1 John 5:16 If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. 17: All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.

Introduction

In the previous verses that we studied, the apostle John dealt with the great subject of confident prayer. 1 John 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. Confidence in prayer is one of the areas where God wants us to have. Having told them that believers can have assurance of salvation, he then tells them that they can have assurance of answered prayers.

Today, we come to two verses where John gives a specific example and illustration of prayer. He continues to speak of prayer in the lives of believers, telling us what we can be sure of as we pray for one another. Our text has to do with intercessory prayer as it relates to the matter of sin in the lives of other believers. What should be our response when we see a brother or a sister in Christ sin? That’s what I want us to consider this morning. Let’s look at these verses in three headings, namely, the Undeniable Reality, the Loving Response, and the Serious Reminder.

I - The Undeniable Reality

What is the undeniable reality? The undeniable reality is that we all commit sin. As long as we live in this body of flesh, we will be prone to sin. Yes, even as born-again believers in Christ, the reality is that we all sin. Even the great apostle Paul admits the battle between flesh and spirit in his own life in Romans 7:21–23, “I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” Paul acknowledges that although he wanted to do good, evil is right there with him. There is a war waging inside him. And this is not only true in the life of the apostle Paul, but it is also true in the life of every believer. None of us is so spiritual; none of us is so mature that we no longer sin.

John writes in 1 John 5:16, “If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death”. One thing that this passage tells us is that there is no such thing as perfection in the church and in this life. If you remember, John clearly states this in the first chapter of this epistle. 1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10: If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. The book of 1 John was written to Christians. It is clear from this passage that even those who have been born again and redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ will still sin.

Sadly, we see many examples of believers in the Scripture that fell into sin such as Noah, Lot, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Moses, David, Solomon, Hezekiah, Peter, Demas, etc. These examples remind us of the reality of sin even among those who belong to the family of God. In a small and close-knit church family like ours, there is the great possibility for us to observe one another’s faults and failures. You and I will see and discover one another’s habits, tendencies, behavior, and words. Now, what if we see a brother or sister sin a sin not unto death, what should be our first response? This brings us to the next heading which is ...

II - The Loving Response

What is our first responsibility and appropriate response to a sinning brother? John tells us in our text, “If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask ...” The first response to a sinning brother is prayer. The first and appropriate response to a sinning brother is intercessory prayer. Now there may be other responsibilities, and proper response that may follow after you pray but our first response and our first responsibility is to pray, to intercede on behalf of our brother.

Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself interceded in this way. Remember the account in Luke 22, where our Lord Jesus told Peter, “Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.” Satan has asked to sift Peter as wheat, that is, to shake him violently with a goal that Peter would depart from his faith. But what did our Lord go on to tell Peter? Our Lord told him, “But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” Then in Romans 8 we are told that even in this present moment, right now, our Lord Jesus Christ intercedes for us in Heaven as the Holy Spirit intercedes for us on earth. And so, we who belong to one family, the family of God, also have a responsibility specially to intercede for a sinning brother.

Notice John does not say, “If any man sees his brother committing sin, text all your friends and tell them about it so that they can pray.” Nor does he say, “If any man sees his brother committing sin, post and publish it on your Facebook.” Nor does he say, “If any man sees his brother committing sin, go to him and confront him.” Nor does he say, “If any man sees his brother committing sin, condemn him and ask, “How could you do such a thing?’” No, the number one response to sin we see in the life of another believer is not to talk to your friends or neighbors about it but rather, talk to God about it. Prayer ought to be our first response. Our first response is not to gossip, not to slander, not to confront initially, not to go and tell others, “Did you know what so and so did?” Our first response is not to feel self-righteous about it, which we are prone to do. No, our first response is to pray. You are to ask God to intervene for the brother who has fallen in sin.

Why intercessory prayer ought to be our first response? First, praying for a sinning brother will help us see things in perspective. It will help us obey the apostle Paul’s exhortation in Galatians 6:1, where he says, “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” Praying for a sinning brother will help us keep things in perspective and right attitude. Sometimes we are like the man who was eating Limburger cheese and without realizing it, some of the cheese got on his beard. He first thought that the room where he was, smelled rotten. Then he went to the front porch, it also smelled rotten, then he stepped out into the yard and no difference, and so he screamed in disgust, “The whole world is rotten!” Oh, how easy it is not to see our own sin and to observe the sin in the lives of others! Prayer is so important because it puts us in the proper frame of mind to go and minister with great humility and compassion. Before we speak to a brother about his sin, we need to speak to God about the brother. Prayer is essential in the restoration process!

Secondly, when we pray for a sinning brother, we acknowledge that only God can give repentance, forgiveness, and restoration to the brother we are praying for. We must realize that only God can give us repentance. That is why we must pray for our brothers, that God would grant them this gift. In this verse we have the promise of God. Look at the second part of verse 16, “he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death”. Our Lord’s brother James says something similar to John, “And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.” (James 5:15) and “Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.” (James 5:20)

You are to ask God to intervene, and God will. “He shall ask, and he [God] shall give him life for them that sin not unto death.” God will do this, God will give life, God will give health, God will give healing, God will extend the life of the person you prayed for whose sin does not lead to death. God promises to bring about life, health, spiritual health and healing because of your obedience in intercessory prayer.

III - The Solemn Reminder

We must understand that we are very dependent on God to deliver, to heal, to restore, but at the same time the sinning brother or sister is responsible to acknowledge sin and turn from it, and turn to the Lord for forgiveness, healing, and restoration. But what if the professing brother in Christ would not change, what happens?

1 John 5:16 ... There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. 17: All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.

Here the apostle John under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit gives us a very solemn warning about persistent sin. Here he tells us that there are two different acts of sin. There is the “sin not unto death” and there is the “sin unto death”. There is sin that does not lead to death and there is sin that leads to death. Understand that all unrighteousness is sin. Having told his readers that there is sin not unto death, John doesn’t want them to think that such sin is insignificant, and that God tolerates them. No, all sin is a serious matter and is an offense to God. All sin is a violation of God’s righteousness and glory. All sin is serious, because if sin is not confessed and repented of, it breaks our fellowship with God and with our fellow believers. John does not want his readers to have the impression sin is not a serious matter. But the only point that John is making is that not all sin leads to death.

Now, there are two questions that we need to ask, namely, is what is this sin that leads to death? and what is the death spoken of there? Is John speaking of one specific sin? Also, is he speaking of physical death or spiritual death? Good and able Bible teachers and commentators have differing views as to what this “sin unto death” is. Because of time, I am not going to cover the many various views out there. In context, I believe John is speaking of not one specific sin, but a persistent sinning which leads to spiritual death. I believe John is referring not to any one particular sin but he referring to just the continual practice of sin. He is speaking of deliberate, willful, and persistent rejection of truth.

Remember one of the concerns that John expressed in this epistle is that there were false teachers and false professors that had made their way into the local church he is ministering to. We saw this in 1 John 2:18-19, “Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.”

John was dealing with professing believers, people who at one time part of the church, part of the local church that John was writing to. And yet he said they departed from us. Those that departed were persistent in their rejection of truth regarding the Lord Jesus Christ. They rejected the truth that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Their departure demonstrated that they are not true believers. They were not of the same nature. They did not share the same life. Even today, there are people who profess to be saved who are not truly saved. And this is a serious matter and a solemn reminder to us.

So, what does John say about those who sin unto death, about those who have a settled rejection of God’s truth and authority? 1 John 5:16 ... There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. Here John seems to be forbidding us to pray for a professing believer who sin unto death. If that is the case, how can we know for sure that someone is committing sin unto death? Keep in mind that we are not God, and we will never know for sure who is and who is not committing the sin unto death. As long as someone is living, there is opportunity for him to repent, to be forgiven, to be healed, and to be restored. We must continually pray for those around us. But if a person is guilty of sin unto death, which only God knows, there is no promise that God will grant life, eternal to such persons.

Closing Thoughts 

I must confess that there is much I don’t understand about this subject of “sin unto death”. But one thing we can absolutely be sure and that is all unrighteousness is sin. God is not pleased when we sin. He is grieved when a true child of God sins. A true child of God may never commit the sin that leads to spiritual death, but sin is still sin and still offends God and breaks His heart. When we sin, God is displeased, not only because what sin does to Him but also what it does to us. Sin destroys. It destroys fellowship. It destroys life. It destroys family. It destroys a local church. Another thing we can be sure of, is that when we sin as children of God, He doesn’t want us to stay in our sin. He wants us to come back to Him in humility confessing our sins, and when we do, He assures us that He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. There is a gracious promise of forgiveness, healing, and restoration. If you are a child of God, even though you have sinned, please understand that God still loves you with everlasting love and waits for you to return to Him.

Now, let me speak to those who are not save among us this morning. You know you are not saved and maybe, afraid that you have committed sin that leads to spiritual death. If you fear that you have committed the sin unto death, let me assure you that you are not guilty of it. Because those who truly commit the sin unto death, do not have such fear. They do not care about sin at all. But if you do, and you know that you are not save, run to Jesus Christ for salvation. Look to Him. Believe on Him and receive eternal life. Call upon Him to be saved. May God Himself draw you to Him that you may be restored to Him today.

AMEN!