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NASB | Matthew 12:32 "Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 12:32 "Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit [by attributing the miracles done by Me to Satan] will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. [Mark 3:29; Luke 12:10] |
Bible Question:
I have read commentaries and discussions done in 2002 but I've still some questions and would appreciate some enlightening. 1) What constitute blasphemising the Holy Spirit (NIV and NKJV) ? 2) If a christian whose church do not believe in the speaking of tongues i.e. holy spirit, and thus to say that its not acceptable, will they fall under this category? My bro-in-law is in this church. 3) Does this verse not contradict the full Grace of the Lord? Even if you talk against Jesus Christ is still forgivable. 4) What if the person who does not understand the Holy Spirit and have talked bad about the Spirit. ( Would it be reasonable for a man who is not a believer or ignorant like the Pharisees to say that it is a demon instead? (Matthew 12:24)) 4) Would you say that man in general who do not understand but witness a miracle ( healing, exorcism) would normaly look at it in a negative manner (skeptics). Will skeptics then also fall under this category of unforgivable sin? Thus if a person who is a non believer then, argued that the Holy Spirit is utterly nonsence and crap but later repented and born again. No use? (damned for eternity) Thank you. |
Bible Answer: ngkh - The antitdote to speculation is accurate knowledge of Scripture! This holds true of all scriptural subjects and thus it is no less true of Christ's teaching about the unforgiveable sin. Judging from what I've seen on this Forum, few theological concepts are more misunderstood or more speculated upon than Christ's teaching on the unforgiveable sin. ..... In the first place, it is necessary to read the entire passage in Matthew's gospel that deals with this specific sin: Matthew 12:22-37. In order to understand what Jesus meant by His stern pronouncement in vss. 31 and 32, we must learn what evoked it, and we do by a careful reading of vss. 22-24. Jesus had healed a demon-possessed blind mute, and when the Pharisees heard of it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons." Thus they ascribed the deeds of Jesus not to the power of the Holy Spirit of God but to satanic power. Thus to reject the power of Christ was to blaspheme the Holy Spirit of God by whose power the Incarnate Christ was Himself empowered. ..... Now, let's probe deeper into the passage and its cast of characters, namely, the Pharisees. The sin was the Pharisees' DELIBERATE rejection of that which they knew to be of God (cf. Acts 4:16). Unable to deny the reality of what they had seen with their own eyes, they attributed to Satan what they knew the Holy Spirit had done through Christ. ..... Now, someone who had never been exposed to Christ, His divine power and presence, might reject Him in ignorance and later repent and be forgiven. Even a Pharisee like Saul of Tarsus could be forgiven -- and certainly was forgiven -- for speaking against Christ and persecuting His church. But his unbelief stemmed from ignorance, as 1 Timothy 1:13 confirms. But it is an entirely different matter with those who know His claims are true and reject Him anyway. They "sin against the Holy Spirit" precisely because it is the Holy Spirit who testifies of Christ by making His truth known to us, as it says in John 15:26, "But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will testify about Me." ..... These Pharisees had witnessed His miracles first-hand and knew the truth of His claims, yet they still blasphemed the Holy Spirit. No forgiveness was possible for them. In blaspheming the Holy Spirit they had rejected Christ, exhausted their options and had no further recourse. They had rejected Christ, who was and is the fullest possible revelation of God. "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). --Hank |