Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is another veiled statement that many people turn into heresy. False teachers will leverage this over you, so that they can keep you in fear and extract as much tithe money from you as they can.
The reality is that blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is to never, ever believe on Jesus Christ. God paid for the sins of the whole world, and so man is responsible to do 1 thing: and that is to believe on Jesus Christ.
To prove this, we will compare the accounts in Mark and Matthew that make reference to the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 12
31 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.
32 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.
Mark 3
28 Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:
29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.
The first thing that should strike you is the fact that Christ says that all manner of blasphemies spoken against the Son of Man shall be forgiven, but not blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. This gives us a clue as to the meaning of all this.
We are to think of God as one, because the scripture says that God is one God (Mark 12:29, Deuteronomy 6:4). With that in mind, who is the Holy Spirit? He is the Spirit of Christ. Therefore, we may blaspheme against Christ, but we may not blaspheme against His Spirit? Is that even coherent? Well it is, if you look at the purpose of the Holy Spirit:
John 16
8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;
10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to reprove the world of sin because they do not believe on Christ. Christ paid for the sins of the whole world. Now, the only sin that will damn man is to reject Christ. The requirement now, is to believe on Christ to obtain eternal life. Those that do not, will be convicted by the Holy Spirit of sin, “because they believe not on me.” And they will have the opportunity to believe, or to not believe.
This is further exemplified by the parable of the tree and the branches:
John 15
1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Jesus Christ is the true vine. The entire world is grafted into him at the cross, when he paid for the sins of the whole world.
John 6
51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
Our job is to remain in him. It is to abide in him. Christ said “if ye abide in me, and my words abide in you…” Christ defined what it actually means to “abide,” it means to let his words abide in you. What that means is to believe on his word, just as the scriptures say.
John 6
53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
Faith is the fruit. If you have believed, God will never cut you out, because you have fruit. You have faith. Instead, he will purge you to bring forth more faith. How is this done? By removing your works, because works of the law “is not of faith” (Galatians 3:12). Once you have nothing but the simple gospel, nothing but his words, you will be more fruitful because more people will believe on Christ through your word. Because “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word” (John 17:20)
Christ begets faith in the heart of the believer. Faith is the fruit. If you have fruit, if you believe the gospel, God will never remove you from the tree. But if you were to die, having never believed the gospel, you are removed from the tree and are burned (Hell).
Knowing this, the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is to never believe the gospel. To reject the gospel is the only sin that cannot be forgiven. Because God cannot force a free creature to come to him. It is your decision to believe or to not believe, God cannot do this for you.
Galatians 6
7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
And what must you sow? Or what does it mean to “sow to the Spirit,” if you intend on reaping everlasting life?
Galatians 2
16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
Believe in Jesus Christ. This is the sowing that is required in order to reap eternal life.
To believe the gospel is the only work for man to do; his only responsibility. That is why in Mark, it says, “he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.”
Unbelievers are in a constant state of blasphemy against the God. That is why they are in danger of eternal damnation, but they have not yet been eternally damned. Because they have not yet died in unbelief.
John 6
63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
The words that Christ say are spirit and life. Which Spirit? Which Life? Of course, God’s. That is why to constantly reject the gospel is to reject the words of Christ. And to reject the words of God is to reject the Spirit. It is to reject the Holy Spirit. Here is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit: to die without ever believing the gospel, the words of Christ, the Spirit of Christ.
Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is only committed at the time of death, after never believing the gospel. That is why it says “hath never forgiveness.” They have never had forgiveness, because they have never believed. But once someone believes the gospel, they are forgiven of all sins. Including blasphemy against the Son of Man, who is God, the same God as the Holy Spirit.
The Bible says:
John 3
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
This all makes exceptionally more sense, when we finally go back to Matthew 12 and look at the context of the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.
The Pharisees saw Christ casting out demons. They accused him of doing this by the spirit of Beelzebub. Christ responded to them by saying that a house divided against itself cannot stand. And if he casts out Beelzebub by Beelzebub, then how can the Satan’s house stand?
Matthew 12
28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.
29 Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
Christ is saying that you cannot cast out demons, without being of God. And if he is casting out demons, then He is of God. Thus, if the Pharisees are against him, then they are against God. Which means that they are of the devil. It is black and white. “He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad” (Mathew 12:30). And God cannot forgive them of their unbelief, unless they willingly repent. Which means to turn to God; to believe the gospel: that Jesus Christ is God and that he paid for the sins of the whole world. Once they repent of their unbelief, they are forgiven of all sins, including blasphemy.
Therefore, all manner of sins and blasphemies are forgiven unto men. But rejection of the gospel will not be forgiven men. Because if you continue to reject the truth of the gospel, it is impossible for you to receive forgiveness.
1 John 5
12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
Instead of being scary, this passage is edifying and encouraging. If you have ever been angry at God or with God. Or said blasphemous things toward God, all of the above is forgiven. Because “All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men.” Once you believe the Gospel, you have forgiveness.
It is impossible for you to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit once you believe, because it would be untrue that you “hath never forgiveness.” Instead, you have and will continue to have forgiveness.
This makes even more sense, once you consider Peter. He was one of the twelve and not only did he believe in Christ, but saw all these things first hand. Still, Christ warned Peter, “before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice” (Matthew 26:34).
Mark 14
70 And he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilaean, and thy speech agreeth thereto.
71 But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom ye speak.
72 And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept.
If there was ever a candidate for having “blasphemed the Holy Spirit” (in the popular, heretical sense) it would be Peter. Because he denied Christ 3 times, and the last time he used curse words. He cussed out God. Yet, Peter is saved. Because it is not possible to blaspheme the Holy Spirit, if you have believed the gospel. Because blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is to never believe the gospel.
And finally, to put the nails in the coffin, your blasphemies can do nothing to harm God. God is not weak, and is not affected by your thoughts toward him.
Job 35
5 Look unto the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds which are higher than thou.
6 If thou sinnest, what doest thou against him? or if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto him?
7 If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth he of thine hand?
In conclusion, you cannot lose salvation by “blaspheming” the Holy Spirit, the way that a lot of mainstream pastors say. Sometimes, the devil will come and destroy things in your life. And you might go through hard times.
Sometimes, you get angry with God, because of your circumstances. This is all to be expected. God forgives all of that, he understands your simpleton thoughts. He knows that you are ignorant and cannot see the big picture. And he can have compassion when you suffer loss, or suffer wrong. He has compassion on your ignorance.
So, all blasphemy\blasphemous thoughts are, and always have been, and always will be, forgiven in Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is the Grace of God and the Gift of God.
Romans 11
29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
Malachi 3
6 For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
Hebrews 13
8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
Revelation 1
8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.