Sin That Leads to Death

Belated Merry Christmas to all! I read last night before bed and thought verse 4:9 of 1 John was a great synopsis of Christmas ... "God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love-not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His son as a sacrifice to take away our sins". This verse is very reminiscent of the popular John 3:16, written by the same author. Both capture, in a nutshell, the reason for the season.

In chapter 5 of the book, John mentions "sin that leads to death" and cautions that believers should not pray for such a sinner. This is a curious statement as it indicates that there is a "point of no return". Remember that Jesus spoke in three of the gospels of an unpardonable sin, referring specifically to blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. He said this in response to some Pharisees who were attributing His work of healing to the devil instead of to God. Are these two passages connected? They do not seem to be. Rather than referring to the unpardonable sin, John uses an indefinite article with the word "sin", which implied not one particular sin but a pattern of sin.

Recall that John's letter addresses his concern about a group of apostates ("Christians" who have fallen away from the faith and thus revealed themselves to be false Christians) who had the potential to lead others astray. Did he have them in mind when writing these verses? That interpretation adds up, since rejecting Jesus equates to spiritual death. But why not pray for such people? John's words were carefully chosen..."I am not saying you should pray about that". This was not to say that Christians should not pray for the lost because John is clear in the preceding verse that Christians should pray for those in sin "that does not lead to death". In keeping with the interpretation above, this would mean that believers should continue to pray for those who have not yet irrevocably rejected Jesus. Conversely, John was not advocating prayer for those who had committed the "sin that leads to death" because it was basically a futile effort. Those who committed the "sin that leads to death" were beyond hope, for there is no hope for salvation outside of Jesus Christ.

It is important to note that neither the "unpardonable sin" nor the "sin that leads to death" can be committed by Christians. A Christian can never lose his/her salvation. Any "Christian" who would fall away or reject Jesus, never was truly saved.

tomorrow's reading: Jude, Rev. 1:1-2:29