1 John 5:16-17 --- 16 If anyone sees a fellow believer committing a sin that doesn’t lead to death, he should ask, and God will give life to him—to those who commit sin that doesn’t lead to death. There is sin that leads to death. I am not saying he should pray about that. 17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin that doesn’t lead to death.
Well today's journey into the Word took us through some interesting territory. I will say the path felt difficult when I first stumbled upon reading today's verses. To be completely transparent, my first thoughts were, "Run! Jump further down in the chapter! You're posting things on social media for crying out loud! It might upset someone; you may not say it exactly right!"… LOL…
So, there you have it. The initial thoughts in my brain were to run past this, however God has called me to walk this journey out with Him, not alone, so I had to turn to Him and deeply pray for Him to guide the walk through this seemingly difficult part of His word today.
Context is such a big deal for God's word and as I prayed for wisdom and His guidance in verses 16-17 that is where He pointed me. Look at the context of it all.
So, what are we talking about here? Seeing a brother or sister in Christ sinning, something not leading to death (we'll get to that part), and we should pray for them.
The word "sees" here in Greek is horaō it means: to see with the eyes, to stare at, to discern clearly, behold, perceive, see, take heed…
We've established right out of the gate this is seeing with your own eyes, clearly, without doubt. This isn't Brother Bob telling you that Sister Susie told him that Pastor Joe did a no-no. (Names are made up and any likeness to real people is purely coincidental...LOL!)
With that established, the verse starts with a basic concept, but something we as Christians NEED to be reminded of…When we see a brother or sister sinning, we should pray for them. So many times, we either avoid it, pretend we didn't see it, stress/worry over it, or worse we do the above, gossip about it. In the end we usually do everything except what we should, which is pray for them and lovingly confront them.
Now, where these verses appear to get rough and complex is when it starts talking about sin that doesn't lead to death and sin that does lead to death. What does that mean?
Well just reading these verses alone you can spin in circles all day and it's not going to make much sense. I read 4 different commentaries to see what others had to say. Ultimately, I went back to God and asked for wisdom and what He wanted me to learn in it. So here's where it led.
When we look at the context of the verses today it sits in a book that has been all about KNOWING we KNOW Jesus, that He is the only way, He is the Son of God, watching our words and actions line up with Jesus and the Word. Then the past few chapters are focused on loving our brothers and sisters, then moves on to loving God, obeying His commands, discussing it's all anchored in Jesus and who Jesus is. Then into praying according to God's will and today right into praying for brothers and sisters again.
What does all that mean then?
If you've taken this journey through 1 John seriously, with God leading the adventure, you have seen and learned many things, such as us Christians are not perfect. We still slip up and sin and when we do Jesus is our advocate, but we've learned a true born-again follower of Jesus Christ will not live in habitual ongoing sin. We've learned we cannot have light and dark in us, it's one of the other. Yes, we slip up, but we cannot walk in light and dark together...we can't be light while at church, then dark when we go home. If we live this way 1 John tells us, we are deceived and are not abiding in Him, and He is not in us.
So, if I see my brother or sister slip, trip, stumble, fall or even face plant over sin, I need to pray for them. Be there for them. Love them enough to confront it, encourage them to repent of it, lift them up, etc…
Here's what's awesome, when I pray for a believer who has slipped up, I know it's God's will to restore His child, so I can boldly pray for them to have wisdom, to see their sin, to repent of it, because we learned this week if I pray according to His will, He hears it and if He hears, it'll be done! How awesome, that we can boldly pray for a brother or sister to be restored, to see what's happened, to repent, to get with Jesus the advocate and get things back on track!!
To clarify something, this isn't about judging someone at all. It's clear this is me and Brother Bob, walking through the store and I see him grab the Hubba Bubba Strawberry Watermelon Gum and put it in his pocket to steal. Brother Bob you have been busted with the bubblegum! I see it clearly. How do I know it's a sin, well I better KNOW my Bible, KNOW God's word, KNOW that I KNOW and I can only KNOW that if I'm in my Bible and in relationship with God and KNOW his character and His directions.
Now, to address the whole, "There is sin that leads to death. I am not saying he should pray about that.". After reading all the context of 1 John, he has clearly shown us in earlier chapters we are all sinners, we mess up, even after being saved we're gonna slip up. He even says in 1 John 1:8 --- If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. So, when we slip up, we're convicted of it by the Holy Spirit, we repent of it and our advocate Jesus has us covered. No death involved here.
What all the commentaries I read agree on and what I see in context of all of 1 John and knowing God's character, this sin unto death encompasses apostasy, walking away and denying Jesus is the Son of God. Again, this makes sense in context because John spent most of chapter 5 here hammering in the testimony of God is above mans and God's testimony is Jesus is His Son. Us believing in that testimony is what makes us a child of God. He goes on to show the water, blood and Spirit agree on who Jesus is. It's a big deal that He's made it all about Jesus. Part of the thing John has gone after is false teachers spreading Gnostic lies that Jesus wasn't really God, it was a spirit, etc…
So, for me it makes sense for someone who says, "Jesus isn't the son of God. I want nothing to do with this. I am no longer a Christian. I reject the Bible.", this is a sin that isn't just a slip up. It's not a simple stumble and trip, taking the Hubba Bubba from the store. I can't expect a simple forgiveness of this sin because they have rejected the one who died for that sin. The only hope of forgiveness. Their advocate before the Father.
Okay, so even with that understanding of sin unto death here. It still seems harsh to just straight up say, "Yeah don't pray for that. Move along. Nothing to see here.". So, as I prayed over it, God led me again to context! The whole point is to love and pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ, someone who has taken the stance above is no longer a brother or sister in Christ. They've rejected Jesus. So, I'm no longer to pray for them as a believer, for simple conviction, repentance, and advocacy from Jesus in the matter. My prayer for them now moves to the same I have for the world, for those who don't know Jesus.
Wow. What a journey today, through something that I initially had the thought to avoid and run past quickly.
Well, I've said whole lot today, in regard to this interesting journey with God through these verses. I'm no scholar, I don't claim to know it all, I'm just a sinner who came to know Jesus as my Lord and Savior and I'm being obedient to share my daily walk with Him and what He shows me.
I pray you will not take my word for anything, but instead open your Bible, ask God to give you wisdom and speak to you through His word and take this journey yourself. See what He tells you!
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