In our Bible Class on Wednesday night we discussed the section of First John chapter five which contains the following verses:
"If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death" (1 John 5:16-17).
Since these verses are difficult, and since several members were not able to attend Bible Class because of the poor weather, I want to make some remarks about these verses in this short article.
A great number of ideas have been offered by commentators as possible explanations of the sin under consideration in this passage. Below are a few examples.
- It is the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which cannot be forgiven (Mark 3:28-29).
- It is a mortal sin, as opposed to a venial sin (Catholic Doctrine; the Bible makes no such distinction between sins).
- It is a sin which is not pardonable after death (the Catholic doctrine of purgatory makes a way for sins to be remitted after one's death, allowing them to enter Heaven).
- It is a sin punishable by death under the Law of Moses.
- It is a sin in the church which should be punished by death (such as happened to Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5).
- It is a sin which results in a Christian being excommunicated from the church.
- It is a crime which is punishable by death under the laws of the land.
- It is a sin which brings a fatal disease upon the offender.
- It is a sin committed after one's baptism.
One will arrive at a proper understanding of this passage, not by asking about the specific sin or type of sin being committed, but by considering the heart of the one committing the sin. A "sin not leading to death" would be the sin of a brother who is willing to repent, while a "sin leading to death" is the sin committed by a brother who will not repent. All sin leads to and results in death (Gen. 2:17; Rom. 6:23). The only way a sin will not lead to death is if it is forgiven. The only way a Christian can be forgiven is if he repents.
The brother under consideration is "sinning a sin" - that is, it is a habitual sin, an ongoing practice, not a one-time mistake. If we see our brother sinning this sin (turning away from God in habitual sin) we must respond accordingly.
John says we are not to pray regarding a sin leading to death. While we would not stop praying for a brother who has become unfaithful, we are not to pray that God will forgive his sins. The reason is because this brother must first repent and seek forgiveness from God. Until he repents, his sin cannot be forgiven. We can pray that he will repent, but there is no use praying that God will forgive his sins without his repentance.