What Is the ‘Sin Not Leading to Death’ in 1 John 5?
00:00:00.000 | (upbeat music)
00:00:02.580 | - Welcome back to a new week on the podcast.
00:00:05.880 | This is a really good question from a listener named Danny.
00:00:10.600 | Hello Pastor John and thank you for this podcast.
00:00:13.960 | My question is this,
00:00:16.160 | what is the sin that does not lead to death
00:00:20.520 | in 1 John 5 verses 16 and 17?
00:00:23.480 | Can you explain the difference between
00:00:26.000 | a sin that leads to death and a sin that doesn't?
00:00:29.800 | Well, let me venture an answer in summary form
00:00:33.720 | and then drop back and give the foundations for it
00:00:37.680 | from the context of 1 John
00:00:40.360 | and the wider New Testament teaching.
00:00:43.580 | Here's my answer.
00:00:44.520 | The sin that does not lead to death,
00:00:48.320 | that is eternal death,
00:00:51.200 | which is what I think John means, damnation.
00:00:54.520 | The sin that does not lead to damnation
00:00:58.760 | is any sin that we commit,
00:01:02.580 | which we are by grace capable of truly confessing
00:01:07.000 | and repenting from.
00:01:08.860 | That's my answer.
00:01:09.900 | And the reason I put it like that
00:01:13.200 | is because of what 1 John 1:9 says
00:01:17.260 | and Hebrews 12, 16 says.
00:01:20.000 | So 1 John 1:9 says, if we confess our sins,
00:01:23.880 | he doesn't specify any particular kind,
00:01:25.720 | just if we confess our sins,
00:01:27.640 | he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins
00:01:32.440 | and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
00:01:34.680 | So that's a very sweeping and glorious
00:01:36.880 | and wonderful and precious promise.
00:01:39.340 | If you can confess your sin authentically,
00:01:43.080 | agree with God that it is sin, it stinks,
00:01:45.960 | I hate it and turn from it, fight against it,
00:01:49.800 | you will be forgiven.
00:01:51.260 | However, Hebrews 12, 16 says,
00:01:56.920 | talking about Esau in the Old Testament
00:02:00.360 | and what happened to him,
00:02:02.360 | see to it that no one is sexually immoral or unholy
00:02:07.360 | like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal.
00:02:12.360 | For you know that afterward,
00:02:14.920 | when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected.
00:02:19.360 | For he found no place for repentance,
00:02:24.640 | though he sought it with tears.
00:02:28.320 | When it says he sought it, it means he sought repentance,
00:02:33.320 | but he couldn't find it.
00:02:35.620 | He was no longer capable of repenting.
00:02:39.700 | It's not that he repented and repented
00:02:41.600 | and cried over his repentance and God wouldn't forgive him.
00:02:44.200 | No, no, no, he could not repent.
00:02:46.920 | He had sinned to a depth or a degree
00:02:51.160 | that God had given him up.
00:02:53.640 | That's what I think Jesus meant by unforgivable sin,
00:02:57.600 | not a particular sin, like some particular ugly act,
00:03:01.800 | not a particular sin, but a particular depth or degree
00:03:05.280 | or aggravation or persistence in sin
00:03:09.160 | to the point where authentic confession
00:03:12.080 | and repentance have become impossible.
00:03:14.780 | So my answer to Danny's question,
00:03:17.760 | what's the sin that does not lead to death
00:03:22.360 | is any sin that we are still by grace
00:03:27.360 | able to authentically, humbly confess and repent from,
00:03:32.360 | that sin does not lead to death.
00:03:38.520 | Now, let's look at the context
00:03:40.280 | because it really helps to see how the very text
00:03:45.280 | that Danny is referring to
00:03:48.160 | fits into the larger theme of 1 John.
00:03:51.600 | It goes like this,
00:03:52.440 | "If anyone sees his brother committing a sin,"
00:03:55.080 | now that translation, a sin,
00:03:58.080 | I would translate it committing sin
00:04:01.120 | because if you say a sin,
00:04:02.700 | it sounds like there's a specific one in mind.
00:04:05.320 | There is no word a or a in Greek.
00:04:08.320 | There's no indefinite particle in Greek.
00:04:11.440 | And so you have to decide contextually
00:04:13.320 | whether you add it or not.
00:04:15.160 | And here I wouldn't add it.
00:04:17.320 | So let me translate it that way.
00:04:19.120 | If anyone sees his brother committing sin,
00:04:21.880 | not leading to death,
00:04:24.560 | he shall ask and God will give him life
00:04:27.560 | to those that do not lead to death,
00:04:30.840 | to those who commit sins that do not lead to death.
00:04:35.080 | There is sin that leads to death.
00:04:39.800 | And I do not say that you should pray for that.
00:04:42.680 | All wrongdoing is sin,
00:04:44.640 | but there is sin that does not lead to death.
00:04:49.280 | Now we need to make sure that we see these two verses
00:04:54.280 | as part of the larger balancing act
00:04:57.480 | that John is doing in this letter.
00:05:00.240 | On the one hand, there's a strong emphasis in 1 John
00:05:03.800 | that those who are truly born of God don't go on sinning.
00:05:07.640 | 1 John 3.9, if you're born of God,
00:05:09.760 | you don't go on committing sin, practicing sin.
00:05:14.760 | And on the other hand, that's one side of the balance,
00:05:18.400 | John warns against misunderstanding that
00:05:21.600 | in a perfectionistic way as though,
00:05:24.160 | oh, Christians don't sin anymore.
00:05:25.720 | I've actually met people who say that.
00:05:28.680 | If we say we have no sin, this is now chapter one, verse seven.
00:05:33.240 | If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves.
00:05:36.920 | And the truth is not in us.
00:05:38.640 | If we confess our sins,
00:05:39.840 | he's faithful and just to forgive our sins
00:05:41.840 | and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
00:05:44.040 | But if we say we have not sinned,
00:05:47.480 | we make him a liar and his truth is not in us.
00:05:50.720 | So that's the other side of the balance.
00:05:52.920 | On the one side, you don't keep on sinning
00:05:55.960 | if you're born again.
00:05:56.800 | And on the other side,
00:05:57.960 | you don't ever stop sinning in this world.
00:06:00.800 | In other words, John is trying to strike a balance
00:06:03.080 | between the absolute necessity of the new birth,
00:06:07.280 | which necessarily gives us significant measures
00:06:10.360 | of victory over sin.
00:06:11.720 | That's the one side.
00:06:13.240 | And on the other hand,
00:06:14.160 | the reality that we do in fact, as Christians,
00:06:17.480 | commit sins and can find forgiveness as we confess them.
00:06:22.480 | That's the balance you find in chapter five,
00:06:26.440 | verses 16 and 17.
00:06:28.160 | So verse 16 begins with,
00:06:30.160 | if anyone sees his brother committing sin,
00:06:33.200 | not leading to death,
00:06:36.160 | he shall ask God and he will forgive him
00:06:39.040 | to those who commit sins that do not lead to death.
00:06:41.120 | In other words, yes, there is such a thing
00:06:42.920 | as a Christian sinning and not being damned for it.
00:06:46.480 | Then verse 17 ends like this,
00:06:49.000 | all wrongdoing is sin,
00:06:50.760 | but there is sin that does not lead to death.
00:06:54.280 | So John's striking the note firmly,
00:06:57.520 | we should not take anything he has said
00:07:00.360 | in a perfectionistic way
00:07:02.120 | that implies Christians don't sin
00:07:04.520 | or that all sin leads to damnation.
00:07:07.520 | It doesn't.
00:07:08.360 | Christians do sin and not all sin leads to damnation.
00:07:13.360 | But right there in the middle,
00:07:16.320 | verse 16, near the end of the verse,
00:07:18.400 | he puts in a disclaimer.
00:07:20.960 | He says, "When I tell you to pray for sinners,
00:07:25.040 | I recognize that Jesus taught about unforgivable sin.
00:07:30.040 | And I recognize that Hebrews taught about Esau.
00:07:33.400 | And I do acknowledge that there is sin
00:07:37.280 | that does lead to death,
00:07:39.120 | does lead to damnation,
00:07:40.920 | that puts you beyond repentance.
00:07:43.080 | And I'm not talking about that."
00:07:47.360 | That's the point of that verse.
00:07:48.560 | I'm not talking about that
00:07:50.720 | when I tell you to pray for those who have sinned.
00:07:54.440 | He doesn't tell us not to pray for such sin.
00:07:58.760 | He simply says, "That's not what I'm talking about
00:08:02.520 | when I tell you to pray for sinners
00:08:05.400 | that God will give them life."
00:08:07.840 | So to state my answer to Danny's specific question
00:08:11.040 | one more time,
00:08:12.360 | his question is,
00:08:13.200 | "What is the sin that does not lead to death?"
00:08:15.840 | Does not lead to death.
00:08:17.920 | The sin that does not lead to death,
00:08:20.240 | does not lead to damnation,
00:08:22.440 | is any sin that we commit,
00:08:25.480 | which by God's grace,
00:08:27.640 | we are capable of truly confessing and repenting from.
00:08:32.640 | If we confess our sins,
00:08:34.840 | He is faithful and just,
00:08:36.280 | and will forgive our sins
00:08:37.960 | and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
00:08:40.120 | 1 John 1:9 is a very, very precious promise.
00:08:45.120 | - Yes, it is very precious.
00:08:47.520 | Thank you, Pastor John, for the answer.
00:08:49.280 | And thank you for listening
00:08:51.040 | and making the podcast part of your week.
00:08:53.280 | You can subscribe to our audio feeds
00:08:54.920 | and search our past episodes in our archive,
00:08:57.080 | and even reach us by email
00:08:58.360 | with a question you may have of your own,
00:09:00.200 | questions relating to how scripture connects
00:09:03.000 | with our lives and our behaviors.
00:09:04.920 | You can do all of that
00:09:06.000 | through our online home at desiringgod.org/askpastorjohn.
00:09:11.000 | Well, what does Paul mean when he says,
00:09:13.080 | "To live is Christ."
00:09:15.240 | To live is Christ.
00:09:17.160 | It's such a profound statement,
00:09:18.760 | but even that statement is shrouded in some confusion
00:09:23.120 | at first blush when we first look at it,
00:09:25.320 | but it's worth a closer look.
00:09:26.960 | And we will on Wednesday.
00:09:28.880 | I am your host, Tony Reinke, and we'll see you then.
00:09:31.480 | (upbeat music)
00:09:34.060 | (upbeat music)
00:09:36.640 | [BLANK_AUDIO]