16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death. ~ 1 John 5:16-17
22 But if you sin unintentionally, and do not observe all these commandments that the Lord has spoken to Moses, 23 all that the Lord has commanded you by Moses, from the day that the Lord gave commandment, and onward throughout your generations, 24 then if it was done unintentionally without the knowledge of the congregation, all the congregation shall offer one bull from the herd for a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma to the Lord, with its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the rule, and one male goat for a sin offering. 25 And the priest shall make atonement for all the congregation of the people of Israel, and they shall be forgiven, because it was a mistake, and they have brought their offering, a food offering to the Lord, and their sin offering before the Lord for their mistake. 26 And all the congregation of the people of Israel shall be forgiven, and the stranger who sojourns among them, because the whole population was involved in the mistake.
27 If one person sins unintentionally, he shall offer a female goat a year old for a sin offering. 28 And the priest shall make atonement before the Lord for the person who makes a mistake, when he sins unintentionally, to make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven. 29 You shall have one law for him who does anything unintentionally, for him who is native among the people of Israel and for the stranger who sojourns among them. 30 But the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native or a sojourner, reviles the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from among his people. 31 Because he has despised the word of the Lord and has broken his commandment, that person shall be utterly cut off; his iniquity shall be on him. ~ Numbers 15:22-31
In his letter, John didn’t over-explain like Paul did. John, especially in this point, almost under-explains. Why? Because both writers know their audience. John is writing to Jews who have converted from Judaism to Christianity. So, these aren’t Gentile believers ignorant of the Law like those whom Paul taught and wrote to. Therefore, they knew and understood the hidden context behind what John was saying.
John was referring to a law in the Law of Moses that (like all the Law) has a spiritual meaning for us (the Church) today. In the Book of Numbers, Moses records a law addressing sacrificial offerings for sin. One specific sin, the unintentional sin of the people of Israel. See, when a sin was done unintentionally in Israel by the congregation, they came together and offered one offering on behalf of all. If one person sinned, they would come and make a sacrifice and be forgiven. When they sinned unintentionally, it was seen as a different type of sin, a sin that didn’t lead to death. Now that Jesus has sacrificed once for all, sins that do not lead to death can be prayed for by the congregation of spiritual Israel, the Church.
Sins that do not lead to death aren’t just sins done mistakenly, of course, but sins that are not as serious as others. Sins that lead to death? Paul names nine main sins in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10:
Sexual Immorality, Idolatry, Adultery, Homosexuality, Thievery, Greediness, Drunkenness, Reviling (Abusers), and Swindling (Robbers).
The interesting thing is that Paul starts off with the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God, but that word translated as unrighteous is actually not the word unrighteous, but the word wrongdoer. Which, of course, ties back to James’ letter stating that all wrongdoing is sin, but I digress.
John states in Revelation 21:8 that the sins (wrongdoings) that lead to death are:
Cowardice (The Fearful), Faithlessness (The Unbelievers), Detestable, Murder, Sexual Immorality, Sorcery (Witchcraft/Magic), Idolatry, and Lying.
These are the kind of sins that John warned that we should not pray for a fellow believer to be forgiven on their behalf, because these sins aren’t just mistakes, they are grievous sins that need to be corrected, not just overlooked. This is the importance of studying and knowing Scripture. Unless we know what sin is, we’ll never be able to know sin that leads to death vs. sin that does not. One, so that we don’t fall into either. Two, so that we know what sins need to be addressed, corrected, and brought to the forefront vs. what sins can be prayed for without confrontation.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Study All.