Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit

When I was young, I used to struggle with intrusive thoughts because I was ignorant of what blasphemy against the Holy Spirit meant. I lived in condemnation and in a state of being overly obsessed with making sure not to say anything against Him. The enemy took advantage of my ignorance, often filling my mind with these overwhelming thoughts of blasphemy against Him.

Satan often tries to use your lack of knowledge concerning this topic to try to manipulate you, lie to you, and place you in mental bondage.

That’s why I want to take the time to address the following questions: what is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? How do you know if you’ve blasphemed against Him? If you did, is there any hope?

Temptation vs Sin

Please understand that as Christians we can be tempted to say and do sinful things, but being tempted doesn’t mean that you have actually committed that sin. 

Being tempted with thoughts of lust or thoughts to blaspheme the Spirit of God, does not mean that you’ve actually committed these sins. Committing this sin is different from simply falling prey to the weight of these overwhelming thoughts.

For example, Jesus was tempted to worship Satan.

And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

Matthew 4:9-11

In this verse, we see that even after His temptation, Jesus was still considered holy and pure. This tells us that being tempted does not mean that you committed a sin because after His temptation Jesus still remained sinless (2 Corinthians 5:21).

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

2 Corinthians 5:21

It’s only when you yield to that temptation that it falls into the category of sin.

For those battling with this temptation, I believe that learning this will help you to overcome it. If you have yielded to this temptation in the past and have said something under the impulsion of intrusive thoughts, there may be freedom for you because the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is not what you think it is.

What Is The Blasphemy Of The Holy Spirit?

We will be taking a look at the three instances in the Gospels where Jesus addresses the blasphemy of the Spirit.

Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the
blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word
against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy
Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.

Matthew 12:31-32

First off, when we look at the Scripture that precedes this verse, we come across the story of Jesus healing a mute and blind boy by casting out a demon from him. Upon witnessing this, the Pharisees quickly jumped to the conclusion that Jesus cast out the demons by the spirit of the devil. They couldn’t discredit the miracle, so they wanted to discredit the miracle’s Source, by saying that Jesus cast out demons by the power of Satan.

“Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation”— because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.”

Mark 3:28-30

The second reference in the book of Mark explains why Jesus addressed this topic in the first place—because the Pharisees wrongfully accused Him of having an “unclean spirit.” They claimed that this “unclean spirit” allowed Him to cast out devils.

And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. So it was, when the demon had  gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled. But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”.

Luke 11: 14-15

In this third scriptural reference, notice how the Pharisees did not specifically curse the Holy Spirit, but rather they credited the boy’s deliverance and healing to the devil. The miracles were clearly done by the power of the Holy Spirit and not by Satan.

Jesus, therefore, called this, blasphemy against the Spirit.

So, what is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit according to the Scriptures?

According to Jesus, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is giving credit to the devil for miracles, especially deliverance, by saying the miracle was done by the power of Satan.

A lot of people commit this sin. Although most Christians will not go as far as saying that the devil did the miracle, many do question the authenticity of miracles. Many think that men of God are performing witchcraft or operating in the Kundalini spirit, instead of the Holy Spirit. This debate, of whether or not the working of miracles should be attributed to God, is a very long controversial debate that the Pharisees started; however, Jesus debunked it by explaining that Satan can’t cast out Satan (Matthew 12:26).

What If I Had a Blasphemous Thought? Am I Doomed?

If you’re one of those people who have or are currently struggling with very compulsive thoughts that try to bombard your mind to blaspheme the Holy Spirit, here are four practical steps to help you overcome this struggle.

1. Build your relationship with the Holy Spirit

It is so important to remain focused on building your relationship with the Holy Spirit rather than living in constant fear of sinning against Him. You must understand that as believers, we can sin against the Holy Spirit, by limiting Him, grieving Him, quenching Him, and resisting His move in our lives or others. However, I believe that Holy Spirit-filled believers cannot willfully and consciously commit the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit because they are sealed by the Spirit.

But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.

1 John 2:27

Jesus is revealed to us by the Spirit, who witnesses to us because we are children of God. His anointing teaches us all things. Instead of living in fear, live with a hunger to know the Spirit of God. Switch your thoughts from “I don’t want to sin against the Spirit” to “I want to be close to the Spirit.” Jesus never told his disciples to be afraid of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit, but He did tell them to wait for the baptism of His Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5).

Instead of being bound by fear, live with a desire of Him and to be baptized in the Holy Spirit.

2. Resist the thoughts of blasphemy

It is important to learn how to resist the intrusive thoughts of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit with the Holy Word of God. Temptation doesn’t mean you committed a sin; therefore, when these thoughts flood your mind, do not accept them. The enemy is planting them in you, but they are not yours. Resist them with the word of God by telling the devil:

“It is written. He shall give you another Comforter, that will abide with you for ever.”

“I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”

John 14:16, 18

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

James 4:7

Therefore, resist Satan by commanding him to leave in Jesus’ name. Whenever those thoughts try to come in, speak the truth against the lies. For example, you can say:

“I resist you, Satan. I love the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father. The Holy Spirit gives me the power to live a Christian life. I’m not going to say anything against Him because I love Him, so get behind me, Satan, in Jesus’ name!”

Verbally speak and confront those thoughts. Do not try to fight the negative thoughts with your pure thoughts, because it can cause your mind to get caught in a crossfire.

The best way to fight is when you open up your mouth, quote the Scriptures, and use your words to fight just as Jesus did when He resisted Satan in the wilderness.

You don’t have to do it very loudly, or in a public setting where people are around you. Just do it loud enough that you and the devil can hear. Speaking the Word of God overcomes those thoughts of temptation that Satan sends and cripples their ability to continue to function. 

3. Avoid speaking against miracles

If you’re struggling with uncontrollable blasphemous thoughts against the Holy Spirit, you need to re-evaluate how you view deliverance ministers and miracles. I urge you to avoid speaking against miracles being performed, especially deliverance, by Christian ministers whom you do not like.  We all have ministers that we prefer to listen to, whether that be in person or online. But when you begin to dislike a minister, call them a false teacher or false prophet who does false miracles, only because you don’t like them, you can be blaspheming the Spirit.

Please hear me, there are real false prophets, false teachers, and false ministers in the world that we need to be cautious of. Not everyone who says they are of God actually is (2 Peter 2:1-3). The devil is a copycat and for everything real, there are counterfeits.  Therefore, there could be false prophecies, fake miracles, false news, and fake Christians operating in the church.

But just because many people abuse and desecrate the power of God, does not mean that everyone who walks in power is false. Satan misusing the Scripture against Jesus did not stop Jesus from using that same Scripture to defeat him. When magicians tried to produce a miracle similar to the one Moses had done, it didn’t cause Moses to stop operating in the real miracle power of God. We still have to do what God called us to do.

The United States doesn’t stop printing dollars because there are fake dollars out on the street. In fact, one of the best ways to spot fake dollars is to study the real ones, not to study the fake ones. Therefore, you should have to have a hunger for the real supernatural, and this hunger should be greater than your fear of the counterfeit.

Avoid criticizing what you don’t understand.

Test the spirits of the minister—if somebody doesn’t preach the gospel, doesn’t believe in Jesus, does not believe in God’s Word or in the Holy Trinity, salvation by faith and has no fruit or evidence of walk in the Holy Spirit, then I would be wary of that person. Especially they are working in miracles and deliverance. But if somebody believes in the gospel, lives under the power of the cross, and in the name of Jesus but does a deliverance differently than you, make sure you test the spirits appropriately.

If they walk in the fruit of the Spirit, have evidence of walking with the Lord of Holiness, are true to the Spirit and there is a fruit of a change in their lives, they are of God. Therefore, if that person is truly of God, do not say anything against them or their ministry, because it is none of your business.

Accrediting deliverance to demons is blasphemy.

4. Receive His mercy

If you blasphemed the Holy Spirit in ignorance or under the compulsion of intrusive thoughts, there is mercy for you.

Although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

1 Timothy 1:13

Apostle Paul was talking about himself in this verse. Although it doesn’t say that he blasphemed the Holy Spirit, the word blasphemer is enough to understand that the sin may have been done in ignorance or weakness, yielding to intrusive thoughts.

For those who think they could never come back to God after that, or that they lost their chance of salvation, there is mercy for you!

Sometimes Satan uses extremely, extremely devastating circumstances to bring about these intrusive thoughts. The fact that you feel sorry and wish to repent means that Holy Spirit is still with you. The blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is committed when a person is so cold-hearted, that they don’t see that what they’re doing is wrong.

Therefore, the fact that there is brokenness over past, ungodly thoughts means that you did not commit it. God understands and extends His mercy.

Conclusion

I want to encourage you today, if you struggle with condemnation of this sin and feel like you are at the point of no return, just run back to the Cross. Do not be like Judas who prematurely took his own life without realizing Christ died for him too in a place near to where he killed himself. Jesus never condemned him.

Jesus paid with His life for your redemption.

There’s no sin too great, no fall too deep, nor temptation too big from which the Lord of mercy and grace cannot deliver us.

If you have always criticized miracles in ignorance, ask God to forgive you and for Him to wash you with His blood. Renew your mind. Repent for what you did in ignorance; do not criticize what you do not understand, but instead use God’s Word, test the spirits, and be a vessel for the Holy Spirit.

I pray this was a blessing. Please share this blog and let me know what you think!

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