"Blasphemy Against the Spirit" Matthew 12b Jul 28 2024

Intro and Scripture

Good morning

One of the biggest questions pastors get from people:

What is Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit?

Or...

What is the unforgivable sin?

And today, we’re going to look at what Jesus had to say about it in Matt 12

The heart of the story begins at verse 22 - but we need to back up a little so that we have a full understanding

Beginning in verse 17:

Matthew 12:17–18 ESV

This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

Skip down to verse 22:

Matthew 12:22–25 ESV

Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.

Now skip down, beginning in verse 31:

Matthew 12:31–32 ESV

Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

This is the word of God

(Pray…)

Two Questions

Have you ever wondered if you’ve lost your salvation?

Do you think you committed a sin so horrible, that not even God can forgive you?

Do you wonder if you had a thought, or said a sentence that will send you to hell?

Do you wonder what it means to commit “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit”?

When we consider blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, two questions come to mind:

For the believer:

Is there a specific sin that would result in a Christian losing their salvation?

For the unbeliever:

Is there a specific sin that would forever keep a person from being saved, no matter what?

In order to understand this more, we need to look at where “Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit” is mentioned in the Bible

This phrase comes from Jesus, in his response to the Pharisees

This kind of blasphemy is found in Matthew 12, Mark 3, and Luke 12

This morning, we are in Matt 12

In context, Jesus was rebuking the Pharisees for what they said.

Jesus had just healed a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute (v. 22).

And then the response from the Pharisees:

When the Pharisees heard about it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons” (v. 24).

We know a little what “Beelzebul” meant. It was an insult. Some scholars think, “lord of flies,” or “Prince of Baal.”

It was a strong insult against Jesus

Not only that - their wicked comment was an attack on the authority (and ostensibly the purpose) of Jesus

The Purpose of Jesus

Let me ask you this?

What is the purpose of Jesus coming to Earth?

Have you ever thought of that?

Matthew quotes Isaiah to show that what Jesus did was a fulfillment of prophecy - I read this a few minutes ago

Here is Matthew 12:17-18

Matthew 12:17–18 ESV

This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

Notice what the Lord said about his Son: “I will put my Spirit upon him...”

Interesting that we find this right before the blasphemy part

Jesus was acting on the authority of the Father, but his purpose was led by the Spirit.

The phrase “he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles” essentially refers to the fact that Jesus's overall mission was to bring order and salvation to the world (the Gentiles).

This was his greater mission that includes all of us.

If the greater mission of Jesus was to the whole world (For God so loved the world…” John 3:16), and if the Spirit drove his mission, what role does the Holy Spirit have in relationship to the world?

He convicts the world of its sin (John 16:8).

And when we are convicted, our right response is to repent and turn to him in faith

Remember how Jesus began his ministry?

Even before his calling of the Twelve, Jesus began preaching to the crowds, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Mt 4:17)

Jesus did many things on earth, but he made it clear that his primary teaching was for us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him (Mt 16:24).

In other words, Jesus was acting on behalf of the Spirit - his authority came from the Father, and his purpose came from the Spirit.

The Gospel at Work

Jesus offers forgiveness and redemption - but we receive that only by faith and repentance, which comes from a conviction from the Holy Spirit.

The good news of the Gospel is God’s grace and forgiveness, which was demonstrated on the cross.

The Holy Spirit convicts our hearts and we respond by faith.

That’s how the Gospel works:

God demonstrates his love (at the cross),

the Spirit convicts the world,

and we respond in faith and repentance.

But our repentance can only come after being prompted by the Holy Spirit.

Notice that the Holy Spirit’s conviction must come before our faith and repentance

Keep that in mind as we go through this

The Pharisees Speak Against the Authority & Purpose of Jesus

There are some interesting clues in this passage about what Jesus really meant.

Before Jesus made his comments to the Pharisees, it says in verse 25 that he knew their "thoughts."

Btw, whenever we read that Jesus “knew their thoughts,” it’s always when the Pharisees utter blasphemy

Jesus knew exactly where they were coming from and he addressed their motives.

In verse 28, Jesus said, "But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you."

Let me paraphrase a little - “But if I truly am casting out demons by God’s authority, then you are in trouble.”

In other words, the kingdom of God had come upon them because they were going against God's Spirit - effectively committing blasphemy by going against the authority and purpose of Jesus.

The Pharisees said it themselves - “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.”

This is a gross, blasphemous statement

They were trying to say that Jesus' mission was based on the authority of the “prince of demons.”

The Pharisees were doing anything but responding in repentance.

Can you imagine anything more blasphemous than denying the authority of Jesus, rejecting his mission of repentance, and declaring that his authority comes from the prince of demons?

Their words were aimed at Jesus, but they were ultimately speaking against the Holy Spirit’s desire for them to seek after God based on the conviction of their own sins.

If you are an unbeliever, the role of the Holy Spirit in your life is to convict you of your sin.

That is his job, and no one else - not your Christian friend or the church.

Only the Holy Spirit can convict you.

Your appropriate response is to turn from your sins and put your faith in Christ.

The Pharisees never explicitly mentioned the Holy Spirit in this passage, but Jesus rebuked them because they were speaking against his authority.

Jesus was implying that if anyone completely and continually rejects the Spirit’s conviction -

if there’s no repentance in their heart -

and if they never follow him, then there is no way God can forgive them.

Blasphemy against the Spirit is not a technicality of some past sin we have committed

- it is about an ongoing condition of a person’s heart who continually rejects God’s purpose.

God can’t forgive someone who continually and persistently defends their sinful life and rejects the Spirit’s conviction.

True freedom is only found in repentance

What Did Jesus Mean?

You might be asking:

But isn’t blasphemy something I say?

Will I be denied eternal life if I say the wrong thing?

When we come to this passage, the most important question we should be asking is, “What does Jesus actually mean by his words?”

Whenever we encounter a difficult verse in the Bible, the safest route is to understand its context and to look to additional passages for the answer.

If you take this passage to mean that a person can literally be excluded from eternal life because of what they uttered, then you have the impossible job of proving this with other biblical evidence.

You would think that if salvation was impossible because of something you simply say

Then Paul would have mentioned it

Paul spells out how to be saved in his epistles - but he never brings it up

And it would have been all through the Bible, not just the letters of Paul

But the Bible is full of passages that show that a person cannot enter God’s kingdom if he is defiant against the purpose of the Holy Spirit.

In other words, you cannot be saved if you always ignore the conviction of the Holy Spirit

Ask yourself this question: Why did Jesus say that only blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is unforgivable?

Why did he say that blasphemy against the Son is forgivable, but not against the Holy Spirit?

Notice that Jesus was very specific in what he said.

In their triune nature, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are completely unified as one God, but three distinct Persons.

If Jesus is the same as the Father and the same as the Spirit, then how can every sin and blasphemy be forgiven, but not blasphemy against the Spirit?

How could a single sin against the Spirit be different from all other sins against the Son?

Taken literally: I can say what I want about Jesus, but I need to watch my words about the Holy Spirit?

Jesus wasn’t saying that the Holy Spirit is really sensitive and that he might get his feelings hurt -

and Jesus was certainly not saying that he was any less important than the Spirit.

What Jesus is implying is that blasphemy against the Spirit literally means that an unbeliever takes a stance against the purpose of the Spirit.

It’s a rebellion against the Spirit’s conviction

Remember, earlier?

The conviction of the Spirit comes before faith

So if you ignore that conviction, there’s no faith - and therefore, no salvation

We interpret blasphemy as mere words, but to the Jew, that meant slander to the extreme.

And if our word is our bond, and if our words reveal the heart, then Jesus is saying that extreme slander against the very purpose of the Holy Spirit is unforgivable.

The Pharisees were running a smear campaign against the source and purpose of Jesus’ mission and Jesus called them out on it.

Your continual rejection of Christ is slander against the Spirit because if your heart is opposed to the Spirit’s conviction then even God is unable to forgive you.

That’s why the sin is unforgivable

Because that person won’t allow God to forgive them

It’s not about some technicality

Eternal Security

Blasphemy is an extreme offense to the Lord, but the Bible never says our salvation is in peril because of a sentence we uttered.

Neither does the Bible ever say that we can lose our salvation.

There is no debate about our eternal security.

I am strong on this subject - because the Bible is very clear on this

(John 6:37, John 10:27-29, Romans 8:38-39, 2 Corinthians 1:22, Ephesians 2:8, Ephesians 4:30, Philippians 1:6, Jude 24, etc.)

Let me give you one verse that speaks about our assurance

John 10:27–29 ESV

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

Jesus will never let you go!

If you are truly saved - you are saved forever

It doesn’t matter if you’ve struggled with sin

If you’ve placed your faith in Jesus

And today, in your heart, you love the Lord - and wish that you’ve never wandered off from him

Then chances are you are saved

There’s not a single example in the Bible of anyone who was once a true, born-again follower of Jesus but later lost their salvation because of gross sin.

Nor is there a single verse in the Bible that teaches a person can be eternally saved on a Monday, but three years later on a Thursday, they’re bound for hell

That would mean that God is not sovereign and that he made a mistake in the first place by saving you

It would mean that God was wrong because as it turns out, you’re the wrong person

This sort of theology is faulty because if you believe you can lose your salvation, then on some level, you believe you earned your salvation by your own efforts

That sort of theology says that the blood of Jesus only applies to those who don’t sin “too much.”

Let me assure you - if you and I can lose our salvation, then I guarantee we would both lose it

You may have even known a Christian who later in life rejected Jesus - but their salvation was probably never genuine

“They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us.” 1 John 2:19

Conclusion

This passage is very difficult to understand, so I always want to rely on many other parts of the Bible that discuss our salvation.

The more I read the Bible, the more I see God’s overwhelming grace and mercy to anyone who calls on his name.

If there was a technical exclusion to his love and mercy, I believe it would have been clearly defined throughout the Bible

God clearly cares about your heart - not on a certain rule

Even the fact that this passage is difficult to understand means it’s not all based on some technicality

If that were true - don’t you think that God would clarify this as straightforward and self-evident?

But our salvation does not hang by technicalities - and it is certainly not up to us to keep it.

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.” John 10:27-29

Blasphemy against the Lord is an extremely grave sin.

But I don't believe that our salvation is in danger because of a statement we make with our mouths.

Now, the Bible does talk about confessing

And it does say we are to confess him as Lord - Rom 10:9

There can be no middle ground in your response to Jesus.

You can either receive him and walk in him - or allow your sinful life to be against him.

Your life's statement of continual rebellion is blasphemous against the Holy Spirit.

My prayer is that you find freedom in Christ and respond in step with his Spirit.

If you have questions about your faith or your salvation, please talk to me after communion

(Pray…)

Communion

Matthew 26:26–28 ESV

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Luke 22:19–20 ESV

And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 ESV

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.