 Maybe you're watching this because you're afraid that you've committed the unpardonable sin, which is also known as the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Or perhaps you're watching because you want to learn more about this important topic. Either way, we're going to dive into this. But first, I want you to leave this in the comment section. Three simple words. Faith over fear. Because we are going to approach this not from the place of fear, but from the place of faith in who God is, faith in His Word. Maybe you're struggling with what I call religious OCD, and I don't say that jokingly. There are believers who suffer with this. Constant intrusive thoughts. Constant worry. The constant wondering about loss of salvation. The constant wondering about the rejection of God. The constant wondering if their last mistake was the final mistake and that God is finally done with them. And they live their lives trying to discern between God's voice and their own emotions and thoughts. And as thoughts raise to their mind, they try to figure out what is God. And they're so afraid of missing His voice amidst all those voices that come at them that they live in torment and fear. Maybe I'm describing you. Maybe you do have what I call religious OCD, these intrusive thoughts. And it even gets to the point where you're being directed in very specific things. And you wonder, was that God that told me to just stand there for five minutes? Was that God that told me to wear the red shirt instead of the blue shirt? Was that God that told me to stop the car, get out of the car, go to that gas station, get out and talk to that person? And then you're tormented if you feel like you've missed them. God is gracious and we trust not in our ability to hear God. Rather, we trust in His ability to speak to us. But still, if you're that kind of believer, then when you hear subjects like this, like the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, instantly your heart is filled with fear because your mind always goes to the worst case scenario. In other words, if someone talks about missing the rapture, you say, well, that's going to be me. If someone talks about God creating vessels of wrath, you say, well, that vessel of wrath is me. And if someone talks about committing the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, you say, well, that's me. I've done it or I'm going to do it. I'm afraid of committing it by accident. I want to talk to you today. And I believe the Holy Spirit is going to set you free, not just from the fear of this sin. And of course, we should tread carefully in this area. I'm not by any means trying to inspire a casual approach where Jesus wanted to inspire a level of reverence. But rather, I'm talking about living in the healthy balance of the joy, peace and love of the Holy Spirit with true discernment, with true grounding in His Word, not on our own opinions and feelings. I believe this is for you. So our approach is going to be simple. Number one, we're not approaching this with fear. We're approaching this with faith. And I will get into the meat of this, but it's important that you hear every word because I want to walk you through this. I want to be with you as we go through the Scripture and study this and find out exactly what Jesus was talking about when He talked about the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. And I want to dissect the lies that the enemy maybe has placed in your mind because the enemy does indeed plant points of deception that make it more difficult to receive truth in this area. So while it might be tempting to just jump right into it, let's start with the simple and then move through some of the details. In a way, it's going to actually bring liberty. It's like surgery of the soul. We're going in with the Scripture. This may take time, but I believe it's going to be worth it. So towel your flesh. We're going to sit through this from start to finish and we're going to receive freedom. So again, we're not approaching this with fear for 2 Timothy 1.7 says, for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. And also we're going to compare Scripture with Scripture because one thing we can be sure of is this, that the Scripture will not teach one thing that contradicts another thing that it teaches. So as we compare Scripture with Scripture, we're going to see the balance. We're going to see the harmony between the truths communicated to us through the Word of God. And as you begin to see the harmony that comes between the Scriptures, you'll actually begin to receive freedom, as you know that truth. And then next, we're going to tread carefully. Jesus meant to be harsh. That's the reality of what we're looking at today. These words are found in three of the four Gospels. This message of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. So I'm not so concerned with comforting people that I disregard the weight of Christ's words. Again, I'm not trying to inspire a casual approach where Jesus wanted to inspire a level of reverence and godly fear. So my explanation here right now is by no means an attempt to escape the harsh reality of what Jesus was describing because it was indeed a harsh reality. Second, Corinthians chapter 5 verse 11 says, knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. So Jesus gave a warning because it was exactly that, a warning. But at the same time, just because Jesus gave a warning, doesn't mean that you as a born-again believer have to live in a constant torment because of the reality of what he was talking about. So first, let's look at the verse. We're going to look at the verse, then we're going to look at the context, then we're going to look at the word itself, and then we're going to draw some conclusions after we go through this study together. Let's take first a look at the key verses here. So Matthew chapter 12, 31 and 32. So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven, except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven. Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven. But anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven either in this world or the world to come. So just by looking at that key portion of Scripture there, we can conclude that there is certainly a sin that one can commit on this side of eternity that can never be forgiven. A harsh reality indeed. Never really means never. Forgiven really means forgiven. Never forgiven really means never forgiven. Now again, I want to emphasize, not in this world or in the world to come or not in this age or the age to come, this is a big deal. So this is something that can be committed on this side of eternity. Now let's look at the context here. Let's go to Matthew 12 again, and we'll jump up to verse number 22, and then we're going to read all the way down to verse number 37, and then let's glean some truths from this portion of Scripture. Then a demon possessed man who was blind and couldn't speak was brought to Jesus. He healed the man so that he could both speak and see. The crowd was amazed and asked, could it be that Jesus is the Son of David, the Messiah? But when the Pharisees heard about the miracle, they said no wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan, the Prince of Demons. So they had heard of this miracle. Jesus knew their thoughts and replied, any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A town or family splintered by feuding will fall apart. Verse number 26, and if Satan is casting out Satan, he is divided and fighting against himself. His own kingdom will not survive. And if I am empowered by Satan, what about your own exorcists? They cast out demons too, so they will condemn you for what you have said. But if I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has arrived among you. For who is powerful enough to enter the house of a strong man and plunder his goods, only someone even stronger, someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house? Anyone who isn't with me opposes me. And anyone who isn't working with me is actually working against me. So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven, except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven. Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven either in this world or in the world to come. So the context here is that the Pharisees were reacting to an exorcism that Jesus had performed that brought about real demonstrative results. In other words, the people were able to clearly see that something had transpired in the Spirit. He was physically healed, the man out of which Jesus drove the demons, he was, or demon, he was physically healed. And therefore there was a very clear piece of evidence there that the man had in fact experienced something supernatural. So the Pharisees are hearing about this and the Pharisees were often trying to discredit Jesus. They were jealous of him. They couldn't teach like he taught. They couldn't cast out demons like he was able to do so. They didn't have the authority that he had. They didn't have all the people like Jesus had. So they were very jealous of him. They were resistant to his work. And so they were constantly trying to trap him. They were constantly looking for something to complain about. They were constantly criticizing and trying to find one thing that they could pin on Jesus and bring people against him. So the Pharisees were often trying to resist his work. So they either heard about this or witnessed this. It's possible they could have inquired about what they saw. But the Bible does say that they had heard about this and then they make a very stunning accusation. So they see the deliverance, specifically the exorcism. That was a very specific type of deliverance. They saw the healing that was a result of the exorcism. This man is set free. The power of the Holy Spirit is at work. The people aren't talking about the fact that he was the Messiah. And then they make a stunning accusation saying that he's using demonic power. Now verse 28 tells us the power he was using. But if I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you. So what power was Jesus using? He was using the power of the Holy Spirit and the Pharisees in the state of hard-heartedness, in the state of cynicism, in the state of jealousy, in the state of resistance to the work of Christ, draw this conclusion. Maybe it's not even exactly what they believed, but they said so out of that state of hard-heartedness because they wanted to believe that there was something wrong with what Jesus was doing. It was the only way that they could justify how they attacked him. And so they accused Jesus of using demonic power when in fact he was using the power of the Holy Spirit. So is that it? Is false attribution the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? Well, yes, but I think it goes a little bit deeper than that. So the Holy Spirit's power they are saying is demonic and they went further and were basically implying that Jesus was possessed by Satan. So not only are they comparing the power of the Holy Spirit to demonic power, but they're rejecting the identity of the Son of God in so doing. So this really is a very ugly accusation and it's precisely why Jesus told them this. In fact, Mark 3.30 says it very specifically like this. He told them this, that is his whole explanation of the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. He told them this because they were saying he's possessed by an evil spirit. And so this is something that Jesus says in response to that accusation. So yes, we can conclude that the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit does ultimately manifest in that way to where one is attributing the power of the Holy Spirit to demonic power. Now, does this mean that if someone thinks that thought or mistakes the power of the Holy Spirit for demonic power that they've sealed their fate? Because think about those people who don't really understand the power of God, don't really know what's at work. They don't have hard hearts. They're not cynical. They're not resisting the work of God. Maybe they just see it and wonder, gee, I wonder if that's demonic. Or maybe they genuinely believe that it's a different spirit being used in that particular circumstance. And they say, well, that is a demonic spirit. And then later they find out, oh my goodness, maybe that could have been the work of the Holy Spirit. Well, if that were the case, I think it would be a lot easier to commit the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit than it actually is. But you have to remember that the Pharisees said this out of that place of hard hardness, it was a state of the hardened soul that produced this stubborn accusation, this refusal to see any good work that Christ was doing. It was a very deeply rooted rebellion that ultimately produced what we would call the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. So before we draw any more conclusions, let's take a look at the word itself. Again, so far we've seen the verse or the portions of Scripture, those two verses, and then we've seen the context. Now let's look at the word itself, blasphemia. This appears in the New Testament 19 times. And it is slander, detraction, speech, injurious to another's good name. So off the bat, just by looking at the word, we can rule out certain sins. Murder is not the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Suicide is not the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Fornication is not the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Witchcraft is not the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Adultery is not the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, and so on. Now these sins are grave sins, and you shouldn't commit any of these sins. Of course not. As believers, we should strive to live holy. But one cannot categorize these as the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit because the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is expressed in speech. That's why it's called the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Blasphemy has to do with speech, which you express with your words, which you communicate. And so this is not an unbelief unto death, as many have suggested. In fact, I used to suggest this, that the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is just the rejection of salvation all the way up until death. Well, that cannot be the case because the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit can be committed on this side of eternity. Remember, won't be forgiven in this world or in the world to come. So it's definitely something that we can commit on this side of eternity. It's not just rejecting salvation until your deathbed. It's not just rejecting the work of the Holy Spirit until your deathbed. It's in this world that you can commit this. Plus, the idea that the unpardonable sin cannot be committed while one is living completely ignores the original context where the matter was first addressed. So either the Pharisees had committed the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit already or they were just getting to that line. They were awfully close to committing the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, which is why Jesus gave them a warning. Now, if you ask me, my opinion is that they were just close to committing the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, Jesus would not have given the warning. Why warn someone about something when it's too late for them anyway? Some might suggest that he was giving them that warning and they had committed the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit but he was doing that for the sake of those who were listening to what was happening. Maybe so that they wouldn't commit the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. But in either case, whether they committed the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit or were awfully close to committing the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, we can look at that key verse in Mark 3.30. He told them this because they were saying he's possessed by an evil spirit. So again, it's not the rejection of salvation because again, it can be committed in this life. It's not just general blasphemy or general disobedience or an ugly thought or an intrusive thought or a thought of rebellion. It's something much deeper. It's a very deliberate sin that one has to choose to commit because it comes out of a state of rebellion. Again, we're looking at the Pharisees here. You have to make sure you check out the context. And this was coming from those who were resistant to the work of Christ who lived in that cynicism, that stubbornness, that state of being that ultimately produced this ugliness that is the unpardonable sin. So we're going to bring some balance to this in just a moment but I do want to talk to that one maybe who struggles with intrusive thoughts or with what I would call what I've termed religious OCD. For example, if I tell you not to think of a blue car the first thing that's going to pop into your mind is a blue car and especially if you're someone who's very worrisome and you're always thinking about the worst case scenario then the moment you hear about this idea of the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit your mind's going to tell you don't commit the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit don't commit the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit don't commit the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit so right off the bat what's going to begin to flood your mind are seemingly blasphemous thoughts well actually yes blasphemous thoughts but not because it's coming from the place of your heart and rebellion but because you're thinking about the concept in that fear is producing those types of intrusive thoughts now those aren't healthy thoughts those aren't good thoughts you shouldn't think those thoughts and you should overcome those thoughts to the renewing of your mind but that's not the same thing as the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit in other words this stubborn refusal to accept the work of Christ and ultimately attribute his power to demonic power 1st Corinthians chapter 12 verse 3 says this so I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus and no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit therefore it is not possible for a Christian to truly commit the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit again the unpardonable sin is a very intentional one you cannot commit it by accident the Pharisees were determined to reject Christ the Pharisees were determined to demonize Jesus the Pharisees were determined to find a fault with him with Jesus himself and the work of the Holy Spirit itself and again I say itself because I'm referring to the power not the person of the Holy Spirit so it's the condition of the heart and the soul they have to be in a certain place now remember I talked about comparing Scripture with Scripture because you have to be able to harmoniously tie together the threads of the various truths of the Scriptures that we go over and if you have one Scripture that seems to contradict another then that can only mean that you're not truly understanding one or both of those Scriptures so we look at John chapter 6 verses 36 and 37 we find that the Bible says but you haven't believed in me even though you have seen me however those the Father has given me will come to me and I will never reject them so think about the fact that if you commit the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit ultimately that seals your faith that's the rejection of God but anyone who comes to God meaning approaches God or desires to connect with God that can only be because God has drawn them and if God has drawn you that means that's the reason why you're approaching him in the first place or why you desire him in the first place and so as you begin to approach God that's proof that he's calling you that's proof that he's drawn you and so if you approach God he's not going to reject you so if we're going to tie together again these threads of Scripture if we're going to look at these two different truths we'd have to conclude that the one who commits the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit would never approach Christ would never approach God why otherwise we'd have a contradiction with these two Scriptures why if you desire to approach God and then he rejects you that's going to contradict what was said here in John chapter 6 verses 36 and 37 and so this can only mean that the one who commits the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit has no interest in repentance has no fear of having committed has no desire for God in fact they've gone to a certain state that is irredeemable it's reprobate the conscience is seared with the hot iron they've gone above and beyond now again as someone who deals with fear and anxiety you may be thinking well what if that's me what if I'm the one who's gone to that place where my conscience is seared well the very fact that you're fretting about it is proof that your conscience isn't seared because that means there's still a desire to be made right with God and so the Bible says again those the Father has given me will come to me so if you come to him that means the Father has given you to Christ and I will never reject them under no circumstance in other words there isn't a scenario where Christ will reject you if you approach him if you come to him because it means the Father drew you and so even if you think you've committed this sin the evidence to you that you have not is that you desire to approach God I wrote this to kind of help me collect my thoughts on the conclusion here if Jesus never rejects those who come to him and the one who commits the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit can never be forgiven then the only conclusion that we can draw is one that would ensure that these two truths don't contradict one another these two truths can only be true at the same time if it is also true that the born-again believer would never find himself in a state out of which would come the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit in other words if you are afraid that you've committed the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit you haven't if you are worried that you might do it you won't if you feel God has rejected you and you're wanting to come to him and you're afraid he will reject you he will not reject you and again we draw this conclusion by taking together these two truths of Scripture that are immovable and the only way you can reconcile these two is by saying that the one who commits the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit would never have any any desire for repentance and therefore a true born-again believer cannot commit this so if you're worried about it you haven't committed it if you don't want to commit it you won't commit it why? because your heart's not in that place where you've ultimately given yourself over to that reprobate mind now you may say well in my past I blasphemed the Holy Spirit in my past I didn't care well do you care now? are you worried about it now? well that means your conscience isn't seared so you didn't go so far as to actually commit the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit out of the state of the heart that would ultimately produce the genuine unpardonable sin and so again to simplify if you're afraid you've committed it you haven't and so you have to really begin to get a hold of those thoughts and really it's a cycle and when you really examine this you'll find that you probably obsess about more than just the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit I have people messaging me about this all the time for the David I think I committed it my office tells me that's one of the number one calls if not the number one call that we get I have to speak to David I think I committed the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit I need someone to pray with me I think I committed the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and they're looking for this assurance I remember talking to one individual on the phone or I believe it was on Instagram and we were just working through this particular fear that he had in this area of the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and I asked him I said if you overcome this fear are you just going to jump on to another fear he said yeah probably I said what were you afraid of before you started obsessing about this concept of the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit he said well I was worried about the rapture okay I said before then what were you worried about I was worried about being rejected by God okay before then what were you worried about you know and so there was always something to worry about so when you deal with an anxious mind religious OCD intrusive thoughts you're always going to find a subject about what you can obsess you may be hearing about things in the news right now and you're obsessing about those things you may be obsessing about the rapture you may be obsessing about the end times and ultimately that fear is going to take you to the worst-case scenario and it's going to fight you to stay in place so that when you try to bring your thoughts back to that which is true namely the word of God it will assault you that deception will assault you in the mind and try to bring you back to the place of fear fear persistently naggingly asks what if what if what if faith says even if and so that fear that what if is constantly trying to pull you back into that place of torment to where you feel yourself seeing the light you feel yourself coming out of that dark place where you conclude okay maybe I am okay maybe I am still loved by God maybe he hasn't rejected me and then it pulls you back down the tunnel of but what if but what if you did and so again you you mustn't confuse those intrusive thoughts that just kind of come to your mind that you're trying to fight constantly with this state of being it is so rebellious that it refuses to acknowledge Jesus as the Christ that it demonizes literally the power of the Holy Spirit and comes from this place of stubbornness and hard hardness it is a it is a state of being before it is an expression of blasphemy and that state of being cannot possibly be the state of the believer otherwise we have a contradiction in Scripture and so you have to learn not just to overcome this one area because now that you may have a little bit of relief in terms of the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and again I'm not trying to inspire comfort in this area because it is a real sin that can be committed so you do need to make sure that your heart never becomes so hard where your conscious becomes seared and you want nothing to do with God where you're resisting his work demonizing the power of the Holy Spirit you don't want to get to that place of course not but that's not the same as maybe what you're struggling with but you have to realize that even if you overcome this fear right you get this one in line you leave here you sigh a sigh of relief you move on with your life your mind if you don't deal with that issue of anxiety and intrusive thoughts and religious OCD you're just going to latch on to another concept about which you're going to obsessively worry day in and day out until you're tormented by that thought too and then you got to go watch another video that's going to set you free from that particular issue you've got to deal with this at the root ultimately that is rooted in fear that persistent nagging voice that is constantly trying to bring you back to the place of torment again the born again believer cannot commit this sin if you're worried you've committed it you haven't committed it and then you may say maybe your maybe your fear gets a little more nuanced then you say well i'm not worried i have committed it did i commit it that still is a form of worry it's a multi-layered form of worry and it's a little bit more complex but it's still a worry it's still a concern there's still a desire being expressed to be made right with god and he will never reject you when you come to him he's not going to reject you either the word is true or your fears are true either god's voice is speaking truth or your fears are speaking truth your thoughts are speaking truth it's time to come out of not just the bondage of this specific fear but out of that cycle of worst case thinking of obsessive compulsive religion living in the constant fear of losing your salvation living in the constant fear that your mistake that you made finally got you rejected by god living in the constant fear that god is disgusted with you and on his last nerve with you it's time to break that bondage identify this at the root for what it really is it's an attack of fear god has not given us a spirit of fear power and love and a sound mind father give them break through i pray in the mighty name of jesus lord i'm asking for your presence and power to overwhelm them let them sense the beauty of your love let them sense the overflowing joy that can only come by your holy spirit i pray father let them sense that peace wash over them holy spirit do as only you can and bring comfort and clarity i thank you that the anointing is breaking every yoke of bondage i thank you that the anointing is lifting burdens i thank you father that you are bringing peace and love and joy and clarity i thank you father that you have revealed this attack of the enemy that truth that they know will set them free break every chain of bondage i pray in the mighty name of jesus and i want you to say it because you agree write it in the comment section amen you enjoyed that message you think others need to hear it make sure to leave a like that actually helps to spread the word and don't forget to subscribe to my channel so you can receive more content like this and now i want to challenge you to participate in what god is doing through this great work of ministry we as a ministry have been seeing month over month year over year expansion after expansion god is truly doing something through his work this 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