Sin which does not leads to death -vs- Sin which leads to death

[Nice & Wavy]

I felt the need to share this considering some things that were written in the Entertainment Forum concerning 'sin'. If anyone would like to expound on this with revelation that God gives them, please by all means do so. It's long, so please take your time and read it. It is very good.

Blessings.

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There are within the pages of the Bible those passages which puzzle us and at times bring some confusion concerning a proper understanding.
I John 5:16 is one such passage.




I John 5:16 reads as follows;

(NIV) 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.


(NAS95) If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this.


(NKJV) 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.

(RAN) If anyone sees his brother committing a sin which does not lead to death, let him ask and He will give life to those who commit a sin not leading to death. There is (a) sin which leads to death. I do not say he should make request concerning this.

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The Question which faces us is:

What is a sin which does not lead to death?

How are we to understand this passage?

What is a sin which does lead to death?

How does this passage apply to us concerning this part of the text?

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The full context of the passage is helpful in determining the meaning.

1 John 5:13-18 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. {14} This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. {15} And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him. {16} 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. {17} All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.


Vs.13) Upon all this evidence (Previous sections of epistle), it is but right that we believe on the name of the Son of God. Believers have eternal life in and through the Gospel.


Vs. 14 & 15) The Lord Christ invites us to come to him in all circumstances, with our supplications and requests, notwithstanding the sin that besets us. Our prayers must always be offered in submission to the will of God. In some things they are speedily answered; in others they are granted in the best manner, though not as requested.


Vs.16) "If anyone sees . . ." There is no doubt concerning the situation here!
(Bible Study on Judgment is helpful here. Spirit guided discernment of right and wrong is present)


". . . his brother . . ." This is a reference to a fellow believer! This person is a Christian.
". . . committing a sin not leading to death . . ." Christians sin daily and are daily in need of Christ's forgiveness.
Simeul Eustus et Picator
At the same time Saint and Sinner


" . . . he should pray . .." The immediate response of a Christian seeing a brother who is caught up in sin is to pray. Intercessory prayer for each other.


". . . and He (God) will give him life . . ." John says God hears the prayers of His people and answers by giving life. Life can only be present where forgiveness has been granted.

This connects back to verses 14-15 where God hears and answers our prayers.

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[Nice & Wavy]

continued....



In the context the life being addressed is spiritual life, not physical life. Where sin is present there is the danger of spiritual death. Through the intercessory prayers of fellow Christians, God grants life, not death.



All of this is dependant on the person being a believer in Jesus Christ as Savior. Faith must be present in the heart of the person committing the sin or forgiveness could not be granted.




This still leaves the question of how one persons prayers can affect the spiritual life of another?

John says: God hears the prayers of His people. (Vs. 14-15)


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We know: God desires to forgive and not condemn.

1 Timothy 2:4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.


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Thus: God hears the prayers of His people and is moved by their prayers.

Jeremiah 26:18-19 "Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, 'Thus the LORD of hosts has said, "Zion will be plowed as a field, And Jerusalem will become ruins, And the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest."' {19} "Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Did he not fear the LORD and entreat the favor of the LORD, and the LORD changed His mind about the misfortune which He had pronounced against them? But we are committing a great evil against ourselves."


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Other Examples: Abraham prayed for Sodom to be spared. God was ready to spare the city.
Many healing in Scripture came by way on one person asking for another, Centurion's servant.


"There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this."
John does not say we should pray for such a person! Neither does he say we cannot pray for such a person. He leaves this issue open.




The questions at issue are;

What are these two different types of sin (not to death and to death)? And, why and what do we pray for?


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One Commentator answered these question as follows;

We ought to pray for others, as well as for ourselves. There are sins that war against spiritual life in the soul, and the life above. We cannot pray that the sins of the impenitent and unbelieving should, while they are such, be forgiven them; or that mercy, which supposes the forgiveness of sins, should be granted to them, while they wilfully continue such. But we may pray for their repentance, for their being enriched with faith in Christ, and thereupon for all other saving mercies. We should pray for others, as well as for ourselves, beseeching the Lord to pardon and recover the fallen, as well as to relieve the tempted and afflicted. And let us be truly thankful that no sin, of which any one truly repents, is unto death.


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According to the above paragraph the sin leading to death is the sin present in the life of a person who is impenitent and unbelieving.


This would include all unbelievers.


This would also include anyone "named a brother" who has rebelled willingly against God and His will and has consciously chosen the way of sin.


An easier way to understand this distinction when addressing sin which is present in the life of a Christian is to use the distinctions of "Willful Sin" and "Sins of Weakness"


A secular example of the difference would be the criminal charges of "Manslaughter" vs. "First Degree Murder"


Sins of Weakness.




Sin of Weakness are sins which every Christian is guilty of committing. Any individual who names the Name of Christ and truly seeks to life a godly life will still sin. Sin is present because the sinful nature is still present.

Paul illustrates this in Romans 7 where he address the war raging within him, the war of good and evil.


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When a Christian is tempted and the temptation wins and sin comes forth in the life, the person is in need of forgiveness. God grants forgiveness even before it is requested because the person is His child, redeemed by the blood of Jesus.

1 John 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;


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The difference lies in the condition of the heart. The Christian did not set out to sin but was overtaken by the temptation and the working of his sinful nature within him.
While all sin is rebellion against God, not all sin is willful rebellion. Sins of weakness are sins of which the person is sorry and seeks forgiveness.


Within the context of our study, it is difficult for any individual to be fully aware of all the sin present in his/her life. Thus we pray God to forgive us all sin even those we are not aware of.

 

[Nice & Wavy]

continued....


God provided forgiveness to His people in the Old Testament for unintentional sins (Sins of Weakness)

Leviticus 4:2 "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'If a person sins unintentionally in any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, and commits any of them,


Leviticus 4:13 'Now if the whole congregation of Israel commits error and the matter escapes the notice of the assembly, and they commit any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, and they become guilty;


Leviticus 4:22 'When a leader sins and unintentionally does any one of all the things which the LORD his God has commanded not to be done, and he becomes guilty,
Leviticus 4:27 'Now if anyone of the common people sins unintentionally in doing any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, and becomes guilty,


Leviticus 5:15 "If a person acts unfaithfully and sins unintentionally against the LORD'S holy things, then he shall bring his guilt offering to the LORD: a ram without defect from the flock, according to your valuation in silver by shekels, in terms of the shekel of the sanctuary, for a guilt offering.

Leviticus 5:17-18 "Now if a person sins and does any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, though he was unaware, still he is guilty and shall bear his punishment. He is then to bring to the priest a ram without defect from the flock, according to your valuation, for a guilt offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his error in which he sinned unintentionally and did not know it, and it will be forgiven him."



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Willful Sin exposes a different condition of the heart.


Examine the following verse and note the attitude of the heart which is revealed in each.

Numbers 15:30 "'But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or alien, blasphemes the LORD, and that person must be cut off from his people.


Numbers 16:26-32 He warned the assembly, "Move back from the tents of these wicked men! Do not touch anything belonging to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins." {27} So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing with their wives, children and little ones at the entrances to their tents. {28} Then Moses said, "This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea: {29} If these men die a natural death and experience only what usually happens to men, then the LORD has not sent me. {30} But if the LORD brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the grave, then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt." {31} As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart {32} and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, with their households and all Korah's men and all their possessions.


Matthew 12:31-32 And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. {32} Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.


Hebrews 6:4-6 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, {5} who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, {6} if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.


Hebrews 10:26-31 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, {27} but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. {28} Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. {29} How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? {30} For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people." {31} It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.


2 Peter 2:20-22 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. {21} It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. {22} Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit," and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud."


Numbers 15:27-31 'Also if one person sins unintentionally, then he shall offer a one year old female goat for a sin offering. {28} 'The priest shall make atonement before the LORD for the person who goes astray when he sins unintentionally, making atonement for him that he may be forgiven.{29} 'You shall have one law for him who does anything unintentionally, for him who is native among the sons of Israel and for the alien who sojourns among them. {30} 'But the person who does anything defiantly, whether he is native or an alien, that one is blaspheming the LORD; and that person shall be cut off from among his people. {31} 'Because he has despised the word of the LORD and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt will be on him.'"


Deuteronomy 17:12 "The man who acts presumptuously by not listening to the priest who stands there to serve the LORD your God, nor to the judge, that man shall die; thus you shall purge the evil from Israel.

Psalms 19:13 Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; Let them not rule over me; Then I will be blameless, And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.



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The Questions with which we began.


First: What is a sin which does not lead to death? How are we to understand this passage?[INDENT]
A sin which does not lead to death is a sin which is committed by a Christian as he struggles to live a godly life.

When a believer sees a fellow believer struggling against any such sin we are to intercede for our brother for God's forgiveness. God has promised to hear and answer our prayer.



[/INDENT]Secondly: What is a sin which does lead to death? How does this passage apply to us concerning this part of the text?

A sin which leads to death is any sin done by an unbeliever or any willful, rebellious sin committed by a believer. Such sin involves a willful rejection of God and His will and thus His forgiveness.

The Apostle John does not say we cannot intercede for such a person. He does not say we should intercede either. Such prayers would be of no avail. God will not grant forgiveness where there is no faith.

Instead of praying for the person to be forgiven of his sin, we should pray that the person hears the Gospel and thus repents and believes on the Lord Jesus for salvation. Then and only then will God grant forgiveness.



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[klb120475]

Thank you so much!!

 

[Nice & Wavy]

Thank you so much!!

You are welcome, my sister and...thanks for taking the time to read it all!

God's Word never returns void!

Blessings!

 

[klb120475]

Just felt a need to bump this one....

 

[jwhitley6]

Excellent post!

 

[mrsmeredith]

I really enjoyed reading that.