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What does it mean to sin against the Holy Spirit? This question is often asked among many Christians and bible scholars. A plethora of articles, books, and sermons have been written and taught about the Holy Spirit, only a few have attempted to throw more light on this all-important subject.
If you are among those people who want to know what the sin against the Holy Spirit is, you will know it from this post. Don’t mind those over-zealous preachers who tell you that there is no sin God cannot forgive.
The truth is, our God is a merciful and compassionate God who forgives the sins and iniquities of His children even to the third and fourth generation of them who love Him. But there is one in which God cannot forgive; it is the sin against the Holy Spirit.
The sin against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven either in this world or in eternity. It is an unpardonable, unforgivable, and ultimate sin and therefore too dangerous for anyone to toy with. The sin against the Holy Spirit always leads to instant judgment and death. It is a sin unto death.
What is the sin against the Holy Spirit?
The bible says,
Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy (every evil, abusive, injurious speaking, or indignity against sacred things) can be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not and cannot be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Spirit, the Holy One, will not be forgiven, either in this world and age or in the world or age to come. Matt 12:31-32 AMP.
1. Sin against the Holy Spirit is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
Blasphemy is evil, abusive, and injurious speaking against God or Sacred things. Every sacrilegious and profane talk against the sons of men can be forgiven. But blasphemy against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven either here on the earth or in heaven. It is suicidal to speak sacrilegiously or abusively against the Spirit of God.
There are people who are too fast to speak against God and sacred things. They do this out of ignorance to their own detriment. All through the Bible, no one ever spoke against the Spirit of God without receiving instant judgment in one way or the other.
Which ways can one blaspheme the Holy Spirit?
They are:
- When you speak against God’s anointed servants.
When you speak against God’s anointed servants, it is a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. The judgment that follows it is very urgent and terrible. That’s why the Holy Spirit said,
Touch not mine anointed, and do my Prophets no harm. Psalm 105:15
I pity those who talk injuriously and abusively against the anointed servants of God. They don’t know they are committing an ultimate sin. The same applies to those who write and publish all kinds of fake news to tarnish the image and ministry of God’s anointed servants. They are committing a sin against the Holy Spirit without knowing. If you love your life and your family, don’t join the crowd to talk evil against the Lord’s anointed. Keep your mouth shut when you hear people talking sacrilege. Kindly walk away from such scenes. That’s your own wisdom. It doesn’t matter what the basis of their grievances may be. See what the Holy Spirit says,
Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? To his own master he standeth or faileth. Rom 14:4
You don’t have any right to condemn the personality of a servant of the Holy Spirit. If you do, his master will not forgive you. In case you don’t know, The Holy Spirit is the one who calls, ordains, and sends forth Pastors, Apostles, Prophets, Teachers, and Evangelists in the church. He is their master (Acts 20:28, Acts 13:2). So speaking against the anointed servant of the Holy Spirit is equal to speaking against the Holy Spirit who called and sent them.
The Bible is full of the sad stories of men and women who faced divine judgment as a result of speaking or working against the anointed servants of God. Examples are Miriam who became a leper for speaking against Moses the servant of God (Num 12:110). The sons of Korah, whom the earth opened up and swallowed together with their wives, sons and daughters and all their belongings for speaking against Moses the anointed of the Lord. The Holy Spirit buried them alive. (Numbers 16:1-33).
Hear what David said to the young man who killed King Saul thinking he was doing a good service for David.
How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed? 2 Sam 1:14
Everyone who is sensible enough should be afraid to touch God’s anointed. What if he has backslidden and fallen away from grace like King Saul? Leave him to his own master. It is not your business. You are not the one who called him and anointed him. King Saul even in his fallen state was still the anointed of the Lord. The young man who killed him paid with his own life.
Learn to respect the anointing of the Holy Spirit and the anointed one, even if you don’t like the person carrying the anointing.
- When you speak injuriously against the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Another way people blaspheme or speak against the Holy Spirit is by speaking against the gospel of Jesus Christ or working against the progress and advancement of God’s work on the earth. Those who do this are guilty of sin against the Holy Spirit. In Acts 13: 8-11, Elymas the Sorcerer committed this sin when he stood against the gospel, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith. He faced instant judgment and was struck with blindness in both eyes.
- When you mock God or His servants.
It is a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit to mock God. In 2Kings 2:23-24, in the city of Bethel 42 children mocked Elisha the man of God, and called him a bald-headed man. Those children were torn into pieces by two she-bears that came out from the wood. It is a capital sin to mock God or His servants. Doing so is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
- When you defile sacred things in the house of God.
It’s not a sin to use the things in the house of God for right and godly purposes. That was why David ate the holy bread not meant for him to eat when he was hungry. And the Holy Spirit did him no harm. He ate the Holy bread because he needed to stay alive to fight God’s battle but had nothing to eat. So David's motive and purpose for eating the sacred bread was right. It is a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit to use the sacred things in the house of God to defile them. In Daniel 5:1-31, King Belshazzar committed blasphemy against the Holy Spirit when he took the holy cups that were taken from the temple of God in Jerusalem to drink wine with his harlots. The same night he was killed.
- When you curse God.
It is a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit to curse God. The consequence of this ultimate sin is death. Job’s wife asked her husband to curse God and die but the man knew the gravity of such sin and refused (Job 2:9).
2. Sin against the Holy Spirit is lying to the Holy Spirit.
It is a capital sin to lie to the Holy Spirit. You can lie to ordinary men and get away freely but not to the Holy Spirit. When you lie to an anointed servant of God, you have lied to the Holy Spirit. That’s because lying to the anointed servant of the Holy Spirit is equal to lying to the Holy Spirit in His face. Telling lies inside the House of God is lying to the Holy Spirit. You need to understand that the Holy Spirit is always present in the house of God. He doesn’t travel, go on leave, or transfer. His presence is there whether you can feel it or not. It doesn’t matter if only you and another believer are there in the house of God. Wherever two or three are in the name of the Lord, His presence is there. In Acts 5:1-10 Ananias and his wife Sapphira committed this unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit when they lied to Apostle Peter in the house of God. The Holy Spirit killed them instantly.
3. Sin against the Holy Spirit is rebellion against the Holy Spirit
But they rebelled and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and fought against them. Isaiah 63:10
The Holy Spirit is a gentle Spirit and does not strive with mortal men. When you rebel against His instructions and orders, you have sinned against Him. Then He can vex for you and fight against you. Who can stand when the Spirit of God becomes his enemy? Who can bail you out of His hand? Learn to yield yourself completely to the Holy Spirit. That’s the only way to remain friends with Him.
4. Sin against the Holy Spirit is to grieve the Holy Spirit.
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God [do not offend or vex or sadden Him], by whom you were sealed (marked, branded as God’s own, secured) for the day of redemption (of final deliverance through Christ from evil and the consequences of sin). Ephesians 4:30 AMP
Grieving the Holy Spirit is a capital sin against the Holy Spirit. When you grieve Him, He becomes offended and sad towards you. Since we are sealed by the Holy Spirit, when you grieve Him, He will unseal you immediately. To unseal means He will remove His mark of ownership from your life, disown you and abandon you. When that happens you don’t have any security in God and therefore left open to the attack of the devil. There are many ways people can grieve the Holy Spirit such as bitterness, indignation, and wrath against the Holy Spirit. Speaking abusive or blasphemous words against God can grieve the Holy Spirit.
Conclusion
It is very dangerous to sin against the Holy Spirit since sin against the Holy Spirit is an unforgivable, unpardonable, and ultimate sin. The only way to avoid committing a sin against the Holy Spirit deliberately or unintentionally is to have a good relationship, fellowship, communion, oneness, and marriage with the Holy Spirit.
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