Blaspheming the Holy Spirit

I thought that B Shelburne answered this well and wanted to add this to my blog. So many people seem to focus on this verse that condemns instead of the verse that says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his son into the the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him " (John 3:16, 17).

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Nuggets 10: "The Unpardonable Sin"


"I need to talk to you," she said. "In your lecture you read where Jesus said that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit can never be forgiven. I am so afraid I may have committed that sin."

This young lady was one of my brightest, most receptive students. While listening to a sermon, she said, irreverent thoughts had gone through her mind that shocked her. Now she was living under a cloud of fear. Her religious upbringing had hidden from her the love of God and set her up for this kind of false guilt.

I answered her like this: Though Jesus does speak of an unforgivable sin called blasphemy against the Spirit, by definition blasphemy is committed with the tongue. Only the most perverted, hardened heart is capable of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Against clearest evidence, the wicked Jewish leaders accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of the devil. Since Jesus was empowered by the Holy Spirit, these leaders were calling the Holy Spirit the prince of demons. Truth meant nothing to these men. They were incapable of remorse. When a person can feel remorse and longs to be right with God, he/she does not have the kind of heart that could commit the ultimate sin. The best evidence of all is the fruit of the Holy Spirit in your life. Had you blasphemed the Spirit, you can be sure He would not have remained in you producing the "fruit of the Spirit" and the reverence for God which we all see in you.

Matthew 12:22-37; Galatians 5:22,23

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Copyright 2006 by G.B. Shelburne, III. May be freely reproduced or forwarded for non-commercial purposes provided content is unchanged and this copyright notice is included. These shepherding messages are sent to members and friends of New Beginnings Church (nbchurch.com), to students and alumni of South Houston Bible Institute (shbi.org), and to other interested persons. TO UNSUBSCRIBE, hit "Reply" and type the word "Remove" in the message area. TO SUBSCRIBE, email bshelburne@shbi.org

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