Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit, Part 1: Unforgivable Sin

What is “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit”? What is “unforgivable sin”?  Discover the connection here.

We should begin with simple answers. What is “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit”?

A simple definition of “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit” is “saying or doing something that dishonors or disrespects the Holy Spirit”. Obviously, speaking or acting directly against the Holy Spirit would be blasphemy. However, there are other forms of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

What is “unforgivable sin”? A simple answer is “sin that will never be forgiven”. It is mentioned in the Bible in several different ways; and to really understand the concept, we should think about each of these Biblical points of view.

Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

The most direct reference to unforgivable sin was made by Yeshua [Jesus] Himself.

(This is also touched upon in Luke 12:10.)

Note that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will NEVER be forgiven: “…will not be forgiven… …neither in this time, nor in the one to come” (Matthew 12:32b). So blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is an “unforgivable sin”.

Also, note that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the ONLY sin for which there is no possibility of forgiveness: “…every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven to people, except blasphemy of the Spirit[: it] will not be forgiven to people” (Matthew 12:31).

Putting these two facts together, we discover an “Unforgivable Sin” Rule, which can help us to understand the Bible.

“Unforgivable Sin” Rule: EVERY “unforgivable sin” is a form of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

This is really important, because there are several sins mentioned in the Bible that appear to be different “unforgivable sins”. Knowing that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the only “unforgivable sin”, it follows that each of those apparently different “unforgivable sins” is actually some form of the same sin: blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

Let us now look at some of those “apparently different ‘unforgivable sins’”.

Rejection of Jesus

Even in these passages from Matthew and Mark we see what might appear to be two different sins which are actually both blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. We know from Mark 3:30 that the reason Jesus was talking about blasphemy of the Holy Spirit was “because they said, ‘he [Yeshua / Jesus] has an unclean spirit’”.

Saying that Jesus had an unclean spirit (or, more generally, being against Jesus) might seem to be a different sin from blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, but Jesus regarded them as the same. This is made clear in Matthew 12:30-31.

The word translated as “so” at the beginning of Matthew 12:31 is the koine Greek word “dia”. Just like “so” in English, “dia” means “for this reason”. Thus, Yeshua [Jesus] spoke in this verse about blasphemy of the Holy Spirit “for this reason”, that “the one that is not being with me is against me; and the one not gathering with me is scattering.”

Together, Mark 3:28-30 and Matthew 12:30-31 tell us that speaking lies about Jesus, and being against Him, is a form of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. And, since simply not “being” with Jesus--not “siding”, or “agreeing”, with Jesus--is being against Jesus (Matthew 12:30), it follows that disagreeing with Jesus is a form of the “unforgivable sin” of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

This is very reasonable. The Holy Spirit bears witness that Jesus [Yeshua] is the Christ, the Son of God (1 John 5:5-6). For this reason, failing to agree with Jesus implies a rejection of the witness of the Holy Spirit, which is tantamount to believing the Holy Spirit is a liar. Such dishonoring and disrespecting of the Holy Spirit is clearly blasphemous.

We can now see, through some careful reasoning, that rejecting Jesus is actually a form of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Now let us consider this issue again, this time using the “Unforgivable Sin” Rule.

If someone always rejects Jesus, they will never come to God the Father, because there is no other way to God “except through Me [Jesus]”. This means that to always reject Jesus is to always reject God, which is an obvious sin. Because such an eternal rejector of Jesus will never come to God, this sin of rejecting God will never end, and is therefore an “unforgivable sin”. Therefore, by the “Unforgivable Sin” Rule, rejection of Jesus is a form of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

This rejection of Jesus may not become apparent immediately. Sometimes people seem to accept Jesus, but then just “wander away”.

This “wandering away” is also touched upon in Hebrews 10:32-39.

These are the same people John wrote about in 1 John 2:19.

John meant that these people were physically among us, and then left us; and in that physical sense, they did come “out of us". However, they never truly believed what we believe; and in that spiritual / philosophical sense, they were never really a part of our group, and hence, did not--could not--come “out of us".

 Peter was also inspired to write about “turn(ing) away”.

We see that, for those who “wander away”, “it was better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than, knowing, to turn away” (2 Peter 2:20-22), since it is “impossible for those once being enlightened… …--and yet, wandering away again--to be renewing into repentance” (Hebrews 6:4-6).

And repentance is necessary for sins to be forgiven:

So with this “wandering away” rejection of Jesus, it is impossible for sins to be forgiven: the sins are “unforgivable sins”. Thus, by the “Unforgivable Sin” rule, this “wandering away” is also a form of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

The Great Transgression

David also wrote about a most terrible sin, in Psalm 19:12-13.

In contrast to “unintentional sins”, King David wrote that being “restrain[ed]” from “insubordinations” would lead to “perfect[ion]”, and an avoidance of “the Great Transgression”. If any sin can be considered the singularly worst, “Great Transgression”, it must logically be “the only sin for which there is no possibility of forgiveness”, which is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

Verse 13 links “insubordinations” with blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. A synonym for “insubordination” is “rebellion”.

Rebellion

King Saul was declared guilty of “rebellious witchcraft, and vanity, and insolent idolatry”; and of rejecting the word of Yehovah [God].

Despite the fact that King Saul begs the Prophet Samuel for forgiveness, Samuel insists that God will not relent. What Saul did would not be forgiven: it was an “unforgivable sin”. The act of Saul, whose offerings and sacrifices “to God” were no better than “the sin of rebellious witchcraft, and vanity, and insolent idolatry”, would never be forgiven.

By the “Unforgivable Sin” Rule, we know that since Saul’s sin was unforgivable, it necessarily was a form of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

Another rebellion, the rebellion of the Israelites in the desert (prior to King Saul), is mentioned in the Book of Hebrews. Upon their arrival, most of the people of Israel initially refused to enter Canaan, the land given to them by God.

In Hebrews 3:7-4:11 , we find a passage which is based on Psalm 95:7-11. Hebrews 3:16-19 are of particular interest here.

In this passage, we see that God was “disgusted forty years” with those that rebelled against Him. Their rebellion was a “sin”; and because of that sin, God swore that they would “not be entering into His rest”. This means that their rebellion was an “unforgivable sin”; and thus, by the “Unforgivable Sin” Rule, we know this rebellion was also a form of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

The rebellion of the devil against God is also mentioned in the Bible.

Ultimately, the Devil will be punished forever.

The devil will be tortured in the same “lake of fire” as everyone not “written in the Book of Life”. Thus, just as for those people, the devil’s sin will never be forgiven: it is “unforgivable sin”.

Among those that join the devil’s rebellion against God are the devil’s beast; and the false prophet of the devil; and others, who accept the beast. All of these will also be punished forever.

All of these rebellions involve “unforgivable sins”, which are (according to the “Unforgivable Sin” Rule) forms of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

That these rebels are indeed blasphemers is directly confirmed by the Scriptures. For the devil, the word “devil” literally means “slanderer”; and Yeshua [Jesus] states that the devil is the “father” of lies (John 8:44).

We can read about the blasphemy of the beast in Revelation 13:1-6 and 17:3. The blasphemy of “…any [one] that worships the beast, and its image; and accepts the mark on his [or her] forehead, or on his [or her] hand…” is noted in Revelation 16:8-21. So we find blasphemers worshiping a beast that is “full of names of blasphemy” (Revelation 17:3), which is sent from the “father” of lies (including blasphemies), the devil.

Thus far, we have looked at the connection between blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and unforgivable sin. We have seen that certain types of sin, such as “rejection of Jesus”,  “insubordination” and “rebellion”, are unforgivable sin; and therefore, are forms of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

Each of these sins is also an “intentional” sin. We will consider the importance of intentionality in sin, and come to a very clear understanding of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, in Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit, Part 2: Intentional Sin Vs. Unintentional Sin.