PRAYING FOR THE SONS OF GOD WHO SIN

We can be confident that if we live according to the faith, God will hear us when we pray. However, all prayer must be according to the will of God. The sin unto death issue has caused much controversy in the Body of Christ. Let us examine the scriptures.

1 John 5:14-17

14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:

15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

16 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.

17 All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.

Again, let us look at the same scriptures in The Amplified Bible.

1 John 5:14-17

14 And this is the confidence (the assurance, the privilege of boldness) which we have in Him: [we are sure] that if we ask anything (make any request) according to His will (in agreement with His own plan), He listens to and hears us.

15 And if (since) we [positively] know that He listens to us in whatever we ask, we also know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted us as our present possessions] the requests made of Him.

16 If anyone sees his brother [believer] committing a sin that does not [lead to] death (the extinguishing of life), he will pray and [God] will give him life [yes, He will grant life to all those whose sin is not one leading to death]. There is a sin [that leads] to death; I do not say that one should pray for that.

17 All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin which does not [involve] death [that may be repented of and forgiven].

As all scripture must be interpreted by scripture, I dare say that the Amplified version is too ambiguous in its interpretation and/or translation of this passage. In reading the Amplified it almost sounds as if the author is referencing an offender committing a sin that leads to the death of another.

We know that an individual can commit murder and still be forgiven for it. There are many in the Body of Christ who have committed such crimes since salvation and have been forgiven for them. I submit that these verses address the spiritual disposition of a brother (or sister) who has elected to continually walk in the flesh, blaspheme the name of God and cause others to blaspheme.

Let us go to other scriptures to establish this fact.

Romans 6:12-23

12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace

15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.

18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.

20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.

21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.

22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

SIN UNTO DEATH

1 John 5:14-16

14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:

15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

16 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. Below is also a collection of passages that establish the definition of “sin unto death.” A careful study of these will reveal that it is possible to continue in sin long enough or severe enough for the Father to pass judgment while we remain in this world.

Hebrews 10:26-31

26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,

27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. 28 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:

29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people

31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

It is certain that if we continue to do despite the Holy Ghost, trample the personage of Christ underfoot, and completely disregard the blood of the covenant, God could indeed give us over to our sins. This is the sin unto death. There is no guarantee that the Sons of God, who continuously and hideously yield their members to sin, will have an opportunity to return to the faith. The scriptures above declare that there is no more sacrifice for their sin and nothing for them to look forward to except the fearful day of judgment.

2 Timothy 2:24-26

24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,

25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;

26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

Listen to the instructions given to the servants of the Lord who are charged with leadership in the Church. We are told to instruct those who sin against the Lord and the faith. Though not a guarantee, it is to be our hope that the Lord will give them the opportunity to repent and recover themselves out of the hand of the devil who has now made them his captive. This captivity is relative to the fact that they become willing servants obedient to the fulfilling of lusts and iniquity.

Romans 6:16

Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Romans 6:21

What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death

Paul is even more specific concerning this matter in his writing to the Hebrews.

Hebrews 6:4-8

4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,

5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,

6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

7 For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:

8 But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.

vs. The Amplified Bible

Hebrews 6:4-8

4 For it is impossible [to restore and bring again to repentance] those who have been once for all enlightened, who have consciously tasted the heavenly gift and have become sharers of the Holy Spirit,

5 And have felt how good the Word of God is and the mighty powers of the age and world to come,

6 If they then deviate from the faith and turn away from their allegiance--[it is impossible] to bring them back to repentance, for (because, while, as long as) they nail upon the cross the Son of God afresh [as far as they are concerned] and are holding [Him] up to contempt and shame and public disgrace.

7 For the soil which has drunk the rain that repeatedly falls upon it and produces vegetation useful to those for whose benefit it is cultivated partakes of a blessing from God.

8 But if [that same soil] persistently bears thorns and thistles, it is considered worthless and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned. [Gen 3:17,18.] It is also noteworthy to remember the teachings of Christ on this subject:

St.John 15:1-2

1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

vs. The Amplified Bible

St. John 15:1-2

1 I am the True Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser.

2 Any branch in Me that does not bear fruit [that stops bearing] He cuts away (trims off, takes away); and He cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit.

And again the Apostle Paul instructs on God’s disposition toward those who continue to blaspheme the faith.

Romans 1:28-32

28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

The key thought here is that these are the Sons of God who know the judgments of God. They understand the laws of holiness and have been a partaker of the righteousness of God. Nevertheless, they refuse to retain the knowledge of truth and righteousness. Thus, they elect to depart from the faith. The central thought in each of these teachings is that it is impossible for anyone else to bring such ones to repentance. Not even in prayer. The best we can do is follow the examples Paul gave in which he prayed the prayer of chastisement. Some think this to be an unmerciful disposition, but the circumstances dictate and set the boundaries for what we are able to do in such cases.

It is not the intent here to suggest a prayer of retributive punishment. In other words, I am not suggesting that the motive for our prayer is that God will avenge Himself of the dishonor such ones have rendered Him. No, He has already set aside His day of vengeance. But what I am suggesting is that we simply pray asking the Father to create situations that will humble them in spirit so that they perhaps might come to repentance. They might not repent, but our sense of loyalty to the members of the faith should compel us to proceed in this vain of mercy and compassion for those who are out of the way. Paul’s way of praying for some was to turn them over to the devil for the destruction of their flesh that they might learn in the process not to blaspheme. In this, he invoked the chastening rod of the Lord. However, his motivation for such a prayer had to be love and without any other motives or hidden agendas.

1 Corinthians 5:3-5

3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,

4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,

5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. The mind of God concerning sin and those who keep company with those who continue to sin is illustrated in the passage below.

1 Corinthians 6:8-10

8 Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.

9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,

10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. Indeed, the church is deceived.

It is the mindset of the Body of Christ that the new birth is a guarantee that we will enter into the Kingdom of God in the end. This mindset holds this disposition in spite of the sin it commits. For some reason the evil that is in the sin has been lessened in the mind of the saint when it is his own sin. Nevertheless, the Lord does not share that disposition and such wisdom certainly did not come from above.

1 Corinthians 5:9-10

9 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:

10 Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.

Now if the Church truly enforces this commandment, many would judge us to be unmerciful. We are instructed not to socialize with those of the world or of the church who choose to live in sin. In fact, Paul declares that this becomes necessary for us to be taken out of the world, seeing as how we put Christ to an open shame.

I know it is the Father’s heart that we all continue to walk in the Spirit. This can only be done as we maintain a pure heart and obey Him in everything He has commanded. He has declared in His Word that we must “pray without ceasing”. As a ministry, we must be fervent in prayer. This cannot be done out of duty, but we must approach the Father as the sons we are, on behalf of the needs of others. As we obey Him in prayer He will meet us and nothing the enemy plans will be able to stop our spiritual progress in Him.