1 John 5 (13-20)
A Sin that Leads to Death
Translation: New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)
Scripture
13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
16 If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.
18 We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them. 19 We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. 20 We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
21 Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.
Commentary
This post concludes the book of 1 John. Next, we move on to the very short book of 2 John. There are links in this post—use them to read the scripture references in context.
There is so much in these few verses. Let’s unpack some of the key points. Can you KNOW that you have eternal life? John says YES. The biggest differentiator of the Church from the world is that it has been given eternal life through spiritual rebirth. In 2 Corinthians 5:17, Paul writes, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." And in John 3:3, Jesus says to Nicodemus, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." There are more verses, but I will end with this: Romans 6:4: "We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life." There is a spiritual rebirth that comes with true salvation. Yet, we know that there are many who believe they have received salvation but have not.
In verse 16, John speaks of a sin that leads to death. Let’s dig into this. First of all, John is talking about believers here. He says, “…a brother or sister…”—someone in the Faith. In Acts 5, we find an example where believers sold land and gave the proceeds to the Church. It is a sobering story. A couple, Ananias and Sapphira, lied to the Holy Spirit and kept some of the money for themselves. Here is what Peter told Sapphira: “…How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.” Wow. Another example is in 1 Corinthians 5:5, where Paul writes about someone in the Church caught up in sexual sin. Here’s what he says: "You are to hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord." Sexual sin is particularly grievous because, if you have the Holy Spirit abiding in you, in a sense, you join the Holy Spirit to that sin.
In verse 18, John writes, "We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin." John makes it clear that for the child of God, there will be a change in your life. As we have seen in this epistle, you and I have two natures: an old nature and a new nature. The new nature will not sin—ever. It has a desire for God and for the things of God. The old nature, however, will sin (it comes naturally), and it is because of this that believers will sometimes stumble. However, believers should be on a quest to grow and become better. If you lack the desire to grow spiritually, it may be due to unresolved or current sin. Perhaps it’s something in your past that you need to confront or it is an issue right now. We need to deal with both our past and our present. Whether it is past sin or present sin, it can separate us from God and hinder us from hearing His voice, and thus hinder our spiritual growth.