“So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven—except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven. Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come.” Matthew 12:31-32 NLT
These are two of the most disturbing and misunderstood verses in the Bible.
Charles Stanley puts it this way: “Jesus was saying, “You can say what you want about me, but don’t speak such [lies] about the Spirit of God. When you blaspheme against God in that way, you are saying that God has no desire to forgive and deliver people. As long as you believe that and teach it to others you won’t be able to experience His forgiveness and deliverance. If you don’t want to believe that God wants to forgive people and restore wholeness you will never open to the sacrifice that I will make on the Cross of Calvary.” (Relying on the Holy Spirit p.71)
The context here is the spiritual conviction of the Pharisees who have the Savior standing in front of them offering them eternal life. They cannot see far enough beyond their arrogance and pride to accept the truth that they already know. Jesus Christ is Lord!
The blasphemy Jesus is talking about here is destructive action and language against God’s Holy Spirit, against God’s Holy Spirit’s ability to convict and bring one to salvation, and against the Holy Spirit’s authority to show everyone God’s ability to love. It is slander. It is insulting, smearing, and destroying God’s name. It is using God’s name in vain to curse someone or something. It is dragging God’s name through the dirt.
Jesus basically said, you can destroy me, destroy my body, and reject me. God will forgive you for that. But to take God’s holy, righteous, perfect name and decide that God cannot save you will not be forgiven. We can be forgiven and gain eternal life by the decision we make while we are still breathing to repent an accept Jesus as Savior. Once we stop breathing, God cannot save us.
Blaspheming the Holy Spirit is failure. It is failure to put aside pride and let God work through the Holy Spirit. It is failure to yield to the finished work of the Cross. There is an important teaching in the New Testament that is sometimes forgotten which we need to remember: Not all who claim to be Christians, really are. But God knows.
Those who turn away from Christ and never return will experience God's wrath, but there is no reason to believe that these people were ever really Christians. A person can grasp a lot of Christian truth, can taste a lot of the Christian life, can talk and act like a Christian for awhile and still not be a genuine believer in Jesus. Someone can even make a public profession of faith in Christ and still not be a Christian. Only God knows for sure.
The Billy Graham Association estimates that 10% of the people who respond to the invitation Dr. Graham gives at each meeting really become a Christian at that time. There is no way of knowing for sure. It is an estimate. Many are already believers who go forward because they desire some spiritual encouragement. Some go forward for a variety of different reasons, but really don't put their faith in Jesus Christ. It is only an estimate. Only God knows for sure.
The only thing to know for sure is that when one repents and accepts Jesus Christ as Savior, they have the promise of eternal life. We do not need to focus on whether or not we have sinned against the Holy Spirit. Focus on the free grace and mercy of God as shown in the sacrifice of His Son Jesus. Then go and make sure others know the same. Do not focus on whether or not we have sinned. If we accept Jesus as Savior, the victory was already won once and for all at the cross. Tell somebody.
This brings us to an obvious conclusion. If we know someone who is not certain that their sins have been forgiven, they need to turn to Jesus Christ today. As He enables us, we need to stop depending on ourselves, stop thinking we are good enough the way we are, and put our trust in Jesus Christ. I can assure you based on God’s Word that every sin, past, present, and future will be forgiven because of Jesus Christ's death on the cross in our place and because of God's amazing grace. All who turn to Jesus Christ will find free and full forgiveness for all their sins.
That is opening the door for the Holy Spirit to move in and work and breathe and act.
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