Sin that Leads to Death, and Sin that Doesn't
1 John 5v16-17
24th November 2023
1 John 5v16-17
If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he
should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead
to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should
pray about that.
All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.
If you see a brother or sister in Christ caught up in sin, surely you will want to pray for him. Praying for him is much, much better than gossiping about him, or criticising him, or rejecting him. And, as we read in verses 14-15, when we pray according to God's will, our prayers are answered. And it's fairly easy to believe that my brother in Christ repenting is in accordance with God's will. John promises us that, "God will give him life", so praying for Him is a very powerful thing to do. And it's the first thing we should do. And we should continue to pray for him until God answers. The parable of the prodigal son reminds us that if our brother doesn't repent, sooner or later he'll be eating pig swill.
Pray that your brother finds a motivation and a way to repent soon. Sometimes repentance can be difficult. Sometimes there's a long period of time before our brother repents. Sometimes he has to work things through in his own mind first. Sometimes, he's not really listening to God. Sometimes a Christian can go on insisting that he's right to go on being angry, or resentful, or unforgiving, or grumpy, or sulky, or selfish. Perhaps he feels hurt, and he won't let the hurt go. But we can keep praying that God gradually gets his attention, and calls him to repent, and helps him to repent, until our brother is properly restored in fellowship with God and with us.
The rest of this part of the passage is a bit complicated, and a bit obscure. Different people understand it differently, but here's my understanding of it. I'm not claiming to be absolutely right about this, or that those who see it differently are absolutely wrong; it's just my best attempt to interpret these words.
John says "There is a sin that leads to death". Some people think of the so-called "seven deadly sins" of Pride, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Anger and Envy. They are all sins, but that list is not Biblical, and there's nothing in the Bible to suggest they're more deadly than any other sins. Any true Christian can be guilty of any of the so-called seven deadly sins, although he should be thoroughly ashamed of himself. He can repent, and be forgiven for committing them, and he can rediscover the joy and peace that come from walking with God.
Since we all experience physical death, the death that John is referring to must be spiritual death. These sorts of sins don't lead to spiritual death for the true Christian. Indeed, the Bible clearly teaches that all true Christians will live with Jesus for eternity. John told us in verse 13 that he wrote this letter so true Christians would know they have eternal life.
So what is the sin that leads to death? Jesus said:
Mark 3v28-9
"Truly I tell you, all their sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them
but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty
of an eternal sin."
If we choose to deny the works of the Holy Spirit, who comes to reveal the truth to us and to give us the ability to repent and believe, we cannot be saved. This is the sin that John has been writing about throughout this letter: the sin that leads to death is the sin of the non-Christian (who may think he is a Christian) who has been involved in church, and has witnessed the ministry of the Holy Spirit, but has turned his back on Christ, chosen to deny the true Gospel. In this letter, John calls the people who do this "antichrists". Without the Gospel of Christ there is no forgiveness of sins, no hope of salvation.
Of course, Christians who have doubts are, nevertheless, saved. They can pray for full assurance of salvation and, over time, put their doubts to death. But when a person loudly and consistently denies Christ and His Gospel over a period of time, he is on course for destruction.
Hebrews 10v26-27
If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the
truth, no sacrifice for sins is left,
but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the
enemies of God.
John says, "There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about that." We are instructed to pray for all true Christians who have fallen into sin. We're not instructed to pray for all people who have rejected the Gospel. Sometimes we should, and sometimes we're wasting our breath. Some will repent – that's why you and I are here – and many won't.
All wrongdoing is sin (verse 17). When a true Christian sins, he is without excuse, and God will chastise him. But he will not lose his salvation. He will never experience spiritual death. His life on earth will be less blessed that it would otherwise have been, and his inheritance in heave will be smaller than it would have been, but he will still be saved. As 1 Corinthians 3:15 describes it, "he will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames".