Some of you will be surprised, but this is a terrifying feeling of panic, doubt, and spiritual fatigue expressed by some Christians. I receive email after email from scared Christians who cannot relieve the anxiety of their feeling that they have committed a sin that cannot be forgiven by God. Because of this, they feel hopeless, without an advocate in this world that can rescue them from the fires of hell.
Where does anyone get such an idea? Well, from the Bible. Mark 3:28-29 says:
“Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”
This fearful passage is repeated in all three synoptics (Matt. 12:31-32; Luke 12:10).
The difficulty is obvious: the Gospel of Jesus Christ presents unqualified forgiveness to all who repent of their sins (1 John 1:9; Rom. 10:13; John 3:16; et al). This is why the Gospel is so easy to preach. There are no reservations for those who tell of God’s love and hope. No matter what a person has done or thought in the past, God offers hope through the cross of Christ. John 6:37 says, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.” It does not say, “I will certainly not cast out…unless they have committed a sin that is beyond hope of repentance.”
So how do we reconcile this “unforgivable sin” with the clear message of forgiveness found throughout the Bible? I will try to answer this, but more importantly, I want to answer the question of whether or not you have committed this sin and are beyond hope.
What is Blasphemy?
The word “blasphemy” is not an easy word to define. It is used many ways in many contexts. Today, many people think that saying certain curse words such as G-D constitutes blasphemy. Others see it as accepting divine acclamation and authority. I have many people who believe that it is thinking a bad thought about God, like “I hate God” or “Get out of my life!” None of these are true.
Almost all lexicons define this word as having to do with speech. It is something uttered or spoken. BADG says that it is “to speak in a disrespectful way that demeans, denigrates, maligns.”
What is Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit?
Jesus says that people can be forgiven of any sin, even blasphemy against him. But for some reason, blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is a distinct type of sin.
Now, it is important to note that in no account do we find the religious leaders who caused Jesus to issue this warning mention the Holy Spirit at all. Therefore, how can we say they actually uttered anything against him? All they did was attribute the works of Christ to the works of Satan. After Jesus had performed a miracle — healing a man and casting out a demon — the religious leaders said:
Mark 3:22 “The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, ‘He is possessed by Beelzebul,’ and ‘He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.'”
Everything we see here seems to be speaking against Christ, not the Holy Spirit. However, the reality is that when one speaks against Christ in such a way, he is speaking against the Holy Spirit.
These religious leaders were attributing the work of God, which had its power in the Holy Spirit, to Satan. They were basically saying that Christ was not who he said he was and his life and work were energized by the Devil, not God. This is a pretty serious accusation. And, again, is it very important to note that they did not actually speak these words out loud about the Holy Spirit, but Christ knew the words were expressions of the beliefs of their heart. Keep that in mind as it is not really about speaking, but the heart behind the words spoken. As Christ said:
Mat 15:18-19 “But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. 19 “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders [blasphemies].”
These people who committed the unforgivable sin truly believed, deep in their hearts, that Christ was of the devil. And this was a willful persistent belief about which they sought no repentance. It was not merely the words spoken.
Have You Committed the Unforgivable Sin?
It all comes down to this question. Have you committed the unforgivable sin? I don’t know. But I do know this, if you are worried that you have committed this sin and it is causing great anxiety upon your soul before God, then I don’t think you have. If you believe that Christ is God, his works were of God, and he died for your sins, then I absolutely know you have not committed it. To commit it requires a willful, persistent, lifelong rejection of Christ’s work. You don’t even have to know about the Holy Spirit.
Sam Storms puts it this way:
“Those who are most worried that they may have committed the unpardonable sin have not. This is a sin for while there is no concern, no conviction, and no anxiety, and thus no repentance. It is a sin that is so hard-hearted and willful and persistent and defiant that the one committing it couldn’t care less that he or she is committing it.” (Tough Topics, 88-89)
Another thing to consider is this: If this sin was so easy to commit, for example, a person says a certain formula or puts a particular set of words together, why isn’t this mentioned many times in Scripture? More than that, why isn’t it more clearly laid out? The closest we have is from Paul in 1 Cor. 12:33: “Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus is accursed’; and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” But notice, if you say “Jesus is Lord” (which is an expression of your heart), then this is from the Holy Spirit. It is the opposite of the unforgivable sin. If you believe that Jesus is Lord, you cannot have ever committed the unforgivable sin.
If you look throughout church history, you will find multiple views about this sin. At the same time, there is agreement that one who has trusted Christ cannot commit this sin. For Origen, it is only those who have finally and decisively turned their backs from grace. Novatian calls it defiance of the ground of the Christian faith and life. And Augustine says that this text does not suggest that blasphemy makes repentance impossible.
The point is that this sin is not really a unique sin. It is an ultimate rejection of the Gospel. It is never coming to Christ for repentance. It is looking at Christ and laughing in your heart with a persistent rebellion against the power of the Spirit who is giving testimony about him (John 15:26). Therefore, while I understand the fear that people may have about this sin, I can promise you that if you have ever come to Christ, recognizing who he is, and said “Have mercy on me, the sinner,” then there is no possibility that you have committed this sin. Take comfort in this. The devil may be trying to rob you of your security by whispering in your ear that you must take ownership of a sin you can never own.
49 replies to "Have I Committed the Unforgivable Sin?"
Need help with a way I’m feeling
Why do I feel hate In my heart like I’ve been cheated out of lofe
Hey Clarence,
I’m sorry you feel that way. Could you provide a little more information for what you’re feeling?
Many people wonder what the “unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit” is. In the original Greek the word sin here is “blasphemos”, which in Greek means a “profanation”, an exposure of special knowledge.
It is obvious that in the universe everything is trying to run down to undifferentiate into nothingness, or some are being built up by that which is running down. Our person is a closed circuit in the arising reticular formation of the medulla oblongata of the brain.
Whatever undifferentiates this circuit causes pleasure. Ultimately it can undifferentiate into nothingness. There is a veil in the brain which veils the great satisfaction of deep sleep and other common causes of unconsciousness. Pleasures override this veil.
There is a secret sound, called the “lost word” which gives you moments of near nonexistence. If the nonexistence was total you would remain permanently nonexistent. This sound is the cylindrical sound. It induces other closed circuits which, by the attraction of confluency, causes the personal closed circuit some undifferentiation, which is that euphoria called “nirvana”. The “lost word” bypasses that veil, and shows that nonexistence will be the total satisfaction of all desires.
There is a Hebrew word, which is called “onomatopoeic”, which means that it sounds like that which is described. It is the “lost word”, which means a “well”, a hollow cylinder, spelled “aleph yod nun”, translated, “ain”, but pronounced “eyennn…, like the German word for one, “ein”.
Ain also means nothingness, that which is sampled by paying attention to this sound; and an eye, and a ring. When meditating upon this sound you will also see inside your closed eyelids concentric rings, like an eye, with black in the middle, then around that, rings of violet, blue, green, yellow, orange, red, and outside that, brown.
Knowing that the satisfaction from undifferentiation into nonexistence is infinitely greater than any possible joy of a billionaire, is the special secret of the Holy Spirit. In the one substance, energy, motion can only be in closed circuitry, that there be something to move out of the way and fill in behind. Everything is ultimately composed of closed circuits.
The true opposite polarities are the direction of this circuitry: counterclockwise (male) on one side, and, clockwise (female) on the other side. The iron in the cytochromes of every cell are magnetically polarized, facing out, counterclockwise in males, and, clockwise in females.
Undifferentiation of circuits by the undifferentiation provided by confluency (counterclockwise and clockwise are confluent when face to face) is polarity cancellation. A very fast polarity cancellation rate is fire. A fast polarity cancellation rate is identical with a fast entropy production rate, which is an analogue of velocity in mechanics, and likewise, but without the gravitational component, accesses globally bent timespace. The Underworld is in globally bent timespace.
So, those who “know where it’s at”, know the secret of the Holy Spirit, don’t want immortality. They are “unforgivable” for they don’t want to be forgiven. They want to delve into the Lake of Fire for the orgy into permanent nonexistence, the eternal satisfaction of all desires.
Hey guys i have a question have i commited the blashemy against the holy spirt as i said when i was half awake that the holy spirit is d**** i know that wasn’t me i kinda felt like i was possesed cause i know my self i would never say that so is it possible that i commit it please tell me I don’t want to go to hell
I do not know if I have OCD thoughts or my mind won’t stop saying “F*ck at the Holy Spirit never means never F*ck at the Holy Spirit” every time it would repeat I would get anxious, but now I don’t get anxious and feel like Jesus wants no part of me because the Spirit may have left. And now I’m crying so hatd it’s hard for me to type.
Hello. You are forgiven. In order to commit the unforgivable sin you not only have to think it say it, but you have to mean it. The sin comes from your true heart, and the fact that you fear that you did, means you didn’t. I would reccomend try to talk to God, in which if you pray hard enough, he will answer you in the form of his still, soft voice and ask him if you have committed it. I hope that helps!!! 😉
hello my name is kenterius, im so scared right now I think I blasphemy the holyspirit
I don’t know if its me or the devil.
I didn’t mean it when isaid it but I heard that if you are worried about it tou will be forgiven, and inside my head popped up a voice and said go head and sin if you get scared about it he will forgive you
so that’s when I yarned and whispered F*** the holy ghost (at first the thought was in my head for the longest and then there it was I said it, I didn’t mean it when I said it, I just said it just to say because I thought I could be forgiven but when I said it I didn’t truly mean it, I wasn’t thinking about the consequences when I said it, but now I am and im so so so so sooo. sorry for what I said. and one night it was like I couldn’t hold my tounge back I tried and tried and tried. and then there it was it came out my mouth and I said I dindt believe in go_ or jesu_ and I said f go_ but I didn’t mean anything that I said. I asked forgiveness am I going to hell
im so so scared cant eat people asking whats wrong with me
im constantly crying. its like something was pushing me to say it but I didn’t want to.
and yes I do believe in god and jesus and the holy spirit
when I said that against the holyspirit I said it just to say it but I didn’t mean it at ll
The same thing happened to me but the thing is…it is the devil who puts those awfull thoughts in your head and making you say it. The exact same thing happened to me. The only thing you need to do is turn to God and ask for forgiveness 🙏
Throw the devil in his face with Bible verses. Always remember that what is in you is bigger than what is in the world
I saw a pastor on Instagram and he said he felt the Holy Spirit and I said he got goosebumps but not like I was speaking bad about anything did I commit the unforgivable sin
Horrible mental disorder to have. I’m not sure if there is forgiveness or if God treats that person an exception to this sin, since these thoughts are unintentional. What’s in the heart is to NOT think of these offensive words against the Holy Spirit. But the more you stop these thoughts from bursting, the more they rapidly and uncontrollably pop up. The scary question is, will that person be held liable and responsible for his uncontrollable and unintentional blasphemous thoughts come Judgment Day?
I feel hopeless, I can’t sleep at night thinking I was blasphemous towards the holy spirt. My mind thought pretty awful things towards the holy spirt. But at the same time I don’t no. I think I feel God I’m so lost and confused.
From what i have researched the fact that you even feel convicted or anxous is proof that the Holy Spirt is still working in you
I was in service and just getting new to the apostolic Pentecostal way. I had this man pray for me and speak in tongues. I tried to speak as well but faked. Now 5 months later after I’ve been baptized and crying in church for the first time last month and getting goosebumps and loving God and now told I committed an unforgiving sin and I said before I didn’t know and was getting started could I really go to hell because I’m worried
Zack,
If you have been born again, and did not understand and you faked. God will forgive you for that. To blaspheme the Holy Spirit is to want nothing to do with him it is to reject him….It is to know that he is real and to say i want not part of him..It is not the thought that the enemy puts in your head, it is the turning away from the Holy Spirit in unbelief… You have not once said that you did not believe in the Holy Spirit and you have not once said you have rejected him. Not sure who told you that you committed that sin, but if you love God and you still feel him and you still want to serve him and obey His Written Word and His Spirit…..You did not commit the unforgiving sin…THat is a totally rejection of the Holy Spirit work in your life,,,
I’m 14 im really scared cuz sometimes I think bad thoughts I don’t want to go to hell for eternity is there any thing that I can do to prevent doing it
Assuming Christianity is true (which I have come to the conclusion that it is), you would need to ask Jesus to change you and take away your sin, and really believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead (something supernatural).
Read john 3 in the Bible also.
If you need any help reply to this!
hey,my name is kenterius, im so scared right now I think I blasphemy the holyspirit
I don’t know if its me or the devil.
I didn’t mean it when isaid it but I heard that if you are worried about it tou will be forgiven, and inside my head popped up a voice and said go head and sin if you get scared about it he will forgive you
so that’s when I yarned and whispered F*** the holy ghost (at first the thought was in my head for the longest and then there it was I said it, I didn’t mean it when I said it, I just said it just to say because I thought I could be forgiven but when I said it I didn’t truly mean it, I wasn’t thinking about the consequences when I said it, but now I am and im so so so so sooo. sorry for what I said. and one night it was like I couldn’t hold my tounge back I tried and tried and tried. and then there it was it came out my mouth and I said I dindt believe in go_ or jesu_ and I said f go_ but I didn’t mean anything that I said. I asked forgiveness am I going to hell
im so so scared cant eat people asking whats wrong with me
im constantly crying. its like something was pushing me to say it but I didn’t want to.
and yes I do believe in god and jesus and the holy spirit
when I said that against the holyspirit I said it just to say it but I didn’t mean it at ll
please help im so scared,i don’t want to burn in hell and have maggots eating through my soul
Hey guys i have a question have i commited the blashemy against the holy spirt as i said when i was half awake that the holy spirit is d**** i know that wasn’t me i kinda felt like i was possesed cause i know my self i would never say that so is it possible that i commit it please tell me I don’t want to go to hell
This article was very helpful, along with the one with historical proof for Christianity.
Thank you, I am struggling.
God Bless you.
I believe I have committed blasphemy of the Holy Spirit
I never knew there was such a sin until I heard someone speak about it.
Then it was like an obsession in my mind. I constantly thought about it.
One day I became really angry and cursed the Holy Spirit.
I confessed this to my very religious wife. She was very upset.
Thinking back…since that day….bad things kept happening to me.
I lost my family (all died), lost my wife (conflicts).
Went into deep depression and lost what few friends I had.
I have always believed in God since my dad told about Him.
But was never religious. Until meeting my wife…never attended
church regularly. Since losing my family, wife and friends…I have
been going to church regularly. I pray to God for help every day.
But I don’t feel His presence. I pray specifically for forgiveness for
my blaspheming every day…included in any and all prayers.
But nothing.
I can barely function. I am still in deep depression.
Am I doomed? I feel disconnected from all the world.
I am so sad all the time.
No Michael, sounds like intense demonic oppression.
Research ‘open doors to demonic oppression,’ get in touch with the most solid, Spirit filled Christian you know, and start praying & then, all the followup work (breaking and living free from years of heavy oppression is not always the cleanest fastest process). You are not doomed but def living under the devil’s thumb so to speak. Remember, our thoughts can also come from outside our hearts and minds and the fact that you care about this shows in your heart of hearts, you desire the Spirit.
Peace
I never knew there was such a sin until I heard someone speak about it.
Then it was like an obsession in my mind. I constantly thought about it.
One day I became really angry and cursed the Holy Spirit.
Find people full of the Holy Spirit and have lay hands on you. God bless you. I’m also suffering as last night i was angry that when i speak in tongues i don’t often have peace and these days I’ve been so tormented on my 40 day fast. I said things to God about my speaking in tongues being not useful, as i sometimes experience mental harassment and i think this is not the fruits of the Spirit and i get discouraged. I said other things too that I regretted and after that it was like “now you’ve done it, you’ve committed the unpardonable sin ! Lost!” Then i had regret, anxiety, fear, a spirit of fear came upon me suddenly etc. I asked God to end my life after my morning prayer finished, if i committed it, i asked in Jesus’ name, but im still here. I thought It would be better to die now than to go through life without any hope unless there was hope. But God answered my prayer. Since then this morning i feel at lot more at peace. Therefore just confess it to God and then you must work to believe that you are indeed free. Since then just 30 mins so later, the spirit of fear has left me i feel at peace, and it can leave you too if you stop believing the lies. Jesus’ words are not always easy to understand but realise that He never intended them to be misrepresented. Even now the devil is trying to place the spirit of fear on me but i will just smile at God’s grace knowing that Jesus’ words can be hard to understand but not His grace which is right there. God bless you friend. Ben
Hi,
I’m a born again christian ! Last night after bible study I came Hom and was under spiritual attack ! I got afraid of the unpardonable sin! I ended up listening to this YouTube video about the unforgiven sin! The guy said it’s what the pharisees did! As I was listening to the video and hearing I was telling myself it wansnt you know who then starting telling myself it was the Holy Spirit ! I know that JESUS is the Son of God and I was trying to fight off a spiritual attack and then I felt like I really had committed the unpardonable sin! All I can do is cry and pray! I wasn’t by no means being like the Pharisees and I didn’t mean to say anything bad! So now am I doomed? I’ve asked forgiveness and I feel like God don’t want me! Plz help
What exactly did you do?
My dad is dying s horribly painful death due to cancer. The other night my aunt kept saying how God will never leave us or let us down. I said maybe not but it feels like he hates me. She said no he doesn’t. And I said well maybe I hate him. I immediately felt a tug on my spirit and have repented but I still feel like God has left me. Have I committed the unforgivable sin?
No you have not, luckily, if you repent he shall forgive you. Now if you say you don’t believe in him or don’t think he is real and you mean it, THAT is the unforgivable sin. I thought I did the unforgivable sin I was so terrified, but I realized I hadn’t. Just repent and be careful with your words
If you didn’t mean it and you still want to repent that’s good that means God didn’t leave you. If you really committed it you wouldn’t care at all! God will forgive as long as you’re asking for forgiveness
Similiar thing happend to me i felt like i was possesed
I heard a voice accuse me of committing the sin and I denied it verbally. Then in my head I thought yes I have because my life was not at all close to God rhe way it used to be. After that I felt this terrible pulling feeling and this unexplainable presence and all I could do is cry and say no Lord I don’t. I think I may have agreed to a sin that if I only would have given my self time, I would have been okay. I also feel very plain and non chalant like there is no care in me. I’ve stopped trying to see if I’ve blasphemed because obsessing over it has gotten me no where. I don’t feel the holy spirit. Went to church today and it felt like I was burning in His presence. I don’t know what has happened exactly but it does concern me. I feel far from Him and it seems nearly impossible to get back to Him.
I feel a real discomfort for God in my heart. I have always longrd to serve him but since reading about the unpardonable sin I have had the urge in my heart to curse God and his spirit. I want to turn away from this. What can I di? Can God soften my heart again?
Hello there!
I am very sad, I always think i have committed an eternal sin.
I was thinking about how this sin is committed (calling God’s work Satan’s work) and you’re trying to avoid thinking a thought like that. When, all of a sudden I thought back to an event that I knew was from God. However, as soon as I tried to avoid calling this a satanic thing, a thought popped into my head that said exactly what I had feared. Then after that the whole thing came crashing down, and thoughts popped into my head least and right such as: “There is no God” or “I’m an atheist” or “That miracle should be attributed to nothing”. I felt really guilty immediately after, but the thing is I didn’t really believe these thoughts nor did I want to think them in my heart. I struggle with things like this all the time and no ,after how hard I pray or confess it continues. So my question is this: Am I still saved, or have I lost my salvation? Again, let me reiterate that these thoughts were unwanted and that I didn’t believe them for a moment.
What about Hebrews 6:4-6 and 10:26-31? Some believe this is describing unpardonable sin. Some believe it is willfully returning to a sinful lifestyle after having been genuinely saved. Is there hope for the backsliders?
my brothers and sisters, GOOD NEWS! 🙂 none of you committed it!:) if you did, none of you would on here asking for help. i’ll be praying for all of you:) please keep me in prayer too, i all so been dealing with same things you guys been dealing with, please keep me in that The Father will break me FREE from this, and for healing on my pineal gland as well. Thank You ”Elohim” for telling my brother or sister who ever you are for posting this topic, i realy needed to see this, i was realy worried and concerned, and even scared that i might have committed this sin, Elohim Bless You my brothers and sisters. SHALOM.
I feel like I have might committed blasphemy but I Know that God is real and If you feel that you can’t feel him well go get delivered by the traps of the devil he has come to kill steal and destroy if you know that you don’t hate God no problem satan has got you thinking there’s n way out but there is and if you don’t give all of yourself o Jesus and and not drift away God forgives and he loves you and want you as is child. In 14 and I get in trouble a lot I don’t listen but sometimes I love to get deeply rooted in the word of God because prayer does change things if you believe with every inch of your heart.I’m Praying you!!!
I am still stuck <\3 but I have the strong hold guyss! Talk to God by Devotional 🙂 everyday in that's the way yes Iask some pastor about blasphemy and yes he is ! He did twice but what he only said is tthere'sa forgiven with ssmile to his face . and he prayed for me you know what he is blasphemefor is by making his own speak on tounge even tho the hholyspirit not give him a gift of it just to impress people and so guys! And his face get swollen . and bigger and yah right now he can do deliverance by an evil and so power sogguys there still a chance
I feel the same way,can anyone help me……I didn’t recognize Christ when He called me….please help..
God is love…
IF I BELIEVE IN ANYTHING IN MY LIFE…IT IS GOD’S UNCONDITIONAL LOVE.
WE ARE HIS LITTLE CHILDREN AND HE LOVES US SO.
i know He loves me so very much,as i believe in His existance it is an asuarance of me belonging to GOD ONLY!
eternally
Heaven is for God’s children and we are.
I always have thoughts of cursing the holy spirit but when ever I think of that I verbally say no I won’t say that. And I am now in pain and worried that what if God doesn’t want to do anything to do with me because of the thoughts i have
I’ve dealt with this fear for years . I have good days and bad days . I lashed out in anger at God . I felt fear come on me I felt like I crossed the line with Him . My life is misriable ! I have begged for mercy many times . Please pray that God would show Himslef to me and delver me . I’m sick very sick from this . I have no quality of life . Thanks all
I am very worried and cry a lot…..a. Mighty rushing loud wind came actually crashing thru my bedroom window and the whole upstairs filled with this is wind that actually knocked over boxes that were stacked in the end room……the audible voice spoke and said linda, get on your knees……I was just a baby Christian with a background of the occult and it scared me as to what if it was the dark or the light!!!! I didn’t move!!!!! I did not get down on my knees……I now understand it was the Holy Spirit and I denied Him…….have I committed the unhardened sin ? Will I ever be forgiven ? Have I lost an annointing forever ? Will He ever come back like that again????? I am very sad I was so ignorant of knowledge..,,is there anyone who would be able to hear a Word from God about this incident that could give me an true answer? I don’t hear God…,.Linda
Hi. I am not sure but something like unforgivable sin against holy ghost msy have happen to me. I didn’t know anout this either when I was young 17 yo or about grieving holy ghost. I know I was upset and told God I was turn off by what He did in someone life. I also said I didn’t want anything to do with Him anymore and did not trust Him. But I was young and foolish. Very ignorant regarding spiritual life and never got relationship with holy ghost. I know I may have tried to protect my heart from being hurt by boy friends but NEVER personally have I thought this was all against the holy ghost. I never got much experience and just fell. I never knew how to walk in spirit of God but had fears. Know I think there may have bern irresponsible neglect unknowingly. At times I did not want God telling me what to do but this was the enemy to lead me from protection telling me I had to do all the work. What now?? Since I didn’t develop a love for God right or relationship with holy spirit and spiritual matters what now? I am older and feel satan deceived me.
Hello, i am 14 year old teenager. Recently for about two months. I have been struggling with this blasphemy thoughts on my mind. I knew that christ savior and god loves me and holy spirit is trying to convince me to not to sin and I know who they are. But, i just somehow remembered about the unpardonable sin and since then, I had this truly awful thought about the god, christ, and even holy spirit and I knew that was wrong for sure. But, whenever I think about gospel in church or home, I have all these negative thoughts that just comes to my head and i’m always telling my self inside that, that’s not true at all but it just comes back no matter how hard I tried and I also prayed about it but I feel like it’s not working. Did my god leave me and did I cause the unpardonable sin ???? Please help
Having struggled with this very frightening passage for a large portion of my life, I think i can offer some relief and hope. I was a member of a Christian like cult, unwillingly as a kid, in the 1970’s and early 80’s. One day, a couple of the leaders of the church came to a small group of us kids and told us this terrifying story of a young man who was playing around with jokes about God. The young man laughed and joked about The Holy Spirit and was warned to stop, or he might be eternally damned. he continued to joke and be irreverent and then one day, he came to the people who had warned him and said that he knew he had blasphemed the Holy Spirit and that he was damned and could never turn back. The church leaders warned us kids (I was about 10) to make sure we never laughed at anything related to The Holy Spirit, if we did, we might end up like the young man in the story.
I didn’t think much about this after I heard it, but it did scare me a lot at first. When we left the church/cult we went to California and lived in a motor home for a while. Life in the motor home was very boring. My brother and I had to make up things to pass the time. One day, we were making up funny lyrics to songs, trying to one up each other and I began singing “On the wings of a pitch black hawk, God sent His pure, sweet squawk” My Dad overheard me singing and both of us laughing and said “boys, you had better stop that, you remember what they told you back in Arizona about laughing at the Holy Spirit? That song is about Him!” I was terrified that I might have inadvertently said something that could condemn me for eternity, but I had absolutely no idea why such a seemingly innocent thing could condemn me or anyone else for that matter. From that day forward, I almost religiously avoided any song that had doves in it, fearing that I might accidentally laugh at doves, or say something that would offend God, in reference to doves. I was really clueless, but the event left a deep stain on my heart. No kid should ever be made to feel that scared, but the damage was done
Flash forward to age 19. I was working in a Wendy’s hamburgers, washing dishes and tending the salad bar. I was in the back, working on some pots and pans that had been really dirty and hard to clean and I was listening to the music they played over and over again. One of the songs I was listening to made me think of eternity for some reason and I began realizing that I was not sure about how I would spend eternity. I finally went to the restroom, knelt down and prayed for God to save me and said i was sorry for my sins. I felt relief and I immediately began searching for what to do next. I went home and began reading the Bible. I had no idea what I needed to read in the Bible, I just wanted to soak it in as much as possible. One day, I read Matthew 12 and was reminded of the sin I had been told about back when i was 10. The text was very frightening as the original warning and warning by my Dad had been, so even though I knew I had repented and had faith in Jesus, the fact that this sin seemed so easy to commit began causing me to worry and fear. The more I read The Bible, the more confused I became and I began going into a deep depression. I began hearing voices in the dark and began hearing a voice in my head saying horrible things about Jesus and the Holy Spirit. I was convinced that Jesus didn’t want me, but I stubbornly held on to Him and my faith in Him. At one point, I had resolved to live for Jesus, so I could warn others about their need for Jesus and I was almost convinced that I was doomed. Little by little, I began to trust in Jesus by reading His word and I met a Godly brother in Christ who began counseling me and giving me reason after reason why I had not doomed myself as a kid by laughing at a song about the Holy Spirit. The fear went away and about 3 years after I had repented in Wendy’s, i had almost forgotten the fear and the voices had stopped. I began living a life fully for Jesus. I prayed, I went to church, I studied God’s word and was active in a couple of ministries. Life was really good, but I began falling back into sin, mostly sexual sin and slowly, I began doubting my salvation and wondering if I had blasphemed or fallen away from Christ. This pattern repeated itself every time I lost focus and began falling into sin.
As I look back, the only times I ever really felt this fear were when I was sinning. When I was living victoriously, I had no fer at all. So, my fear was caused by putting a rift between myself and God and allowing The Devil to whisper lies into my ears. I recently fell into the same old pattern, but instead of just giving into sin without restraint, I began praying and asking for God’s help, during my sinning and the pattern began to break. I did feel a lot of fear and anxiousness, but instead of just giving up and allowing it to destroy my joy, I turned to Jesus for strength. Now, I am stable and can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I can envision a time which I will no longer feel this fear.
One of the things that has brought me out of the fear and has given me hope and peace is reading what God says about the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and most importantly, what he says about people who belong to Him. The following ar things i learned, things which will be of great help to people who are suffering from this fear.
1. The Pharisees/scribes had said Jesus had a demon, several times before Matthew 12 and He had not warned them about the unpardonable sin. He didn’t warn them until they saw The Holy Spirit work by casting out devils and then had said Jesus had a demon in Him. So, simply saying something blasphemous about Jesus and the power He was using was not blasphemy against The Holy Spirit. In short, you have to know the Holy Spirit is real, see Him in action and then willfully speak inn opposition to Him.
2. Paul most likely technically blasphemed against The Holy Spirit. He tells us :
” I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. 13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 1:12-14)
Here’s the thing. Paul says he blasphemed yet he obtained mercy, because he had blasphemed ignorantly, in unbelief. We know that blasphemy against The Father and son can be forgiven, regardless of whether one did so in ignorance or unbelief, so why did Paul say he was forgiven for his blasphemy, because he did it ignorantly, in unbelief? The answer seems clear. Paul, being a Pharisee, but not ever having met Jesus personally, did not see Jesus perform exorcisms, thus even though he blasphemed technically, God forgave it, because Paul did not really know that Jesus was doing miracles by the power of The HS. Paul never witnessed the Holy Spirit in action, so the deeds done by the HS were theory to Him. Paul’s hatred for Christians and Christ came from ignorance and hearsay, much as the hatred of Jesus by Jews and people of false religions, is motivated by ignorance and bias, etc today. I have a Muslim friend who once asked me why I believed something once and i said I believed the Holy Spirit had told me. My Muslim friend responded by saying “No, that is not the Holy Spirit, that is an evil spirit, don’t believe it!” My friend’s religious beliefs and ignorance compelled him to say that the Holy Spirit was in fact an evil spirit, but having never seen the HS work, my Muslim friend can still obtain mercy and be saved. If all it took for people to be eternally damned was to haphazardly make a joke about the Holy Spirit, or speak earnestly against Him, in ignorance, who indeed could be saved? Most of us have said things jokingly, or ignorantly against the Holy Spirit, but I would wager none of us has ever witnessed a demon being cast out of a person by the power of the HS, or seen a miracle. In fact, I personally believe the reason God does not work miracles as much anymore, and the reason that we don’t see demons popping up on every corner like they did in the time of Jesus work on Earth, is because God is holding those things back, to keep just enough ignorance in the world, to save people who might otherwise be doomed.
I believe that the preachers who tell us that this sin can not be committed now are on the right track, at least it can not be committed in the same way the scribes did it, because those were unique times in history, something that has never been repeated and probably will never be repeated in this life. I believe we can still doom our souls as believers, by experiencing the power of God in our lives and being enlightened and then turning away in unbelief, like it says in Hebrews 6 , but it is important to note that apostasy, as it is stated in Hebrews 6, can not be forgiven, because the people who commit it, are unable to be returned again to repentance. This means God can not reach them, or will not, thus they die spiritually and will either cease to believe in Jesus altogether, or turn to some false faith, like Jehovah’s Witnesses or Mormonism and die in their sins. So, if you are worried you have committed the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, don’t worry and don’t let the Devil steal your joy and peace. Turn form your sins, invite His Spirit to heal your mind and strengthen you against temptation and fill you with His love and peace. In Jesus name, amen.
I have a constant thought in the background that says the Holy Spirit is not good because it can send me to hell with one thought. This has been 24/7 for 4 months. I feel God has abandoned me. I wish I never heard of this sin.
I had a thought that said three Gods meaning three persons. It was a fleeting second when singing a song inside me. Have I committed the unforgivable sin?