The Blasphemy Against The Holy Ghost Shall Not Be Forgiven

Jesus said in Matthew 12:31 “All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.” This verse states the simple truth about the sin of the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost; it will NOT be forgiven by God.

Many try to get around this plain fact by saying that, in this passage, Jesus is talking about a sin that a man will not repent of. They say I John 1:9 teaches a man can be forgiven of any and all sins that he will confess. The truth is that I John 1:9 does not include the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost anymore than Luke 16:18 includes the exception for divorce as stated in Matthew 19:9. Matthew 19:9 is stating the one exception to the general rule divorce law of Luke 16:18. In the same way, Matthew 12:31-32 is clearly stating the one exception to the general rule forgiveness law of I John 1:9. Notice Matthew 12:31 even uses the term “all” in describing what sins can be forgiven just as I John 1:9 does. Matthew 12:31 then uses the word “but” in the same way Matthew 19:9 uses the word “except.” The sense of Matt 12:31 is – all sin can be forgiven (if repented of) but (except) the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost.

I don’t know about you but it would seem obvious to me that if passage A says “all sin can be forgiven” and passage B says “all sin can be forgiven except one,” then passsage B is stating the one exception to the general rule found in passage A and B.  Duh – there are no contradictions in Bible.

Elaborating on that last point:  Luke 13:3 and Acts 8:22 teach a person must repent of his sins in order to be forgiven of them. Passages like these show that when Jesus said in Matthew 12:31 “All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men,” it is understood they will be forgiven only if they repent. So it should be understood in the second part of the verse, that people will not be forgiven of the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost even if they do repent!

If not, what is the difference between the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost and all other sins? Jesus is definitely making a difference here. If the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost will not be forgiven because people will not repent of it, then there is no difference between it and any other sin, because zero sin will be forgiven without repentance. The claim that the sin of the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is a sin that cannot be repented of is not found anywhere in the Bible, and is contrary to the Bible’s teaching on the free will of man – that man can always choose either to do good or to do bad (Joshua 24:15). Notice from Matthew 12:32 that this sin has nothing to do with a lack of repentance necessarily, but has to do with speaking against the Holy Ghost.

The sin of the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. The Bible means exactly what it says in Matthew 12:31-32. No matter how long “preachers” talk around this passage, Jesus still says, “but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall NOT be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.”

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