What
does the Bible say about Blasphemy? By
Jack
Kettler
In this study, we
will seek to understand what word blasphemy
means.
As in previous studies,
we will look at definitions, scriptures,
commentary evidence and confessional
support for the glorifying of God in how we
live.
“Shew me thy ways, O
LORD; teach me thy paths.” (Psalm 25:4)
Definition:
Question: What is
blasphemy? What does it mean to blaspheme?
Answer: To blaspheme
is to speak with contempt about God or to be
defiantly irreverent. Blasphemy is
a verbal or written reproach of God's name,
character, work, or attributes. *
Definition:
Blasphemy; Speaking
evil of God or denying Him some good, which
we should attribute to Him.
Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is stating that
Jesus did his miracles by the
power of the devil (Matthew 12:22-32) and is
an unforgivable sin (Mark
3:28-30). Blasphemy arises out of pride
(Psalms 73:9; Psalms 73:11), hatred
(Psalms 74:18), injustice (Isaiah 52:5),
etc. Christ was mistakenly accused of
blasphemy (John 10:30-33). **
Blasphemy refers to
defamatory,
injurious, or abusive speech against God
or against sacred things:
Examples:
·Taking
God’s name in vain is blasphemous
·Mocking
the God of the Bible is blasphemous
·Expressions
such as “For God's sakes or heavens sake,”
and other derivations such as “Gee,”
“Gosh,” and “doggone it,” and many others
like these are blasphemous
·Denying
that God exists is blasphemous
·Committing
idolatry is blasphemous
·Diminishing
God's Word by disobeying it is blasphemous
·Desecration
of a church is blasphemous
·Worshipping
false gods is blasphemous
·Practicing
divination is blasphemous
·Reducing
God to a human level is blasphemous
Scriptures on Blasphemy:
“Thou
shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God
in vain; for the LORD will not hold
him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.”
(Exodus 20:7)
“And
ye shall not swear by my name falsely,
neither shalt thou profane the name of
thy God: I am the LORD.” (Leviticus 19:12)
“And
he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he
shall surely be put to death, and
all the congregation shall certainly stone
him: as well the stranger, as he
that is born in the land, when he
blasphemeth the name of the LORD, shall be
put to death.” (Leviticus 24:16)
“But
the person who acts defiantly, whether
native or resident alien blasphemes the
LORD. That person is to be cut off from his
people.” (Numbers 15:30 CSB)
“Therefore,
son of man, speak to the house of Israel and
say to them, Thus says the Lord
GOD, Yet in this your fathers have
blasphemed Me by acting treacherously
against Me.” (Ezekiel 20:27)
“Therefore
I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be
forgiven people, but the blasphemy
against the Spirit will not be forgiven.”
(Matthew 12:31 ESV) Note: The readers
of the KJV will notice against
the Holy
areitalicizedand
not in
the Greek text. The KJV translators added
these two words. Spirit is a far
better translation of πνεύματος
(pneumatos)
than ghost is.
John Calvin on Matthew
12:31 and blasphemy against the Spirit:
“Therefore,
I say to you. This inference ought not to be
confined to the clause immediately
preceding, but depends on the whole
discourse. Having proved that the scribes
could not blame him for casting out devils,
without opposing the kingdom of
God, he at length concludes that it is no
light or ordinary offense, but an
atrocious crime, knowingly and willingly to
pour contempt on the Spirit of God.
We have already said, that Christ did not
pronounce this decision on the mere words,
which they uttered, but on their base and
wicked thought.
All
sin and blasphemy. As our Lord declares
blasphemy against the Holy Ghost to be
more heinous than all other sins, it is of
importance to inquire what is the
meaning of that term. Those who define it to
be impenitence may be refuted
without any difficulty; for it would have
been in vain and to no purpose for
Christ to say, that it is not forgiven in
the present life. Besides, the word
blasphemy cannot be extended
indiscriminately to every sort of crimes;
but from
the comparison which Christ makes, we shall
easily obtain the true definition.
Why is it said that he who blasphemes
against the Spirit is a more heinous
sinner than he who blasphemes against
Christ? Is it because the majesty of the
Spirit is greater, that a crime committed
against him must be punished with
greater severity? Certainly that is not the
reason; for as the fullness of the
Godhead (Colossians 2:9) shines in Christ,
he who pours contempt upon him
overturns and destroys, as far as it lies in
his power, the whole glory of God.
Now in what manner shall Christ be separated
from his Spirit, so that those who
treat the Spirit with contempt offer no
injury or insult to Christ?
Already
we begin to perceive, that the reason why
blasphemy against the Spirit exceeds
other sins, is not that the Spirit is higher
than Christ, but that those who
rebel, after that the power of God has been
revealed, cannot be excused on the
plea of ignorance. Besides, it must be
observed, that what is here said about
blasphemy does not refer merely to the
essence of the Spirit, but to the grace
which He has bestowed upon us. Those who are
destitute of the light of the
Spirit, however much they may detract from
the glory of the Spirit, will not be
held guilty of this crime. We do not
maintain, that those persons are said to
pour contempt on the Spirit of God, who
oppose his grace and power by hardened
malice; and farther we maintain, that this
kind of sacrilege is committed only
when we knowingly endeavor to extinguish the
Spirit who dwells in us.
The
reason why contempt is said to be poured on
the Spirit, rather than on the Son
or the Father, is this. By detracting from
the grace and power of God, we make
a direct attack on the Spirit, from whom
they proceed, and in whom they are
revealed to us. Shall any unbeliever curse
God? It is as if a blind man were
dashing against a wall. But no man curses
the Spirit who is not enlightened by
him, and conscious of ungodly rebellion
against him; for it is not a
superfluous distinction. that all other
blasphemies shall be forgiven, except
that one blasphemy which is directed against
the Spirit. If a man shall simply
blaspheme against God, he is not declared to
be beyond the hope of pardon; but
of those who have offered outrage to the
Spirit, it is said that God will never
forgive them. Why is this, but because those
only are blasphemers against the
Spirit, who slander his gifts and power,
contrary to the conviction of their
own mind? Such also is the import of the
reason assigned by Mark for the
extreme severity of Christ's threatening
against the Pharisees; because they
had said that he had the unclean spirit; for
in this manner they purposely and
maliciously turned light into darkness; and,
indeed, it is in the manner of the
giants, as the phrase is, to make war
against God.
But
here a question arises. Do men proceed to
such a pitch of madness as not to
hesitate, knowingly and willfully, to rush
against God? For this appears to be
monstrous and incredible. I: reply: Such
audacity does indeed proceed from mad
blindness, in which, at the same time,
malice and virulent rage predominate.
Nor is it without reason that Paul says,
that though he was
A
blasphemer, he obtained pardon, because he
had done it ignorantly in his
unbelief,
(1
Timothy 1:13 ;)
For
this term draws a distinction between his
sin and voluntary rebellion. This
passage refutes also the error of those who
imagine that every sin which is
voluntary, or which is committed in
opposition to the conscience, is
unpardonable. On the contrary, Paul
expressly limits that sin to the First
Table of the Law; and our Lord not less
plainly applies the word blasphemy to a
single description of sin, and at the same
time shows, that it is of a kind,
which is directly opposed to the glory of
God.
From
all that has been said, we may conclude that
those persons sin and blaspheme
against the Holy Spirit, who maliciously
turn to his dishonor the perfections
of God, which have been revealed to him by
the Spirit, in which His glory ought
to be celebrated, and who, with Satan, their
leader, are avowed enemies of the
glory of God. We need not then wonder if for
such sacrilege there is no hope of
pardon; for they must be desperate who turn
the only medicine of salvation into
a deadly venom. Some consider this to be too
harsh, and betake themselves to
the childish expedient, that it is said to
be unpardonable, because the pardon
of it is rare and difficult to be obtained.
But the words of Christ are too
precise to admit of so silly an evasion. It
is excessively foolish to argue
that God will be cruel if he never pardon a
sin, the atrocity of which ought to
excite in us astonishment and horror. Those
who reason in that manner do not
sufficiently consider what a monstrous crime
it is, not only to profane
intentionally the sacred name of God, but to
spit in his face when he shines
evidently before us. It shows equal
ignorance to object, that it would be
absurd if even repentance could not obtain
pardon; for blasphemy against the
Spirit is a token of reprobation, and hence
it follows, that whoever have
fallen into it, have been delivered over to
a reprobate mind, (Romans 1:28.) As
we maintain, that he who has been truly
regenerated by the Spirit cannot
possibly fall into so horrid a crime, so, on
the other hand, we must believe
that those who have fallen into it never
rise again; nay, that in this manner
God punishes contempt of his grace, by
hardening the hearts of the reprobate,
so that they never have any desire towards
repentance.” (1)
False accusations of
blasphemy:
“Why
doth this man thus speak blasphemies? Who
can forgive sins but God only?” (Mark
2:7)
“The
Jews answered him, saying, for a good work
we stone thee not; but for
blasphemy; and because that thou, being a
man, makest thyself God.” (John 10:33)
If
it had been any other man, it these
accusations would be correct. In the case
of Jesus, it is not, because He is true God.
Acts of blasphemy:
“Who
opposeth and exalteth himself above all that
is called God, or that is
worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the
temple of God, shewing himself
that he is God.” (2 Thessalonians 2:4)
“Of
how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall
he be thought worthy, who hath
trodden underfoot the Son of God, and hath
counted the blood of the covenant,
wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy
thing, and hath done despite unto the
Spirit of grace?” (Hebrews 10:29)
“And
he opened his mouth in blasphemy against
God, to blaspheme his name, and his
tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.”
(Revelation 13:6)
Vine's
Expository Dictionary of New Testament
Words on
blasphemy:
A-1
Noun Strong's Number: g988 Greek: blasphemia
Blaspheme,
Blasphemy, Blasphemer, Blasphemous:
either
from blax,
“sluggish, stupid,” or,
probably, from blapto,
“to injure,”
and pheme,
“speech,” (Eng. “blasphemy”)
is so translated thirteen times in the RV,
but “railing” in Mat 15:19; Mar
7:22; Eph. 4:31; Col 3:8; 1Ti 6:4; Jud 1:9.
The word “blasphemy” is practically
confined to speech defamatory of the Divine
Majesty. See Note, below.
See
EVIL SPEAKING, RAILING.
B-1
Verb Strong's Number: g987 Greek: blasphemeo
Blaspheme,
Blasphemy, Blasphemer, Blasphemous:
“To
blaspheme, rail at or revile,” is used
(a)
in a general way, of any contumelious
speech, reviling, calumniating, railing
at, etc., as of those who railed at Christ,
e.g., Mat 27:39; Mar 15:29; Luke
22:65 (RV, “reviling”); Luke 23:39;
(b)
of those who speak contemptuously of God or
of sacred things, e.g., Mat 9:3;
Mar 3:28; Rom 2:24; 1Ti 1:20; 6:1; Rev 13:6;
16:9, 11, 21; “hath spoken blasphemy,”
Mat 26:65; “rail at,” 2Pe 2:10; Jud 1:8, 10;
“railing,” 2Pe 2:12; “slanderously
reported,” Rom 3:8; “be evil spoken of,” Rom
14:16; 1Cr 10:30; 2Pe 2:2; “speak
evil of,” Tts 3:2; 1Pe 4:4; “being defamed,”
1Cr 4:13. The verb (in the present
participial form) is translated
“blasphemers” in Act 19:37; in Mar 2:7,
“blasphemeth,”
RV, for AV, “speaketh blasphemies.”
There
is no noun in the original representing the
English “blasphemer.” This is
expressed either by the verb, or by the
adjective blasphemos.
Note:
As to Christ's teaching concerning
“blasphemy” against the Holy Spirit, e.g.,
Mat 12:32, that anyone, with the evidence of
the Lord's power before His eyes,
should declare it to be Satanic, exhibited a
condition of heart beyond Divine
illumination and therefore hopeless. Divine
forgiveness would be inconsistent
with the moral nature of God. As to the Son
of Man, in his state of
humiliation, there might be
misunderstanding, but not so with the Holy
Spirit's
power demonstrated. (2)
An excellent
theological dictionary article on
blasphemy:
Blasphemy
Definition. In
English “blasphemy” denotes any utterance
that insults God or Christ (or Allah,
or Muhammed) and gives deeply felt offense
to their followers. In several
states in the United States and in Britain,
blasphemy is a criminal offense,
although there have been few prosecution in
this century. In Islamic countries
generally no distinction is made between
blasphemy and heresy, so that any
perceived rejection of the Prophet or his
message, by Muslims or non-Muslims,
is regarded as blasphemous.
The biblical concept
is very different. There is no Hebrew word
equivalent to the English
"blasphemy," and the Greek root blasphem-
[blasfhmevw],
which is used
fifty-five times in the New Testament, has a
wide meaning. In both Testaments
the idea of blasphemy as something that
offends the religious sensibilities of
others is completely absent.
The Old Testament At
least five different Hebrew verbs are
translated “blaspheme” in English
translations. Translators choose “blaspheme”
when, for instance, the verbs “curse”
(qalal
[l;l'q]), “revile” (gadap),
or “despise” (herep)
are used with God as the object.
No special verb is reserved for cursing or
insults directed at God.
However, to curse or
insult God is an especially grave sin. It
can be done by word or by deed. There
is little distinction between the sinner who
deliberately abuses the name of
the Lord (Lev. 24:10-16), and the one who
deliberately flouts his commandments
(Num. 15:30-31). For both, the death penalty
is prescribed. Similarly, the
prayer of the Levites in Nehemiah 9 calls
"awful blasphemies" all
that Israelites did when they made the
golden calf (9:18).
David's flagrant sin
with Bathsheba may be called a blasphemy (2
Samuel 12:14), but a more likely
translation is that David has “made the
enemies of the Lord show utter contempt”
(NIV). Instead of testifying by lifestyle to
the character of the Lord, David's
action confirms the blasphemous belief of
the nations that the Lord is no
different from any other national god.
The New Testament.
The Greek root blasphem-
[blasfhmevw]
can be used of strong
insults thrown at other people (Mark 15:29;
Acts 13:45; Eph. 4:31; 1 Peter
4:4), or even unjust accusations (Rom. 3:8),
but it is more usually used of
insults offered to God (e.g., Rev. 13:6;
16:9). Jesus is accused of blasphemy
for pronouncing forgiveness and for claiming
a unique relationship with God
(Matt. 26:65; Mark 2:7; John 10:33).
Jesus picks up the
Numbers 15 passage about blasphemy in his
famous saying about blasphemy against
the Holy Spirit (Matt. 12:31-32; Mark
3:28-29; Luke 12:10). Numbers 15:22-31
distinguishes between unintentional sin
committed in ignorance (for which
forgiveness is possible), and defiant sin,
called blasphemy, for which there is
no forgiveness. Jesus teaches that the
blasphemy for which there is no
forgiveness is that against the Holy Spirit;
all other blasphemies,
particularly those against “the Son of Man,”
may be forgiven. Insults thrown at
"the Son of Man" may be forgiven because
they are committed in ignorance
of who he really is: his heavenly glory does
not appear on earth. But to
ascribe obvious manifestations of the Spirit
to the devil's agency is a much
more serious offense not committed in
ignorance.
This downgrading of
the significance of blasphemy against Christ
marks an important difference
between Christianity and Islam. Whereas
Muslims are bound to defend the honor
of the Prophet, for Christians Jesus is the
one who says, “The insults of those
who insult you have fallen on me” (Rom.
15:3; quoting Psalm 69:9). He
deliberately accepts the vilification of
others and prays for the forgiveness
of those who insult him (Luke 23:34). In
this, he sets an example for
Christians to follow. According to Peter
(Peter 2:19-25), they must accept
insult and blasphemy without retaliation, as
he did.
There is only one
kind of blasphemy that Christians must
resist: the blasphemy they will bring on
themselves if they cause a fellow believer
to stumble through the thoughtless
exercise of their freedom (Rom. 14:15-16; 1
Cor. 10:28-30). Stephen Motyer (3)
Westminster Longer Catechism
Q. 111-114.
The Scriptural proofs are in brackets, and
highlighted in yellow. The disciple
of Scripture is encouraged to look up the
proof texts:
Q. 111. Which is the third
commandment?
A. The third commandment is, Thou
shalt
not take the name of the Lord thy God in
vain: for the Lord will not hold him
guiltless that taketh his name in vain. [Exodus 20:7]
Q. 112. What is required in the
third
commandment?
A. The third commandment
requires, That
the name of God, his titles, attributes, [Matthew 11:9;
Deuteronomy 28:58; Psalm 29:2; Psalm 68:4;
Revelation 15:3-4] ordinances, [Malachi 1:14]
the Word, [Psalm 138:2]
sacraments, [1
Corinthians 11:24-25, 28-29]
prayer, [1
Timothy 2:8]
oaths, [Jeremiah
4:2]
vows, [Ecclesiastes
5:2,
4-6] lots, [Acts
1:24,
26] his works, [Job
36:24] and whatsoever else there is
whereby he makes himself known, be
holily and reverently used in thought, [Malachi 3:16]
meditation, [Psalm 8:1,
3-4, 9] word, [Colossians
3:17; Psalm 105:2, 5]
and writing; [Psalm
102:18]
by an holy profession, [1
Peter 3:15; Micah 4:5] and
answerable conversation, [Philippians
1:27] to the
glory of God, [1
Corinthians 10:31] and the good of
ourselves, [Jeremiah
32:39] and others. [1
Peter 2:12]
Q. 113. What are the
sins forbidden in the third commandment?
A. The sins forbidden
in the third commandment are, the not using
of God’s name as is required; [Malachi
2:2] and the
abuse of it in an ignorant, [Acts
17:23] vain, [Proverbs
30:9] irreverent, profane, [Malachi 1:6-7, 12; 3:14]
superstitious [1 Samuel
4:3-5; Jeremiah 7:4, 9-10, 14, 31;
Colossians 2:20-22] or wicked
mentioning or otherwise using his titles,
attributes, [2
Kings
18:30, 35; Exodus 5:2; Psalm 139:20]
ordinances, [Psalm
50:16-17] or works,
[Isaiah
5:12] by
blasphemy, [2
Kings 19:22;
Leviticus 24:11] perjury; [Zechariah 5:4; 8:17] all
sinful cursings, [1
Samuel 17:43; 2 Samuel 16:5]
oaths, [Jeremiah
5:7;
23:10] vows, [Deuteronomy
23:18;
Acts 23:12, 14] and lots; [Esther 3:7; 9:4;
Psalm 22:18] violating of our
oaths and vows, if lawful; [Psalm
24:4;
Ezekiel 17:16, 18-19] and
fulfilling them, if of things unlawful; [Mark 6:26; 1 Samuel
25:22, 32-34]
murmuring and quarrelling at, [Romans 9:14, 19-20] curious
prying into, [Deuteronomy
29:29] and
misapplying of God’s decrees [Romans 3:5, 7] and
providences; [Ecclesiastes 8:11;
9:3; Psalm 39] misinterpreting,
[Matthew
5:21-22]
misapplying, [Ezekiel
13:22] or any way perverting the
Word, or any part of it; [2
Peter 3:16; Matthew 22:24-31;
25:28-30] to profane jests, [Isaiah 22:13; Jeremiah 23:34, 36,
38] curious or unprofitable
questions, vain janglings, or the
maintaining of false doctrines; [1
Timothy 1:4, 6-7; 6:4-5; 20; 2
Timothy 2:14; Titus 3:9] abusing
it, the creatures, or anything
contained under the name of God, to charms,[Deuteronomy
18:10-14;
Acts 19:13] or sinful lusts and
practices; [2
Timothy 4:3-4; Romans
13:13-14; 1 Kings 21:9-10] the
maligning, [Acts 13:45; 1 John
3:12] scorning, [Psalm
1:1; 2 Peter 3:3]
reviling, [1
Peter 4:4]
or any wise opposing of God’s truth, grace,
and ways; [Acts
13:45-46, 50; 4:18; 19:9; 1 Thessalonians
2:16; Hebrews 10:29] making
profession of religion in hypocrisy, or for
sinister ends; [2
Timothy
3:5; Matthew 23:14; Matthew 6:1-2, 5, 16]
being ashamed of it, [Mark
8:38] or a shame to
it, by unconformable, [Psalm
73:14-15] unwise, [1
Corinthians 6:5-6; Ephesians 5:15-17]
unfruitful, [Isaiah
5:4; 2 Peter 1:8-9]
and offensive walking, [Romans
2:23-24] or backsliding from it. [Galatians 3:1, 3;
Hebrews 6:6].
Q. 114. What reasons are annexed
to the
third commandment?
A. The reasons annexed to the
third
commandment, in these words, The Lord thy
God, and, For the Lord will not hold
him guiltless that taketh his name in vain,
[Exodus 20:7]
are, because he is the Lord and our
God, therefore his name is not to be
profaned, or any way abused by us; [Leviticus
19:12]
especially because he will be so far from
acquitting and sparing the
transgressors of this commandment, as that
he will not suffer them to escape
his righteous judgment; [Ezekiel
36:21-23;
Deuteronomy 28:58-59; Zechariah 5:2-4]
albeit many such escape
the censures and punishments of men. [1 Samuel 2:12, 17,
22, 24; 3:13]
Notes:
1.John
Calvin, Calvin's
Commentaries Volume XV1
Harmony of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John,
(Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Book
House, Reprinted 1979), pp. 73-77.
2.W.
E. Vine, An Expository Dictionary of New
Testament Words, (Iowa Falls, Iowa,
Riverside Book and Bible House), p. 123-124.
3.Walter
A. Elwell, Editor Baker's
Evangelical
Dictionary of Biblical Theology,
(Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Book
House), p. 67.
Mr. Kettler has
previously published articles in the Chalcedon
Report and Contra
Mundum. He and his wife Marea attend
the Westminster, CO, RPCNA Church. Mr.
Kettler is the author of the book defending
the Reformed Faith against attacks,
titled: The Religion That Started in
a Hat. Available at:
www.TheReligionThatStartedInAHat.com