Answers

By   •   June 1, 2004   •   Topics: , ,

crusades

Q:

I know I'm going to hell when I die because I've blasphemed the Holy Spirit. My aunt says God will forgive me but I don't believe it. But I promised her I'd write you to see what you'd say. I don't want to go to hell but I know I will.


A:

Do you honestly think God wants you to spend eternity apart from Him in the place the Bible calls hell? No, He doesn’t. Instead, He wants you to be with Him in heaven because He loves you. The Bible says, “He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

Those words were written by the Apostle Peter—and if anyone was guilty of denying Christ, it was Peter. Do you remember? Jesus had warned Peter that he would deny Him, but Peter strongly disagreed. Then Jesus was arrested, and when someone asked Peter if he also was a follower of Jesus, “He began to call down curses on himself, and he swore to them, ‘I don’t know this man'” (Mark 14:71). But Peter repented, and God forgave him—completely and totally. And He will forgive you.

Yes, Jesus said only one sin couldn’t be forgiven, and that was “blasphemy against the Spirit” (Matthew 12:31). But what does it mean to blaspheme the Spirit? I have studied Jesus’ words very carefully, and it simply means this: To deny the Holy Spirit’s witness to Jesus.

In other words, the only sin God can’t forgive is the sin of rejecting Christ. But why reject Him any longer? God’s promise is for you: “Whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:18). Commit your life to Him today.