“I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. 9 But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God.10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.” Luke 12.8-10One of the best resources for answering biblical and theological questions is the website GotQuestions.org. Today I visited their article on the unpardonable sin (https://www.gotquestions.org/unpardonable-sin.html) to gain a fresh perspective on what is often called blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
If you read the article (which I recommend), it addresses the topic in two specific ways. First, Jesus was referring to the Pharisees and teachers of the law who accused Him of being possessed by the devil. In that instance, they were blaspheming the Holy Spirit by attributing the work of the Son of God to Satan.
Second, anyone who dies while rejecting Christ as Savior has committed blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and will not be forgiven. How can one be forgiven after death? The time to choose Christ is while we are still alive, not after we die.
Some people worry that they might accidentally say or do something that would cause them to blaspheme the Holy Spirit and become unforgivable. But like the writers at GotQuestions.org, I disagree. I believe Jesus was specifically addressing those who had just accused Him of evil (as recorded in Luke 12), as well as those who die without ever knowing or turning to God.
We have no need to live in fear that some unforgivable sin lurks in our lives or that we might accidentally do something that would make us unforgivable to God. When we sin—and we will throughout our lives—we should immediately turn back to God, confess our sin, repent, and believe the Gospel. The evil one wants to accuse us, distract us, and draw us away from Christ. But God has a plan to save us through the blood Jesus shed on the cross. Believing in Jesus, receiving Him into our lives, and trusting in Him by faith is the way to (1) know God and (2) have the assurance that we will go to heaven when we die.
The thief crucified beside Jesus was promised by the Lord that on that very day he would be with Him in paradise. It wasn’t after baptism, confirmation, confession, or communion. That very day, at the moment of his death, he was with Jesus.
We can have that same assurance. John Wesley preached powerful sermons on the assurance of salvation. (Here is a helpful discussion of his sermon: https://seedbed.com/john-wesley-on-assurance-can-you-know-youre-saved/). Turn to Christ, trust in Him, glorify God with your life, and have no fear that you might blaspheme the Holy Spirit. It is impossible to blaspheme God while we are praising Him in the Spirit.
“O Lord God, you are good and faithful. Come now, Holy Spirit and fill me with your love. I glorify your name. You are so loving and kind. When I am down, you life me up. When I question my faith, you fulfill me. Come now and make me your own. I praise your holy name. For you are good and your love endures forever.” Amen