How does one blasphemy the Holy Spirit?

Hello Miss Hepburn,To blaspheme the Holy Spirit in the context of Matthew 12 is to attribute the signs wrought by Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit to Satan. Here is an entry by the Puritan Matthew Poole on this matter.

But the difficulty lieth in the latter part of the text, which denieth forgiveness to any who blaspheme the Holy Ghost. Upon this arise several questions. First, What the sin against the Holy Ghost here specified was. Answer: It is not hard to gather this from the context, and what Mark addeth, Mar. 3:30, Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit. Christ was come amongst these persons to whom he speaketh; he had not only preached, but he had wrought many miraculous operations sufficient to convince them that h12e acted by the power and Spirit of God. They were not only convinced of it, so far as to acknowledge it, but they attributed these operations to the devil, and said he had a devil, and that he did what he did by the power of the devil. This, out of doubt, was their sin against the Holy Ghost, maliciously speaking to the highest reproach of the Holy Spirit, contrary to the rational conviction of their own consciences. Hence ariseth a second question, Whether any such sin can be now committed. Answer: 1. It cannot be any sin that is committed ignorantly. Paul was a blasphemer, but forgiven, because he did it ignorantly. 2. It must be a sin knowingly committed against the operations of the Holy Ghost. So was this sin of the Pharisees. 3. Apostasy must be an ingredient in it: If they fall away, saith the apostle, Heb_6:6. It is a sinning wilfully after the receiving the knowledge of the truth, Heb 10:26. 4. It should seem by this text persecution is an ingredient in it: the Pharisees did not only say this, but they spake it out of malice, designing to destroy Christ. 5. Most certainly it is, that though impenitency cannot be called that sin, yet it must be an ingredient in it, for what sins we truly repent of shall be forgiven, 1Jo 1:9; and therefore the apostle saith of such sinners, It is impossible they should be renewed by repentance.

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As for taking the name of the Lord in vain, there are at least three ways of doing this. 1. Swearing falsely while using God's name as a guarantee.2. Using God's name as a type of profanity.3. Making a false profession of faith or not living up to our profession of faith. Basically the idea is not to be irreverent with God's name or not to take his name lightly.

Thats the unforivable sin heres a study Matthew 12:31 - Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. Matthew 12:32 - And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. This is repeated twice for emphasis If we look closely at the verses here they are sort of two sections and on the surface they seem to be almost contradictory read the parts I put in Black above. It clearly says ALL forms of blasphemy will be forgiven men .....ALL Forms ALL men will be forgiven So what is this second part? That says one is not only unforgiven/not forgiven but will never in the world or the next ever be forgiven ... That is the same sentence that was given Satan How can this be that if someone blasphemies the Holy spirit they receive the same sentence as Satan.... that's as bad as you can get... this is very serious in Gods eyes and he said it twice to make sure it was heard... Everyone saved has the Christ spirit in them yet every man is forgiven all form of Blasphemy. So what are we talking about?? Lets set a little foundation here first... lets understand this is a future event .. Second..No man has yet ever been judged not the Pharisees or Sadducee's not Judas no one and they wont be until the Great white throne Judgement which is after the millennium So what does blasphemy against the Holy Ghost/spirit mean When are we told of the Holy Ghost/Spirit coming on to men in an important event?? The answer is on Pentecost Day.Acts tells of this Holy Ghost and what it is and what happens when it comes on you Act 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. Act 2:3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. Act 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. This was a great miracle and it only happens twice in the Word of God regardless of men say this only happens two times in scripture once on Pentecost day and once in Mark 13:11 Mar 13:10 And the gospel must first be published among all nations. So this verse places us in the latter days because first the Gospel had to preached around the World this is our time setting Mar 13:11 But when they shall lead [you], and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost. This is a time in the future when the Elect are called up put on trial before Antichrist(Satan) do not premeditate what you will say the Holy Ghost will speak through you if you deny this with full knowledge of what you are doing to save your physical life you will lose it as you have Blasphemed the Holy Spirit/ Ghost. This is the unforgivable sin it can only be committed once and only by the Elect (called up ones) (For an better understanding one might think of this sin as something that would be equivalent/compared to ..IF.. the Apostles themselves had commited blasphemy against Christ after they were given full knowledge on Pentecost Day)

Miss Hepburn;74485][COLOR=Purple]I have always wondered? That said:

How does one take the Lord's Name in vain?[/B] If anyone wants to take a stab at that. It's very important to the Lord ---but who knew His Name way back then? What could they have done to take it in "vain"?Thanks' date='Miss Hepburn[/COLOR']

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Hello Miss Hepburn, Being a Catholic, I am not allowed to interpret Scripture. Only the Church has the authority to interpret it. This is why Catholics have a Bible that has a lot of footnotes and references. At any rate, the references spoken in Matthew 12:32 is found in Hebrews 6:4-6 and Hebrews 10:26-31. Hebrews 6:4-6 As for those people who were once brought into the light and tasted the gift from heaven and received a share of the Holy spirit and appreciated the good message of God and the powers of the world to come and yet in spite of this have fallen away - it is impossible for them to be renewed a second time. They cannot be repentent if they have wilfull crucified the Son of God and openly mocked him. Hebrews 10:26-31 If after we have been given knowledge of the truth, we should deliberately commit any sins, then there is no longer any sacrifice for them. There will be only the dreadful prospect of judgement and of the raging fire that is to burn rebels. Anyone who disregards the Law of Moses is ruthlessly put to death on the word of two witnesses or three; and you can be sure that anyone who tramples on the Son of God and who treats the blood of the covenant which sanctified him as if it were not holy, and who insults the Spirit of grace, will be condemned to a far severer punishment. According to the footnotes in my Jerusalem Bible regarding Matthew 12:32, it states "There is some excuse for not recognizing Christ's divine nature since it is hidden under the appearance of an ordinary 'son of man,' but there is no excuse for blinding oneself to the manifest works of the Spirit.' The footnotes means that to deny the power of the Holy Spirit or to associate the power of the Holy Spirit to Satan as the Pharisees did when they accused Jesus of casting out the devil under Satan's name is an unforgivable sin (See Matthew 12:22-24). It is not recognizing that God can send the Holy Spirit to do His works even as He sent the Holy Spirit to do God's works using mere sinful men such as the Apostles (See Acts 3:1-10). Peace be with you, Diana

God sent us a letter yet you are not allowed to read it without an interpter? How very sad..........Gods Word is so wonderful and never stops teaching to bad you are so limited. But it explains a lot

Christina;74506 said:

God sent us a letter yet you are not allowed to read it without an interpter? How very sad..........Gods Word is so wonderful and never stops teaching to bad you are so limited. But it explains a lot

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On the contrary, we are not limited at all. The Church is the one who interprets because it was the Catholic Church that put the letters together under the Holy Spirit in the fourth century; therefore, only the Church can correctly interpret it with the Holy Spirit. If we were allowed to interpret it on our own, then we would have more than 25,000 different interpretations. That is why there are more than 25,000 different Protestant sects, which is very sad.

Well I can understand your thinking even if I dont entirley agree with all your words however the catholic church as well as Protestant denominations have all added to the misinterptations of scripture thats why there are no denominations in Gods Word ... Not Catholic not Protestant there is Gods Word his letter to his children he interpts it himself he doent need men to do so he needs his children to read it and he provides the wisdom ....If any of the denominations were right including yours we wouldnt be warned in Amos 8:11 -12 what is happening and will be 11Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: 12And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it. Now let us both get back on topic

Christina;74533]Well I can understand your thinking even if I dont entirley agree with all your words however the catholic church as well as Protestant denominations have all added to the misinterptations of scripture thats why there are no denominations in Gods Word ... Not Catholic not Protestant there is Gods Word his letter to his children he interpts it himself he doent need men to do so he needs his children to read it and he provides the wisdom ....If any of the denominations were right including yours we wouldnt be warned in Amos 8:11 -12 what is happening and will be [B]11[/B]Behold said:

12[/B]And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it. Now let us both get back on topic

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My sister, there were already denominations during St. Paul's time. We are the oldest Christian church that has existed for thousands of years. The Orthodox Churches are the second oldest Christian churches, and their interpretations of the Bible is EXACTLY the same as ours. During St. Paul's time, there was already another denomination preaching false things about Jesus. That denomination said that Jesus Christ is not God. They were the Gnostics and the Arians. Where do you think the Muslims got the idea that Jesus was not God? It came from the Gnostic books, which the Catholic Church never cannonized in the 4th century.

Ladies,With all due respect, I think we may be going way off-topic here.

Miss Hepburn;74485][COLOR=Purple]I have always wondered? That said:

How does one take the Lord's Name in vain?[/B] If anyone wants to take a stab at that. It's very important to the Lord ---but who knew His Name way back then? What could they have done to take it in "vain"?Thanks' date='Miss Hepburn[/COLOR']

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Hello Miss Hepburn.The best policy when seeking understanding about a verse is to first ask God for wisdom and go read the chapters surrounding the verse in question. When we do this and we are guilded by the Holy Spirit we can see exactly what the verse in question is refering to. Lets look at the verse in question in it's context.

Mark 322And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebub," and, "By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons." 23So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: "How can Satan cast out Satan? 24If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. 27No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house. 28 "Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; 29but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation"-- 30because they said, "He has an unclean spirit."

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What did the scribes do? They said that the Holy Spirit that was with Jesus was "Beelzebub" They accused the Spirit of being a demon, (like calling God satan) that act is the sin of blasphemy of the Spirit. verse 30 refers to "they" they where the scribes in verse 22.So if one pronounces that another person is demon possesed and that person actually is indwelled by the Holy Spirit then one has just accused the Holy Spirit of being a demon and has committed the sin that "never has forgiveness" and they are "subject to eternal condemnation".All Praise The Ancient Of Days

Hello Miss Hepburn, The "unforgiveable sin is actually found in all three synoptic gospels. The best one that defines the "unforgiveable sin" is actually the Gospel of Mark (Mark 3:28-30). This is what the Gospel stated: Mark 3:28-30 I tell you solemnly all men's sins will be forgiven and all their blasphemies; but let anyone blaspheme against the Holy Spirit and he will never have forgiveness: he is guilty of eternal sin. This was because they were saying, 'An unclean spirit is in him.If you look back at the previous verses, it speaks about the Pharisees claiming that Jesus was taking out evil spirits using Satan's name. By saying this, they rejected the power of the Holy Spirit, which is what Christ called a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Peace be with you, Diana

The Scripture that gives us the closest look at this Unforgivable Sin is , for it describes it quite clearly: Mark 3:22-3022 And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He [jesus] hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.....(Cont.)28 Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:30 Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit. (KJV) The sin in the above Scripture was not that they insulted Jesus, but that they insulted the Holy Spirit by calling it an unclean spirit. Below we see that blasphemy against the Son of Man (remember the difference between Son of Man and Son of God) is forgivable, however, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not forgivable: Luke 12:1010 And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven. (KJV) Jesus wasn't saying that it was Ok to blaspheme Him, He was saying that it was forgivable to blaspheme Him while He was here in the flesh. Jesus, the Son of Man was born flesh, He was God but in a 'lower state', for the Scriptures tell us so: "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death...." (Heb 2:9). The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Lord God, to blaspheme that Holy Spirit was to blaspheme God Himself. To blaspheme Jesus Christ was to blaspheme God in the flesh. But that after He ascended, and the Holy Spirit was sent to 'replace' Him, such blasphemy against Him (Holy Spirit) was unforgivable. What is blasphemy? Bible Dictionaries will tell you that it is to insult God. The Scriptures tell us something different [edited for clarification: i.e., something additional]. Observe: John 10:3636 Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? (KJV)John 5:1818 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God. (KJV)John 10:30-3330 I and my Father are one.31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. (KJV)Phil 2:5-65 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: (KJV) The Jews charged Jesus with blasphemy because He said that He was God, He said the He was equal with God. And had Jesus not been God in the flesh then the Jews would have been right to charge Him with blasphemy. But Jesus was God so He was not committing blasphemy by equaling Himself to God. This was the great error of the Jews, they did not accept Jesus for who He was, Immanuel — God with us, though their own Scriptures prophesied of Him.

[quote name='Adstar;74551]Hello Miss Hepburn. The best policy when seeking understanding about a verse is to first ask God for wisdom and go read the chapters surrounding the verse in question. When we do this and we are guilded by the Holy Spirit we can see exactly what the verse in question is refering to. Lets look at the verse in question in it's context. What did the scribes do? They said that the Holy Spirit that was with Jesus was "Beelzebub" They accused the Spirit of being a demon' date=' (like calling God satan) that act is the sin of blasphemy of the Spirit. verse 30 refers to "they" they where the scribes in verse 22. So if one pronounces that another person is demon possesed and that person actually is indwelled by the Holy Spirit then one has just accused the Holy Spirit of being a demon and has committed the sin that "never has forgiveness" and they are "subject to eternal condemnation". All Praise The Ancient Of Days[/QUOTE'] (Comming from someone who wrestled with thinking they commited the unpardonable sin to the point of nervous breakdown) This is where some fear comes in when dealing with false prophets, false teachers, and people with "signs". Some are afraid they're commiting some unpardonable sin if they go against a false teacher. It's because the ones with the "miricales" claim they're from God and from the Holy Spirit. And someone who doesn't know what the true signs are. Just because someone says it's from the Holy Spirit doesn't make it true. It's very important to compare with the scriptures. Someone might see those guys with the gold dust and jewels appearing, and say "That's not from God, you're false" and those people will say,, "Yes, this is from the Holy Spirit, don't you think that God can do what ever he wants or something new? Why are you trying to put the Holy Spirit in a box?" Then someone who doesn't know better will fall into a world of doubt and guilt. They will go around thinking they just commited an unpardonable sin. The point is, whether it can only be done at a certain time, or can be done now,,,,we can rest assured the Lord has made it hard for people to knowingly do this. It's impossible for a believer to do this. Another thing, is thoughts don't count as unpardonable, even if they're you're own, and saying something in ignorance doesn't count either, so this can't be done accident. Most sins can be done accidentaly, but this one can't. The scribes and the Pharisees knew exactly what they were doing, they weren't saying this out of ignorance. They knew Jesus was the Christ, and that He was doing all this by the Holy Spirit. But, they wanted their power, and they were afraid that if people followed "this Jesus" then they would loose their positions in society and their power. That's why Jesus came down so hard on them, they didn't want to serve God, they served themeselves, their greed, their arrogance, their pride, and their vanity. Even after they knew Jesus was God, they sought to kill him. Not all were knowledgable of that, but the ones Jesus addressed were. It's funny that the subject of taking God's name in vain is mixed with this question. When I thought I commited it, I thought it was taking God's name in vain, at that time I loved saying G.D. and J.C. and when I read in the Bible what I saw was,,, "Who ever takes the Lords name in vain shall not be forgiven" Sent me through all kinds of "adventure". But, to everything a purpose.......After feeling condemned and damned with no chance of redemntion, there's not much else I fear.

The Holy Spirit is the means by which forgiveness is "given". Therefore, if this means is rejected forgiveness is not able to be "given" since there is no other means available to mankind. Quote from The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia.The Holy Spirit in the beginnings of the Christian life itself is set forth in many forms of statement. They who have the Spirit belong to Christ (Rom 8:9). We received not the Spirit of bondage but of adoption, "whereby we cry, Abba, Father" (Rom 8:15). "The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God" (Rom 8:16). The Spirit is received by the hearing of faith (Gal 3:2). See also Rom 5:5; Rom 8:2; 1Co 16:11; Gal 3:3, Gal 3:14; Eph 2:18. There are two or three expressions employed by Paul which express some particular aspect of the Spirit's work in believers. One of these is "first-fruits" (Rom 8:23, ἀπαρχή, aparchḗ), which means that the present possession of the Spirit by the believer is the guarantee of the full redemption which is to come, as the first-fruits were the guarantee of the full harvest. Another of these words is "earnest" (2Co 1:22; 2Co 5:5, ἀρραβών, arrabō̇n), which also means a pledge or guarantee. Paul also speaks of the "sealing" of the Christians with the Holy Spirit of promise, as in Eph 1:13 (ἐσφραγίσθητε, esphragı́sthēte, "ye were sealed"). This refers to the seal by which a king stamped his mark of authorization or ownership upon a document.