BIBLE PASSAGE:
“If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death,
you should pray and God will give them 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 you should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin
that does not lead to death.” (1 John 5:16-17)
MEDITATION:
Have you ever wondered,
“What is the meaning of 1 John 5:16-17 and the sin that leads to death?”
It’s a good question that has perplexed many people.
Let me say ‘up front’ that the following is ‘only’ my interpretation
and may not be accurate, so I encourage you to pray and do some
personal research; if God convinces you that another
interpretation is more accurate, please let me know.
If you have a ‘sensitive conscience’,
then this scripture can be a troubling passage.
What do I mean by a ‘sensitive conscience’?
It means having a keen awareness of
our own sinfulness, our own wrongdoings,
and the things we have done that displease God.
In other words, we don’t casually ‘gloss over’
our failures to obey the Lord, as if they never happened
(because we know and regret that they did).
When we read passages like this, we need to be sensitive
to what John actually meant to the ones he was writing to.
When we look at what John means in this passage, we need
to remember how he begins his letter in 1 John 1 where he says,
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will
forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness”
(1 John 1:9)
We need to also remember the reason for John’s writing:
“We write this to make our joy complete.” (1 John 1:4)
If the purpose is to ‘make our joy complete’,
then this passage would not be meant to
confuse us, or discourage us, would it?
John’s purpose would not be to make us struggle with our
own assurance, and wonder if we are in the good graces of God.
If we look back just a couple of verses,
we can see that John’s purpose for writing this is
clearly not to confuse believers about their salvation.
“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.”
(1 John 13)
We need to consider the context of the entire letter by John.
When we do, it appears he is targeting those
who do not view their sinfulness as God does,
nor do they fully grasp the magnificent blessing
of God’s grace (or else they have decided to reject it).
They look at their sin,
they look at the wrongdoing they are committing,
they look at the holiness of God, and yet they have decided,
“I just don’t care about what God’s law says and I don’t care
that I am living in sin, I am going to choose sin over obedience
to God. I’m going to do what I want to do that makes me happy”.
When John talks about “a sin that leads to death”,
we can see that he is talking about this type of sinful attitude.
The sin of rejecting God’s mercy and grace
(which is ultimately the rejection of Jesus Christ).
Some look at the things of God, they look at Jesus
(who He is, and what He has done for us),
and rather than choosing Christ, they choose
to reject Him and continue living in their sin.
John doesn’t appear to be talking to
a person who mourns over their sin
(the person who is remorseful and fearful over their sin;
the person who knows how they have violated God’s
laws, and it causes terror and fear within them).
The scriptures provide an answer for those who sincerely
regret their sins and have a desire to avoid them in the future.
The solution: don’t run away from God, but rather to go
to Jesus (who is gentle and lowly in heart), and confess our sins.
Rather than justify or make excuses for them, we need to
admit that we have sinned (we aren’t hiding them from God).
Personally, I don’t think John wants to confuse us or scare us.
He wants to give us a proper understanding of the law and the
gospel (it is the same solution for so many issues that we face in life).
A person who is struggling with a stubborn sin doesn’t need
a false assurance; they need a healthy understanding
of God’s laws, and the consequences of disobedience.
They need to see how they have failed
to love God and to love their neighbor.
They need to be confronted with God’s law,
but they also need to understand how the gospel
plays into all of this.
When the law of God wrecks us (which it does),
we see in scripture that God always provides
mercy and grace for us when we feel remorseful
and confess our sins to Him.
Again, in my opinion, the ‘the sin that leads to death’
is the rejection of God’s laws (and ultimately a rejection of Christ).
It is failing to live a holy life and having a mindset of
“I just don’t care and I don’t need Christ. I don’t
need His grace. I’m just going to go do my own thing.”
As an example:
Someone is living with, and having sexual relations
with another person without being married (which
clearly violates the boundaries established by God).
They may confess their sins and ask forgiveness today,
but tomorrow and the following days, they continue to
live in this sin.
Do you think God would consider this as a person who is
sincerely remorseful for their sins, and has a desire to turn
from their sin and start striving to obey God?
Look at what John says
about having this type of attitude toward sin
(Note: knowing God and living in sin is a contradiction).
“No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning. No one who
continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him.”
(1 John 3:6)
“No one who is born of God will continue to sin,
because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot
go on sinning, because they have been born of God.”
(1 John 3:9)
“We know that anyone born of God does not continue
to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe,
and the evil one cannot harm them.”
(1 John 5:18)
ACTION:
These passages can be terrifying, but ultimately it seems
that John is telling us to run to Christ and confess our sins,
with an intent to turn from them (we need to plead with
the Lord to help us in our efforts, if we want to succeed).
John wants us to realize that God is faithful, just, gracious,
and kind to forgive us of all of our sins, and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness, whenever we
admit our sins (confess them), ask for His
forgiveness, and express our desire to change.
John is encouraging us to change our lives so that we
are not misled into thinking we belong to the Lord,
and find out at the final judgment that we do not belong to Him.
Look at what Jesus said,
Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the
kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of
My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that
day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your Name and
in Your Name drive out demons and in Your Name perform
many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly,
‘I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoers!’
(Matthew 7:21-23)
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, forgive me if I have not taken Your commands
as seriously as I should. Help me to turn away from any ‘pet’ sins
that I have either justified as being okay, or have just decided that
I will continue to choose them over obeying You. Develop a new
heart and mind in me with a greater desire to please you. Make me
aware of my guiltiness for living in sin which contradicts my faith
in You. Help me to realize that when others observe my sins, they
can have doubts about the sincerity of my faith, which could cause
a lost person to fail to see the need for salvation.”
BREAD FOR BELIEVERS 
Discussion
No comments yet.