Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit

Many who want to be saved do not come to Christ because they believe the sins they’ve committed cannot or should not be forgiven. That isn’t true. Christ died for all sins. All can be forgiven. Only one sin is unforgivable, and it is not one that can even be committed by someone who has never been saved. Jesus tells us what that sin is in Luke 12:10:

“And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgive him, but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.”

Many get confused by this verse and tend to generalize blasphemy. There are multiple types of blasphemy, and the Lord states that only one kind is unforgivable. Anyone who claims God does not exist can be forgiven. Those who claim Jesus is not the son of God can be forgiven. Paul was forgiven of this very sin. The one type of blasphemy that cannot be forgiven is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is a sin a nonbeliever cannot commit. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit can only be committed by someone who has been saved, and who has felt the redeeming power of Christ in their lives. Unforgivable blasphemy occurs if a saved person later claims to no longer believe in the Lord, Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit. Anyone who has been redeemed by the Lord should always be able to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives. To be redeemed, and then to reject that redemption is a terrible thing to do. By doing so we betray ourselves, and betray the God who died on the cross so we could be redeemed. It’s rejecting the new man or woman the redemptive power of Jesus turned us into, and turning back to our old ways. Turning away from the Spirit is a sin the Lord will not forgive. Anyone who has never been saved has never felt the power of the Holy Spirit, and therefore cannot blasphemy against it.

This does not mean the Lord will not accept someone who turned away from Him, and later returned. He will accept your redemption, but He will not forgive that sin. He is angered when one His Spirit has resided in rejects Him, and He will not forget it even if that person later repents. I’m not a smart enough person to pretend I know exactly what this means. I only use the verse so those who have not been saved know they can be forgiven for anything they’ve done.