Sin to death and not to death. Sin to death, sin not to death
Sin is not a list of actions. Sin is a departure, a departure from God, and God is love, and therefore any departure from love is a sin and means death. But we know from Paul that there are sins unto death, and there are not unto death. What is the difference? This is later, but for now, here is the question: “Is there freedom from sin at all”?
When we say "freedom from sin", we are silent about God, aren't we? We are the main ones. We free ourselves. Who else? After all, we perform feats, bow down, put candles, fast, obey, strive for righteousness, receive medals from the patriarch. Or maybe you should take care of freedom with Christ?
But do we know what it is? Freedom from sin and freedom from God?
In the spiritual realm, everything is exactly the same as in childhood. Man does not prove anything in the world of Christ, they prove it only in the world of the devil. Everything is accepted without barriers, from soul to soul, from God to man inside.
But is it possible to trust everyone and everything? Lots of people and lots of words. And often they contradict each other. How then to believe?
Sin is not this or that transgression. Sin is really a state of mind. And a visible sin, an act or a thought, is only a reflection of this state.
And further. The same act can sometimes show sin and sometimes righteousness. How to distinguish? Outwardly, nothing, only through love.
Example? Charity. Outward signs of righteousness do not guarantee the fate of the soul.
- In fact, and a misdemeanor, and a state of mind, and much more. We are sinners anyway, from the very beginning. Sin - literally "miss" or "missing the target" (Greek - amartiya). But this is all very relative precisely because the same action for one person may be a sin, but not for another, in one situation it will also be a sin, but not in another (although assessments may inevitably be different). In general, everything that is according to the will of God is not a sin, but everything that is against it is a sin.
Or - "everything that is not according to faith is a sin" (Ap. Paul, to the Romans).
Another thing is what is the will of God at each particular moment of time, and when it is time to speak or time to be silent, time to collect stones or time to scatter them, few of us can reliably and every time determine the truth. That's why we are sinners, that's why we miss.
- I'll repeat it again. An act is nothing more than an external evidence of some process in the state of the soul.
Sin is not the act itself, sin is what pushed us to it.
-For every idle word, people will give an answer in judgment, and not for every thought, even if it is sinful.
But the word does not come out of the mouth by itself. It only reflects our sinful inner state. And it is this state that the Lord will judge.
Like this: “But I tell you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” [Matthew 5:28] Here there is no word and deed, only a state of lust, and Christ condemns.
Otherwise, we fall into an arithmetic approach in communicating with God, and this is already a kind of trade. The merchants are driven out of the temple by Christ.
[John 9:39] And Jesus said, I have come into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.
When some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this, they said to him, Are we also blind?
Jesus said to them: If you were blind, you would not have [on] [yourself] sin; but as you say you see, the sin remains on you.
If the other is more sinful, then it does not save you. Sin cannot be repaid, only hope for forgiveness. 31For if we judged ourselves, we would not be judged. It says "forgive us our debts". 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors;
Alas, we often render services to each other, counting on thereby enslaving each other, making each other our debtor. This is how the devil treats us, and we should not follow his path.
There are some other strange words that we usually pay little attention to, but meanwhile they are of great importance to us. “If anyone sees his brother sinning with a sin not unto death, then let him pray, and [God] will give him life, [that is] sinning [with a sin] not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he should pray. Every unrighteousness is sin; but there is sin not unto death. We know that everyone who is born of God does not sin; but he who is born of God keeps himself, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are from God and that the whole world lies in evil. We also know that the Son of God came and gave us light and understanding, so that we may know the true God and be in His true Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. Children! keep yourself from idols. Amen." (1 John 5:16-21)
What is strange? In that which turns out to be sins unto death, but there are not unto death. And how do you know which is which?
In church practice, it is customary to consider eight main passions as sins leading to death:
1. Gluttony
2. Fornication
3. Love of money
4. Anger
5. Sadness
6. Despondency
7. Vanity
8. Pride.
However, this is not the final opinion, it is often believed that any unrepentant sin is a mortal sin.
So there is some disagreement that does not allow to see the truth. Meanwhile, Christ gives us the way to an accurate understanding of the essence. These are the words: “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men; if anyone speaks a word against the Son of Man, he will be forgiven; but if anyone speaks against the Holy Spirit, he will not be forgiven either in this age or in the future.” (Matthew 12:31,32)
Why does Christ say this? After all, it seems that both Christ is God and the Holy Spirit, but one blasphemy is forgiven, the other is not.
Perhaps the point here is that the very teaching of Christ has love as its content. But what is love if not the union of object and subject? After all, only under such a condition does a church arise, where one heart and one soul are formed among those who believe. [Acts 4:32]
But how does this unity of people and God take place?
Let's remember the wonderful prayer to the Holy Spirit.
Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of Truth, Who is everywhere and fills everything, Treasury of good things and Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save, O Blessed, our souls.
Yes, it is the Holy Spirit that connects us with both Christ and our Heavenly Father, and of course, by excluding Him from our fellowship, we exclude ourselves from the Book of Life, for in no other way can we become members of the family of God.
It is no coincidence that when Seraphim of Sarov was asked about the purpose of human life, he said: “To have the Holy Spirit,” that is, to acquire Him. “For you are the temple of the living God, as God said: I will dwell in them and walk [in them]; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
So we can confidently say to ourselves that the only and unconditional criterion of sins leading to death is denial, refusal to communion with God by the Holy Spirit.
Anatoly Penshin
A very interesting question was asked to John Piper by a listener named Danny: “Hi Pastor John, thank you for this podcast. What is ‘sin not unto death’ in 1 John 5:16-17? Can you explain please."
“If anyone sees his brother sinning with a sin not unto death, then let him pray, and God will give him life, that is, he who sins with a sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he should pray. Every unrighteousness is sin; but there is sin not unto death.” (1 John 5:16-17)
Let me give a brief answer first, and then go back and present the rationale for this from the context of 1 John and the broader teaching of the New Testament. Here is my answer: the sin that does not lead to death (which I think John means is eternal death or condemnation) is any sin we commit that we, by the grace of God, are able to confess and repent of. him. That is my answer.
Any sin
The reason why I put it this way is because it says in 1 John 1:9 and Hebrews 12:16. So, in 1 Jn. 1:9 says: “If we confess our sins”- John does not specify what kind of sins - “Then He, being faithful and just, will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” It's just an amazing, wonderful, glorious and precious promise. If you can sincerely confess your sin, agree with God that it is a sin and that it is disgusting, hate this sin, fight against it, you will be forgiven.
However, in Heb. 12:16-17, which speaks of Esau and what became of him, it is written:
“[See] that there is no fornicator or wicked man who, like Esau, would give up his birthright for one meal. For you know that after that, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected because he did not find an opportunity for repentance, although he sought it with tears.”(literal translation from the ESV English translation).
When it says what he was looking for his, meaning that he was looking for repentance. He couldn't find it. He was no longer capable of repentance. Not that he repented, and repented, and wept, but God did not forgive him. No, no and NO. He couldn't repent. He sinned to such a degree and depth that God considered him hopeless.
This is what I think John meant by the unforgivable sin. This is not some special sin, for example, some special terrible act, but the whole point is in the depth, degree, aggravation of sin and persistence in it, in which sincere confession and repentance become impossible.
Because my answer to Danny's question “What is sin not unto death?” like this: this any sin, any sin that we are still, by grace, able to sincerely and humbly confess and repent of. Such sin does not lead to death.
John's balance
Now let's look at the context, because it really helps to understand how the very text that Danny is referring to fits into the larger theme of 1 John. Verse 1 Jn. 5:16 begins with words “If anyone sees his brother sinning in sin, it will not lead to death.” I would clarify here. “If anyone sees his brother sinning any sin not unto death, otherwise it sounds as if it is about some specific sin. Here, in context, we are talking about any sin.
So let me put it like this:
“If anyone sees his brother sinning with some sin, not unto death, then let him pray, and God will give him life, that is, sinning with a sin, not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he should pray. Every unrighteousness is sin; but there is a sin not unto death”(1 John 5:16-17).
We need to make sure we see these two verses as part of a larger attempt at balance that John is making in this letter. On the one hand, this message emphasizes that those who are truly born again do not sin. In 1 Jn. 3:9 says: “Whoever is born of God commits no sin.”
On the other hand, John warns us against the misunderstanding of these words - against perfectionism, as if Christians do not sin at all anymore. I have actually met people who say this. John writes:
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, then He, being faithful and just, will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, then we present Him as a lie, and His word is not in us.” (1 John 1:8-10)
Changed but not perfect
On the one hand, if you are born again, you do not continue to sin. On the other hand, in this world you will never stop sinning altogether. In other words, John is trying to find a balance between the absolute necessity of being born again, which certainly brings significant victory over sin. This is one side. On the other hand, for us Christians, the reality is that when we commit sins, we can be forgiven by confessing them.
This is the balance we find in 1 Jn. 5:16-17. So verse 16 begins with the words: “If anyone sees his brother sinning with sin not unto death, then let him pray, and God will give him life, that is, he who sins with sin not unto death.” In other words, yes, there is such a thing as a Christian who commits a sin and does not receive eternal condemnation for it.
And then verse 17 ends with these words: “All unrighteousness is sin; but there is sin not unto death.” That is, John emphasizes that we should not take what he said in an idealistic light, that Christians do not sin or that all sins lead to condemnation. This is wrong.
Precious Promise
Christians sin, and not all sins lead to eternal damnation. But right here in the middle, at the end of verse 16, he makes a reservation. He says: “When I tell you to pray for sinners, I acknowledge that Jesus taught about unforgivable sin, and I acknowledge that Hebrews speaks of Esau, and I acknowledge that there is indeed a sin that leads to death and eternal condemnation. He won't let you repent. I am not talking about such a sin.” This is the meaning of John's words: “I’m not talking about him praying.” He doesn't tell us don't pray for such a sin, he simply says: “That's not what I mean when I tell you to pray for sinners that God will give them life.”
1 John. 5:16
“If anyone sees his brother sinning in sin not unto death, let him
prays, and God will give him life, that is, he who sins with sin is not unto death.
There is a sin unto death; I am not talking about him praying.”
Where is the border between them, when to pray and when not to?
Probably the early Christians had a clear understanding of this matter.
They seem to have seen the difference right away. "If anyone sees his brother
who sins not unto death…”
Two millennia have passed and we, having written so many comments about it,
buried under them the simple meaning of our question, Of course, any
unrepentant sin can lead to death, and although we say that
who stole one ruble or a million bears the same name as a thief, yet sins
vary in severity. For one sin they simply condemn a person, for another
goy - they excommunicate, for the third they put them in jail. I think next verse 17
will help you figure it out.
"All unrighteousness is sin, but there is sin not unto death."
In other words: not all unrighteousness leads to death.
There is a mechanical untruth: without thinking, he said. Enough
pray yourself.
There is a forced untruth, with a positive outcome -
2 Samuel 17 chapter. The woman hid Jonathan and Ahimaas in the well -
people of David. She saved them and King David himself. She told a lie
Absalom's detectives: "They forded the river." “During the war, I
tal wounded soldiers from the Nazis and was forced to tell a lie.
Did I sin with this or not? a believing old man once asked me.
Maybe they have sinned with a lie, you can pray for her. But the fact that
you have done - this is a feat.
During the years of persecution, believers often spoke lies, concealed
vay preachers, literature and typewriters, but who among us will condemn
them for it? Not many were able to say so, so as not to betray and at the same time
don't lie.
The same is true for other sins. Someone in the hungry years, spa
sai children from death, stole a loaf of bread or a kilogram of grain on a collective farm.
Stalin did not skimp on terms - 10 years. And today we, without flinching, gave
I wish he was 10 for such a sentence.
In all these sins, we regret that it turned out to be untrue,
that they were unable to bypass it. We pray knowing that the Lord is very understanding
us. “We all make a lot of mistakes. Whoever does not sin in the word, that person
perfect” (James 3:2). “If we confess our sins, then He, being
faithful and righteous, forgive us!” (1 John 1:9).
The listed sins, probably, not to death. But there are other sins. Their
The Bible is richly illustrated.
- The children of the clergyman Elijah, knowing the truth, maliciously blaspheme
they sinned right in the tabernacle.
Father warned:
“Children, you can’t do this, the rumor about you is not good.” "If a man sins
against a person, then they will pray to God for him, but if a person sins
against the Lord, who will intercede for him? But they didn't listen to the voices
his father, for the Lord has already decided to put them to death.”
- Tsar. 2:25. Praying for them was useless.
Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Holy Spirit. This sin turned out to be
home to the death of both. D. Ap. Chapter 5 And no one prayed for them there. Another class of sinners is spoken of in Heb. 10:26-31.
If a Christian has fallen, he may not be able to get up, but he is sorry
No, like the prodigal son, he can return to the Father. But not talking about such
in 10 ch. Jews.
They trample on the Son of God, do not honor the Blood of the Covenant as holy,
The Spirit of grace is insulted (Heb. 6:4-8). "Crucify in himself the Son of God
and scolds Him." No prayers will help such people. These are sins unto death.
Let us add here the already mentioned phrase: “Any unrepentant
sin can lead to death."
The sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is also to death.
And one more sin lurking in many Christians - unpro-
schenie.
"Forgive us as we forgive."
Do not forgive us, just as we do not forgive, and this is the path to death.
What to do in such cases with these people? Except your prayers
which will do nothing here, you still have many means, and their task is to lead the sinner to his own prayer. This will be his last
a chance in the hope that God's mercy will prevail over judgment. It was
in the Bible, and often in our lives. Clarification can reverse "sin-
save a soul from his false way from death" - Jas. 5:20.
Rebuke can open your eyes to what you have done. As in the case of Nathan,
and David who sinned: "I have sinned." Ah, that's the way to God's forgiveness.
Do not lose hope and zeal in helping those who have sinned even with a sin
to death.
“Save those taken to death, and will you really refuse the doomed
Alexey asksAnswered by Alexandra Lantz, 12/28/2009
Alexei writes: Please tell me what the Bible means sin that leads to death, and sin that does not lead to death?
This is one of the most difficult questions, so let's pray to our Heavenly Father to give us the understanding of this issue directly from the Throne of His grace, so that we, rejecting our carnal wisdom, do His will. Only His will. So that we do not take any action until we have the fullness of the revealed Truth, so as not to harm either our own soul or the soul of our neighbor. After all, the main thing for us is to fulfill the most important commandments of Christ, on which the Law and the prophets are based, on which the Kingdom of Heaven is based ().
http://www.site/answers/r/28/305719
http://www.site/answers/r/34/300992
“If anyone sees his brother sinning with a sin not unto death, then let him pray, and [God] will give him life, [that is] sinning [with a sin] not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he should pray.”
The Bible says that anyone sin breeds death. Any sin, even the smallest one, blocks our free access to the Heavenly Abodes.
"For if we receiving knowledge of the truth, arbitrarily sin, there remains no more sacrifice for sins, but some terrible expectation of judgment and the fury of fire, ready to devour opponents. [If] the one who rejected the law of Moses, with two or three witnesses, without mercy [is punished] with death, then how severe do you think the punishment is guilty will be he who tramples on the Son of God and does not revere as holy the blood of the covenant, with which he was sanctified, and offends the Spirit of grace? We know the One who said: Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. And again, the Lord will judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God!"
Note that we are talking about the fact that the Lord will judge His people, i.e. those who believed in Him as the Savior, and we see that, it turns out, not every one of His people will be saved. Because not everyone will decide to constantly receive light from God, so that every day he becomes more and more like the Son of God, in order to grow from glory to glory, as happened with the first believers:
"beholding the glory of the Lord, we are changed into the same image from glory to glory as from the Spirit of the Lord" ().
I will try to sum up what has been said. In John discusses exclusively for Christians and says that among them there will be those who will begin to sin with sin unto death, i.e. knowing sin by hardening their hearts against the influence of the Holy Spirit. There is no need to pray for such "for it is impossible - once enlightened, and having tasted the gift of heaven, and made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and having tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and those who have fallen away, renew again with repentance, when they again crucify the Son of God within themselves and swear at [Him]" ().
Let's look at all this with the example of Saul.
Anyone who does not accept Christ as Savior is dead in the eyes of God. No matter how much he sins, no matter how much he sins, he's just dead in his sins. While Saul persecuted the church of God, threw Christians into darkness, rejoiced at the death of such as Stephen - all this cannot be called a sin unto death, because. Saul was already just dead in his sins (). Before Saul, as before every person, the way of repentance and salvation was opened, the opportunity to come to life in the eyes of God, but Saul was still spiritually dead.
And so Saul repented, became a Christian, tasted the joy of salvation, became alive in the eyes of God, began to preach Christ ... let's imagine that in the middle of all this activity he would suddenly take a mistress or start preaching salvation not by the merits of Christ, but by deeds, although I would know that a mistress and such a sermon is a sin. The brothers would have tried to reason with him, to pray for him, etc., but he would not have responded and would not have repented... that's the Christian's sin unto death. The brothers would have to forbid him to preach and expel him from the church () and Paul would have perished in his bitterness.
May the saving power of the Almighty constantly abide in you and with you, so that every day you come closer to the Source of Life and Holiness, becoming more and more like the Savior!
Read more on the topic "Words and phrases from the Bible":
In order to have a sound basis in evaluating the chosen text, it is worth taking some time to mention the main topics that John discusses in his epistle.
1a. The assurance of believers in Christ that they have eternal life (5:13), they have an Advocate (2:1), they have fellowship with the Triune God (1:4), they are children of God (3:1), they are overcomers of the world (5:5).
1b. The contrast between the children of God and the devil, light and darkness. Sin and truth, love and hatred, faith in Christ and His rejection are the hallmarks of one and the other (3:8-10).
1c. Denunciation of the heresy that rejects Christ who came in the flesh. The Spirit of God and the Spirit of Antichrist (4:1-6). False teachers who have left the community (2:18-19).
1g The immediate context of the passage is prayer (5:14-15).
Textual Observations and Issues
16 Ἐάν τις ἴδῃ τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ ἁμαρτάνοντα ἁμαρτίαν μὴ πρὸς θάνατον, αἰτήσει καὶ δώσει αὐτῷ ζωήν, τοῖς ἁμαρτάνουσιν μὴ πρὸς θάνατον. ἔστιν ἁμαρτία πρὸς θάνατον· οὐ περὶ ἐκείνης λέγω ἵνα ἐρωτήσῃ. 17 πᾶσα ἀδικία ἁμαρτία ἐστίν, καὶ ἔστιν ἁμαρτία οὐ πρὸς θάνατον.
16 If anyone sees his brother sinning with sin, not unto death, let him pray, and God will give him life, that is, he who sins with sin, not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he should pray. 17 All unrighteousness is sin; but there is sin not unto death. (1 John 5:16-17 Tg)
In basicsHowever, I consider the translation of the CPR to be quite accurate, and in the course of work I will be guided by it. However, it is worth mentioning the nuances that are not unambiguous. The phrase that causes difficulty is αἰτήσει καὶ δώσει αὐτῷ ζωήν.
Apostleuses both verbs αἰτήσει and δώσει in the same tense, person, voice and mood. These are the future tense, the active voice, the indicative mood and the third person. However, CPR, like most translations,-first translatesαἰτήσει imperative mood- “let him pray”, and secondly, he refers the verbs to different subjects. A believer who sees a sinning brother should pray, and God will give him life. By the way,αἰτ ewmeans "to ask", "to demand".
So translators basically translate this word with the imperative mood. Perhaps they come from the context and Jewish background of the author. The commandments in the Torah are also given not in the imperative, but in the indicative mood of the future tense. Like the Lord in Mk. 12:30-31 uses the same formἀγαπήσεις . And some commentators agree. However, there are those who consider a direct translation of the future tense to be quite appropriate. In this caseαἰτήσει should translate "and will ask", and the words of John - rather an encouragementthan a command.
The next difficulty is the introduction of a new subject name "God" in relation to the verb "will give ". This is understandable, because it is God who gives life. And it is quite obvious that God is somehow present in this text, because the request, or prayer, can only refer to Him. At the same time, according to some commentators, this introduction can be completely dispensed with, leaving the verb “give” with the same subject, and then the structure will resemble the one we see in the epistle of James, which says that he who turns the sinner away from sins will save his soul (James 5:20). So the accuser becomes a kind of "savior", and here the one who prays is "the giver of life."
In my opinion, the second is appropriate only if the first conclusion is accepted. That is, if we translate both verbs in the same form, then we can talk about a single subject. Otherwise, the argument of a simple and close connection of verbs is no longer valid, and the introduction of a new subject makes sense. Therefore, I propose a choice of translation between the following alternatives:
A. "let him pray and God will give him life"
b. "will pray and give him life"
I do not have sufficient grounds to make an explicittha choice between the two, and however I am more inclined towards the accepted translationA . Most authors and translators adhere to this point of view. Parallel with Jas. 5:20 does not seem convincing to me in view of the various topics that are discussed. And also the end of the verseI'm not talking about praying " implies a request or call, sounding early,which is more suitableA .
Speaking of textual difficulties, one should also note the form in which the author expresses his attitude to prayer for those who sin with sin unto death. He does not express an explicit prohibition on such prayer, but he kind of clarifies his request. He does not speak of praying for one who sins unto death. That is, his urge to pray does not apply to praying for those who sin in such a sin, although it cannot be said that he explicitly forbids it.
Interpretation
Separation of sins
By far the most interesting theological issue is John's division of sins into sins unto death and unto death, and the division of those who sin not unto death and unto death. In the course of this work, I will try to resolve this issue.
First, one must take into account the considerations given by the text itself. The author asks to pray for a sinning brother, but immediately stipulates that we are talking about a brother who sins "a sin not unto death." And then he separates the concepts of sin "unto death" and "not unto death." Pray for the first one. And concerning him John assures that life will be given to such.
First of all, it should be said that the division into “sin unto death” and “not unto death” cannot mean that there are sins that do not deserve death. The Word of God clearly says:for the wages of sin is death ” (Rom. 6:23). Thus, John does not divide sins into those that deserve death as a just retribution, and those that deserve another, lighter punishment. And John himself in verse 17 again equates sin and unrighteousness. In verse 2:1 he encourages the brethren not to sin. John takes sin seriously anyway.
Rather, John, speaking of the concept of "sin unto death" and "not unto death", is talking about a sin that entails death, or leads a person to death, and one that does not. That is, it is rather not about death as a punishment (which should be common to all sinners), but a logical and inevitable consequence.suchsin . But is it possible to make such a distinction in view of a number of passages that seem to speak of sin in general and testify that it invariably entails death? (Gen. 2:15, Jas. 1:15 Rom. 7:10-11, Eph. 2:1). Matthew Henry proposes to define sin unto death as sin incompatible with life and faith. But how can these sins be defined? What is so special about them that makes John speak of them as sins unto death?
Parallels in Scripture
Historically, commentators have looked for parallels between the passage under study and other biblical related concepts. :
a) mortal sin, as a special kind of sin, which inevitably entails physical or spiritual death. Such sins were quite clearly identified in Moses.ohmlaw, as sins committed by a "daring hand" (Numbers 15:30). They were not subject to the pardon offered by the sacrificial system, but they were to be punished by death or expulsion from the Lord's society. For example, for killing without a reason, it was necessary to take to death even from the altar of the Lord (Ex. 21:14). Fornicators and idolaters were subject to death (Lev. 20). By analogy with this, the concept of mortal sin arose. Basically, the same sins that were spoken of with the Old Testament were suggested by the fatherschurches (particularly by Tertullian)like mortal sins . Perhaps a concept that has its basis in the similar Old Testament principle of sin by the "daring hand" can be found in Paul's letter to the Corinthians, where he orders that a person who has committed the sin of incest be excommunicated (1 Cor. 5:5).
b) Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. It seems that the parallel with sin against the Holy Spirit, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit comes up quite naturally. After all, Jesus says that every sin and every blasphemy will be forgiven a person, but the one who sins against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven either in this age or in the future. It seems that here, too, Jesus is talking about two types of sin, and about a special sin that has no forgiveness (Matt. 12:31,32).
However, the context of the passage about the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit seems to imply a slander against the working of the Holy Spirit. When the manifest work of the Spirit of God is consciously called the work of Satan. This is what Jesus seems to call the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. But, in the same passage, it is directly about the person and works of Christ. Therefore, the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit seems to be very closely connected and directly with the rejection of Christ. Although many commentators suggest not looking for a connection between the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and our passage , I assume that it can be found. After all, the gospel conflict between Christ and the Pharisees, between faith and unbelief, is especially sharply shown by the Apostle John himself in his Gospel. The Jews firmly and consistently reject Christ, refuse to recognize His Messiahship, persecute Him, and, subsequently, actually kill Him. They are called the children of the devil and the blind in the gospel. And here a connection with what John is talking about in our passage can be found.
The Concept of Sin in the Message
However, having mentioned these parallels, it must be said that the definition of sin unto death must be found in the context of the Epistle itself. Most of the commentators suggest this approach and I quite agree with it.
Consider the mention of sin in John. John makes extensive use of the concept of sin and gives it great importance. According to John, sin is the hallmark of the devil and his children:Whoever commits sin is from the devil, because the devil sinned first. (3:8a)Unlike them, those born of God do not commit sin, but do what is right (7, 9), and fulfill His commandments (3:24) by doing as He does (2:6). Sin is spoken of as the antonym of righteousness, that is, as unrighteousness or lawlessness (5:17). The sinner does not keep God's commandments (2:4).
In John, the observance of the commandments is very closely intertwined, and in fact parallel to love for brothers and for God (4:20, 21), and sin, in turn, is hatred. Whoever is born of God loves his brothers, and whoever does not love is from the devil (3:10-12), and from the world (3:13).
In addition, as mentioned above, an important theme of the epistle is the rebuking of false teachers. John speaks of those whowere with us, but left ", and apparently they were the ones who rejected "Christ Who Came in the Flesh, who was of the world, and was possessed by the spirit of antichrist(2:18, 19; 4:5). This theme is certainly also related to the theme of sin.
Brothers and false brothers. Not perfectionism.
To find a solution, we need to stop a little and make one more observation that can help us. Let's go back to the context of our passage. I said above that the closest context is prayer. Howeverdue tomeanmthe concept of sin for the epistle of John, John's words about the sinning brother and about sin unto death and not to death are relatedeto John's general doctrine of sin. Moreover, in view of the fact that John does not speak of sin as some concept separate from the person who commits sin, one should look for a relationship between the people who sin in the passage under consideration, and those who sin or not sin in the whole epistle.
Let me explain what I mean. As has been pointed out, John speaks of sin asbmain characteristicsechildren of the devil, people of the world, backslidden false teachers and antichrists as opposed to the children of God. Here he speaks of those who sin with a mortal sin, for whom he does not ask to pray, and whom he, in fact, does not call a brother, he says "περὶ ἐκείνης "," About this. He who sins not unto death, he calls brother.
First of all, I see in this, on the one hand, a softening of the opposition made by John earlier, but at the same time, maintaining its essence. That is, if earlier John made more than once rigid oppositions between those who sin and those who do not sin, then here he softens them. Although there is no perfectionism in the teachings of John. For example, in 1:8 he says:If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ". In 2:1 he suggests that Christians can sin and warns them against it. In the same timeproclaims the existence of an Advocate for our sins. In 3:1-3, just before stating lawlessness as the main characteristic of the children of the devil, he says that the children of God are still not perfect, and still have to purify themselves, and they do this in the eschatological hope. All of this clearly implies that John does not assume perfect obedience and freedom from sin for the children of God.
Nevertheless, its rigid oppositions can be misunderstood in terms of perfectionism. Could they not have caused similar errors and confusion among the Christians to whom John wrote? Could the Christians of this community have become too suspicious of each other? This community certainly experienced certain shocks, it was confused by false teachers and false brothers, who later went out from them. And the problem has still not been finally resolved, which we can judge based on the very nature of the message, and in general, its existence. How to separate true brothers from false brothers? John offers a number of criteria, the main of which is sin, as lawlessness, lack of love and rejection of Christ who came in the flesh (following heresy). But should anyone who sins be perceived as "not ours", "child of the world", "child of the devil"? John replies: no, you can't. A sinning brother should be prayed for. Because there are sins not only towards death, but also not towards death. Therefore, not all sinners are not brothers and are children of the devil and followers of false teachers. At the same time, speaking of sin unto death, and not speaking of prayer for such, John does not at all soften his position towards them.
Sin unto death and the Christian community.
From all that has been said, it is clear to me that speaking of people sinning with sin unto death, John is talking about those who were involved in the Christian community, showed the qualities that John writes about, and fell away, or was close to falling away. And it is these qualities, manifested in this context, that are the sin unto death that John speaks of. This is the first clear conclusion we can draw.
We can try to answer the question, should they all be present in a person in order to consider him sinning to death? That is, should he be lawless, hating, loving the world and holding anti-Christian teachings at the same time? In my opinion, it is difficult to somehow separate these characteristics in the message. The wicked are also spoken of as haters, and the Antichrists are spoken of as speaking worldly. John has the same people.
Here it should be clearly noted that sin unto death cannot be spoken of as the sin of worldly people who are not related to the Christian community. In other words, John does not say anything here about the sins of the people of the world, the unbelieving people who are the object of the preaching of the gospel. On this basis, we can safely reject the interpretation of the Church Fathers that supposedly there are specific mortal sins, such as murder, fornication, idolatry, which cannot be forgiven, and invariably lead to death, sins from which cannot be justified by the Blood of Christ, or which exclude the possibility of repentance.
This will be confirmed by both Old Testament and New Testament evidence. The so-called sins committed by a "daring hand" by themselves meant only people belonging to the people of the covenant. Paul's command to hand over to Satan a man guilty of incest confirms this.
If we talk about the context of the Christian community and mortal sin, then I will point out here a parallel with the sin against the Holy Spirit, the essence of which is the conscious and consistent rejection of Christ. False teachers and false brethren, being within the Christian community, certainly manifested precisely this quality.
So, it is worth talking about mortal sin in the context of the Christian community, and not in the context of the world. And it is worth talking about it as a sin that is incompatible with being in a Christian community. This is the second clear conclusion regarding sin unto death.
So, we have determined that the sin unto death in John should be considered the manifestation of those qualities that are characteristic of the children of the devil and are incompatible with being in the Christian community. Those who sin with such a sin, according to John, must leave the community. Perhaps they should also be expelled from the community, however, John does not seem to write about this directly. But he will write in his second epistle that communication with such should be strictly avoided, which certainly implies discipline.
The inevitability of spiritual death?
Next, you should think about how emphatically the words "unto death" are used. Do they mean that those who commit such sins, who manifest the qualities of the Antichrist, the children of the devil and the world, while in the Christian community and fall away from it, are inevitably subject to eternal death? I do not think that here death can be understood as physical death, because John nowhere speaks of it in this way, and there is no talk of physical death, or even sickness, as the consequences of sin. But John speaks of their belonging to the devil and being in death (3:14). Therefore, we are certainly talking about spiritual death.
But how inevitable is it? Is it possible to stop the movement of these people towards her? It seems to me that this question does not particularly excite John. As I wrote, in the construction of John there is no explicit prohibition on praying for them, he clearly indicates that they are in death and are on the way to it, they should be removed from the Christian community. However, what will happen to them next, he is not particularly interested. He is not particularly concerned about their fate. And this is not surprising, because they are not brothers, on the contrary, they are antichrists. John's God is love, and yet these people do not have the love of God (2:15, 3:17). John constantly speaks of love as a characteristic of the children of God, yet he always speaks of it in the context of a relationship with God and in the context of the Christian community. I'm not saying not to love unbelievers, but that's not the point of John. And even more so, it is not his theme - love for the Antichrists and concern for their fate.
I do not agree that the sin against the Holy Spirit is some action completed in time, which forever closes a person's ability to repent. Otherwise, for example, the apostle Paul, who committed the most serious sins by resisting Christ and persecuting His church, would never have been saved.However, we certainly have a number of very serious warnings against falling away from the faith in the New Testament. Christ Himself warns of the worst (Luke 11:26) for a person who does not devote himself to His cause after repentance. The writer of Hebrews speaks of the impossibility of renewing such by repentance (Heb. 6:6). The apostle Peter says the same thing (2 Pet. 2:20-22).
Therefore, in any case, John's words about sin unto death are very serious. We can say that people who sin with the sin of death, firstly, are in a state of death and are the children of the devil. Secondly, being members of the Church of Christ, knowing the Gospel and confessing it for some time, they now actively and consciously oppose Christ, consciously rejecting Him and the Gospel, and therefore are subject to the most severe condemnation. We can talk about the particular hardness of their hearts. To fall into such a state is scary. I will stop here in my interpretation of the inevitability of death, because I believe that John does not answer this question.
Are sinning brothers really brothers?
What concerns John more than the fate of those who sin unto death is the fate of those who sin not unto death. This is the fate of those whom he calls "sinning brethren." She excites him precisely because they are brothers. I do not agree with Stott's conclusion that these people should be considered unbelievers, based on all of the above. In this case, this passage, with all the logic and beauty of the interpretation proposed by Stott, falls out of the general context of the message and does not serve to clarify it. I consider the line I have given (to some extent I followed Marshall's interpretation) more in line with the logic of the Epistle than Stott's suggestion.
Stott's main argument is based on John's assertion that life will be given to the sinner through prayer. This means that he did not have it, and therefore was not a brother in Christ in the strict sense . At the same time, those who are truly believers in Christ are assured by John already have eternal life (5:11-13).
There are also alternative opinions in relation to this interpretation. . I will assume that the sinning brother will be given life in opposition to death. According to John, those who sin towards death are both in death (3:14) and approaching death. Likewise, those who sin not unto death have life and at the same time receive life. They will be delivered from the death that threatens them by sinning unto death, and they will be given the blessings of eternal life in Christ more fully.
In addition, according to some commentators, such rhetoric of John also indicates his extremely serious attitude towards sin and its consequences. Again, we emphasize that John speaks of sin without compromise. They are all serious. And who knows where the line is when a person begins to sin unto death and ceases to be a brother? Therefore, the solution of the issue of sin, the fight against sin is really a matter of life and death for the believer.
So, care and concern for these brothers is the main concern for John. He loves them and asks the faithful to pray for them. At the same time, believers themselves should be ready to pray for each other during times of temptation.
If we briefly think about exactly how prayer will give life to these brothers, I think it should be pointed out, firstly, that through such prayer the Lord will save His children from further falling, and secondly, will give repentance for sins, in Thirdly, it will fill you with a fuller life.
Conclusion
So, on the basis of the above analysis, we can conclude that John, speaking of those who sin to death and not to death, once again returns to the opposition between the children of the devil and God. This opposition must be considered in the context of the Christian community, not the world. John rejects perfectionism, but does not soften his attitude towards false teachers in the church. Such people cannot be in the Christian community and must either leave or be excommunicated. They are in a truly terrible state, and yet John is not interested in their future fate. At the same time, his attitude towards sinning brothers in the church, although no less serious, is full of concern. He urges that prayer for such will give them life.
List of used literature.
1. Marshall, I. H. (1978).The Epistles of John
2. Utley, R. J. (1999).Vol. Volume 4 :
3 Stott, J. R. W. (1988).Vol. 19 :
4. Kruse, C. G. (2000).The letters of John Stott, J. R. W. (1988). Vol. 19 : The Letters of John: An Introduction and Commentary . Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (185). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
the verbs are so simply and closely coupled in the Greek (aitēsei kai dōsei ), that a different subject would appear forced. It is better to accept the description of real efficacy to prayer (as in v. 15), so that, under God, he who asks life for a brother may be said not just to gain it for him but actually to 'give' it to him. In either casehim to whom life is given is the sinner, not the intercessor. cf. James 5:15, 20, where the prayer of faith for a sick man and the one who brings back a sinner are both said to ‘save’ him. Stott, J. R. W. (1988). Vol. 19 : The Letters of John: An Introduction and Commentary . Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (185–186). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
T rue, he does not explicitly forbid prayer, as God forbade Jeremiah to pray for the people of Judah (Jer. 7:16; 11:14; 14:11; cf. 1 Sam. 2:25); but he does not advise it, for he clearly doubts its efficacy in this case. Stott, J. R. W. (1988). Vol. 19 : The Letters of John: An Introduction and Commentary . Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (186). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
When the author speaks of a sin that ‘leads to death’ ( pros thanaton ), he is referring to the outcome of such sin. Kruse, C. G. (2000). The letters of John
The distinction between sins that do and do not lead to death has been explained in numerous ways. One approach is to explain it in terms of the OT distinction between sins committed unintentionally and sins committed defiantly (Lev 4:2; Num 15:22–25, 30–31; cf. 1QS 8:21–9:2). However, there is no hint in 1 John that this is the distinction the author has in mind. Another approach involves identifying the sin that leads to death with blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:28–30). Kruse, C. G. (2000). The letters of John . The Pillar New Testament Commentary (193–194). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans Pub.; Apollos.
Traditionally it has been defined in terms of sins for which there was thought to be no forgiveness (murder, idolatry, apostasy, adultery, etc.) Kruse, C. G. (2000). The letters of John . The Pillar New Testament Commentary (192). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans Pub.; Apollos.
This identification is most unlikely because it fails to note the explanation given by Mark concerning the nature of this sin, that is, that it involves ascribing the miracles of Jesus to the work of the devil. There is no hint of this in 1 John.
Kruse, C. G. (2000). The letters of John . The Pillar New Testament Commentary (194). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans Pub.; Apollos.
But what kinds of sin fall into these two categories? Here we turn to the evidence of the Epistle itself. It is plain that the author is most concerned about the sins which are incompatible with being a child of God, and these are summed up in denial that Jesus is the Son of God, refusal to obey God's commands, love of the world, and hatred of one's brothers.
Marshall, I. H. (1978). The Epistles of John . The New International Commentary on the New Testament (247). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B.Eerdmans Publishing Co.
But it is unlikely that John was simply giving an illustration of what he meant. On the contrary, it would seem that he has been deliberately leading up to this as his main topic. Throughout the Epistle he has been warning his readers against falling into sin, and stressing that sin is the characteristic of those who are not born of God. He has drawn the lines between believers and unbelievers as clearly as possible. Now, as he attempts to reassure his readers that they are children of God, the question of their sin once more arises, and he takes it up again, arguing that the prayers of believers can secure life for their fellow Christians when they fall into sin . Marshall, I. H. (1978). The Epistles of John . The New International Commentary on the New Testament (245–246). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B.Eerdmans Publishing Co.
An important point, to which commentators surprisingly give no attention, is that he is givenlife in answer to prayer. This means that, although his sindoes not lead to death , he is in fact dead, since he needs to be given life. For how can you give life to one who is already alive? Stott, J. R. W. (1988). Vol. 19 : The Letters of John: An Introduction and Commentary . Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (188). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
The theological and lexical problem here is the meaning of the term “life” (zoā ). Normally in John’s writings this refers to eternal life, but in this context it seems to mean restoration to health or forgiveness (i.e. much like James’ use of “save” in James 5:13–15). The person prayed for is called “a brother” which strongly implies a believer (by John’s own use of the term for his readers).Utley, R. J. (1999).Vol. Volume 4 : The Beloved Disciple's Memoirs and Letters: The Gospel of John, I, II, and III John . Study Guide Commentary Series (242). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International.
I f his sin does not lead to death, why does his brother need to pray that he may have life? John does not answer this question, and any answer must be speculative. The clue is supplied by verse 17 where John reminds his readers that all wrongdoing is sin, and yet there is sin that does not lead to death. Sin remains sin, and sin is dangerous, because it is the characteristic of life apart from God. Sin remains a blemish on the life of God's children. Further, we have not been able to isolate any particular types of sin which fall into either of the two classes. Marshall, I. H. (1978). The Epistles of John . The New International Commentary on the New Testament (248). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B.Eerdmans Publishing Co.
