"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." (Matthew 12:31)
I do not have time to discuss whether or not Christians should celebrate Halloween. This is because my only knowledge of the holiday's origins comes from the film "Hocus Pocus." That movie was hilarious, but personal experience has taught me that Hollywood and historical accuracy are usually mutually exclusive. So for now, to those of you who celebrate Halloween: Happy Halloween. To those of you who don't: Happy Fall Harvest.
At any rate, there is one thing that I can say for certainty: there is only one Ghost that truly exists. Many people live under the assumption that your soul can visit and/or haunt the earth if you die. In Hebrews 9:27, it states "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:", which makes it clear that that assumption is not true. Or, as my friend Blake once succinctly put it, "Once you are dead, you stay dead and you don't come back." There are, however, demons in the world who deceive people in order to lead them away from Christ. Paul warns us about them in 1 Timothy 4:1. For this reason, I suspect that all of these ghost sightings (and for that matter, sightings of werewolves, vampires, etc.) are more than just human imagination run amok. I personally suspect that evil spirits are secretly fueling many of these myths in order to keep us away from the gospel. Whatever is going on, the only Ghost that exists is the One Whom you should fear: The Holy Ghost.
The Holy Ghost is the Third Person in the Trinity and, along with Jesus Christ and God the Father, is the one true God. Now, the Holy Ghost loves us and will dwell within us if we accept Christ as our Savior. At the same time, He is not to be trifled with. In Acts 5:1-11, He kills Ananias and Sapphira for lying to Him and holding back part of the money which they had promised to donate to the church. However, the worst mistake we can make is blaspheming Him. What exactly is this unforgivable sin? To figure it out, we have to look at Matthew 12:22-32.
In this passage, Jesus has just cast out a demon from a man who was blind and mute. Was this enough for the Pharisees to believe in Him? NO!
"But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of devils." (Matthew 12:24)
Upon seeing Him do this miracle and hearing people ask if Christ was the Son of David (Matthew 12:23), the Pharisees hardened their hearts and refused to believe at all. They even went as far as to make the completely ridiculous statement that it was by the power of the devil that he cast out devils. It is this refusal to believe that is unforgivable, and it is a sin that can only be committed by unbelievers. When we are saved, the Holy Ghost works in us to transform us into Christ's image. When we refuse to repent of our sins, we reject the Holy Spirit and in doing so, blaspheme Him. If we die in this state, we will spend eternity burning in the Lake of Fire.
Jesus died on the cross and rose again on the third day so that we could be saved. That being said, He won't save us if we refuse to believe and reject the work of the Holy Ghost in our lives. This Halloween, you have a choice to make. Will you allow the Holy Ghost to transform you by accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior, so that you can live in heaven forever? Or will you blaspheme Him through unbelief and incure the wrath of the one Ghost Whom you truly need to fear?
