Luke 12:10 “And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.”
A common way Christians are unmerciful is in interpreting and applying this verse. What does blaspheming the Holy Spirit mean? Most scholars and preachers today believe that this “unforgivable sin” means to be unrepentant. This is why Christians feel it is acceptable to tell people of other religions, those of no religion, LGBT (and many others) that they must stop sinning and accept Christ as their savior or they will go to hell. While I of course agree that repentance is hugely important, I believe this interpretation of blasphemy is theologically incorrect and its application in this manner completely un-Christian. First of all, it is (nearly?) impossible to stop sinning. We are all in need of God’s forgiveness and mercy and saved only by the grace of God without any merit of our own. Secondly, this judgmental, taking the speck out of another’s eye attitude is contrary to everything Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount.
As for the interpretation, according to Strong’s Bible Dictionary, for many centuries, the unforgivable sin was “taking the Lord’s Name in vain (Exodus 20:7, King James)”. This does not mean saying a “bad word”. The NIV reads, “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.” The phrase “the name of the Lord” should be interpreted as “the authority of the Lord”. We have the same concept today, using our name to give permission to take money from our checking account, or when someone says “Stop in the name of the Law”.
There are many passages which support the notion that abusing God’s authority is the Unforgivable Sin. I cite just one here: Jesus’ parable just a bit further down in Luke 12 where he describes four servants: the faithful, the wicked, the lazy and the ignorant. The wicked servant who knows God’s Will and uses it to hurt others who receives the worst punishment, being “cut to pieces and assigned a place with the unbelievers (12:46)”.
To my mind, it makes perfect sense that misusing God’s authority would be the sin that would upset Him the most. Think of the difference between a coach or scout leader sexually abusing a young person and a priest doing so. From God’s perspective, the latter would be significantly worse. In addition to the horrifying act itself, the abusive priest likely causes many people to turn away from Him. Priests and ministers and others in authority in His Church should know better. “Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly (James 3:1).”
So let us repent of our sins, but let us also be merciful to those who cannot.
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