{"id":53563,"date":"2018-06-28T20:11:00","date_gmt":"2018-06-29T01:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=53563"},"modified":"2022-09-16T20:19:57","modified_gmt":"2022-09-17T01:19:57","slug":"how-could-the-pharisee-be-guilty-of-the-unforgivable-sin-with-just-a-few-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-could-the-pharisee-be-guilty-of-the-unforgivable-sin-with-just-a-few-words\/","title":{"rendered":"How could the Pharisee be guilty of the unforgivable sin with just a few words?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

I’m scared, for I’ve been wondering whether the Pharisees commit the unforgivable sin by just once saying blasphemous things about the Holy Spirit. I know it’s said that the unforgivable sin isn’t any single act from which there’s no more turning back, but how does it seem that only a few words from the Pharisees made them fall guilty of the unforgivable sin? I’m confused.<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

You are confused because you are making a number of assumptions that lead to conflicting ideas.<\/p>\n

After Jesus healed a demon-possessed man who was unable to speak or hear, the crowd was beginning to realize that Jesus just might be the Messiah. In response, the Pharisees launched a counter rumor: “This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons<\/em>” (Matthew 12:24). This isn’t the first time they spread this idea. Some scribes from Jerusalem were spreading the same rumor earlier (Mark 3:20-30; Matthew 9:34). Just because you see a rebuke for a statement, you cannot conclude that this is the only time it has happened. The gospel records show that it happened at least twice.<\/p>\n

In both cases, Jesus does not say the Pharisees would never be forgiven. He states that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit would lead a person to a state from which he won’t seek forgiveness. We don’t know if these Pharisees had reached that state or not. (See:\u00a0Blasphemy Against the Holy Ghost<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Slandering the Holy Spirit to get people not to believe in God (i.e. blasphemy) isn’t the only sin that leaves a person unable to be forgiven. “If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death<\/em>” (I John 5:16-17). Any sin which a person commits and refuses to repent of is a sin that leads to death because repentance is a prerequisite to forgiveness. (See:\u00a0A Sin Leading to Death<\/a>.) What is true is that a person willing to slander the Holy Spirit to spread unbelief is very unlikely to repent of this particular sin.<\/p>\n\t

Response:<\/h2>\n

All right. Thank you.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: I’m scared, for I’ve been wondering whether the Pharisees commit the unforgivable sin by just once saying blasphemous things about the Holy Spirit. I know it’s said that the unforgivable sin isn’t any single act from which there’s no more turning back, but how does it seem that only a few words from the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[180,181],"class_list":["post-53563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-blasphemy","tag-unforgivable"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":22454,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-you-unforgivable\/","url_meta":{"origin":53563,"position":0},"title":"Are You Unforgivable?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 2, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Repeatedly I receive frantic inquiries from people fearful that they committed an unforgivable sin. It never seems to register that nowhere in the Bible are sins called \"unforgivable.\" If a sin was unforgivable, then it means God refuses to offer forgiveness for certain sins. But that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6868,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-you-sell-yourself-to-the-devil-is-this-an-unforgivable-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":53563,"position":1},"title":"If you sell yourself to the devil, is this an unforgivable sin?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 14, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I had a question after reading some of your site.\u00a0\u00a0You say it is possible to sell your soul to the devil.\u00a0 So is that an example of a sin that is unforgivable by God?\u00a0 And even if it is forgivable does the devil now own your soul anyway so\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":26877,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-to-say-that-a-preacher-isnt-teaching-the-truth\/","url_meta":{"origin":53563,"position":2},"title":"Is it wrong to say that a preacher isn’t teaching the truth?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 24, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, Like many, I have struggled with the issue of unforgivable sin. I know you have addressed this already in other questions, and I just have a quick question. You mentioned that someone who commits the unforgivable sin does so knowingly and purposely. A little while ago, I had\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42142,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-repeating-a-false-doctrine-blasphemy\/","url_meta":{"origin":53563,"position":3},"title":"Is repeating a false doctrine blasphemy?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 17, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Minister, When I was in college I took a Jewish mysticism course and the professor explained a theory about God to the class. The theory was basically that God had a very small portion of evil in Him and He despised that evil so He created humans and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":56037,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/it-seems-impossible-to-perfectly-control-your-thoughts\/","url_meta":{"origin":53563,"position":4},"title":"It seems impossible to perfectly control your thoughts!","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 22, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I suffer from OCD, anxiety, and Asperger's (on the autism spectrum), basically it's a high-functioning autism. I have been struggling with this issue for years. As soon as I read the verse about the unpardonable sin, I became obsessed with it. There have been times when this obsession is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15909,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/isnt-the-one-and-only-unpardonable-sin-the-denial-of-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":53563,"position":5},"title":"Isn’t the one and only unpardonable sin the denial of Christ?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 24, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Concerning your outline, \"A Sin Leading to Death\": Jesus Christ died for our sins. He was\u00a0God in the flesh; the only person who ever lived that was without sin. So, he died\u00a0and was resurrected so that we may be free\u00a0from sin. 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