In Mark 3:28 Jesus says “all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin”. When I first read this quite a while back I struggled with it, as it seemed at odds with the rest of what Jesus taught, and I struggled to see how this blasphemy was different to any other.
However I think there’s a lot of sense in this verse; I see it as looking at a lot more than what we commonly think of as blasphemy. I don’t see this as literally speaking against the Holy Spirit through “oh my God” type expressions. Sure, that is also a form of blasphemy, but I don’t think it’s related to this concept.
The Holy Spirit is God’s hand at work in the world today (see “Holy Spirit”), and He is understood to be responsible for speaking to people and convicting them of God’s truth. For many people (though not all) they have experiences where they believe the Holy Spirit has literally filled them with His power, or have in some other way seen Him. Others simply see God’s handiwork in creation, or are convinced by the Bible. And some people just seem to know. But it is the calling of the Holy Spirit that leads people to faith, and makes a calling on the lives of everyone, religious or not.
Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is a confusing concept, and it has taken a while to work through what I think it is. At its most basic level, I see blasphemy against the Holy Spirit as a person hardening their heart to God, and rejecting Him throughout their life despite seeing the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives. By not accepting this calling of the Holy Spirit, the person “speaks against” the Spirit, thus giving blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. This isn’t a one-off rejection of God’s purpose in our lives, as I’m sure we all do that from time to time, but an ongoing and continual rejection of God, despite seeing His glory. It’s arguable what exactly seeing the glory of God is, as some may say seeing creation is enough, while others may go as far as to say that it involves facing Christ Himself, but the essential point as I see it is that it is a rejection of God when recognising His presence in some way. And I believe that the Spirit makes a deliberate and specific calling on everyone’s life, and thus in some way I think everyone sees the glory of God, making this something relevant to everyone.
As for its nature as the unforgivable sin, I see it to be because once this decision has been made, and once a person dies, that’s it. Whatever we do in our life is forgiven if we ask it, but if we turn away from God and ignore or reject His presence in our life, that’s the one thing that puts us apart from God, forever. An important verse comes to mind that reads “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1John 1:9). A person who rejects God their entire life has never asked for forgiveness, and I think that this in itself is a large part of why it is the unforgivable sin. Forgiveness is something that comes as much through us bringing our sins to God and asking for forgiveness, a gift of grace to those who want it. I think blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the unforgivable sin, because it is our decision not to want God’s forgiveness. There can be no forgiveness, because blasphemy against the Holy Spirit involves a rejection of this very forgiveness.
To me, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is no small thing. It’s not throwing around a few stray words, nor forgetting about God once in a while. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit speaks to me of someone who doesn’t want to be forgiven, and thus in this very act creates the unforgivable sin for themselves. It’s no quick mistake or period of weakness, but saying blatantly to God “I don’t want your forgiveness” by not accepting or searching for Him. After all, if we don’t want God in our lives in any way at all, why would we want His forgiveness?
Some Bible verses to check out on this topic: Mark 3:28-29; Matthew 12:31-32; John 3:19-21.
1 comment:
In my opinion, anyone who somehow perceives the reality of God and then rejects Them is stupid. If you knew God (in the Christian sense) existed, then it follows that you know Heaven and Hell exist, meaning it would be entirely illogcal to then reject God, thus condemning yourself knowingly to eternity in a lake of fire (as one flyer visually described Hell to me).
Personally, I would love God to make his resence known to me in some way. I know that is approachig it from the wrong angle, if I was truly worried I would seek God myself, but I'm here telling you that if I ever do perceive God in some definite way, I will devote myself to Them with all my heart.
Post a Comment