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According
to the words of Jesus Christ, those who blaspheme against the Holy Spirit are
those who speak against the Holy Spirit even if they are unbelievers. For
Jesus spoke of this sin when some Pharisees said: “This fellow does not cast
out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons” (Matthew 12:24 – NKJV). Here
are the words that Jesus spoke on that occasion according to the Gospel of
Matthew: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and
every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: And if Satan cast
out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?
And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils [demons], by whom do your children cast
them out? therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils [demons]
by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come
unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his
goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me
scattereth abroad. Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy
shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall
not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of
man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost,
it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to
come” (Matthew 12:25-32). In the Gospel according to Mark these last expressions
of Jesus are recorded in a way which slightly different, for it is written:
“Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and
blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall
blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of
eternal damnation: Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit” (Mark
3:28-30).
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I would
like you to notice that the reason why Jesus spoke those words was that those
Pharisees said that He had an unclean spirit. Therefore, when one says about
a man full of the Holy Spirit, ‘This man has an unclean spirit and casts out
demons by that unclean spirit’, such a person blasphemes against the Holy
Spirit.
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Nevertheless,
it must be said that according to a passage written in the epistle to the
Hebrews, this sin, which is unpardonable, is committed also by those who deny
the Lord, for the Scripture says that they have insulted the Spirit of grace (Hebrews
10:29). However, in the words of Jesus the insult is specified, I mean it is written
what some scribes and Pharisees spoke against the Holy Spirit. It is clear,
however, that it is likely that those who have denied the Lord (or have committed
the sin unto death) speak against the Holy Spirit.
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