1 John 5: 16b-17 "I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death." (emphasis mine)
Lord, thank You for other scholars who know the languages of the Bible and have studied long and hard to help us understand these hard passages. In 1994, my beloved husband gave me the Life Application Bible and it has been such a blessing. I went to it this morning for assistance. It says that even the Bible commentators cannot agree on what these verses really mean, because there are instances of sin in scripture, both physical and spiritual, that led/lead to death:
Physical Death-
1 Corinthians 11:27-30 talks about those who died because of taking the Lord's Supper unworthily
Acts 5: 1-11 is the story of Ananias and Saphira and their lie to the Spirit caused immediate physical death
Spiritual Death-
Mark 3:29 Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit results in spiritual death
Hebrews 6:4-6 talks says that it is impossible for those who were once enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit and then have turned away, to repent because they have crucified the Lord afresh.
Because John has been writing about false prophets and antichrists, it is believed that he is talking about the last group. He clearly says that we should not pray about which kind of sin it is, because only You can know the thoughts and intents of the heart. So my understanding is that we should pray that all should be given life and leave that judgement up to You.
Thank You, Lord, for that understanding.
No comments:
Post a Comment