A SIN UNTO DEATH
“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.”
(I John
5:16).
In beginning to look at the subject of a sin unto death, let us first define the word “death” as separation. Natural death is the separation of life from the body. God’s children can also experience a soul death, which is a separation of the soul from fellowship with God. This can be seen plainly as we look at the passage of Scripture about the prodigal son in Luke 15. The son left his father and his father’s house. He lost fellowship with his father. When he returned home, his father said, “This my son was dead, and is alive again…” (Luke 15:24). The son was not physically dead! But he was separated from his father’s fellowship. We can die to the joys of fellowship with God while we live in this world when we forsake him and waste our inheritance!
The realization that we can be separated from fellowship with God should be a motivating force in us being “stedfast , unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” (I Corinthians 15:58).
While there are great blessings for faithfulness in service to God, there are also serious consequences for disobedience. God “is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (see Hebrews 11:6), but we also need to “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.” (See Hebrews 10:30,31.) God is love! God is also a consuming fire! (See Hebrews 12:29). Though we can lay hold on eternal life while we live here in this world, we can also sin a sin which is unto death, and be separated from fellowship with God!
A nation, a church, or an individual
can be cut off from fellowship with God.
God is a jealous God, and will always be longsuffering and patient with
His people. He loves us with an
everlasting love, and nothing can separate us form the love of God!!! However, because He loves us, He will not
allow us to walk willfully away from Him, ignoring His statutes and
commandments, without us suffering greatly.
His chastening hand comes in the lives of His people when they rebel against
Him. A careful look at the nation of
We should be concerned about ourselves, and we should be concerned about our brethren! We should take heed unto ourselves lest there be in any of us an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. We should exhort one another daily, lest any of us be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, IF we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end. (See Hebrews 3:6). We should fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any should seem to come short of it. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. (See Hebrews 3:12-14; 4:1,11.)
“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).
In this passage, James is talking about “brethren” erring from the truth. Born again believers, brothers in Christ can and do err from the truth. If they are not converted, they can sin a sin unto death. Their souls can be separated from communion and fellowship with God! We should ever be watching over one another for good, endeavoring to save ourselves form this untoward generation, and to be our brother’s keeper; to save them from the error of their way! If a brother does err, we need to ever remember the consequences and result of erring! In James 1, this is clearly set forth in describing temptation, and lust leading to sin, and SIN LEADING TO DEATH!!! The very next verse therefore warns; DO NOT ERR, MY BELOVED BRETHREN. (See James 1:12-16, and connect these verses to the last two verses of the book…James 5:19,20).
When
a brother or sister in Christ begins to err, before he has sinned
a sin unto death; before he has hardened his heart in unbelief; before he has
fallen away, we need to be praying for him and working with him to convert him
from the error of his way. If we are
negligent, and do not try to save him through labor and prayer, he can reach a
point where we cannot have any effect in his life. Once he has sinned a
sin unto death, “I do not say that he shall pray for it.” (I John 5:16). When he has gone that far, working with him
and praying for him will have no positive effect in his life. He is dead to being touched with your
labors. Sometimes children of God have
gone so far away from God that they are dead to anything we have to say. At that point, they really do not care about
us or anyone but themselves. But if we
do carefully look over one another for good, and we see a brother err from the
truth, and we pray for wisdom to know what to do, and we work with him in the
error of his way, we can convert our brother from the error of his way and SAVE
A SOUL FROM DEATH!!! In doing that, we do
not save him from eternal hell. Jesus
did that at
This same truth is being taught in Hebrews 6:4-6. “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted of 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.” When a child of God (who has experienced these wonderful blessings described in these verses) falls away, it is impossible for us to renew him again unto repentance. We can plead, pray, cry, work, and labor all we want to, but when he has reached that point of “falling away”, it is impossible for us to reach him. NOTHIING is impossible with God. And God may one day restore him. But there is nothing we can do that will change the situation once he has fallen away, or sinned a sin unto death. It should be noted that the ones under consideration are children of God who have been born of the spirit of God. Those who are dead in trespasses and sins have never been “enlightened, and tasted the heavenly gift, and made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come!!!” But those who are born of the Spirit, and HAVE experienced these blessings, need to realize that eternal security does not mean that they cannot live in a hell here on this earth because of their “falling away”. Nothing can separate them from the love of God. Nothing can keep them out of the eternal heaven. But they can be shut out of the kingdom of heaven while they live here in this world. David experienced this type of hell because of his disobedience. He did not lose his salvation. But He did lose the JOY of His salvation.
“Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. THEN will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.” (Psalm 51:12,13). No one could restore David except God! And David declares that if God would restore him, he would convert sinners unto God!!! He would work to keep his brethren from erring, and work to convert them when they did err, that he might save souls from the death he had experienced, the separation from God, the separation from that feeling of righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
“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 10:26-31). This
passage again is emphasizing the seriousness of God’s people turning their
backs on God, sinning willfully!
If we sin willfully after knowing the truth, we will experience the
wrath of God. There are things worse
than death. Under Moses’ law, the worst
punishment was death. But the Scripture
here makes it plain that there is a SORER or worse punishment than a natural
death! It is a soul death! It is a death
experienced by God’s children while they are yet alive physically! While some would again argue that the ones
under consideration in the above passage are not children of God, there is a
phrase which makes that an impossibility! The individual counts the blood of the
covenant “wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing.” Jesus saved HIS PEOPLE from their sins (see
Matthew 1:21.) And this passage is
talking about God judging HIS PEOPLE! It
should also be noted that the above person has “done despite unto the Spirit of
grace.” Could this also be the same as blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, which shall not be forgive
unto men (There remaineth no more sacrifice for
sins). Study Matthew 12:31,32; Mark 3:28,29;Luke 12:9,10; Rev. 20:6.