“Every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven—except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven.”
Matthew 12:31 (NLT)
Anything that can be cured or uncured, smoked, chopped, and then reformed into strips that resembles bacon isn’t bacon. It’s really a highly processed meat product that has been squeezed through an extruder and cleverly packaged as an alternative to bacon…but it ain’t bacon. In my house, my wife makes the bestest B.L.T’s I’ve ever had and ya know what? She uses bacon!! Kathy knows that if I see anything in our fridge that “resembles” bacon, its survival chances of staying in the fridge are less than .00000001%. I consider anything outside of the natural order of pork fat bacon to be processed blasphemy.
Now I realize that using a word such as blasphemy shows a level of sin that is totally unforgiveable. Pseudo bacon substitutes that have been created to give folks a healthier choice for their B.L.T’s aren’t violating any law of the land BUT there are those of us who understand that bacon is bacon…period. However, when we see this powerful word used in Scripture, it’s serious business. To blaspheme against YHVH in the Old Testament meant only thing.
“Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD must be put to death; the whole community is to stone him. If he blasphemes the Name, he is to be put to death, whether the resident alien or the native.” (Leviticus 24:16)
Yeah, no wiggle room there but what Jesus have to say about this? Surely, He would see light at the end of this unforgiveable tunnel? Well, there kinda might be BUT Jesus does put this out there, “Anyone who isn’t with Me opposes Me, and anyone who isn’t working with Me is actually working against Me.” (Matthew 12:30) Jesus is saying this directly to those wacky Pharisees who are pretty much accusing Him of, not only healing on Sabbath, but also being in league with Beelzebub. Nice, nothing like bringing up the Lord of Flies during an accusation but Jesus will show them forgiveness in a way.
“Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the one to come.” (Matthew 12:32)
For everything that Jesus was preaching and teaching, those wacky Pharisees shoulda been able to pick up on it but they refused to see it, even if they had spent their entire life steeped in Scripture. They belittled Jesus to His face whenever He produced a positive fruit into peoples lives. Maybe it was because they knew, in their heart of hearts, what they were sowing into God’s chosen was rotten. After all, it is outta the overflow of the heart that we say and do things. Hmmm…
Then later on, we would have the Pharisee of Pharisees doing horrible things to a holy people and Saul (later called Paul) would do it with a clear conscience simply because he believed he was right and these followers of “The Way” were heretics. Just like the Pharisees in Matthew 12, Paul would misjudge the work and activity of the Holy Spirit. But unlike those wacky Pharisees in Matthew 12, Jesus Christ would knock this Saul down as he traveled the road to Damascus armed with orders to arrest the children of God. This moment would open the eyes of his heart so that he may be allowed to repent.
For ourselves, in this day and age, we need to be mindful of what the author of Hebrews says in chapter 10:26-29. The key phrase there is “sin willfully” and this speaks to a mindset rather than an action. Yes, we slip and fall at times but to do it willfully is in opposition to what we know is right. It’s in those times where we, grieve, resist and quench the Holy Spirit we need to be ready to repent before we end up in the land of the unpardonable. Jesus was pretty clear, “It would be better to be thrown into the sea with a millstone hung around your neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble.” (Luke 17:2)
Yeah, I’m a fan of real bacon but that alone doesn’t make me right over it being anyone’s choice for a proper B.L.T. Au contraire, if I’m real legalistic about it I put myself above others and the true spirit of enjoying a good sandwich gets lost. It’s like that with sharing the Gospel. If all we do is say “Thou shall not do this but do that” I make no room for anyone to see if the Holy Spirit is working in my life at all. All they’ll see is processed blasphemy. Amen?
Think About This: “If anyone ever asks you, “Who is the Holy Spirit?” I hope you will be quick to respond, “He is a person of the Trinity— He is God the Holy Spirit.” And immediately, I hope you add, “He is God’s Promise to me, God’s gift to me as a believer. The Holy Spirit is resident in me.” — Charles F. Stanley
Written by Chris Hughes: Chris is a husband, a father, has an education in Biblical doctrine and is a graduate of The Colony of Mercy. He has been a Freedom Fighter contributor since 2008. You can email him at cphughes515@verizon.net
Think About This: “If anyone ever asks you, “Who is the Holy Spirit?” I hope you will be quick to respond, “He is a person of the Trinity— He is God the Holy Spirit.” And immediately, I hope you add, “He is God’s Promise to me, God’s gift to me as a believer. The Holy Spirit is resident in me.” — Charles F. Stanley
The Daily Bible Reading: Hebrews 13 | You can download our 2021 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here.
