God is an all forgiving Father. The Bible says in Isaiah 1: 18 that though our sins be as scarlet or red like crimson, they shall be as white as snow, implying that no matter how terrible our sins are God is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteosness. As to the extent of forgiveness, Other places like Ps 103 vs 12, Mic 7:19, Is 38:17, is 43:25 Ps 51:1,9, Jer 31:34 makes it clear that God not only forgives but forgets our sins and remembers them no more. However in Matt 12vs 31 and 32, Jesus made this statement;
" 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. 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."
Now how do we harmonize these or better still what exactly is this Sin against the Holy spirit?

@Oluchia,

Sin is described in various ways in the Bible: iniquity, transgressions, wickedness, trespass, etc. I think when you look carefully in the verses you quoted (Matt. 12:31 & 32), the answer to your question is found there: "all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men", Jesus said. How far-reaching was that offer is clearly explicated as including those which people speak ignorantly against the Lord Jesus Christ.

However, a warning is given against a deliberate exercise to vilify the Holy Spirit - and that is the sin that has no forgiveness.

naijacutee:


So basically, we should be careful about what we say. If we don't know, we should ask God to lead us.

Good talk, Bless you.

bari_kade:


However, a warning is given against a deliberate exercise to vilify the Holy Spirit - and that is the sin that has no forgiveness.

so what if the 'vilification' of the holy spirit is not deliberate? is it still counted as a sin against the holy spirit?

and pardon my ignorance, but if the holy spirit is part of the trinity, i.e. one with God as we  christains believe, why will sin against the holy spirit not be forgiven? and do you have bible verses specifying what those sins are?

and again, if the sin against the holy spirit cannot be forgiven, does it mean even if a person accepts jesus christ as the lord and savoiur that person is still hell bound?

@Aproko,

You'd have to excuse my style of answering your questions by offering a few others. Anyhow, here's what I can offer:

Aproko:

so what if the 'vilification' of the holy spirit is not deliberate? is it still counted as a sin against the holy spirit?

I wonder why someone would even want to vilify the Holy Spirit and call that an act that was not deliberate. I think great answers have been given to all your questions in naijacutee's rejoinder just above.

However, a vilification of the Holy Spirit is something that one could do in so far as he/she has been offered a clear pointer to His Person and work. One may have lied to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3); or yet grieve Him (Eph. 4:30); or even despise Him (Heb. 10:29). But when it comes to blaspheming the Holy Ghost, that is a more profound issue altogether.

Aproko:

and pardon my ignorance, but if the holy spirit is part of the trinity, i.e. one with God as we  christains believe, why will sin against the holy spirit not be forgiven? and do you have bible verses specifying what those sins are?

I don't believe you're being ignorant here, especially because questions like these challenge my Christian growth and walk. So, thank you!  

Now, as I've attempted above, the question of blaspheming the Holy Spirit is a more profound matter than the other sins committed against Him. We as Christians know that we sometimes grieve the Holy Spirit when we do not submit to His leading and power (Eph. 4:30). But then, when someone applies himself/herself to blaspheming the Holy Spirit, that is something the Bible does not count as an act of ignorance.

Aproko:

and again, if the sin against the holy spirit cannot be forgiven, does it mean even if a person accepts jesus christ as the lord and savoiur that person is still hell bound?

In the first place, for someone to blaspheme the Holy Spirit would mean that such a person has deliberately rejected His deep convicting power; and not stopping there, he/she has gone ahead to account the very Person of the Holy Spirit with blasphemous terms.

Since it is the Spirit who brings convictions to people, is it conceivable that He would still seek to convince someone who has blasphemously rejected Him outrightly?  Here again, I can't help but appreciate naijacutee's input.

Regards.

so what if the 'vilification' of the holy spirit is not deliberate? is it still counted as a sin against the holy spirit?

i think the question i used to ask about this topic was "what is the sin then?"!!!!! i was soo scared of commiting "it" that it started developing fear and that is MOST def NOT god!

i have a lot about this "sin" but i am not at all clearer than before. all i know is that i love the lord and "choose" to live the life i currently live through faith by grace. anything i need to be aware of, the usual guilty conscience tends to do the trick, get me back ontrack and keep moving.

when someone applies himself/herself to blaspheming the Holy Spirit, that is something the Bible does not count as an act of ignorance.

but how?!?! i know there are loads of people out there that are living in fear of this sin. i have even heard of stories of people that claim to now be on "holy spirit death-row" because they feel they have commited this sin already.

i am eager to learn more about this but i feel there is more that we are not seeing yet.

@ bari_kade,

are you saying everybody has read the bible? come on my brother!!!1 my point is that there are people that have never come across the bible wether we agree or not, again my dear, not everybody can read and understand the bible clearly!!!

so again i dare ask, what if you do not deliberately vilify the holy spirit?
again i ask, if i am on the 'holy spirit death row' (forgive my plagiarism thesilent 1) what then is the point of repentance? i.e. accepting jesus as my lord and saviour and trying to live by his word?

i dont mean to challenge your christain growth my dear, i only want you to ask yourself this - 'is that what the book says or what i have been told?' (again thesilent 1, please forgive my intrusion on your copy right signature)

This is very interesting and I think this is the type of discussions that Christians ought to be engaging in. I think we are getting ahead of ourselves here. The God we serve will attend to us only according to our level of undertanding. I strongly believe that the key word we ought to be looking at here is 'deliberate'. For it to be a sin or blasphemy and for God to hold the Christian responsible, I think there must have been, on the part of the Christian, a disregard of the promptings of the Holy Spirit (some say this is conscience) in him or her in respect to the act, thought, utterances or attitude in question. To those who do not know and have yet to come to Jesus I don't think they have the same level of responsibility. Remember, to whom much is given much is required and as ambassadors we have our remit from God through the Holy Spirit

so again i dare ask, what if you do not deliberately vilify the holy spirit?
again i ask, if i am on the 'holy spirit death row' (forgive my plagiarism thesilent 1) what then is the point of repentance? i.e. accepting jesus as my lord and saviour and trying to live by his word?

a very valid point and one that i am sure loads of other people geniunely worried about this or just have no idea. it does seem to be a tricky one but i am sure we can get the truth about this.

unto us is given the honour to find out these things (par)

@aproko,

now that another has used this new found word, we should go to the oxford dictionary people to include it in next year's edition! lol

I think there must have been, on the part of the Christian, a disregard of the promptings of the Holy Spirit (some say this is conscience) in him or her in respect to the act, thought, utterances or attitude in question

good contribution there!
but my question is this; i personally feel that most if not every sin is deliberate to some degree, so to a certain level, we would all be guilty of this sin. i mean there is an awareness PRIOR to commiting the sin, so how does that tie in with this.

this is not to refute your post as i do agree but am still a bit unsure as to what point it is now "death-row" material.

the point still remains that we have not come to an understanding of who or wat the holy spirit it.

this is because of the way we interprete the bible as if it were some text book.

that statement is not meant to be taken literarily ok, its a spritual work not an intellectual work.

first of all lets understand the holy spirit. He signifies the justice of God, which is carried out in His Will which is anchored inHis Law of Reciprocal action what u sow u shall reap that is why it says sin against the Holy spirit will not be forgiven.

forgiveness here is not talking about the earthly forgiveness but that when u go against the law of God, the must face the repercussion. is it possible to plant rice today and during harvest u expect maize to come out

so watever we sow we must reap. but wen we repent and are remorseful, the repercussion comes back but in a lighter form eg if u murdered someone and u r meant to reap murder but u repent of that sin, the repercussion may just come as a scratch or narrow escape from death depending on how true ur repentance was.


hope i made sense.

lets open our eyes.
Christ is the love of God
Holy Spirit (Imanuel) is the Justice of God

the two with the Godhead make up the Trinity,

you might nor understand but reflect upon it cos its the Truth

BLESS YOU

first of all lets understand the holy spirit. He signifies the justice of God, which is carried out in His Will which is anchored inHis Law of Reciprocal action what u sow u shall reap that is why it says sin against the Holy spirit will not be forgiven.

forgiveness here is not talking about the earthly forgiveness but that when u go against the law of God, the must face the repercussion. is it possible to plant rice today and during harvest u expect maize to come out

i really do like this explanation! you see, i agree that evry single action has a reaction and we shall all face judgements for our acts to recieve the rewards of our works. so explaining sin from that point of view amkes absolute sense!

any other thoughts on this, anyone!?

@Aproko,

Aproko:

are you saying everybody has read the bible? come on my brother!!!1 my point is that there are people that have never come across the bible wether we agree or not, again my dear, not everybody can read and understand the bible clearly!!!

I don't think that the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost has to be predicated on how much one has read the Bible; or whether or not such a person has read it at all. However you look at it, we would still have to come back to this one thing: there are other sins one commits against the Holy Spirit; and yet, it is the blasphemy against the Him that the Bible clearly delineates as a sin without forgiveness.

Aproko:

so again i dare ask, what if you do not deliberately vilify the holy spirit?

In the first place, what would make someone want to vilify/blaspheme againt the Holy Spirit?

Aproko:

again i ask, if i am on the 'holy spirit death row' (forgive my plagiarism thesilent 1) what then is the point of repentance? i.e. accepting jesus as my lord and saviour and trying to live by his word?

I don't know about the idea of being on such 'death-rows'; but as I said earlier, when a person has consciously and outrightly rejected the convictions of the Holy Spirit in such a way as to blaspheme against Him, then the question of trying to repent does not come in. We should remember that repentance follows upon the conviction of the Holy Spirit; and if the Spirit of God does not cause that conviction, where is the repentance?

Aproko:

i don't mean to challenge your christain growth my dear,

I don't think you were challenging me in terms of putting me on spot; however, I meant that your questions are pleasantly a challenge to me.  

Aproko:

i only want you to ask yourself this - 'is that what the book says or what i have been told?' (again thesilent 1, please forgive my intrusion on your copy right signature)

If I have not been quoting from the Bible in making my points, then I can understand your concerns. But if on the other hand I have been actually making reference to what the Bible says, I wonder why that question is brought about.

Acts 5
1But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,

2And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

3But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?

4Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

5And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.

6And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.

7And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.

8And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.

9Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.

10Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.

bari_kade:

@Aproko,

In the first place, what would make someone want to vilify/blaspheme againt the Holy Spirit?

3. Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?

It is the devil that makes you do it. You have to resist the enemy and he will flee from you.

Acts 5
1But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,

2And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

3But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?

4Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

5And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.

6And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.

7And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.

8And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.

9Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.

10Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband

i am not sure if the same thing applies here but i am welcome to correction on this. if this was the sin against the HS, are we then to accept that judgement is already taking place ? or that there is a day allocated for judgement?

@bari_kade,

i meant that you may have repented, and one day while reading your bible, you realise that you had blasphemed at a certain time!!! that would waiver your faith wont it?

Aproko:

i don't mean to challenge your christain growth my dear, i only want you to ask yourself this - 'is that what the book says or what i have been told?' (again thesilent 1, please forgive my intrusion on your copy right signature)

i guess i fancy that quote simply because a lot of what we believe is what we have been made to see by our pastors, seminars e.t.c. am not saying it applies to you, so i guess i was just wandering out loud. i apologise if its offensive cos non was intended.

@ topic,

otuwe has hit the nail on the head. the sin against the holy spirit cannot be forgiven, why? because the holy spirit is the arm of justice i.e. it simply executes the law of creation that says you reap what you sow!!

now it doesnt mean you are sentenced to 'death row', it simply means you must reap whatever you sow!!!

ever since i came across this discovery and so many others, believe me my perception about life, religion, love e.t.c have changed and i think i am the better for it.

now it doesnt mean you are sentenced to 'death row', it simply means you must reap whatever you sow!!!

wow!

if i only came to this site for this, i will die a happy man

ccaramel:

3. Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?

It is the devil that makes you do it. You have to resist the enemy and he will flee from you.

oh please caramel!!!can you kindly explain that verse? was there any recorded conversation with the holy spirit? or is peter in that particular scenerio the holy spirit? could ananias not have lied to god in that instance instead of the holy spirit?maybe my question is who is the holy spirit?

maybe my question is who is the holy spirit?

AHA!

we are getting somewhere!

Before I got saved, I spent many years blaspheming against the Holy Spirit.

Case in point:
Whenever some Preacher laid hands on people and they became healed by the Spirit of God, I said it was all film-trick, pre-arranged and fraudulent.

Today, I am now saved, and I now know better.
But tell me, Am I forgiven of those sins against the Holy Spirit?

This is a serious issue.

WELL IM A CHRISTIAN BY BIRTH AND I THINK THAT I HAVE COME ACROSS OF SOMETHING LIKE THE SIN AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT CANT BE FORGIVEN YAH IS TRUE MY BROTHER SINNING AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A DELIBRATE ACT SO REPENT.

@Aproko and all,

It's interesting to read the many views on this subject. But let's here outline a few things and minimize the confusion.

1. There are various types of sins against the Holy Ghost.

I earlier tried to outline just a few:
     
         (a) lying to the Holy Spirit - Acts 5:3

         (b) grieving the Holy Spirit - Eph. 4:30

         (c) despising the Holy Spirit - Heb. 10:29

and as well: (d) resisting the Holy Spirit - Acts 7:51

I hope that we've not been carried along to have made the mistake in our thinking that all these sins are the same as the BLASPHEMY against the holy Spirit? Please, let's be very clear what we have been thinking.


2. There are some sins which are forgiveable

I wish to state upfront that this is no excuse to encourage sinning in any form. However, Christians and unbelievers alike commit such sins against the Holy Spirit, and may yet find forgiveness when they repent. Some of these sins may include resisting or grieving Him when we do not yield our lives to His leading; or yet following the desires of the flesh when we choose to walk contrary to the Spirit; or even yet again, when we sin against our brethren by putting a stumbling block before them.

All these (and by no means the only sins) are some of the ways we sin against the Holy Ghost; although not many people realize this. Yet, they are not the same thing as the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

3. The blasphemy against the Holy Spirit has no forgiveness

This is the core issue here: and we should never misconstrue it to mean what it does not. Perhaps, the main concern is two fold:

      (a) can believers commit the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit?

      (b) can blasphemers against the Holy Spirit find repentance later on?

The (a) above, my persuasion is simply this: NO! Believers are not to fear that they rpobably have committed this sin. In the first place, a blasphemer has deliberately rejected the convictions of the same Holy Spirit, and therefore the Spirit withdraws His convicting work in the life of that person. Without the Holy Spirit, repentance is IMPOSSIBLE!!

Second, when a person is born again, the Spirit of God bears a twofold witness: (i) that Jesus is Lord [no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed - I Cor. 12:3]; (ii) that such a person is truly God's child (Rom. 8:16). If these are true (as surely they are), where then is the inference to suggest that a believer has committed this sin against the Holy Ghost?

Now to the second question (b) above, my answer is still NO!! To suggest otherwise is to deny the clear statement of the Lord Jesus Christ in Mark 3:29 & 30 --  "But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit."

How anyone would read the Lord's Word and try to go round it is beyond me. I hope these lines would be helpful in shaping our thinking when we reflect on this subject.

bari_kade:


3. The blasphemy against the Holy Spirit has no forgiveness

This is the core issue here: and we should never misconstrue it to mean what it does not. Perhaps, the main concern is two fold:

      (a) can believers commit the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit?

      (b) can blasphemers against the Holy Spirit find repentance later on?

The (a) above, my persuasion is simply this: NO! Believers are not to fear that they rpobably have committed this sin. In the first place, a blasphemer has deliberately rejected the convictions of the same Holy Spirit, and therefore the Spirit withdraws His convicting work in the life of that person. Without the Holy Spirit, repentance is IMPOSSIBLE!!

Second, when a person is born again, the Spirit of God bears a twofold witness: (i) that Jesus is Lord [no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed - I Cor. 12:3]; (ii) that such a person is truly God's child (Rom. 8:16). If these are true (as surely they are), where then is the inference to suggest that a believer has committed this sin against the Holy Ghost?

Now to the second question (b) above, my answer is still NO!! To suggest otherwise is to deny the clear statement of the Lord Jesus Christ in Mark 3:29 & 30 --  "But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit."

what about Saul? or Paul? what sins did he commit? are you sure all those his sins did not include blasphemy?

again i ask, does this mean that a blasphemer should not bother repenting even if he just came across the bible cos he is already condemned to die?

Grouppoint:

Am I forgiven of those sins against the Holy Spirit?

This is a serious issue.

yep it's serious. sometimes, it confuses me too

Is good we understand what sinning against the holy spirit is all about. and also we have to remember that whatever God said has no change. The Bible mentioned that sinning against the holy spirit will not be forgiven. let me tell u the people that fall into these sinful act. people that lie against the holy spirit as in saying what the holy spirit did not reveal to them. people that make jest of the holy spirit.  speaking in tongue and translating it whereby they did not receive the power from the holy spirit. we have to be very careful with all these things. deceiving people in the name of holy spirit by seeing force vision to people and be charging them for it. for example what pastor King did. Heaven and hell is real we have to be careful and do the things God has commanded us.

@Aproko,

Aproko:

what about Saul? or Paul? what sins did he commit? are you sure all those his sins did not include blasphemy?

I'm glad you asked. Let me offer my persuasion to that question:

Did Paul sin? Yes he did, and he himself acknowledged it - being thankful as well for God's mercy to forgive him:

       1 Tim. 1:15-16  --  "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation,
                                      that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners;
                                      of whom I am chief.

                                      Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first
                                      Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern
                                      to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting."


The necessary question that follows upon that would be: did Paul blaspheme at all? To be sure, he did! And again, he clearly stated HOW he blaspehemed, and the consequences following upon that:

        1 Tim. 1:12-14  --  "And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me,
                                     for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;
                                     Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious:
                                     but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

                                     And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith
                                     and love which is in Christ Jesus."

Again, in trying to figure how Paul's blaspemy could be read, let us ask this question: did Paul blaspheme against the Holy Spirit? I'm persuaded that he did not! before we cuff this apostle by misjudging him, let us seek to understand in what sense (how) he acknowledged that he blasphemed; and against whom he did so. Here is his testimony:

       Acts 26:9-11  -- "I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things
                                contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Which thing I also
                                did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison,
                                having received authority from the chief priests; and when they
                                were put to death, I gave my voice against them.

                                And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them
                                to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted
                                them even unto strange cities."

It is clear here that Paul's blasphemy was against the Name of Jesus Christ, and not against the Holy Spirt. He was incensed against Jesus so much so that he did what he described against Christians. But then, there's no reason to believe that he blasphemed againt the Holy Ghost, especially because he was zealous in the Jewish religion ["that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee" - Acts 26:5]. One who lived as a Jew and well acquainted with the things of God would not have blasphemed against the Spirit of God (["touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless" - Phil. 3:5&6]).

Paul did not blaspheme against the Holy Spirit; and even though in ignorance he did so against the name of Jesus Christ, he was forgiven - which was what the Lord Himself had said: he that blasphemed against the Son of man:

       Mark 3:28-29  - "Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto
                                the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever
                                they shall blaspheme:

                                But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never
                                forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation"

       Matt. 12:31 & 32  --  "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.

                                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."

I hope you see the point now?

Aproko:

again i ask, does this mean that a blasphemer should not bother repenting even if he just came across the bible because he is already condemned to die?

How many people who have actually BLASPHEMED AGAINST THE HOLY GHOST do YOU know who have been inclined to repentance? That people have sinned against the Holy Spirit and yet come to repentance - there are thousands of such cases. Remember that sinning (that is lying, resisting, despising, grieving) the Holy Spirit are serious sins in themselves; but they are not to be mistaken for the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost.

It is utterly impossible to find repentance if the holy Spirit does not convict a person. And if someone has blasphemed against Him, how then would the Spirit disregard the words of the Lord Jesus and void it?

--------

I would just like to add by way of a reminder: if anyone has truly been born again (this is radically different from merely sounding or looking like a Christian), then hhe/she should entertain no fear. Believers fall short many times in sinning against the Holy Spirit by grieving Him when we do not submit to His leading (Eph. 4:30); but the Bible does not suppose that a child of God would turn round and blaspheme against the Holy Spirit that wrought the new birth in him or her (see I Cor. 12:3).

Man is a spirit,why should any rational person put him or herself in a constant situation of guilt?when you are the decision maker,why not just feel and declare yourself sinless and still believe you will go to heaven.You are what you believe in and you have every right to control it, if not it is baseless.Lets live like gods and operate in the higher realm,it is our endowment as human.

@ bari_kade,

so you say that paul blasphemed, but not against the holy spirit!!!

1 Tim 1:12-14 ", who was before a blasphemer,, "
he did not say who he blasphemed against, just that he was a blasphemer. here i insist that we have no way of knowing that his blasphemy wasn't against the holy spirit. you have given that passage your own interpretation.

Acts 26:9-11 -", I and i punished tham often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme, "
again, he did not say who he compelled them to blaspheme against. "doing many things contrary to jesus christ' - paul had no qualms with using the word blasphem, so if he meant to say blasphem against jesus christ, he would have gone ahead and said so.
again i insist you have given that passage from the bible your own interpretation.

still you havent answered my question. should a person that has blasphemed against the holy spirit forget about repentance since he is already doomed?

@Aproko,

Aproko:

so you say that paul blasphemed, but not against the holy spirit!!!

Precisely so.

Aproko:

1 Tim 1:12-14 ", who was before a blasphemer,, "
he did not say who he blasphemed against, just that he was a blasphemer. here i insist that we have no way of knowing that his blasphemy wasn't against the holy spirit. you have given that passage your own interpretation.

I offered verses to demonstrate what context Paul spoke about his own case - and by comparing his testimony from other verses, we see exactly what he meant.

It's a bit of concern to read people making statements like "we have no way of knowing" when answers are there in the Bible! Remember what we read in II Pet. 1:20 - "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation"?? The moment anyone tries to interprete a verse without looking at other verses on any subject, they will come to a blank wall and claim there is just no way of knowing what the Bible says on that subject.

Did you read the other verses to the point? Please Acts 26:9 again. May I ask you: Who exactly was Paul incensed against - Jesus or the Holy Spirit?

Aproko:

Acts 26:9-11 -", I and i punished tham often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme, "
again, he did not say who he compelled them to blaspheme against. "doing many things contrary to jesus christ' - paul had no qualms with using the word blasphem, so if he meant to say blasphem against jesus christ, he would have gone ahead and said so.
again i insist you have given that passage from the bible your own interpretation.

The interpretation is not my personal summation. The fact that Paul mentioned "the name of Jesus of Nazareth" is telling enough in that connection. As a Jew, it would be unthinkable that he would have tried to blaspheme the Holy Spirit or even compelled others to do so, and then come back later to claim that he was blameless as concerning the Law (Phil. 3:6). Please go through the verses again; and if you may, ask yourself why he specifically mentioned that he was against the Lord Jesus.

Aproko:

still you havent answered my question. should a person that has blasphemed against the holy spirit forget about repentance since he is already doomed?

I answered your question. Please read it again:

bari_kade:

How many people who have actually BLASPHEMED AGAINST THE HOLY GHOST do YOU know who have been inclined to repentance? That people have sinned against the Holy Spirit and yet come to repentance - there are thousands of such cases. Remember that sinning (that is lying, resisting, despising, grieving) the Holy Spirit are serious sins in themselves; but they are not to be mistaken for the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost.

It is utterly impossible to find repentance if the holy Spirit does not convict a person. And if someone has blasphemed against Him, how then would the Spirit disregard the words of the Lord Jesus and void it?

Let me even ask you this: from all that we have shared so far, what do YOU understand by the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit?

I think this could be very helpful i.e could anyone, in simple terms first define what blasphemy is and then with specific references to the Bible say who the Holy Spirit is,

bari_kade,
first and foremost, i applaud you on your patience in answering the questions being thrown at you even when its obvious some people are seeking for a way to trap you into a religious argument. in any case, to those willing to learn/understand, there is sin against God, against Jesus and against the Holy spirit. some of the fears you have as sin may just be sin against God and Jesus which is recorded as forgivable. to understand the blasphemy against the Holy spirit, you have to first go back to the basic and understand who the Holy spirit is, as someone already asked. you should be worried about those kind of sins and how you can fall into them instead of trying to find a way to turn the words written in the bible