Verse 17
Because some sin does not lead to premature physical death, we should pray for our brethren when they sin (cf. 1 John 1:9). Prayer for a sinning Christian is a concrete demonstration of love for that brother or sister (1 John 3:23).
These verses are not distinguishing between mortal (unpardonable) and venial (pardonable) sins, as Roman Catholic theology uses these terms.
"So long as a man in his heart of hearts hates sin and hates himself for sinning, so long as he knows that he is sinning, he is never beyond repentance, and, therefore, never beyond forgiveness; but once a man begins to revel in sin, and to make sin the deliberate policy of his life, and loses all sense of the terror and the awfulness of sin and also the feeling of self-disgust, he is on the way to death, for he is on the way to a state where the idea of repentance will not, and cannot, enter his head." [Note: Barclay, p. 143.]
| Spiritual death is in view. | Physical death is in view. |
| The offender is a brother. | The offender is a brother. |
| The sin not unto death = any sin other than unbelief in Christ | The sin not unto death = any sin that does not shorten one’s life |
| God will grant spiritual life to the guilty in answer to prayer. (Prayer is never a guarantee of eternal life.) | God will grant extended physical life to the guilty in answer to prayer. (God did this for King Hezekiah; cf. James 5:15.) |
| The sin unto death = unbelief | The sin unto death = serious sin that shortens physical life |
| John did not commend prayer for the person who commits the sin of unbelief. (One would think that he would commend it; cf. Romans 10:1.) | John did not commend prayer for the person who commits sin that shortens physical life. (Evidently he believed such praying would be useless; cf Jeremiah 7:16.) |
We should demonstrate concern about the obedience of others as well as our own obedience. When we become truly concerned about our obedience we will become concerned about the obedience of our brethren. God gives us eternal life, but we can give physical life to others in some situations as we ask God in prayer to be merciful to them.
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