Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit

Definition and Meaning

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the sin that Jesus, in the Gospels, declared cannot be forgiven. It is often called "the unforgivable sin." Throughout church history, interpreters have disagreed over two questions: why this sin alone is an exception when other sins are taught to be forgiven upon repentance, and which acts fall under it.

In Korean Bible translations, the Korean Revised Version renders the term with a word meaning "slander" (hwebang), while the New Korean Revised Version uses a word meaning "blasphemy" (modok).

Biblical Background

The saying appears in Matthew 12:31-32, Mark 3:28-30, and Luke 12:10. In Matthew and Mark, it follows a scene in which Jesus casts out demons and the Pharisees (in Mark, the scribes who came down from Jerusalem) attribute his power to Beelzebub, the prince of the demons. Mark gives the reason for the warning: "Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit" (Mark 3:30). Interpretations of the saying also commonly discuss Hebrews 10:26-31 and the "sin unto death" of 1 John 5:16.

Historical Interpretations

• Augustine is said to have understood this sin as an obstinate impenitence that persists until death. The Catholic Church likewise describes it as the deliberate refusal to accept God's mercy through repentance.
• John Calvin regarded it as maliciously opposing the truth while knowing it through the illumination of the Holy Spirit. The Reformed tradition generally follows this interpretation and holds that a truly regenerate believer does not commit this sin.
• In many other traditions as well, the view is widely accepted that this sin is not a single slip of the tongue but a persistent state of finally rejecting the call of the Holy Spirit.

Practice in Korean Churches

• Pastoral counseling: In Korean Protestant churches, a considerable number of members fear that they may have committed this sin without realizing it. In such cases, many pastors, regardless of denomination, explain that "the very concern that one may have committed this sin is itself a sign that one's heart has not yet been closed to the Holy Spirit."
• Debates over spiritual gifts: Pentecostal and charismatic churches sometimes warn that dismissing phenomena such as speaking in tongues or divine healing as the work of demons is akin to blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Those who hold to cessationism, by contrast, counter that because the passage was spoken concerning Jesus' own ministry, it cannot be applied directly to criticize particular phenomena today.
• Criticism of misuse: In some cases, people who criticize church leaders or particular gatherings have been accused of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit in order to silence them. Voices in various denominations have criticized this as a misuse of the text.