Lesson 25: 1 John 5:16-18
1 John 5:16-17
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. All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin
not unto death.
Related Scriptures
2 Samuel 12:10-13 (This was God’s judgment for a great sin that King David had committed. David was punished even
though he escaped death.)
Ezekiel 18:20
Luke 13:1-5
John 3:36
Acts 5:1-11
1 Corinthians 5:1-5
1 Corinthians 11:26-32
Ephesians 4:30
Philippians 1:6
Hebrews 6:4-6
Hebrews 10:35-39
Questions
1. From 1 John 5:16-17, are all sins sins unto death?
2. Would the fact that it is a brother seen committing the sin suggest that the person sinning was a Christian or otherwise?
3. What does the Bible tell us we should do for someone who is sinning? (It is also appropriate to warn the one who is sinning.)
4. There is a sentence that defines sin in this text. What is that definition?
5. How does God promise to respond to the prayers we pray for someone whose sin hasn’t crossed the line of a “sin unto death”?
6. Would we pray for one who had sinned unto death?
7. a) How important is it to pray for someone who is beginning to fall into sin? b) How would you support your answer using 1 John 5:16-17?
1 John 5:18
We know that whosoever is born of God
sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one
toucheth him not.
Background Information
As in 1 John 3, the word “sinneth” is in the Greek present tense, reflecting ongoing action rather than a single isolated act.
Related Scriptures
Questions
1. What activity do those people who have been born again, or “born of God” as it says here, refrain from?
2. What does this person do with himself—what word is used in the text?
Who doesn’t touch him?
3. Who keeps him from touching the child of God?
4. Would 1 John 5:18 indicate that the person who lived a sinful life had been born again?
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