Language Lab: What Does “blasphemy” Mean?

Language Lab: What Does “Blasphemy” Mean?

Bible Blast: Read John 10:36-38

I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven—except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven.

Matthew 12:31

Blasphemy. Now there’s a word you don’t use every day!

Blasphemy is basically the worst kind of false thing you can say about God or the Bible. It’s not something someone can do “by accident.” It’s a very “on purpose” word-bashing against our faith. You see it a lot in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) when the religious leaders accused Jesus of saying false things about God.

The religious leaders in Jesus’ time didn’t like Jesus. They thought he was a guy lots of people liked who was speaking lies about God when he said he was God’s Son, and that was blasphemy.

The weird thing is, since they didn’t believe he was God, they were the ones saying blasphemous things all the time. In Matthew 12, the Pharisees actually said Jesus could do miracles because he got his power from the devil! That is some serious blasphemy, and Jesus told them so.

Jesus said that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit won’t be forgiven. Huh?

A person who lives a life of constantly and intentionally speaking against the Holy Spirit and denies the work of Jesus Christ won’t be forgiven because he or she will never ask for God’s forgiveness. A blasphemous person has removed himself or herself from the Holy Spirit’s influence—and the Holy Spirit is the only one who can lead someone to salvation.

You may not be at risk for blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, but you could very easily “blaspheme” another person. Although it may not be exactly the same as blasphemy, lying about other kids to make them feel bad is not something Jesus would want you to do. It may be tempting to say untrue things about a person behind her back, and yes, God forgives you, but what does he really want you to do in those situations?

Girl Gab: Grab a piece of paper. Think about someone you’re tempted to say bad things about. Write down five positive things about that person. (You might need your mom’s help with that.) As you go down the list, thank God for each of those things.