Mark 3:28-30 “28 Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.”
This passage has struck fear into thousands, if not millions, of Christians throughout history, and for good reason. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans chapter 3), so we know that we are hopeless without being forgiven. But what if we have done something that not even God will forgive? This is a valid fear. Without God’s forgiveness, we are doomed, but perhaps I can calm your fears.
First off, if you are worried that you’ve blasphemed the Holy Spirit, I believe that’s a great sign that you haven’t. Conviction comes from the Holy Spirit, and if you are being convicted, the Holy Spirit is at work in your life. It is important to recognize that God convicts us because He loves us. He uses conviction to change us and conform us to the image of His Son. But, there is a similar feeling to conviction that does not come from God, and that is condemnation. Condemnation comes not from a place of love, like God, but it comes from someone bringing up your past to try to destroy you. This is from the devil. It is important to be able to tell the difference between conviction and condemnation because Romans chapter 8 tells us there is no more condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Once we are saved, God casts our sins as far as the East is from the West. We may be convicted of sin as God changes us once we are saved, but we are no longer punished and torn down by our past sins because Jesus handled them on the cross. Do not the enemy condem you when God has forgiven you. Even Peter denied Christ and was still forgiven.
Now that we know the difference between conviction and condemnation, let’s look at what blasphemy of the Holy Spirit really is. Jesus was, as usual, healing people. He was performing amazing miracles and gathering a large following that was frustrating the Pharisees. Because of this, the Pharisees called out Jesus and tried to claim that all of the amazing miracles He performed were through the power of Beelzebub, better known now as Satan. It was in response to this that Jesus made the statement about blaspheming the Holy Spirit. (Read Matthew chapter 12, Mark chapter 3, and Luke chapter 12 for a better understanding of the context for blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.) Just based on this, we see what blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is not. It is not denying Jesus, saying you are not a Christian when you are, cursing using God’s name, or even rejecting God’s call on your life for a time. It seems clear that blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is blatantly calling Jesus’s miracles a work of Satan. Many say that it is even impossible today to blaspheme the Spirit because we aren’t seeing Jesus’ miracles in person, so we can’t actively reject them as the Pharisees did.
Now, I will admit it took me years until I finally understood this for myself. It seemed like I was almost afraid of looking into it because I was afraid I might find out I was doomed, but once again, God never failed me. He put my mind at rest and reminded me that I am his Child. God cares for us, loves us, and has the comfort for whatever fears you might have. If you are afraid God has left you, that you can’t be forgiven, or have even begun to wonder if God is even real, please send us a message and we will work together to seek the truth.