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| A Member's Bulletin Board. In most cases items posted here originated as email, except as noted. As a Member you are free to submit items to post here. Send to webmaster) |
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Three ways to
stand in direct disobedience to God Authors unknown Blasphemy to Holy Spirit The Greek word blasphemia is the origin of the English "blasphemy". A Greek dictionary defines blasphemia as "vilification, evil speaking, railing". Webster's definition adds "the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God," and "the act of claiming the attributes of deity," and adds "profane" as a synonym for "blasphemous". "To profane" is further defined by Webster's as "to treat something sacred with abuse, irreverence or contempt; to debase by a wrong, unworthy or vulgar use." I quote these definitions to show that blasphemy is not something that one does by accident, or by ignorance. To commit blasphemy, one must have knowledge of the person, object or idea blasphemed. One may blaspheme Jesus, the "Son of Man", other religious beliefs, and other religious figures and be forgiven of that, according to Jesus, Himself. Why would that be? The explanation is that not all human beings are "called." Jesus said, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:44, NIV) Jesus elaborated on this matter further: " The disciples came to him and asked, 'Why do you speak to the people in parables?' He replied, 'The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. This is why I speak to them in parables: "Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand." In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: "You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them." ' " (Matthew 13:10-15, NIV) Because of their ignorance, their refusal to see, hear and understand does not constitute blasphemy. This also applied to some of the Jews of that day, as the apostle Paul explained: "What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened, as it is written: "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day." " (Romans 11:7-8, NIV) We cannot always understand God's way. Why would God deliberately hide understanding from some people? Why would he "harden" certain people, give them a "spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear"? Paul gives us the answer (if this excerpt is not understandable, read the whole context of Paul's dissertation on the fate of the Jews in Romans chapters 10 and 11: " For if God did not spare the natural branches (Israelites and Jews), he will not spare you either. Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree! I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins." As far as the gospel is concerned, they (the Jews who were "hardened") are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable. Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God's mercy to you. For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all. " (Romans 11:21-32, NIV) It is completely understandable that people whose eyes are closed, who are not called by God, who have been "hardened" by God, Himself, would be able to blaspheme against Jesus and still be forgiven. They could see by His miracles and by what He taught that He was from God, yet they could deny that He was the Messiah and that He was the Son of God - clearly blasphemy - and still be forgiven of that sin. Again, because of their ignorance - lack of knowledge and understanding - their refusal to accept Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God and their understanding may well constitute blasphemy against Jesus, the Son of Man. But because they do not believe, they have not received nor comprehended the Holy Spirit and cannot commit blasphemy against that which they do not understand, i.e., the Holy Spirit. However, blaspheming against the Holy Spirit is a completely different matter: The Holy Spirit was not given to men until the day of Pentecost. God worked through certain individuals throughout the time of the Old Covenant, but did not "pour out" His Spirit on "all flesh" until the day of Pentecost. (Acts 2:16-21) In order to receive the Holy Spirit, one most often had to believe that Jesus was the Son of God, repent of one's sins, and be baptized in the name of Jesus. (Acts 2:38) One cannot understand, or comprehend the "Holy Spirit" unless one has first believed in Jesus, repented of sins and completed the acts of submission to the will of God. If, after this belief, confession, repentance and submission has taken place and a person has received the gift of the Holy Spirit, a person then deliberately, and with full knowledge, blasphemes (vilifies, insults, profanes, rails against and treats with contempt) that self-same Holy Spirit, then that person has turned against God, Himself and has chosen the path to destruction. A person in this state has no hope of forgiveness because, by definition, will not ask the Being whom he hates for forgiveness. The author of the book of Hebrews (most likely Paul) explains this further: " If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people." It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. " (Hebrews 10:26-31, NIV) The reason there is no forgiveness is not because God is not merciful and loving but because a human being who deliberately turns away from God has no recourse - no way of obtaining forgiveness. Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit: See Matthew 12:22-32. The Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out a devil by using the power of Satan. Jesus explained to them the error and folly of their "logic". After having explained that He was casting out demons by the Spirit of God, Jesus warned them that blaspheming the Spirit of God by calling it the devil would not be forgiven. Matthew 12:22-32 "Then there was brought to Him a demon-possessed man who was blind and
dumb, and He healed him, so that the dumb man spoke and saw. And all
the multitudes were amazed, and began to say, "This man cannot be the Son
of David, can he?" But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, "This
man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons." And
knowing their thoughts He said to them, "Any kingdom divided against
itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself shall
not stand. "And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against
himself; how then shall his kingdom stand? "And if I by Beelzebul cast
out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Consequently they shall be
your judges. "But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then
the kingdom of God has come upon you. "Or how can anyone enter the strong
man's house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong
man? And then he will plunder his house. "He who is not with Me is
against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters. "Therefore I
say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but blasphemy
against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. "And whoever shall speak a
word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever shall
speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in
this age, or in the age to come."
Here are the important elements of this account: 1. Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is clearly defined as the act of saying that the Spirit of God is the devil. 2. Saying that the Spirit of God is the devil will not be forgiven. God is righteous. The devil is evil. God will not forgive those who identify Him as being evil......calling Him the devil. 3. Sound logic clearly shows that the good works of freeing people from the bondage of the devil would not be done by the devil himself. 4. Jesus gave the Pharisees a chance by explaining the situation to them. 5. After giving the explanation of the truth, Jesus gave them a warning to accept the truth or continue in the lie about the Holy Spirit and be cut off from God by never being forgiven. With your mind's eye, picture the situation.....Jesus is traveling around doing the good works of God.....He is here on earth to declare the kingdom of God and represent the righteousness of God. But as He travels, doing the works of God, here are the Pharisees following Him around saying He is doing the works of Satan. Jesus was reaching out to the multitudes of people through His sermons and works. It is important to see that He wanted to reach the multitudes. Notice the chronology of some events: The multitudes glorified God after seeing Jesus do a miracle: Matthew 9:8 But when the multitudes saw this, they were filled with awe, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men. The multitudes again marveled at the works of Jesus: Matthew 9:33 And after the demon was cast out, the dumb man spoke; and the multitudes marveled, saying, "Nothing like this was ever seen in Israel." The Pharisees made their false accusation about Jesus: Matthew 9:34 But the Pharisees were saying, "He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons." Notice in Matthew 9:36 the change in the multitudes because of the Pharisees. When the multitudes first saw the miracles of Jesus, they glorified God, but the influence of the Pharisees was having an impact on them. They were now bewildered, harassed, distressed, dejected and helpless (Amplified Bible...Matthew 9:36). They were like sheep without a shepherd....confused....who should they believe?....the Pharisees or Jesus?
Matthew 9:36 And seeing the multitudes, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and downcast like sheep without a shepherd. John the Baptist might also have wondered, unsure about Jesus: Matthew 11:2-6 2 Now when John in prison heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples, 3 and said to Him, "Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?" 4 And Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 "And blessed is he who keeps from stumbling over Me." This brings us to the first passage that we considered... Matthew 12:22-32. Jesus did the miracle, but the multitudes were confused about it...verse 23. Then we see the Pharisees again making their false accusation trying to confuse the multitudes and turn them against Jesus. Jesus wanted to make it clear that He was doing the work of God through the Spirit of God and He was NOT IN ALLEGIANCE WITH THE DEVIL IN ANY WAY! After being continuously harassed by the Pharisees over a period of time in which they were hindering His ministry of reaching the multitudes, Jesus finally gave them a strong rebuke and warning. If they continued with their false accusation about the Spirit of God, they would never be forgiven....meaning they would be cut off from God. Their actions would no longer be tolerated without consequence. Jesus gave them a strong deterrent encouraging them to stop their blasphemy. He wanted them to stop their We see that God will not tolerate being identified as the ultimate evil....Satan. (I believe that it must also be grievous to God when He and His righteous works are identified as Satan). Summary: Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is the act of directly saying that the Holy Spirit is the devil....Satan. This cannot be done accidentally. It is done deliberately after having received an explanation that something is from God.....not Satan. Jesus had a particular reason for giving the Pharisees that warning at that time. This account also illustrates an important principle from God......God will tolerate harassment of His ministers for a period of time, then He will authorize His ministers to take action to stop the harassment. Other Biblical accounts verify this principle. Actions will vary from situation to situation depending upon the varying factors involved with each situation. Can a Believer Commit the Unforgivable Sin? No. A believer cannot commit the unforgivable sin. How can someone who has been born again (John 3:7), made a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), and received eternal life (John 10:27-28) actually commit the unforgivable sin? He cannot. Jesus Himself said that we have eternal life, not conditional life: "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand." Besides, it says in 2 Cor. 5:17 that the Christian is a new creation in Christ. We are different, no longer slaves to the old nature (Romans 6:14). We are regenerated by the Holy Spirit. There is no biblical support for a believer committing this sin. It just hasn’t happened. Also, if you are worried that you may have committed the sin and can’t be forgiven, then don’t be concerned. If you are worrying about it, then you haven’t committed it. If you are worried about it, then that is a sign that you have not committed it. If you had, you wouldn’t be concerned. 1. For a good year and a half after I first became a Christian, I was very worried about the issue of the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. I thought I might have committed this sin and was therefore eternally lost. I thought that I was like Esau who sold his birthright for one morsel of meat and who, "when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears" (Heb. 12:17). I also once knew a teenager who, in an attempt to free himself from the moral strictures to which he felt bound, deliberately tried to blaspheme the Holy Spirit. Later, after he repented and turned again to the Lord, he deeply regretted his attempt and feared that he, too, was one of those sons of perdition who desired repentance, but whom the Lord could never forgive. No Christians that I knew at the time (or since for that matter) believed that anyone still living could be in this situation. The belief was that "him that cometh to me (Jesus) I will in no wise cast out." This conclusion I think was correct, but many accompanying arguments were not convincing to me at the time. These other arguments were along the lines of re-defining blasphemy of the Holy Spirit as being "final rejection of Christ" and assertions that once you are saved, you are always saved so it is impossible for a Christian to commit this sin. Since these other arguments were not convincing to me, I had a difficult time dealing with this fear. I think that blasphemy of the Holy Spirit was just what it says in the text of Mark 3:28-29: "I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin." Jesus said this in response to the Pharisees, who had called the Holy Spirit by whom Jesus cast out demons an unclean spirit. My deliverance from this terrible doubt came about through a better understanding of repentance and faith. It seems clear to me now that no one can repent and believe in Christ apart from the working of God. "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him" (John 6:44), and "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away" (John 6:37). If I or my friend had actually committed an unpardonable sin, then the Father would not have drawn us to repentance and faith in Christ. We can conclude this because we know that Jesus will not cast out anyone who comes to Him. He would have to cast us out if we were guilty of an unpardonable sin. Jesus tells us that it is the ministry of the Holy Spirit to draw us to Christ and bring us to repentance: "When he [the Holy Spirit] comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned" (John 16:8-11). When we are truly sorry for our sin and desire to be forgiven by God, we are repenting. However we get to a place where we are repenting, our repentance is, in itself, an evidence of the presence and ministry of the Holy Spirit - it is not an evidence of the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. The test is not: are you sinning and feeling rejected by God? The test is whether you want to be forgiven. If you commit an unpardonable sin, you have utterly and completely rejected the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and you can't care about it - you will have a complete disdain and revulsion to the things of the gospel. If you are worried that you are beyond God's grace, if you fear God's judgment, if you desire to be saved, the Holy Spirit is still working in you and you cannot have utterly and completely rejected God or have blasphemed the Holy Spirit. This is what is taught in Hebrews: "It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance" (6:4-6a). Those spoken of here have not necessarily blasphemed the Holy Spirit, but they have knowingly rejected the gifts and power of God. Note that the passage does not say that these individuals can try to repent, but cannot be saved. It says that it is not possible for us to renew them to repentance at all. The same can be said of any individual who blasphemes the Holy Spirit. Their sin is unforgivable; therefore they cannot repent and believe, period. They cannot experience sorrow, regret, fear, worry, or panic that they are beyond God's forgiveness. What about my friend who says he really did it? He repented; therefore he could not really have done it. Mark 3:29, 30 says, "whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin" because they said, "He has an evil spirit". It would seem that one who "will never be forgiven" is eternally damned, not in danger of eternal damnation. I interpret the passage to mean that while the Pharisees did call the spirit in Christ unclean, it is possible that they did not actually blaspheme the Holy Spirit. They were in danger of doing so, but they may not have recognized that it was the Holy Spirit who was in Christ. I conclude from these passages that only someone who intentionally and willfully blasphemes the Holy Spirit actually commits an unpardonable sin. Furthermore, a person who commits this sin will not ever repent and come to Christ. A person who has repented and come to Christ necessarily has not committed this sin. I conclude that my friend who actually said the words did not really commit this sin - God knowing his heart also knows he did not mean it. Also, the Heb. 12:17 passage does not describe someone who is seeking to repent but cannot because he is rejected. Esau was not seeking repentance at all. He was seeking his lost birthright. The earlier verses read, "Make every effort to live in peace with all men. . . . and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights . . . ." The bitter root is a allusion to Deut. 29:18 which speaks of those who turn from God and worship idols. It is not the case that he was trying to repentant and restore his relationship with God, but God would have nothing to do with him. That he did not find any place of repentance means that he was not able to get his father or God to "repent" and restore his birthright. He was not able to do so because he had rejected God's promise given by way of the birthright to Jacob - i.e. he missed the "grace" of God. No amount of striving, seeking, even with tears, will bring about salvation apart from God's promise. Is it impossible for a Christian to blaspheme the Holy Spirit? My belief is one's outward profession and appearance offer us no guarantees. If Judas was able to perform miracles and if the once enlightened of Hebrews chapter six can fall away and never repent again, then it would seem that just about any one could one-day fall away and (perhaps) blaspheme the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul exhorts, "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you - unless, of course, you fail the test?" Paul says that we can examine ourselves and recognize with some level of assurance that Christ is in us, but he does seem to allow that one can become "reprobate." Was such a person never really "saved," or was the person really saved
but lost it through apostasy? Was such a person really one of the "elect?"
This is a different issue than what I have addressed. I have asked, "Can
someone desire to be a Christian and repent of sin, but still be damned
because of a sin God cannot forgive?" The answer to that question is "No." [2] The process that produces repentance has been debated for many centuries and is worthy of discussion, but it is not the process that is in question here. Determinism and Libertarian freedom are two approaches in regard to this issue. If you are interested in such views, we recommend James W. Felt's Making Sense of Your Freedom: Philosophy for the Perplexed (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1994). [3] Note that the Heb. 12 passage describes Esau as he was when Jacob
fled to Haran. Esau has changed considerably by the time Jacob returns, as
we can see in Gen. 33. There Esau gives Jacob a warm reception. We ought
not, therefore, to conclude from Heb. 12 that Esau remained "profane" for
all his life. Also, the attitudes of Jacob and Esau towards God's promise
and the birthright go a long way toward explaining why God "loved" Jacob
and "hated" Esau and the meaning of "election." So, I searched the net for articles that would have a more thorough and scholarly analysis of this passage and its meaning. To my surprise, while there were many articles on the subject, hardly any dealt with the passages in any greater detail than I have here. In my judgment, many (if not most) made claims that did not have sufficient scriptural proof to reassure troubled Christians. One common claim was: "Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit cannot be committed today because we are not eyewitnesses to Christ's miracles." One of the more scholarly articles takes this position (see "The Unpardonable Sin"). Regardless, the best articles took the same approach as I did. Given what we know about the workings of the Holy Spirit and human depravity from the scripture, we can conclude that anyone who is really worried that they might have committed blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, could not have done so. Anyone who has committed this or any other "sin unto death" cannot be restored to repentance and has no sorry or regret or feelings of repentance. See for example Hank Hanegraaff's views on this subject. Some articles made some points worth mentioning. Steve Kissell points out; "this sin of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is not said to be 'unpardonable.'" Rather, it is a sin that will not be forgiven, not a sin that cannot be forgiven. This is an important, if subtle distinction, because as Kissell points out, many sins will not be forgiven, not because God cannot or is unwilling to forgive the sins, but because the sinner does not repent. All who blaspheme the Holy Spirit become sinners who never repent; therefore this sin is one that never has forgiveness. A corollary of this interpretation is that to really blasphemy the Holy Spirit in the way Jesus describes is not done trivially or easily. The Assemblies of God statement on the "Unpardonable Sin" gives a good scriptural argument that the Pharisee's blasphemy in the gospels was not by any means casual, but were deliberate, willful, knowledgeable and sustained, and done in full view of the demonstration of God's power. In spite of this, we know of at least one Pharisee who hated Christianity and persecuted the church, but who did not commit this sin -- the apostle Paul! Surely, if blasphemy of the Holy Spirit could be done without some kind of knowing and willful deliberation in the face of undeniable truth, then Saul of Tarsus would have committed this sin. Heb. 10:26 gives us an idea of what it takes to commit an unforgivable sin. The Jewish Christian recipients of the epistle to the Hebrews were in real danger of rejecting the gospel and returning to a legalistic form of worship that rejected the grace of God in Christ. If they did so after they know the truth, and they trample "the Son of God under foot," and they treat "as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant" and they "insult the Spirit of grace" -- then after all that there remains no more sacrifice for sin. Mark adds something to this. Mark 3:29-30 says, "but whoever blasphemes
against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal
sin - because they were saying 'He has an unclean spirit.'" Again, the
words were uttered against Jesus, but he effect was blasphemy of the
Spirit. These men went so far in their rejection of the clear evidence
provided by the Spirit that they called God Satan. Their words were
indicative of the hardness of their hearts and their willful rejection. When a person sees the clear evidence provided by the Holy Spirit (in this case a real miracle) yet is so against it that he rejects it, he blasphemes the Spirit and cannot be forgiven. The reason he cannot be forgiven is that they do not avail themselves to the forgiveness God offers. Corroboration from other passages. Two passages in the New Testament speak of a similar result of certain
actions. The Hebrew writer speaks of a fallen condition for which there can be no forgiveness. Jesus speaks of a blasphemous condition for which there can be no forgiveness. Therefore, to fall so completely that one cannot bring himself to repent is to blaspheme the Spirit. What does the behavior described in this passage have in common with what the Pharisees were doing in the passages on blasphemy of the Spirit? They had been "made partakers of the Holy Spirit" (v. 4) and had "tasted the good word of God" (v. 5) The word of God is inspired by the Spirit - it is the Spirit's word. These people, like those in the earlier passages, had seen the Spirit's evidence, but has chosen to leave it. They had fallen away. They had rejected the only witness that they were going to get. It was, therefore, "impossible to renew them to repentance." Hebrews 10:26-29 Notice that those described here have gotten themselves into such a situation that "there no longer remains a sacrifice for sin." (v. 26) If the sacrifice for sin is gone, then there can be no forgiveness. This implied impossibility of forgiveness is the very same condition as that brought on by blasphemy of the Spirit. If blasphemy of the Spirit makes it impossible to receive forgiveness and continuing to sin willfully makes it impossible to receive forgiveness, and there is only one sin that makes forgiveness impossible, then blasphemy of the Spirit is the same as continuing to sin willfully after understanding the truth. Notice that those who "go on sinning willfully" (v. 26) have "insulted the Spirit of grace." This is very similar to Jesus language about blasphemy of the Spirit. It should be noted here that "go on sinning willfully" has two aspects. The sinning is continuous (i.e., doesn’t stop) and the sinning is willful. Sporadic failures are not continuous. Times we give in to temptation and sin but do not want to are not willful. The KJV rendering ("if we sin willfully") does not reflect the continuous nature of the sin under discussion. In order for someone to go on sinning willfully after he has received the knowledge of the truth (i.e., been enlightened by the word of God, the Spirit's work) he must of necessity push out or ignore the evidence of the Spirit that condemns his actions. Conclusion It is therefore very reasonable to say that if a Christian worries that he has blasphemed the Spirit, he probably hasn't. If you are such a person, and you are concerned about this issue, I encourage you to read and accept I John 1:7: "…but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin." I met two Mormon missionaries who had more fear of God than these charismatic-bashers. They politely shared with my wife and me their view that only Mormons could be saved. I kindly objected and told them how I was born again. I shared how I was filled with the Holy Spirit. "How do you know that you have the Holy Spirit?" the head missionary asked. "I know because I have the gifts of the Holy Spirit, including speaking
in tongues," I answered boldly. I cleverly answered, "You tell me, did I receive the Holy Spirit or an evil spirit?" The other missionary interrupted, "It is not our place to judge." "But you say that no one can receive the Holy Spirit without being a Mormon," I baited. The leader spoke up. "I'm prepared to tell you whether you received the Holy Spirit or an evil spirit!" "Go, ahead. Tell me." He paused. He thought for a moment. His mind seemed to drift. Finally, he forced the words out slowly, but almost wishing to keep silent, "You received an evil spirit." With a boldness not my own, I pointed my finger at him and fired the words, "Jesus said you can blaspheme Him or His Father and still be forgiven, but if you blaspheme the Holy Spirit, you'll not be forgiven in this age or the age to come! If you're right, then you have nothing to fear; but if your wrong, then you are in danger of eternal damnation!" The other Mormon jumped in, "I didn't say it." Then he pointed to his
friend. "HE SAID IT!" I wish some fundamentalist would have the same fear of God as these Mormons. Instead many anti-charismatics have spewed their venom to ministers like me who operate in the gifts of the Spirit and will actually judge our salvation. They will tell others that we are not even saved. I have noticed that when a person vehemently rejects the ministry of the Holy Spirit that eventually they will hate those ministers who operate in the gifts of healing, miracles and casting out demons. They will turn their hatred toward the charismatic ministry into a crusade. I get many hate emails from these people who are very opposed to the
supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit. Many have told me that they do not
even think I am saved. Why? Simply because I heal the sick, cast out
demons and speak in tongues. If I would abstain from the gifts of the
Spirit, then they would accept me, so it is clear that what they really
reject is the Holy Spirit and not me. Blasphemy against the Spirit is the
absolute, hateful rejection of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
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