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in I john 5:16 it refers to a sin that leads to death. what sin is he refering to?

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Hi dear Kim; I know brother Lt can tell you exactly what you need to know, and look for; I have found that it is by sinning/blaspheming against the Holy spirit that we can not be forgiven. Also I have learned that there are two types of sin: venial( forgiveable sin;not on purpose types of sin), and Mortal sin(such as killing someone,more serious,and grave sins & done with full knowledge that it is wrong and doing it anyway.) In Matt12:31-32Even blasphemyagainst me(theSon of David) can be forgiven; except for one;speaking against the Holy Spirit shall never be forgiven;not in this world or the world to come!
Matt22:37-40 says if you follow these two; you will find you are obeying all the other commandments;says Jesus! I hope this he;lps dearest Kim; double up w/ LT though he's a very good pastor. Love in Christ !-------;--;{(@
There is no simple or clear answer to this question. Obvioulsy the recipients of John's letter would have known what he meant. There are several possibilities. The following is from the NIV Bible Commentary:

16a The author turns from confidence in prayer to the ministry of prayer. Although he does not give the basis for his statement, what he says about intercessory prayer follows logically from what he has been teaching. If love requires the willingness to lay down one's life for a member of the community (3:16), then certainly it follows that if one sees a brother commit sin, such a person must intercede for him in prayer. Not to pray for him would be as much a betrayal of God's love as to withhold material aid from him (3:17). Moreover, when we pray for a brother or a sister who commits sin, we can know that such a prayer is "according to his [God's] will" because Christ is the atoning sacrifice for sins (2:2); and if we confess our sins, he is committed to forgive us (1:9).
But why should a brother need such intercession? Why does he not pray for himself and make his own confession? We can only speculate as to John's answer. Perhaps again it is a matter of assurance. The brother may need to be forgiven through intercessory prayer as an expression of the community's forgiveness. Because the sin was presumably committed after entrance into the Christian community, the need to confess the sin to another and to have received assurance of forgiveness may have had special significance. Also, there might be an allusion here to Jesus' words in Jn 20:23.

16b The author comments that intercession is not required if it involves a "sin that leads to death." This is puzzling. We do not know exactly what the author has in mind. Judaism distinguished between deliberate sins--sins of open rebellion against God that were punishable by death--and inadvertent sins that can be atoned for (Lev 4; Nu 15:22, 29). First-century Judaism retained this pattern. In the Johannine community some such distinction was presumably made, hence the limitation "sin that leads to death." Why does he make such an exception? Presumably because he is speaking of spiritually efficacious prayer--prayer that will lead to eternal life. Such prayer can be made only for those who are rooted in God's life and love.
Who specifically is excluded from efficacious prayer? The text offers no clues. The sin mentioned might refer to the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Mk 3:29). But the content of the letter may point to the suggestion that John has in mind the sin of false teaching. For life to be given to those who deny Jesus Christ, hate their brothers, and refuse the witness of God would be a contradiction. Since such persons deny the mercy of God, prayer for them would appear to be limited to asking for their repentance and conversion to God's truth.


Lord Bless,
LT
The unrepentant sin. The one we wont let go of.
I agree it is the sin of inrepentence. Or denying the power of the Holy Spirit to change you from the inside out.
Because the Holy Spirit is the comforter it tells us when and where we could use some work. Through our conscience it speaks. If you are concerned about it and if you think you may have done It I am sure you havent. So it is never to late to repent or say sorry. Even if you tell God a thousand cuss words and say how much you hate him. He will still love you and take you home if you ever happen to say sorry and realize your wrong in this lifetime.
Tom

Nope ... nothing in your words suggest you have committed the unpardonable sin. Pls understand it's OK to be angry at God. I have been before and He still loved me.

It's hard to reason why a loving God lets bad things happen to us, but He does. We are in the middle of a battlefield and we occasionally are wounded by the enemy. You have been wounded and you sound like any of us might ... why me?

If you know a good minister, recommend you have a few conversations with him. Right now you need sound spiritual advice and a source for a loving God to speak to you.

Larry
Bev

I agree with what you say. Would add though that sometimes it's "hard to reason" because some bad things happen to us because of other 's sin (not ours) and sometimes because of no human's sin (natural disasters).

At any rate, those things are still not God's doing, but He allows them for more reasons than to give us lessons or discipline.

Larry
Hi There Kim,

1Jo 5:16 If you see a Christian brother or sister[fn3] sinning in a way that does not lead to death, you should pray, and God will give that person life. But there is a sin that leads to death, and I am not saying you should pray for those who commit it. NLT

I did a search on the above verse from the 'Blue Letter Bible' online, and this is what I found....

1Jo 5:16 "There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it." The sin of malicious unbelief, showing itself by speaking evil of the miraculous works of the Spirit, as the Jews did, apostatizing from the truth, and final impenitence.


also..my Life Appication Study Bible says the following:

Commentators differ widely in their thoughts about what this sin is that leads to death is and whether the death it causes is physical or spiritual. Paul wrote that some Christians had died because they took communion unworthily (1 Cor 11:27-30), and Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead when they lied to God (Acts 5:1-11). Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit results in Spiritual death (Mark 3:29), and the book of Hebrews describes the Spiritual death of the person who turns against Christ (Hebrews 6:4-6). John was probably referring to the people who had left the Christian fellowship and joined the antichrists. By rejecting the only way of Salvation, these people were putting themselves out of reach of prayer. In most cases however, even if we knew what the terrible sin was, we would have no sure way of knowing whether a certain person had committed it. Therefore, we should continue praying for our loved ones and for our Christian brothers and sisters, leaving the judgement up to God. Note that John says, "I am not saying you should pray for those who commit it," rather than, "You cannot pray for them." He recognized the lack of certainty.


To me this verse really emphasizes the importance of community and fellowship, and moment by moment Communion with God. Trust in Him always, and always be thankful in all circumstances, particularly adversity as God uses circumstances to draw us closer to Himself, so that we are needy and dependent totally for Jesus....allowing Him to work everything out in our lives.

Focus on Jesus, not on Sin.
I have found that we will each head in the direction of our gaze!

Hope this helps....Love in Christ,
Carla
The sin of rejecting the Savior-&-Lordship ministry of Christ. (For the Jews, returning to Temple worship after coming to know that Christ is the Savior. For Gentiles, making their own false religious concepts to justify their sinful and selfish behavior.)

We know that rejection of Christ in the first place leads to the ultimate judgment (the second death); but I have seen many people absolutely destroy their lives and die from rebellion of the heart. Sometimes it is quick, other times it is slow and gruelling process where they go from bad to worse until they are living a hellish collapsing world of death.

Ultimately, it is just rebellion against God and the work of Christ. It seems to be worse for the folks who have claimed faith in Christ for a season, and then turned to rebellion when they want to live selfishly.

Many of them are VERY religious, but they reject that Grace and Mercy of God.

I see it as a hardening of the heart against Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit. The idea seems to be that those who KNOW better, who have come to realize that Jesus IS the Savior/Messiah, and yet later choose to rebel and turn away anyway.

~ Scribe
Good Morning,

1Jn 5:16 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.

This particular portion of the verse has created quite a problem amongst the Theological community. Many explanations have been forwarded. Below is a list of these

1. Some have supposed that the sin against the Holy Spirit is intended.
2. The phrase denotes any great and enormous sin, as murder, idolatry. adultery.
3. That it denotes some sin that was punishable by death by the laws of Moses;
4. That it denotes a sin that subjected the offender to excommunication from the Synagogue or
the church.
5. That it refers to sins which brought fatal disease upon the offender, as in the case of those
who abused the Lord’s Supper.
6. Some that it refers to crimes committed against the laws, for which the offender was
sentenced to death.
7. Some that it refers to sins “before” and “after” baptism.
8. Roman Catholics, that it refers to sins that might or might not be pardoned after death, thus
referring to the doctrine of purgatory.

Having seen the confusion that exists it would be wrong for me to assume that I have the answer. Yet I feel that I must comfort my own soul by believing that God is able to save to the uttermost no matter how heinous our sins are.
"Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he
ever liveth to make intercession for them". Heb 7:25

My own belief and comfort regarding this verse is: “That there are men and women who are guilty of a sin, that has caused them to face the death penalty (A sin unto death). Then I should not pray for them to escape the penalty or for the sin they are about to face. My prayers for the person to escape execution from his or her sin against another, would be going against the very laws of the land and I believe against the law of God. It would be asking God to look away when a murderer is about to be punished.

BUT! There is nothing to prevent me from praying for a murderer’s soul. That someone may have the opportunity of leading the prisoner to Christ, where forgiveness will be accomplished, even though the penalty will still have to be paid.

The thief on the cross MAY have been such a man, paying the penalty for which there is no escape but receiving God’s forgiveness.

Father please give each one of us the Spirit of forgiveness, with which you
forgave each one of us. Amen.
The sin is "Unbelief".
Hi Larry,

I noted your reply regarding: "There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.

If as you say "The sin is unbelief" in a person, then surely God would want us to pray all the more, for the Lord to enlighten the person?

We see in Mathew 9. A man who brought his demon possessed child to the Lord, asked the Lord to help him in his unbelief. We see that Jesus healed the child.

Many (No millions) have rejected Christ through unbelief and Millions have been prayed for and the Lord through the Holy Spirit has enlightened them. I am one of those millions.

Are you not, perhaps thinking of Mat 12:31 "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.

The Lord Bless - Regards - Ron

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