In the Fulness of Time/Part 84

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Blasphemy: Speaking Against the Holy Spirit. Matthew 12:31-37

Blasphemy: Differentiated and Forgiveable. Matthew 12:31a, 32a

Mt. 12:31a, 32a “Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men;… And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him.”The word blasphemy has reference to any kind of injurious speech, from blax (stupid) and phema (speech). Thus, because you must either be for or against Christ (12:30), you will be held responsible for what you do (sin) and say (blaspheme). Yet, you can be forgiven, even if it is rejection of Him as Son of Man. There are many who have been blasphemers and later turned to Christ, even as the Apostle Paul: “Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious; But I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief” and proclaimed himself the “chief of sinners” (1 Timothy 1:13-15). The key words would be that Paul did it “ignorantly in unbelief.” He had not seen the miracles of Christ, nor heard His voice, until he was stricken on the Damascus Road. In fact, he thought he was doing the right thing: “I verily thought within myself that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth…. and compelled them to blaspheme” (Acts 26:9, 11). This obviously cannot be classified as an unpardonable sin. But there is another aspect of blasphemy which is in a category all by itself.

Blasphemy: Specified and Unforgivable. Matthew 12:31b, 32b

The situation is different when the individual has personally witnessed the miracles of Christ, heard His claims to be the Messiah/King, and yet deliberately refuses to believe and calls those miracles the work of “an unclean spirit” (Mark 3:30). Such persons are in danger of “eternal damnation” (Mark 3:29). While Jesus gives this warning of danger, He is still pleading with the Pharisees to repent and believe on Him; but the danger is, that unless they repent, they have “never forgiveness.” This account from Mark 3:29 is just another way of saying that the blatant, hardened unbeliever will not be forgiven, “neither in this age, neither in the age to come.” How do we know when anyone reaches this point in unbelief? Only the person himself can know for certain; observers can merely judge from what they see and hear. Certainly from God’s standpoint, while there is still life, there is hope. As has been said, it is not the thought that one seeking pardon will not find it, but rather that one who rejects the Holy Spirit will not seek pardon. Thus, it is true that “unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled” (Titus 1:15). Just like the Pharisees, “They profess that they know God, but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate” (Titus 1:16). They are like those described in 1 Timothy 4:2: “Having their consciences seared with a hot iron.” In the final analysis, then, this type of blasphemy is an extreme example of unbelief such as Proverbs 29:1 describes: “He that being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.”

Blasphemy: Illustrated and Applicable. Matthew 12:33-37

Trees: Good and Corrupt 12:33

Mt. 12:33 “Either make the tree good, and its fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit.”A number of commentators relegate this verse to a description of Christ by Himself, and say that they must judge Him by His works: He is the good tree producing good fruit. While the principle is there, namely that good produces good, and that corruption comes from corruption, still, the context shows that they had already passed judgment on His works, and now He is assessing the fruit of their corrupt hearts, including their words of blasphemy against Him. In Matthew 7:16-20 the fruit of the corrupt tree, which depicts the false prophets, was discovered to be lying words every time. So here in Matthew 12:32 He warns against speaking words against the Holy Spirit; then in 12:34-37 immediately after He speaks of corrupt fruit, He mentions evil, idle words coming from evil hearts. The entire paragraph turns on what comes out of them, not on the character of Jesus or His works.

Treasures: Good and Evil 12:34-35

Mt. 12:34-35 “O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.” In connection with 12:33, these verses continue the emphasis that their corrupt fruit (words) issue from the overflow of an evil heart. Jesus repeats the strong language used by John the Baptist in Matthew 3:7, “generation of vipers,” and will use it again with the Pharisees in Matthew 23:33. If they had been good men , the treasure of good words would have flowed from their lips, but not so, since they, being evil, could not speak good things.

Testimonies: Good and Idle 12:36-37

Mt. 12:36-37 “But I say unto you that every word that men shall speak, they shall give an account of it in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”If these two verses were directed to believers it would mean that only some sins were forgiven and the rest await to be accounted for at that “day of judgment.” This, however, is not the case. These warnings are addressed to unbelievers, to blasphemers, to a generation of vipers.

There are a different number of judgments spoken of in Scripture: there is no such thing as a general judgment! There is the judgment of the sins of the unsaved called the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15) at which time those who “die in their sins” (John 8:24) will be judged. This is in stark contrast to those who “die in the Lord” who are called “Blessed” and who “rest from their labors” (Revelation 14:13). The only judgment to be faced by the believer is called the Bema Seat of Christ where the believers’ works are accounted for, to determine reward (1 Corinthians 3:11-15; Romans 14:10-12; 2 Corinthians 5:10). Then shall every believer receive “praise of God” (1 Corinthians 4:5). It is cruel, to say the least, for well intentioned preachers to use such passages as Matthew 12:36-37 as a scare tactic to rob Christians of their peace and assurance. To the unsaved this is a legitimate warning. Jesus said to the unfaithful servant (an unbelieving enemy according to Luke 19:27) “Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant” (Luke 19:22). The statement that men shall be justified by their words is simply the other side of the coin. Just as there are good trees and corrupt trees, good treasures and evil treasures, so the good testimonies come from good hearts, and are evidence that with their mouths “confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 19:9-10). Thus they are justified by their words. Careless words of the wicked will be evidence of their character, and by them, they shall be condemned, “in the fullness of time.”

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