Sin Leading To Death
SIN LEADING TO DEATH
1 JOHN 5:13-21
We must be careful that nothing takes the place of Christ in our lives which should be reserved for Christ alone.
In the concluding section of the letter, John brings together a number of his main points. Certainty of salvation (“eternal life”) is not a necessity, but it certainly makes the Christian walk easier and more triumphant (5:13). When we love (3:21-23) we will know the will of the Beloved, and so we will ask according to his will and receive it (5:14). Neither need we wait for the visible answer (5:15).
As regards “the sin leading to death” (5:16f.), only God can ultimately classify sin. John is writing about believers (5:16), and the Roman Catholic concept of mortal sin, ie one that will bring a person to hell, if not repented of, has no scriptural justification. Especially in the light of 1 Corinthians 11:30 there is no reason why we should not take death and life literally. All sin within the church is unspeakably serious for it mars the witness of the body of Christ. In the story of Ananias and Sapphira we see God judging them with death (Acts 5:1-11). Paul envisages the notorious sinner as handed over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh (1 Corinthians 5:5). Because of the serious lack of discipline in the church, we seldom see John’s teaching being applied, but this does not alter God’s attitude towards the sin of Christians.
The mention of this possibility of sin causes John to stress once again that it is really a contradiction in terms (5:18). The combination, however, makes clear that we must regard the state of not sinning as the normal, not as the impossible. Children can deny their parentage, but they cannot undo it.
Because there was a time when it appeared that the church had Christianized Europe and many of its colonies, the distinction between the true church and the world became blurred. It remains true, however, that the world (2:15) is always in opposition to God, and whether it knows it or not, under the control of Satan.
“To know him who is true” (5:20): see Revelation 19:11. There “reliable” is the better rendering, but here “real” (NEB) is perhaps best, for it is contrasted with “idols” (5:21). The Greek word implies an image without inner reality, or a shadow. God is real; human desires are worthless shadows.