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"THE SIN UNTO DEATH" I 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.” The wording of the text is peculiar in that the passage seems to be telling us something that we already know: some sins will get you killed, and some won’t. Due to the simplicity of such an interpretation, it is commonly assumed that John must be saying something more than this. That is, anyone knows that some sins won’t kill you, so why say it? I believe the reason for John addressing this issue is found where the passage begins at the pilcrow (paragraph mark) in verse 14. The first verse of the passage deals with PRAYING in accordance with God’s will: “¶ And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us.” So, the context of the entire passage is whether or not to pray for a brother in sinful situations. If it’s a “sin not unto death,” then prayer is in order, but prayer is not recommended when a “sin unto death” is concerned, or at least not a prayer for life. But what is “a sin unto death”? Please note that the verse does not say anything about “the” sin unto death. It only says “a” sin unto death. So, when someone asks, “What is THE sin unto death?” they are already setting themselves up for a flawed answer, since there is no such thing as THE sin unto death. As for “a sin unto death,” there are basically three views, and all three seem plausible since they can all be supported with scripture. The first view is that some sins under the law of Moses and in present society carry a death penalty (murder, for instance). The words “I do not say that he shall pray for it” would mean that praying for the life of a man who is worthy of death amounts to praying against the will of God. The second view is that sometimes God personally decides to kill a man due to the man’s sins. Saul is a good example from the Old Testament (I Sam. 15:35-16:1), and I Corinthians 11:29-30 gives a good New Testament example. The third view is that sin has consequences and that some sins will follow you “unto death,” not meaning that you will die early as a result of the sin, but that the reaping of consequences will continue for the duration of one’s life (Gal. 6:7-8). Each of these three views can be true, so there’s no good reason for taking a dogmatic stance on either, and there’s definitely no good reason for lining up with the ridiculous Roman Catholic doctrines of mortal and venial sins.