What the sin unto
death is and the impossibility of repenting of it
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The
apostle John wrote: “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. All
unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death” (1 John |
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Brethren,
all wrongdoing is sin and we know that “sin is the transgression of the law”
(1 John 3:4), as John says. Now, the Scripture says that “the wages of sin is
death” (Romans 6:23), therefore, if a son of God commits a sin the
transgression of the law will repay him with death, that’s why if a believer
sins, after he has sinned, he feels disturbed and unhappy and feels a pain
that pierces him like an arrow inside him, because the wages of sin is death.
But the apostle wrote: “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” (1 John 5:16), which means that if we see a brother commit a sin
which does not lead to death, we must pray God so that he might be made alive;
yes, because God gives life to those who commit a sin that does not lead to
death and repent of it, confessing and forsaking it. However, there is a sin
of which a believer cannot repent, because it is impossible for those who
commit this sin to be brought back to repentance and thus it is useless to
pray for them, as it is written: “I do not say that he shall pray for it” (1
John 5:17). In other words, for those brothers who have committed this sin
leading to death there is no possibility that they may repent and receive
life from God. What is the destiny awaiting these people? They will be
condemned to the second death (that is, the lake which burns with fire and
brimstone), because this kind of sin leads those who commit it to the second
death. |
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Now, since
all wrongdoing is sin and there are many kinds of sins, we have to ascertain
through the Scriptures what the sin leading to death is, in order to prevent
someone among us from saying that a certain brother has committed the sin
leading to death for he has seen that brother commit a sin; that is to say,
in order to prevent believers from accusing falsely other believers of having
committed the sin to death. When we speak of the sin unto death (and not only
when we speak of this biblical subject but also when we speak of any other
biblical subject) we have to divide rightly the word of truth lest we unsettle
the souls of believers and drive them to despair through words that don’t apply
to them, because they have not committed the sin unto death. Now, let us see
what the epistle to the Hebrews says about this sin in order to understand
what it is. |
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It is
written: “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have
tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And
have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If
they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they
crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and
bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing
from God: But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh
unto cursing; whose end is to be burned” (Hebrews 6:4-8). First of all, let’s
look closely at the qualities of those of whom the Scripture says “if they
shall fall away it is impossible to renew them again unto repentance” because
these qualities can be and are possessed only by true children of God washed
from their sins in the blood of the Lamb. I say this because some believers pass
this sin off as a sin committed by people who had not yet accepted the Word
of God completely or people who were approaching the Lord, but that’s not
true at all because those persons of whom the writer of the epistle to the
Hebrews speak are true believers and not false believers. |
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Brethren,
those who, after they hear the Gospel of grace, approach God recognizing
that they are sinners and need to be saved have been enlightened by God who
is light; and when they believe with their heart in our Lord Jesus Christ
obtaining the remission of their sins and eternal life they taste the
heavenly gift, which is Jesus Christ, for Paul says: “The gift of God is
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23) and John says about
the Son of God: “This is the true God, and eternal life” (1 John 5:20).Afterwards, when they are baptized with the Holy Spirit they become partakers of the Holy Spirit because they are filled with the Holy Spirit (however, this does not mean that they did not have the Holy Spirit before, for every man receives a measure of the Spirit when he believes in the Lord). The words “they have
tasted the good word of God” mean that they have fed on “the pure milk of the
word” (1 Peter 2:2 – NKJV) as well as solid food, which “belongs to those who
are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses
exercised to discern both good and evil” (Hebrews 5:14 – NKJV). The words
“they have tasted the powers of the world to come” means that they have
received some gifts of the Holy Spirit through which believers taste the
powers of the world to come. Now, if these persons, who have experienced all
these things, reject the Lord and draw back (they are again entangled in the
pollutions of the world and overcome), deciding not to follow the Lord any
longer and to renounce the Christ (they even don’t want to hear people
speaking about Christ any longer), they commit the sin unto death, and we
don’t have to pray for them because it is impossible to renew them again to
repentance because they crucify again for themselves the Son of God and put
Him to an open shame. The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews says that the
earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs
useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God, but if
it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and cursed and its end is to be
burned; in the same way, if a believer abides in the Lord, the Lord abides in
him, he bears much fruit to the glory of God and God blesses him; but if he
ceases to abide in the Lord, the Lord will cease to abide in him and he will
bear only thorns and briers, and thus he will become a man disapproved concerning
the faith, an accursed child, who will be cast into the lake which burns with
fire and brimstone where he will burn and be tormented forever. |
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The reason
why the writer of this epistle wrote these things to the Jews who had
believed in our Lord Jesus Christ was that those believers were enduring a
great persecution because of their faith in Jesus Christ and they were
tempted, in the midst of that persecution, to draw back; and so the writer of
the epistle, knowing the sufferings they had to endure for the Gospel’s sake,
exhorted them to hold their confidence in Christ steadfast to the end and
warned them against drawing back and renouncing the grace to offer again
those sin offerings whose blood could not take away sins, because if they drew
back they would condemn themselves to the everlasting perdition, they would
deserve such a punishment because in so doing they would trample the Son of
God underfoot and count the blood of the covenant by which they had been
sanctified a common thing and they would insult the Spirit of grace. Here is
what the writer of that epistle wrote about the end awaiting those who draw
back and about the punishment they deserve to receive from the living God: “For
if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth,
there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for
of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He
that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of
how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden
under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant,
wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the
Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me,
I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his
people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews
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The possibility
of repenting for those who commit a sin which does not lead to death
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Brethren, I
want you to know that both this expression “if they shall fall away” (Hebrews
6:6 - or “if they fall away” NKJV) and this other one “if we sin wilfully” (Hebrews
10:26), apply only to the sin which leads to death and not to all sins,
because according to the Holy Scriptures a believer who commits a sin which
is not unto death can repent of it and be forgiven by the Lord. Now I will
show you from the Scriptures that it is possible for those believers who
commit a sin which is not unto death to be brought back to repentance and
that we can receive the remission of all sins except the sin unto death. |
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Paul wrote to the Galatians: “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye
which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness;
considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted” (Galatians 6:1). Therefore, a
believer who commits a sin which does not lead to death can be restored, that
is, he can be exhorted to repent of his sin and be forgiven by the Lord if he
repents. When the apostle says ‘in a fault’ or “in a sin” (NIV), he does not
include the sin unto death among the sins in which a believer may be caught,
because those who commit the sin unto death cannot be restored since it is
impossible for them to be brought back to repentance. It is true that “a just
man falleth seven times, and riseth up again” (Proverbs 24:16); however, it
is also true that if the just falls, committing the sin which leads to death,
he will never be able to rise again. |
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Jesus said: “Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee,
rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee
seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I
repent; thou shalt forgive him” (Luke 17:3-4). Therefore, a brother who
commits a sin which is not unto death can repent and be forgiven. Please note
that the Scripture does not say: ‘If your brother sins unto death, rebuke him,’
because – as we saw before - for those who have committed the sin unto death
it is impossible to repent and thus it is useless to rebuke them and to pray
for them. |
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John said: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not
sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:9-10).
Therefore, we can confess our sins to the Lord and we know for certain that
they will be forgiven us. If all sins were unto death, we would be hopeless,
brethren, and the Scripture would be nullified because we could not even
confess our sins to God to obtain the remission of them; we could not say to
God: “Forgive us our debts” (Matthew 6:12 – NKJV), which would mean that God
has deceived us. Those who commit the sin unto death will never be forgiven,
that’s why the sin unto death cannot be included among the sins that can be
confessed to God and washed by the blood of Jesus Christ; bear in mind this
always. |
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James says: “Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert
him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his
way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins” (James
5:19-20). From the words of James, therefore, we learn that if a brother
wanders from the truth he can be converted, thus he still can repent.
Therefore, we cannot say that if a brother wanders from the truth, giving
heed to some strange doctrines, he has committed the sin unto death and so he
cannot repent any longer, for James says that he can be turned from the error
of his way and his sins can be forgiven. The point I would like to underline
is this: it is possible to renew again to repentance a brother who has
wandered from the truth, but it is not possible to do the same thing towards
a brother who has committed the sin unto death. Paul also says that a brother
who has wandered from the truth can be renewed again to repentance, for after
saying to Timothy that Hymenaeus and Philetus were among those who had
wandered away from the truth because they said that the resurrection had
already taken place, he said to him: “And a servant of the Lord must not
quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting
those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so
that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and
escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his
will” (2 Timothy 2:24-26 – NKJV). As you can see, Paul says that the servant
of the Lord must gently correct those who oppose the truth (they oppose the
truth because they have wandered from the truth) because God may grant them
repentance and allow them to escape from the trap of the devil into which
they have fallen. The same thing cannot happen if a believer commits the sin
unto death because – as we saw before – it is impossible for them to be
brought back to repentance. |
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Jesus Christ said to the angel of the Church in Thyatira: “Notwithstanding I
have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel,
which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to
commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her
space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast
her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great
tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children
with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the
reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your
works” (Revelation 2:20-23). In the Church of Thyatira there was a woman
named Jezebel who taught and seduced the servants of Jesus Christ to commit
adultery with her and to eat things sacrificed to idols (that is to say, to
do two things which are condemned by the law and are sins). Then the Lord
revealed to the angel of that Church that He had given Jezebel time to repent,
but she did not want to repent, and so He would punish her by casting her
into a sickbed and by killing her children with death; the Lord told the
angel of that Church that His servants also would be punished severely if
they did not repent of their evil deeds. It is evident that if Jezebel and
those servants of Jesus, who had been deceived by her into doing those evil
deeds, had committed the sin unto death the Lord would not have given them
time to repent because we know that it is impossible for those who sin unto
death to be brought back to repentance. So in this case also, even though
those persons had committed some sins, it was possible for them to be brought
back to repentance and be forgiven. |
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Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not
find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would
not: lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings,
whisperings, swellings, tumults: And lest, when I come again, my God will
humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already,
and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness
which they have committed” (2 Corinthians 12:20-21). In the |