By His Blood – Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

The Modern Pharisee loves dangling believers over the fires of hell with Threats of Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. – Brook Potter.

One of the most dangerous weapons used by the modern Pharisee is the abuse of the phrase, Blaspheme against the Holy Spirit. It has been used for centuries to scare and manipulate people into behavior and caused tremendous psychological damage to our brothers and sisters. I don’t think a week has gone by, where I have not had to address at least one person who is living in Torment and Guilt, because someone, somewhere, without any understanding, told them they had Blasphemed the Holy Spirit.

Let us Examine the Scripture in it’s fullness, to determine what the Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit is, and what it is not.

Mark 3:22-30  And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.  And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?  And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.  And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.  No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.  Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:  But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:  Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.

The Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, is very clear in these passages, and is very specific; it is to take the miracle-working power of Jesus Christ, and attribute it to the power of Satan.  The entire context is bracketed between two events, firstly, the fact that Scribes accused him of being possessed by Beelzebub, the prince of devils, and secondly, the fact that Mark notes that Jesus said everything because they said HE (Jesus) had an unclean Spirit.

There is one other point that I make to this argument, and that is the fact that the Scribes and the Pharisees were very well aware that Jesus was sent from God. They were the ones consulted about where Christ would be born (Matthew 2:4), Nicodemus, a Pharisees admitted that they knew Jesus had come from God (John 3:2), and the Scribes were witnessed to the miracles Jesus had done in accordance with the prophecies confirming him to be the Messiah (Matthew 9:1-8). When they made the slanderous statement, they were fully aware that what they were saying was not true.

So the Blasphemy is not just to say that Jesus worked by the power of Satan, but it is also to do in full knowledge that what you are saying is not true.

Much to the disappointment of the Modern Pharisees and Scribes, Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit has nothing to do with you sinning too much, or using fowl language, or even speaking a different opinion about something that may be contrary to what most people believe. If someone has told you otherwise, they have spoken without knowledge. When we are not freaking out about the Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, we can take the time to enjoy the Good News that is found in these passages concerning all our sins and blaspheme.

Mark 3:28  Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:

Be Free!

Paul White, talking about another verse taken out of context, Grieving the Holy Spirit.