1 John 5:13, 17 “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. (17) 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.”
Sometime the bible gets very complicated to read and
understand. Sometime there are such passages that even the great minds whom we
read and study their commentaries disagree or they refused to write about that
passage. This is one of those passages of scripture where God says in verse 13
“…that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the
name of the Son of God.” The word “know” means that you may be sure of,
that you may be sure that you have eternal life through Jesus Christ. However,
in verse 17 the Lord said, “There is a sin unto death” If there is a sin
unto death then verse 13 contradicts verse 17 and the haters of the bible looking
for contradictions are happy. Sometimes the Lord says things that are confusing
on the surface and requires much study to understand, but do not forget that
the bible is a revelation which means the Holy Spirit must tell you the
meaning. The problem with preachers and teachers is we are all human and
sometimes we (even though we agree on much) disagree on some things. We must
understand that we are not infallible in biblical interpretation. At time’s men
must “agree to disagree” but I think that time has changed this thought and
that is in the past for a lot of bible thinkers. Nowadays our disagreement has
turned into almost, if not hate, as though some believe they are infallible. I
have never met another Pastor or bible teacher that we agreed 100% in God’s
word. Oh, how we all wished that God would give all infallible knowledge of the
scriptures, but He does not in fact He says, “Now there are diversities of
gifts, but the same Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:4 This means that God has
given men different Truths to understand, and this is why we are not infallible
because God has not given us infallible biblical knowledge. With being said let
me explain my thoughts on this passage that includes “There is a sin unto
death”. The context of this passage is speaking about both the saved and
the lost. Since our Saviour is Jesus Christ and His blood cleanses us
from all sin, and because of this we “that ye may know that ye have
eternal life”. Therefore, it must be concluded that to the believer in
Jesus Christ, whom He has shed His blood to cleanse “all their sins” then it
would be contradictory to say there is a sin unto death. Just because the Lord
said “There is a sin unto death” does not mean it is to the Believer and
contradict His own words. The truth is, unless you know you have eternal
life in Jesus Christ and know that all your sins are cleansed in His
blood, then you have no way of knowing. The fact is that to the
believer we have no uncleansed sins at all, all our sins are cleansed by the
blood of Jesus, He took our sins to Calvary and died for them. Therefore, it
must be concluded that it is impossible for us to account for one single sin,
therefore it must also be concluded that to the true believer there can be NO “sin
unto death”. There is only one sin unto death and that sin is both to the
body and soul and it is unbelief in Jesus Christ as Saviour. John 3:18 “He
that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is
condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the
only begotten Son of God.” Some people say it is because people reject
the gift of the Holy Spirit, but there is no gift if the Holy Spirit doesn’t
offer it, and there is no rejecting His gift of salvation. “For as many as
are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Romans 8:14
Folks, to me it is simple, sin is the reason we have death and sin is the
deliverer of death and the only reason for death. “Wherefore, as by one man
sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all
men, for that all have sinned:” Romans 5:12 The only “sin unto death”
is the sin of never knowing Jesus Christ as Saviour, period. I know some will disagree,
but I cannot answer for them, to believe that there is a “sin unto death” for
the believers in Jesus Christ, who should know that they have eternal life in
Jesus Christ is contradiction of the scriptures. God did not say this “sin
unto death” was to the believers, He just said “There is a sin unto
death:”. “Wherefore I say unto
you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the
blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. (32) And
whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but
whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him,
neither in this world, neither in the world to come.” Matthew 12:31 – 32 If
you reject the very gift the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ which the
Holy Spirits delivers to every child of God, then the “sin of death” is your
sin of death.
