Blasphemy

Eph 4:31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

2. Rail (1 Tim 6:4; 2 Pet 2:11)
1 Tim 6:4 He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,

2 Pet 2:11 Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.

3. Revile (Matt 27:39)
Matt 27:39 And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,

4. Defame (1 Cor 4:13)
1 Cor 4:13 Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.

5. Slander (Rom 3:8)
Rom 3:8 And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just.

6. Insult by blasphemy (Matt 12:31)
Matt 12:31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.

. It was a violation of the Third Commandment, which required that the name and reputation of the Lord be upheld .

The unbelieving Jews of Jesus' day charged Him with blasphemy because they thought of Him only as a man while He claimed to be God's Son . Actually, the lawlessness of the Jews themselves was causing God's name to be blasphemed among the Gentiles . By their bitter opposition to Jesus and His gospel, they themselves were guilty of blasphemy . Jesus condemned as blasphemy their attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan .

Christians are commanded to avoid behavior that blasphemes the Lord's name and teaching <1 Tim. 6:1>.
(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary) (Copyright (C) 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

BLASPHEMY

BLASPHEMY (Gk. blasphemia, signifies the speaking of evil of God; Heb. naqab shem 'Adonai, to "curse the name of the Lord," ). Sometimes, perhaps, "blasphemy" has been retained by translators when the general meaning "evil-speaking" or "slander" might have been better . There are two general forms of blasphemy: (1) Attributing some evil to God, or denying Him some good that we should attribute to Him . (2) Giving the attributes of God to a creature-- which form of blasphemy the Jews charged Jesus with . The Jews from ancient times have interpreted the command in as prohibiting the utterance of the name Jehovah, reading for it "Adonai" or "Elohim."
Punishment. Blasphemy, when committed in ignorance, i.e., through thoughtlessness and weakness of the flesh, might be atoned for; but if committed "with a high hand," i.e., in impious rebellion against Jehovah, was punished by stoning .
New Testament. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit , also called the unpardonable sin, has caused extended discussion. The sin mentioned in the gospels would appear to have consisted in attributing to the power of Satan those unquestionable miracles that Jesus performed by "the finger of God" and by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is questionable whether it may be extended beyond this one limited and special sin (see Sin, The Unpardonable).
Among the early Christians three kinds of blasphemy were recognized: (1) of apostates and lapsi (lapsed), whom the heathen persecutors had compelled not only to deny, but to curse, Christ; (2) of heretics and other profane Christians; (3) blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
(from New Unger's Bible Dictionary) (originally published by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright (C) 1988.)

BLASPHEMY

(blas'-fe-mi) (blasphemia): In classical Greek meant primarily "defamation" or "evil-speaking" in general; "a word of evil omen," hence, "impious, and irreverent speech against God."
(1) In the Old Testament as substantive and vb.: (a) (barakh) "Naboth did blaspheme God and the king" (<1 Kin 21:10,13> the King James Version); (b) (gadhaph) of Senna-cherib defying Yahweh (<2 Kin 19:6,22> = ; also ; compare ), "But the soul that doeth aught with a high hand (i.e. knowingly and defiantly), .... the same blasphemeth (so the Revised Version (British and American), but the King James Version "reproacheth") Jehovah; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people." Blasphemy is always in word or deed, injury, dishonour and defiance offered to God, and its penalty is death by stoning; (c) (charaph) of idolatry as blasphemy against Yahweh ; (d) (naqabh) "And he that blasphemeth the name of Yahweh, he shall surely be put to death" ; (e) (na'ats) David's sin is an occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme (<2 Sam 12:14>; also ; compare the King James Version; ).
(2) In the New Testament blasphemy, substantive and vb., may be (a) of evil-speaking generally, ; The Jews contradicted Paul "and blasphemed," the Revised Version, margin "railed." (So in the King James Version of = , but in the Revised Version (British and American) "railings"; the Revised Version, margin "reviling"; so perhaps in <1 Tim 1:20>; or Hymenaeus and Alexander may have blasphemed Christ by professing faith and living unworthily of it.) (b) Speaking against a heathen goddess: the town clerk of Ephesus repels the charge that Paul and his companions were blasphemers of Diana . (c) Against God: (i) uttering impious words ; (ii) unworthy conduct of Jews and Christians (<1 Tim 6:1; Tit 2:5>, and perhaps <1 Tim 1:20>); (iii) of Jesus Christ, alleged to be usurping the authority of God ( = = ), claiming to be the Messiah, the son of God ( = ), or making Himself God . (d) Against Jesus Christ: Saul strove to make the Christians he persecuted blaspheme their Lord . So was he himself a blasphemer (<1 Tim 1:13>; compare ).

The Unpardonable Sin: (3) Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit: "Every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men; but the blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but whosoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in that which is to come" ( = ). As in the Old Testament "to sin with a high hand" and to blaspheme the name of God incurred the death penalty, so the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit remains the one unpardonable sin. These passages at least imply beyond cavil the personality of the Holy Spirit, for sin and blasphemy can only be committed against persons. In Mt and Mk a particular case of this blasphemy is the allegation of the Pharisees that Jesus Christ casts out devils by Beelzebub. The general idea is that to attribute to an evil source acts which are clearly those of the Holy Spirit, to call good evil, is blasphemy against the Spirit, and sin that will not be pardoned.
"A distinction is made between Christ's other acts and those which manifestly reveal the Holy Spirit in Him, and between slander directed against Him personally as He appears in His ordinary acts, and that which is aimed at those acts in which the Spirit is manifest" (Gould, Mark ad loc.). Luke does not refer to any particular instance, and seems to connect it with the denial of Christ, although he, too, gives the saying that "who shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven." But which of Christ's acts are not acts of the Holy Spirit, and how therefore is a word spoken against Him not also blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? John identifies the Holy Spirit with the exalted Christ . The solution generally offered of this most difficult problem is concisely put by Plummer (Luke ad loc.): "Constant and consummate opposition to the influence of the Holy Spirit, because of a deliberate preference of darkness to light, render repentance and therefore forgiveness morally impossible." A similar idea is taught in , and <1 Jn 5:16>: "A sin unto death." But the natural meaning of Christ's words implies an inability or unwillingness to forgive on the Divine side rather than inability to repent in man. Anyhow the abandonment of man to eternal condemnation involves the inability and defeat of God. The only alternative seems to be to call the kenotic theory into service, and to put this idea among the human limitations which Christ assumed when He became flesh. It is less difficult to ascribe a limit to Jesus Christ's knowledge than to God's saving grace (; compare ). It is also noteworthy that in other respects, at least, Christ acquiesced in the view of the Holy Spirit which He found among His contemporaries. See HOLY SPIRIT.
T. RESS (from International Standard Bible Encylopaedia, Electronic Database Copyright (C) 1996 by Biblesoft)
Exodus 20:1-11 PP21

(1.) A strict prohibition: Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. It is supposed that, having taken Jehovah for their God, they would make mention of his name (for thus all people will walk every one in the name of his god); this command gives a needful caution not to mention it in vain, and it is still as needful as ever. We take God's name in vain,
(from Matthew Henry's Commentary)


Exod 21:17 And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.
Exod 22:28 Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.
Lev 18:21 And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.
Lev 19:12 And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.
Lev 19:14 Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.
Lev 24:10-16
10 And the son of an Israelitish woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel: and this son of the Israelitish woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp;
11 And the Israelitish woman's son blasphemed the name of the LORD, and cursed. And they brought him unto Moses: (and his mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan:)
12 And they put him in ward, that the mind of the LORD might be shewed them.
13 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
14 Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him.
15 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin.
16 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.
Ps 15:4 In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.

to www.angelfire.com/fl4/Biblestudy
for more Bible Studies!