Many readers assume John is referring to the so-called deadly sins (murder, adultery, etc.) One problem with this is that there is no list of deadly sins in the Bible. In the Law there are several examples of sin which is committed with the full intention of breaking the law as “unforgivable.” Leviticus 4:2 for example, the one who sins with a “high hand.” Even someone like Paul who caused the death of Stephen found forgiveness from that murder.
Jobes points out that Jesus taught anger is as bad as murder, and lust as bad as adultery (Matt 5:21–22, 27–28; Jobes, 1, 2, & 3 John, 238). The gospels blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:28–30), but this is a particular rejection of the Messiah by the Pharisees when they attributed the work of Jesus to the devil.
It is possible John has recanting one’s faith in the face of persecution in mind, as in Hebrews 6:4-6. Persecution is not obviously in view, unless the reference to idolatry in the last line of the letter refers to the imperial cult.
Some have considered the “unforgivable sin “to be the act of suicide. Aside from the fact suicide is not addressed as an unpardonable sin anywhere in scripture, it seems highly unlikely John would say “don’t bother praying for someone who has committed suicide.” But John cannot have in mind physical death, because all people die whether their sins are forgiven or not.
Colin Kruse suggests John “very likely that he has the sin of the secessionists in mind” (Kruse, Epistles of John, 192; Jobes agrees, 236). Although it seems extremely strange to say, “don’t pray for those unrepentant sinners,” Kruse points out the prophet Jeremiah was told not to pray for Israel “because her sins were so repugnant (Jer 7:16-18; 11:14; 14:11).”
The one who has been born of God does not “keep on sinning” (5:18-20). This final paragraph returns to a theme found throughout the letter that the one who has been born of God does not continue in their sin. As we have observed at other times in the letter, John does not say that the Christian never sins, but they don’t persist in a continual state of sin.
John has already mentioned the power of the devil several times in the letter, but here he promises that God will protect his children for the power of the evil one (vv. 10-20). This is extremely important since John’s congregation is living in the city of Ephesus where the power of Rome was on display for all to see. It is possible John’s congregation feared the power of Rome as Christianity grew.
Taking the book of Revelation into consideration, this is not a promise the Christian will never suffer, but rather a promise that God will overcome the power of the devil. Even though the church is persecuted, and some may even die for their faith, they still do not fall into the power of the devil.
I think this “sin that leads to death” has something to do with the enigmatic final line of the book, “keep yourself from idols.” Perhaps John’s opponents are teaching their followers they can perform some kind worship of the Emperor or veneration of Rome to avoid persecution. This would be analogous to an American Christian pledging allegiance to the flag. Just as most Christians do not see this pledge as an act of idolatry, so too John’s opponents may have interpreted Imperial worship as an oath of loyalty and not actual worship of gods. They may have considered eating meat sacrificed to idols or attending meals or banquets held at local temples to be “not a sin.”
If this is on the right track, then the “sin that leads to death” is putting oneself in a place where they may not be sinning (yet), but there is a real danger of returning to the worship of idols. This is a very real problem for Christians living in cultures where gods are worshiped regularly. For Christians living in places which venerate ancestors, there is a very real struggle for the Christian to return to those practices in order to keep the pace within a family. The willful choice to return to idolatry is, for John, a sin that is so dangerous is “leads to death.”
What about recognition of “those before you” either being aware of the doings of the living or being asleep until the Day? Is it idolatry to remember the dead and their honor, their wisdom imparted and our need to hold on to loved ones? Would it be acceptable (like your mention of eating meat sacrificed to pagan gods) to hold memory and respect (Memorial Day) for our deceased loved ones but without worship as if they became gods? I’d say so.
I prefer to understand how my ancestors viewed spiritual matters, including Christianity, to become my view on such things. To honor the dead but not to venerate them.
Memorial Day is an interesting analogy (I am stealing it, thanks!) I do not think any Christian I know would consider remembering those died in their military service to be like honoring dead ancestors (as is practices in China, for example), but there may be some Americanism implicit in that remembrance which makes it illegitimate for a church worship service.
Not sure where you live, but in most of the West (Europe and America) we struggle to find good application for the idolatry passages like this. but this is a very real issue in China or other Far East cultures, how can a Christian legitimately honor their ancestors without engaging in idolatry.
A remember attending a missionary conference a couple of years ago and your suggestion for the sin that leads to death is exactly what a lot of people deal with in the Congo. He explained that due to the heavy integration of witchcraft and minor gods within their culture based around every life event makes it really hard for new converts to Christianity to persevere. Particularly with other family members. When childbirths, weddings, sickness and things of the sort all center around the possible effect that curses or spirits are having on everyone’s lives, it gets difficult to operate on a different wavelength. Especially if someone is experiencing separation from their family or support system because of their newfound faith. Considering this text, and the experiences that people can have when proclaiming the Gospel I would say it makes sense that this would be the sin forefront in John’s mind.
According to Jobes, in this passage, “John most likely has in mind a kind of person rather than a type of sin” (p. 426). Rather than claiming there is one thing, such as suicide or murder, that can not be forgiven, John simply says that “There is sin to lead to death” (1 John 5:16). If he had a specific sin in mind, it seems that he would have stated that sin so that his readers would know to avoid it. In the ESVSB notes, Yarbrough states that the sin that leads to death most likely refers to “sin that is (1) unrepented of and (2) of the kind or nature that John has warned about… resolute rejection of the true doctrine about Christ, chronic disobedience to God’s commandments, persistent lack of love for fellow believers…” (p. 2437). If this is true, it would seem that the sin that leads to death is the sin of one who claims to be a Christian but does not act like it. They know about God and Jesus’s death on the cross, and they most likely know the teachings, but they do not follow them. And, they do not repent when they do sin.
Another understanding of this comes from Jobes, who explains this type of person as one who is “unwilling to accept the heart of the apostolic gospel – that Jesus died to atone for sin – but who still wants to believe in him in some sense” (p. 426). Even though they may agree with Jesus’s teachings, they are missing the most important part – that “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9-10). Without accepting Jesus as your savior, there is no way to be redeemed.
Naturally, as humans, we like to try to “rank” different forms of sin in order to decide which ones are worst. I think this comes from the fact that as a human society, we have to have rules and regulations to persuade someone to not do something wrong. We have punishments for wrong doings, but not all punishments are the same. Our judicial system does not punish a teenager who shoplifted from the dollar store the same way they would punish a grown man for first degree murder. This is because in our society we place more value on human life than on dollar store items or monetary values. This is also because drastic offenses require drastic punishments to try to keep people from committing those actions. However, God does not work the same way society does. All sin are equal in His eyes and all sins are worthy of punishment of the same kind. This seems drastic to us as we are not use to it, but any imperfection in the presence of a perfect God would be considered an abomination to Him. In this specific blog post, the sin that leads to death has to do with putting something, or anything, above God or giving more love and attention to something or someone other than the Lord. This is so easy to do in our society and so hard because we cannot serve two masters. God cannot govern our hearts at all if there is something else we are finding our security in.
Along with sin comes forgiveness and repentance. Once we receive our salvation we do not keep sinning. Yes, we sin, but we must do better. We must start shying away from the things that made us sinners in the first place. The deadly sin that Professor Long mentions is worshiping idols and false gods. John was not clear of the sin when he stated “There is a sin that leads to death.” It is to be clear that all sin is bad. It does not matter if it is something small or something big, it is still sin. People get so caught up in ideas that some sin is not as bad as others but it still all disobeys the Lord. This comes straight from how a person was raised and what they value and believe in. God knew right from the start that we would all be sinners. Adam and Eve were prime examples of sinners. They disobeyed God and broke that trust. Every single person from there on out has been a sinner. The only perfect human-being was Christ himself. He was faced with suffering and pain but still knew no sin. That is beyond admirable. I think that many Christians lose sight of the image Jesus left us. He left us showing what love was and how to live out your salvation as a sinner. It had to take his death in order for us to even be able to know God. Sinning would lead us straight to death if it wasn’t for God himself.
There are a lot of theories about what the unforgivable sin is. I used to not understand the concept of the unforgiveable sin. The Bible is very clear that God has presented us with the gift of forgiveness and eternal life and that all we have to do is ask for forgiveness and accept the free gift (Romans 6:23; Acts 16:31). The Bible also says that there is no sin greater than another and that no one can get to heaven without Christ (Romans 3:23). All sin is equal, all sin leads to death, but all sin can be forgiven when one asks for forgiveness. Based on the context of the passage (1 John 5:16) and what the Bible as a whole says, one can come to the conclusion that the unforgiveable sin is just that, unrepentance. Those who have not asked for forgiveness and those who have asked for forgiveness but have not changed the way they live (who live unrepented lives) will not be forgiven. John even says to not pray for unrepentant sinners. This is similar to when God told the prophet Jeremiah to not pray for Israel because they were living in their sin.
In a simple answer, all sin leads to death; but to go the route as to say all sin is then equal and forgivable can be a tricky yet asinine statement in the matter of how one backs up their claim. In Scripture there is no explicit or metaphorical reference to support that all sin is forgivable or equal, we are assuming that they all are because we have received salvation in Christ. Yes, the only way to God is through the salvation of Jesus Christ but with that comes the act of following the moral law and will of God. As believers we are supposed to follow God’s Word as closely to a T as we can, nobody is perfect, and we will mess up but here is the key we must learn from our sinful mistakes and make a change. Without a doubt we will suffer a physical death, it’s just nature but here the death that we are talking about is a spiritual death (meaning we will not be able to bask in the Glory of God one day in Heaven).
God does have boundaries and conditions to His love, and it’s explicitly exemplified in the Old Testament when an individual or people group acted outside of His will and Law. This is the very reason why He sent His son to dwell among humanity and deliver us; that makes Christ the go-between humans and God. This allows God to view His people through the eyes of Christ, when He looks at us, He looks through the scope of Christ’s perspective of humanity because He has been there and has more sympathy.
With that being said we shouldn’t take advantage of this perspective, there is forgiveness, mercy, love and understanding in Christ which makes Christianity attractive. The mercy of God doesn’t come with a purchase of being able to do whatever you want and thinking there are no repercussions that may lead to one day being in hell. When we have habitual sin and we are only using this forgiveness as a scapegoat is when God starts to realize our heart isn’t pure, that we are only seeking these things because we are scared of the death that John mentions. The statement that “Only God can judge me” should scare the hell out of people because He is one that holds us to a high standard by holding us accountable by His word.
What John’s intention was in writing this was to hold people accountable to have a pure heart that yearns to walk on the same path as Christ aligning themselves with the Word of God. So, in conclusion yes, all sin leads to a physical death but when it comes to spiritual death there is a lot of weight that we are unable to speak on because we are unable to see the purity of other hearts and their intentions.
In a simple answer, all sin leads to death; but to go the route as to say all sin is then equal and forgivable can be a tricky yet asinine statement in the matter of how one backs up their claim. In Scripture there is no explicit or metaphorical reference to support that all sin is forgivable or equal, we are assuming that they all are because we have received salvation in Christ. Yes, the only way to God is through the salvation of Jesus Christ but with that comes the act of following the moral law and will of God. As believers we are supposed to follow God’s Word as closely to a T as we can, nobody is perfect, and we will mess up but here is the key we must learn from our sinful mistakes and make a change. Without a doubt we will suffer a physical death, it’s just nature but here the death that we are talking about is a spiritual death (meaning we will not be able to bask in the Glory of God one day in Heaven).
God does have boundaries and conditions to His love, and it’s explicitly exemplified in the Old Testament when an individual or people group acted outside of His will and Law. This is the very reason why He sent His son to dwell among humanity and deliver us; that makes Christ the go-between humans and God. This allows God to view His people through the eyes of Christ, when He looks at us He looks through the scope of Christ’s perspective of humanity because He has been there and has more sympathy.
With that being said we shouldn’t take advantage of this perspective, there is forgiveness, mercy, love and understanding in Christ which makes Christianity attractive. The mercy of God doesn’t come with a purchase of being able to do whatever you want and thinking there are no repercussions that may lead to one day being in hell. When we have habitual sin and we are only using this forgiveness as a scapegoat is when God starts to realize our heart isn’t pure, that we are only seeking these things because we are scared of the death that John mentions. The statement that “Only God can judge me” should scare the hell out of people because He is one that holds us to a high standard by holding us accountable by His word.
What John’s intention was in writing this was to hold people accountable to have a pure heart that yearns to walk on the same path as Christ aligning themselves with the Word of God. So, in conclusion yes, all sin leads to a physical death but when it comes to spiritual death there is a lot of weight that we are unable to speak on because we are unable to see the purity of others hearts and their intentions.
In a simple answer, all sin leads to death; but to go the route as to say all sin is then equal and forgivable can be a tricky yet asinine statement in the matter of how one backs up their claim. In Scripture there is no explicit or metaphorical reference to support that all sin is forgivable or equal, we are assuming that they all are because we have received salvation in Christ. Yes, the only way to God is through the salvation of Jesus Christ but with that comes the act of following the moral law and will of God. As believers we are supposed to follow God’s Word as closely to a T as we can, nobody is perfect, and we will mess up but here is the key we must learn from our sinful mistakes and make a change. Without a doubt we will suffer a physical death, it’s just nature but here the death that we are talking about is a spiritual death (meaning we will not be able to bask in the Glory of God one day in Heaven).
God does have boundaries and conditions to His love, and it’s explicitly exemplified in the Old Testament when an individual or people group acted outside of His will and Law. This is the very reason why He sent His son to dwell among humanity and deliver us; that makes Christ the go-between humans and God. This allows God to view His people through the eyes of Christ, when He looks at us, He looks through the scope of Christ’s perspective of humanity because He has been there and has more sympathy.
With that being said we shouldn’t take advantage of this perspective, there is forgiveness, mercy, love and understanding in Christ which makes Christianity attractive. The mercy of God doesn’t come with a purchase of being able to do whatever you want and thinking there are no repercussions that may lead to one day being in hell. When we have habitual sin and we are only using this forgiveness as a scapegoat is when God starts to realize our heart isn’t pure, that we are only seeking these things because we are scared of the death that John mentions. The statement that “Only God can judge me” should scare the hell out of people because He is one that holds us to a high standard by holding us accountable by His word.
What John’s intention was in writing this was to hold people accountable to have a pure heart that yearns to walk on the same path as Christ aligning themselves with the Word of God. So, in conclusion yes, all sin leads to a physical death but when it comes to spiritual death there is a lot of weight that we are unable to speak on because we are unable to see the purity of others hearts and their intentions.
This topic is very interesting for me because oftentimes I think of various sins and think of which one is the unforgivable sin. But as P. long mentioned in the article, I mostly grew up knowing that Suicide is the biggest sin according to the scripture because of John’s statement and his statement is that “don’t bother praying for someone who has committed suicide.” However, I believe that sin can be beyond our comprehension because occasionally we are sinning without even realizing it. For instance, according to Matthew 5:21-2227,28) Jesus taught anger is as bad as murder, and lust is as bad as adultery. So again, I believe that only these statements can hook up to the majority of people today because they are sinning without even realizing it. So many people oftentimes sin, because they think that it is okay to be angry for a moment, but they have never realized that angry issues are as bad as murdering someone. When you become angry you will likely shout and lose control of yourself, and the bible mentions that it is a sin. Jobes mentioned that we need to pray for people who have sinned but once they reject the blood of Jesus Christ then that means that “their sin cannot be forgiven, because they reject the very means of grace the blood of Jesus”. (Jobes, 2011, pg. 426). I like how Jobe, mentioned that it is the sin of those unwilling to accept the heart of the apostolic gospel that Jesus died to atone for sins. So, it looks like one of the biggest sins according to Jobes and 1 John is rejecting the apostolic gospel which is that Jesus died for the sin.
John speaks to the purposeful, strong rejection of Jesus Christ as the sin that leads to death, or the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. John instructs us to pray for our brothers and sisters in sin as soon as we see them, and when it comes to our brother going through a tough moment, prayer is the last thing we can do. Since prayers are a sign of love for one another, they have a unique impact on God.
The prayer made on behalf of a brother in sin was promised a blessing from God, and our love is strongest when we pray for one another. John explained that there is a sin that can lead us to death, and there are also sins that cannot lead us to death. It is important that we remain focused on our identity in Jesus Christ as we fight sin, because we have the power to be free from sin if we are born of Jesus. If we are his children, we will have a special defense against evil that is not available to those who are not the children of God. John explains that we are protected by Jesus and that he keeps us safe from the devil. Those who grow up in Jesus are set apart from the world and are freed from its influence, even if the evil one still controls it. Let ourselves be free to be who we are in Christ and set apart from the world order. Willingness to know and be in Him, and an eternal life of relationships are all gifts that come from Jesus’ work among us.
It is very interesting to come across the remembrance of the dead. I am now 50 years old and i remember when i was a young age say 10, 12, my grandmom always reminded me never to attend memorials of those who had passed on. i grew up in her house, my mother died when i was 3 months old. She never had formal schooling. but she prayed earnestly in our local dialect. Let me say this, she died in 2006 at 100. I got born again in 1998 by an experience i still don’t understand if it was vision or dream-let me keep that for another day. so she also kept reminding her children to never make memorial of her when she is dead. maybe she knew something we never know. Of course they defied. i was their nephew and they never listened to me. well. it came to me that remembering them was like making sure their spirit lives with us and in Africa animals are slaughtered. i felt it was aa spiritual revelation to me that that was idol worship. i could say more.
I am reminded of 1 John 5:16, “If you see a brother or sister sinning, call to mind the solemn words the Lord Jesus spoke about judgment. You won’t live to regret interfering. For this is the very reason why He was revealed, namely, that He might offer God purifying blood and that we might notice in our brother or sister the actual workings of the Spirit instead of sin. But then the question is, what is this sin that leads to death?” To which I respond, “That is never defined in the Bible.” We are accustomed to speaking of “the deadly sins,” of sins that are so bad that they can affect a person’s salvation. And the Old Testament does indeed mention sins that are so bad that they require special atonement, like the sin with a high hand in Leviticus 4:2. The person who sins with a high hand is someone who has committed a serious sin, one who knows exactly what he or she is doing. But the issue of whether or not such a person can be saved was obviously an important one for the early church, as we know from the Apostle Paul, who was responsible for the death of Stephen. Yet Paul found forgiveness. So we see that God’s mercy is far more expensive than we might have imagined.
In a partial retelling of Matt 5:21–22, 27–28, Jesus taught his disciples that anger constitutes murder and lust constitutes adultery. Such a view of sin extends far beyond external acts of commission. It also includes unwholesome inclinations of the heart. Some commentators also see an allusion here to the sin unto no forgiveness, the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit described in Mark 3:28–30, which was the Pharisees’ sin in refusing to recognize and respond to the divine presence and work in Jesus. While there are a few commentators who have suggested that suicide constitutes the unforgivable sin, such a view is not grounded in Scripture and seems highly unlikely, and Jobes correctly notes that John would not instruct believers not to pray for someone who had committed such an act.
As I finished reading through 1 John lately, I noticed an immediate applicability of the warning John gave in the last part of the book regarding idols. To the Ephesians, the imperial cult was no abstract threat. The early Christian believers lived within the day-to-day reality of having to decide how to navigate the many opportunities to interact with idol worship that were a natural part of daily life. Most, no doubt, were tempted at some point or another to participate either in the local cult of city worship or in social entertainment that in some way might stem from idol-worship. If they didn’t, they might be accused of being hateful toward mankind. Or if they did participate, they may have assumed that they hadn’t sinned. However, John is under the impression that doing such things can easily draw believers back to idols. There is obvious relevance today when we consider how people compromise their faith in order to fit in or to meet some professional obligation. Whether or not most people would even perceive the danger of being led back to idolatry, it exists nonetheless.
I read recently about a Christian living in a country with a culture that does a lot of ancestor worship. As many cultures do. And every day there would be something or other that would pull them away from being fully devoted to Jesus. No doubt the things they were doing daily were not evil in and of themselves, but the point of John’s writing is that sin that is consistent, intentional, and which pulls you away from God is very dangerous; it leads to death (not necessarily physical death but spiritual death).
For some much-needed hope: Christians are protected from the evil one by God, no matter what, even persecution and threats of death (1 John 5:18–20). I try to remember this. The danger is not in the occasional failure or even two failures, but in repeatedly turning away from Christ.
These final verses of 1 John challenge our understanding of the gravity of sin, especially of the unrepentant kind, while also affirming the truth of God’s love and protection in the world, which is often awash in idolatry and pressure to conform to the world around us. In Ephesus, and in every other city or culture where Christianity is practiced, there is a need for courage, for a watchful and vigilant heart, and for a devotion to Jesus Christ that exceeds that given to anything else.