Expert: Mr. McClellan - 1/8/2010

Question
QUESTION: Hello Mr. McClellan

I have a question regarding the unforgivable sin found on Matthew 12:31 :". . . but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven unto men.'

I think I have committed that sin and I feel guilty.
Let me explain to you how it happened.
I always had a bad eye sight on my left eye that caused me to feel uncomfortable and I always hoped for miracle. Now, one day while I was desperate for miracle I said "God! I cant bare this test. this test is so difficult that I consider it a crime. "

I was blaming God for my problem and at the same time I was hoping for a miracle. However at that time, I was not close to God as I am now. Now I understand things that I was not able to understand in the past. So my question is: is that considered blasphemy? I am using Gods name in vain? if yes, then will God forgive me? I committed a sin without knowing. I have asked him to forgive me many times with all my heart. But I am not sure if he did, due to the verse found on Matthew 12:31
I have accepted Christ into my heart and I know He is my Lord and personal savior and I always try to follow his teachings. However, I feel very troubled seeing that I had committed the unforgivable sin without really knowing it was a sin.

Did I lose my salvation?

ANSWER: Hello Richard,
It's good to hear from you and it's always a pleasure for me to try to point out the truth about what the writers of the Bible intended for readers to understand.
Now, I don't recall you telling me in past communications how you came to be "saved." That is, how you obtained forgiveness for your past sins and became an authentic Christian. The vast majority of people, maybe all of them now days, who think of themselves as Christians really are not because they've fallen for some false teaching about how to do that and are thus following a false Christ.

I'll just assume that you obeyed that "form of doctrine" that Paul describes in Romans 6 and that Peter presented in Acts 2 causing you to be admitted into the kingdom of the Biblical God which is the Biblical Church of which there is only one just as there is only one true gospel and only one correct response to it that is plainly commanded and presented in the New Testament time after time.

Now to answer your specific question. Here is the passage you mentioned:

Mat 12:31  I tell you that any sinful thing you do or say can be forgiven. Even if you speak against the Son of Man, you can be forgiven. But if you speak against the Holy Spirit, you can never be forgiven, either in this life or in the life to come.(CEV)

This passage clearly says that when you accused Jesus of being an unjust tyrant he will forgive you if you want him to. So, that is not the unforgivable sin. Now, earlier in the chapter, Jesus healed a man (vs 22)just as he had heald so many others right out in the open view of crowds of people that included many of the Jewish leaders who tried to turn people away from beliving in Jesus. These people were eye witnesses of the things Jesus did that were, as Nicodemus said in John 3:1-3, obviously the work of God and not mere magic tricks. The unforgivable sin was comitted when a person was a first hand witness to what was clearly an authentic miracle and attributed it to the work of Satan and refused to believe the message it was intended to prove true. The very purpose of the Biblical miracles was to provide irrefutable evidence of the truth of something being presented as being from God and that those claiming to have a message from God were not lying. If a person could not be convinced by a legitimate miracle, then there was no way to convince them and thus no possibility of forgiveness. Read all of 1John, especially vs 16-17 which also specifically speak of the unforgivable sin. This chapter precisely speaks of what Peter presented in Acts 2, and that Luke presents throughout the entire book of Acts, and that Paul presents in many of his letters and that he clearly describes in Romans 6 having, himself, obeyed "that form of doctrine" in Acts 22:1-16, vs 16 in particular. Include Romans 6:3, 1Corinthians 1:13, Galatians 3:27, Ephesians 4, in your reading today. As you read, ask yourself, "How does a person get "into Chirst," and, "Whan does a repentent sinner "Put on Christ." The answer is as plain as the nose on your face if you really care to know.

Now, for one more comment. Read Matthew 12:3-7 again. It plainly says that a person can break the law, that is, they can sin without actually sinning! This does not seem to make sense does it? How can a person violate a command from God and not be guilty of a sin that they need to seek forgiveness for? The answer is that it depends on the person's motive, their real reason for doing it. This is a primary reason to be very careful how you judge others. Our actions can have more than one reason and this is why Paul encouraged Christians to practice the fruits of the Spirit and assume the best of others and to be patient and slow to anger, etc.

Well, I hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Mr McClellan






---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you Mr. McClellan

I have some further questions regarding this issue. I have read that blasphemy (Blasphemia in Greek) means injuring/damaging someone's reputation.  But I think Blasphemy is the same as the third commandment "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain"

Could you please tell me if they are the same, and what is the difference between them?
Is the Third commandment considered an unforgivable sin as well? (especially when committed unknowingly?)


Thank you.

Richard


Answer
Hi Richard,
According to what Jesus said, "Mat 12:31  I tell you that any sinful thing you do or say can be forgiven," there is only one sin that would be unforgivable. I'm totally convinced that no one can actually commit that sin in these modern times, and for very good reason.

Now, for blasphemy and taking the Lord's name in vain. Blasphemy could be used the way the word slander is used now. As for taking the Lord's name in vain, note that it does not say "use the Lord's name in vain, or "curse using his name," though Jesus does say not to swear using his name but to just say yes or no because we can't order God to do anything. We can ask but we cannot order. Think about marriage vows here. A minister might say, "Do you, John, take this woman to be your ...." When a man and a woman get married, the woman takes the man's name as her own. Even if she doesn't, people will know that she's supposed to the man's wife. If she behaves as a faithful wife should (the husband too), she will not have taken his name in vain and he will always be proud to tell people that she's his wife. On the other hand, if she shames him by her behavior she will not be acting like his wife, or as a wife should. When a person accepts God, or claims to accept God, or when a person claims to be a Christian but does not obey Jesus, Jesus will reject them as belonging to him; they will have taken his name in vain. It will be useless for them to claim to be Christians because, as John said in Revelation concerning the church at Laodicea (3:16), he will reject them like vomit. Read what James said in chapters 2 thru 5. He spoke about this though he didn't use the phrase "take the Lord's name in vain." He just described how to do it and what the result would be if those Christians didn't repent and ask to be forgiven. Paul spoke about this very thing in 1Corinthians too. Many of those people were not behaving like people who wanted to honor the name of Jesus and so have other people honor him too. Instead, they were bringing reproach on his name and causing outsiders to ridicule them and Jesus. They were being hypocrites and in serious danger of losing the promise of eternal life that they had accepted when they first obeyed and were added to the church. After the Isralites accepted the Law of Moses and promised to do it, they constantly misbehaved and all those that had left Egypt with Moses died in the desert and were not allowed to see the promised land. It will be likewise with Christians that do not remain faitful to their committment to Jesus. They will have taken his name in vain.

I hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Mr. McClellan

P.S. I like to add just a little to the above. I think the person who wrote what's at the web site, http://www.thecreekonline.org/vsItemDisplay.dsp&objectID=9D39DDAC-70AF-4926-94E4 got it right and did a pretty good job of explaining it. Many people find the third commandment difficult to explain because they mistakenly think that once a person is saved they can't become lost again, so the idea that it means that a person can actually become a Christian and then lose eteranal life does not even occur to them. It's sad at how they struggle to explain away those passages that so plainly say otherwise. Others just admit that they are guessing and talk about cursing and using blashphemy by speech. Remember, the church is described by John as the bride of Christ and a bride is to be subject to her husband in all things. When a person becomes a Christian, it's like being married to Jesus like a bride is married to a husband and people outside the church will pay careful attention to how they behave.