread. It has been conducted with reason, questions with no ulterior motives, graceful answers, and is furthering knowledge and the desire to question and read more scripture.

One really wishes all threads could be conducted in the samer manner

Amen,Fez-I was always afraid that I might commit this sin, but have found out that as a believer, thats not possible.

[Guest]

Thank you all, I am really enjoying taking part in this thread. It has been conducted with reason, questions with no ulterior motives, graceful answers, and is furthering knowledge and the desire to question and read more scripture.

One really wishes all threads could be conducted in the samer manner

Amen, Fez-I was always afraid that I might commit this sin, but have found out that as a believer, thats not possible.

[Botz]

Thank you all, I am really enjoying taking part in this thread. It has been conducted with reason, questions with no ulterior motives, graceful answers, and is furthering knowledge and the desire to question and read more scripture.

One really wishes all threads could be conducted in the samer manner

Amen, Fez-I was always afraid that I might commit this sin, but have found out that as a believer, thats not possible.

All threads could be conducted in the same manner...if we were all of the same heart and mind.

But as Joe says

[Nohope]

I'm really worried. I once said the hs is evil when I was in an argument. I'm also a Christian. I knew not to say anything but I didnt think saying the word evil would send me to hell.... can someone help me understand if or if not I committed the unpardonable sin?

[Firm Foundation]

On 9/1/2019 at 8:54 PM, Nohope said:

I'm really worried. I once said the hs is evil when I was in an argument. I'm also a Christian. I knew not to say anything but I didnt think saying the word evil would send me to hell.... can someone help me understand if or if not I committed the unpardonable sin?

I saw you posted this question at Narrow Way Forums too, and the responses were mixed.  I think that if you are under  conviction,  that is a good sign you still have hope, but you should seek God till you have peace.  

[Retrobyter]

On 1/1/2010 at 6:27 PM, ~Shalhevet~ said:

Can someone explain how one can blaspheme the holy spirit?

Shalom, Shalhevet.

Sure. A lot of people have their own definitions. I believe in going back to see the original words and looking up both their definitions (in Strong's or elsewhere) and look at how those original words are used in the contexts in which they are found.

The word "blaspheme" is a TRANSLITERATION of the Greek word "blasfeemeoo," spelled "beta-alpha-sigma-phi-eta-mu-epsilon (with accent)-omega":

(A "transliteration" is where the Greek letters are simply changed into English letters that have the same sounds. The word is not actually "translated"; that is, changed into the word or words that have the same MEANING as the original word.)

Strong's says:

987 blasfeemeoo (blas-fay-meh'-o). From blasfeemos; to vilify; specially, to speak impiously
-- (speak) blaspheme(-er, -mously, -my), defame, rail on, revile, speak evil.

989 blasfeemos (blas'-fay-mos). From a derivative of blaptoo and feemee; scurrilious, i.e. Calumnious (against men), or (specially) impious (against God)
-- blasphemer(-mous), railing.

984 blaptoo (blap'-to). A primary verb; properly, to hinder, i.e. (by implication) to injure
-- hurt.

5345 feemee (fay'-may). From feemi; a saying, i.e. Rumor ("fame")
-- fame.

5346 feemi (fay-mee'). Properly, the same as the base of fos and fainoo; to show or make known one's thoughts, i.e. Speak or say
-- affirm, say. Compare legoo.

"Vilify?" "Impiously?" "Scurrilious?" "Calumnious?" "Impious?" Who talks that way? Who uses these words today? Who understands these words? Let's look up these words:

***

vilify | ˈviləˌfī | 
verb (vilifies, vilifying, vilified) [with object] speak or write about in an abusively disparaging manner: he has been vilified in the press. 

DERIVATIVES vilifier | ˈviləˌfī(ə)r | noun 

ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense ‘lower in value’): from late Latin vilificare, from Latin vilis ‘of low value’ (see vile).

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impious | ˈimpēəs, imˈpīəs | 
adjective not showing respect or reverence, especially for a god: the emperor's impious attacks on the Church. 
• (of a person or act) wicked: impious villains. 

DERIVATIVES impiously | ˈimpēəslē, imˈpīəslē | 
adverb impiousness noun 

ORIGIN mid 16th century: from Latin impius (from in- ‘not’ + pius: see pious) + -ous.

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scurrilous | ˈskərələs |
adjective making or spreading scandalous claims about someone with the intention of damaging their reputation: a scurrilous attack on his integrity. 
• humorously insulting: a very funny collection of bawdy and scurrilous writings. 

DERIVATIVES scurrilously | ˈsk(ə)rələslē |
adverb scurrilousness noun 

ORIGIN late 16th century: from French scurrile or Latin scurrilus (from scurra ‘buffoon’) + 
-ous.

***

calumny | ˈkaləmnē |
noun (plural calumnies) the making of false and defamatory statements in order to damage someone's reputation; slander. • a false and slanderous statement. 

DERIVATIVES calumnious | kəˈləmnēəs | adjective 

ORIGIN late Middle English: from Latin calumnia.

***

And, maybe we should add...

***

disparaging | diˈsperijiNG |
adjective expressing the opinion that something is of little worth; derogatory: disparaging remarks about public housing. 

DERIVATIVES disparagingly | dəˈsperijiNGlē | adverb

disparage | dəˈsperij |
verb [with object] regard or represent as being of little worth: he never missed an opportunity to disparage his competitors. 

DERIVATIVES disparagement | dəˈsperijmənt | noun 

ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense ‘marry someone of unequal rank’, also ‘bring discredit on’): from Old French desparagier ‘marry someone of unequal rank’, based on Latin par ‘equal’.

***

There's two ways that one might express the opinion that something is of little worth. One might be explicitly, actively, aggressively expressing that someone is evil. Or, one might be implicitly, passively, nonchalantly expressing that someone is somehow inferior.

Because we are talking about the Almighty God with Whom no one is an equal, the latter is more likely to occur. To say that the Holy Spirit is somehow impotent to make any difference in a person's life is VERY common! The irony is that if the Holy Spirit is not capable of making a difference in a person's life, then WHO'S LEFT?! This is why it is "unforgivable." If the Holy Spirit of God is not capable of forgiving a person for sins, then there's NO ONE LEFT  TO FORGIVE SINS! If one even implicitly suggests that the Holy Spirit of God can't forgive sins, then ... guess what! He can't forgive YOUR sins!

How many times do we hear God belittled in some way? Even the weathermen and weatherwomen will say, "Mother Nature did (such-and-such)." NEWSFLASH: There's no "Mother Nature!" The name "Mother Nature" comes from the Greco-Roman goddess Gaia! Left-handedly, they have inadvertantly BELITTLED GOD, the REAL Controller of the weather!

Also, ironically, the word "Spirit" MEANS "Wind!"

Boy O boy! Hollywood has REALLY belittled God, don't you think? For what do you think THEY will have to answer?!

People in pain will blurt something they really don't mean, and IT'S OKAY to be angry with God when one erroneously concludes that God is somehow responsible for something that happened in their life. (Nevermind that SIN and its consequences of death and decay are the REAL culprits for all of the bad things that happen in anyone's life.)

Jewish people are taught to "say kaddish" when a close relative dies, for instance; that is to pray to God ANYWAY until they can grieve properly without blaming God.