1 John 5:16-17
If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that one should pray for that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.
Question for discussion:
John talks about “sin not leading to death” and “sin leading to death.” What do you think he means by that(sin not leading to death) and how should it change the way we pray for and respond to a brother or sister who’s struggling¿
Kk
John says a brother, so he is referring to another Christian who has sinned. Since we can only come to Christ for our own sins and not the sins of others, John must be referring to the prayer of intercession. We are to pray that the Holy Spirit will convict them of their sin so they might confess it and be cleansed.
The only sin that leads to death is unbelief. At the time of John’s writing, gnostic beliefs had invaded the church. They were those who didn’t believe that Jesus could forgive sins and leaned towards secret knowledge. John was saying that we don’t pray for that because it excludes the only remedy we have for our sin, and that’s Jesus.