Lechem Panim #88 "The Sin Leading to Death" (1 John 5:16-18) Pastor Cameron Ury

Greetings! Welcome to the show today.

The Omnipotence of God— One of the things I don’t ponder enough about God is simply His omnipotence; His absolute power over all things. I mean, just think; everything you and I have every known; the entire universe which houses billions of galaxies filled with planets far bigger than ours was brought into existence in one moment by a word spoken by the mouth of God. I mean to think of the intricate design; even down to the very structure of our DNA. He is amazingly powerful; in fact He is all-powerful.

Does God Have Limits?— But are there limits to God? Actually yes, there are. God is limited by his nature and character. For instance, God cannot sin because His nature is Holy and He cannot act outside of His nature and character. In the same way God is love, therefore God cannot create selfishly; merely to exact His own will upon an inferior being. To do that would go against His nature. No, He must create creatures who are free to love Him or free to reject Him. Only then can true love exist because love cannot be forced; or it is no longer love. We are either free to love Him and there are eternal benefits of doing so or we can reject Him, and there are eternal consequences to that as well. And we’ll talk about both in this closing section of 1 John. Verse 16 of 1 John chapter 5 reads…

1 John 5:16a (NIV)— 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. 

[Sin not leading to death is sin for which forgiveness is possible because (1) forgiveness is sought and (2) God is willing to grant it.] In fact God is always willing to forgive our sin when we repent. 

The Sin Leading to Death— But then you have this second kind of sin: the sin that leads to death.

1 John 5:16b-17 (NIV)— 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.

Now this verse may seem a bit confusing, and there is a lot of debate over how to interpret it; whether it means physical death for sin dealt out by God (such as in the case of Ananias and Sapphira), physical death as a result of legal punishment for certain sins (such as theft or murder), or whether it is spiritual death, which (ultimately) is the result of all sin. I am going to approach it today more from the standpoint of spiritual death. What we are talking about here [is probably sin that is (1) unrepented of and (2) of the kind or nature that John has warned about throughout the letter: resolute rejection of the true doctrine about Christ, chronic disobedience to God’s commandments, persistent lack of love for fellow believers—all indications of a lack of saving faith—which will not be forgiven.]

A Hardened Conscience— There is a point that a person can reach where they no longer are able to receive salvation, not because God is no longer willing to forgive them, but because they have so set themselves against God; they have so deadened their consciences that they have become too hardened to receive it. Now can God work to re-soften their hearts? Yes. Nobody is beyond salvation. But until He does; until our hardness is softened (often through the prayers of others), we are not able to be brought to salvation.

Stalin’s Steel Fist— Ravi Zacharias tells an amazing story shared by Svetlana Stalin, the daughter of Josef Stalin. [According to Svetlana, as Stalin lay dying, plagued with terrifying hallucinations {of wolves he believed were attacking him}, he suddenly sat halfway up in bed, clenched his fist toward the heavens once more, fell back upon his pillow, and was dead. The incredible irony of his whole life is that at one time Josef Stalin had been a seminary student, preparing for the ministry. Coming of Nietzschean age, he made a decisive break from his belief in God. This dramatic and complete reversal of conviction that resulted in his hatred for all religion is why Lenin had earlier chosen Stalin and positioned him in authority—a choice Lenin too late regretted. (The name Stalin, which means “steel,” was not his real name, but was given to him by his contemporaries who fell under the steel-like determination of his will.) And as Stalin lay dying, his one last gesture was a clenched fist toward God, his heart as cold and hard as steel.]

Steel Hearts— Now the reason God could not save this man was not because God was not willing, but because Stalin had set himself (like steel) against God and was determined to cling to his own sinfulness. And God would not overrule his will. And many people (even some Christians) are determined to live the way they want to live regardless of what the Bible says. Yet we know that we are called to lives of transformation;  what the scriptures call being “born again”.

1 John 5:18 (NIV)—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.

It was interesting. In my studies I took a look at a very popular study bible and what it had to say about this verse and do you know what it said? Listen to how their note on this passage opens: [Christians commit sins, of course,]. Now how does the verse open? 18 We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin;

A Different Background— Now whoever wrote this note comes from a particular theological background. They believe that the Christian must be in bondage to the sinful nature until we get to heaven. However, although it is true we will always be subject to temptation (as Jesus was) what scripture actually teaches is that the old nature can die this side of heaven; and by the Spirit of God, we can have victory over all sin in ours lives. Colossians 3 describes this and it is a major theme in this epistle as well; light being unable to have fellowship with darkness. And yet many Christians (like this particular commentator) believe we cannot have victory over our sinful natures. All we can do is keep sinning and saying “I’m sorry” without ever coming to experience consistent victory. And so they have tapered the Bible to fit their own pre-conceived theological viewpoint. I had a professor who was on the translation team of a popular translation used by many today; and he said (in frustration) that he witnessed this kind of thing a number of times; the text being mistranslated to fit the theology of the translator rather than the translator allowing what the text actually says to re-shape their theology.

An "Off" Translation— And here I looked back at how they translated this particular passage (verse 18). And sure enough, listen to what I found. They translated it: 18 We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, which suggests that although we sin, it’s just not as bad a habit. But that is not what the scripture says. But you see, they feel compelled to change what the scripture says because it does not match their particular doctrinal belief, which is that all Christians will continue to sin and there is nothing that we can do about it until we get to heaven. But is that what the text is really saying? Look at how they continue in their note on this passage. They say: [Christians commit sins, of course, but they ask God to forgive them, and then they continue serving him.] So in other words, there is a constant cycle of sin and repentance. But, interestingly, listen to how they continue. They say… [God has freed believers from their slavery to Satan, and he keeps them safe from Satan’s continued attacks.]
    Now I want to point this out to you because you and I are called to be thinking Christians. This person has just said “Christians commit sins, of course,”. Yet they also say [God has freed believers from their slavery to Satan, and he keeps them safe from Satan’s continued attacks.] How can those two ideas be compatible? We keep on sinning, but even though we do, we are still somehow not slaves to sin? That is their argument. But the question becomes, “Is that view compatible with scripture? Jesus presents a very different viewpoint in…

John 8:34 (NIV)— 34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.

The Bible (and Jesus specifically) says you cannot continue in willful sin without being a slave to that sin. You must forsake one master completely and serve another master completely. That is what Paul speaks to so closely in the book of Romans. He says in…

Romans 6:17-18 (NIV)—17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

Parent Imagery— So you have the slave/master imagery which the Bible uses to describe complete freedom from sin, but in this epistle in particular remember you have this whole parent imagery as well. John reveals that we are to be children of God and no longer children of Satan. You cannot have two parents. We are to, as God’s children, manifest only His characteristics.
    Now for some this sounds like we are calling people to a much harder way of life; that to keep the Law of God the way He wants us to would be burdensome. But how would being able to obey God’s commands and live according to His Word the way He wants us to be burdensome? 

Is it really easier?— Dr. Dennis Kinlaw, in talking about this in his discussion on the Ten Commandments, asks: [Do we really believe that living with a divided heart is easier than living with a single heart? Is our life any richer if we look to the creation for what only the Creator can give us? Must we deal profanely with holy things like the name of the Lord and his Sabbath? Are we better off having no respect for those who gave us life? Do we have to live with deadly hate for any of our fellow persons? Is there no deliverance from the defilement and the destructiveness of lust? Can we come to the place where we can use language truthfully, even if it means our own hurt? Can’t God make us content with what we have so we do not have to perpetually covet what is not our own? Just to frame these questions ought to bring us to the conclusion that the Ten Commandments were not given to be an onerous burden and a structure to bind us. Rather, the Decalogue is our charter of freedom. The commandments are not a set of demands to bind us, but a tenfold promise of the freedom into which the Spirit of Christ wants to release us. If I will let him flood me with his Spirit and with his love, there is not one commandment that I have to break today.]

We CAN be free— You and I can be free of sin. I don’t know if there is any greater news I can share with you today than that. That is the heart of the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You can be forgiven of your sin and you can be freed from its power over your life as you are given a new nature; the very nature of Christ. And that nature is yours for the asking today. It is not something you can manufacture yourself, but (like your initial salvation) is offered by grace through faith alone. If you want that new nature today, simply ask and it will be given to you. Amen.