1 John 5:14-21
We do not always know whether a Christian's sin is unto death; for that reason my own suggestion is that we should be sure to pray for such a person if we are in doubt.
If we see that God is not going to answer, it could be that the person prayed for has committed a sin unto death. But I will continue to pray for such a person until the Spirit in some way makes it plain just what has happened in his life.
I believe that the sin unto death is a deliberate sin of a believer against better knowledge. When John wrote about committing this sin, he used the tense so often employed throughout his first epistle, the tense that signifies continuation of action.
In my opinion the sin unto death is a deliberately planned and willful persistence in some evil course with the guilty person presuming on God's grace or mercy.
The death that results from this sin, as far as I can determine from Scripture, is physical death, not spiritual death. There is a vast difference between the two.
There may be those who have said, "Since I am eternally saved, I can live just as I please." They willfully and deliberately ignore the new life within them and its urging to godly living. I believe such a person stands in danger of committing the sin unto death.
"Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me" (Ps. 19:13).
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Theodore Epp (1907 - 1985)
Theodore H. Epp, a graduate of Southwestern Theological Seminary, Ft. Worth, Texas, was the founding director of the Back to the Bible Broadcast. He began his ministry as a pastor in Goltry, Oklahoma, where he received his first taste of radio preaching. He moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, to establish the Back to the Bible Broadcast, and the first program was heard on May 1, 1939, on a small local station.He served as General Director for the broadcast until his retirement from on-air radio speaking in 1984. He continued to serve the ministry as well as perform other speaking engagements until his death in 1985.
Theodore H. Epp was an American Christian clergyman, writer, and a radio evangelist. Epp was the founding director and speaker of the Back to the Bible broadcasts between 1939-1985, heard worldwide on eight hundred stations in eight languages.
He started his ministry as a pastor and radio preacher in Goltry, Oklahoma and then relocated to Lincoln, Nebraska, where he established the Back to the Bible radio program. It was first broadcast May 1, 1939, on a local station and was eventually syndicated as a daily, 30-minute program to more than 800 radio stations worldwide by the time of his retirement in 1985.
Under Epp's direction, the broadcasts were also noted for music by the Back to the Bible Choir and quartet. Several popular recordings were made by the choir in the 1940s and 1950s. Back to the Bible also had a weekly youth program, featuring a youth choir and serialized adventures with a Christian theme. Both the music and youth program have since been discontinued. Epp wrote nearly 70 books and magazine articles.
Theodore H. Epp was an American Christian clergyman, writer, and a radio evangelist. Epp was the founding director and speaker of the Back to the Bible broadcasts between 1939-1985, heard worldwide on eight hundred stations in eight languages.
Epp was born in Oraibi, Arizona, the son of Russian Mennonite immigrants. His parents were missionaries to the Hopi Indians there. After graduating from Oklahoma Bible Academy, Epp attended Hesston College, Hesston, Kansas and the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (now, Biola University), Epp received a ThM degree in 1932 from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.
He started his ministry as a pastor and radio preacher in Goltry, Oklahoma and then relocated to Lincoln, Nebraska, where he established the Back to the Bible radio program. It was first broadcast May 1, 1939, on a local station and was eventually syndicated as a daily, 30-minute program to more than 800 radio stations worldwide by the time of his retirement in 1985.
Epp wrote nearly 70 books and magazine articles.