What Does A Sin Unto Death Mean?

What is a Sin unto Death

1 John 5:14–17 NKJV

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

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.

We are nearing the end of our study on 1 John. We don’t know for sure what church he is writing to other than it was probably in the area near Ephesus in Asia Minor. ! John is called an “epistle”, but it lacks things such as a greeting from John to the church or someone in the church. It also lacks a benediction. It more closely addresses a sermon which was addressed to a particular issue in one of John’s churches or to several churches.

In our study, I have taken the position that John was addressing a split which had taken place in the church. A group of people had left the church and went to establish their own church. The people who had left felt they were better than everyone else. They had a special knowledge that those who remained behind were too stupid in their eyes to receive. They had started out with the teaching of Jesus and the Apostles but felt they had progressed far beyond what Jesus could have taught them. they felt that they now were beyond Christ and could access God (Father) directly. The believers they left behind were seen as a hindrance to their further progress into perfection and this secret teachings. John had to reassure those who remained were not stupid and backward. Rather they had the true perfect knowledge because they were in fellowship with the Father and the Son. They had the unction of the Holy Spirit who leads the believer into all truth, They had fellowship with one another as the body of Christ. Those who had left had committed apostacy and had betrayed of the brethren. Far from advancing in the knowledge of the truth, they had completely fallen from grace. There is nothing more stupid than to reject Jesus, especially when one once had heard the true truth.

When we look at this morning’s passage. it begins with John telling the believers whose confidence may have been shaken by those who had left that they had every reason to be confident with their standing with the Father because they had the Son, they also had the Father as well. Their confidence is in Him (Jesus). John then relates for what purpose they were to be confident. The confidence is in their prayers and intercessions. At the general level, this is a confidence we have in prayer for a number of petitions, But note that we have to pray according to His will. There is an old sitcom named “Father Knows Best.” I mention this not that Robert Young who played the father knew best. Only the Heavenly Father knows best.

Whereas 1 John 5:14 can be used in a teaching on prayer in general, we must look at the context to see what specifically the Holy Spirit through John was saying here. The type of prayer here is intercessory in nature. This isn’t personal petition for something the believer needs. It is a prayer that in this situation seems to be addressed for the believers that left. We have already discussed those who had split from the church because they felt superior. But there is also the probability that others had left the church, not to join these apostates, but because of the strife within the church. this is a problem when the church splits. It doesn’t split in two but in three.

Who are we to intercede for? John talks about two categories of sin. These are a “sin unto death” and a “sin not unto death.” John notes that those who have sinned not unto death should be prayed for and that those who have committed a sin unto death would be to no prevail as it was not according to the will of God. God only addresses the intercessions and grants them according to His will. It seems that God wants us to intercede for those who have sinned not unto death. But He does not will to answer the petitions for those who have sinned unto death.

Before we address these deadly sins, let us talk about those who have not sinned unto death. John does not condone sin. All unrighteousness is sin. In this context, those who had sinned not unto death are those who left because they were discouraged and offended by the strife in the church. It was wrong for these to have left, but there was still hope for reconciliation and restoration. These should be prayed for. The disciples of Jesus illustrate this when they were offended when Jesus was arrested and fled. Jesus had interceded for them even before they fled in the intercessory prayer of John 17. This did not include Judas. These eleven were restored after Jesus rose from the dead, even Peter who had denied Him three times (a complete denial). This should give us reason to hope or as John says here in the passage to have confidence. In this we rejoice because if salvation were left up to our own effort, even after having our sins cleansed, we would miserably fail. It is a wonderful thing that Jesus continues to intercede for us. John tells us that if we sin, we have an advocate who intercedes for us and cleanses us from these sins not unto death, if we will only confess them.