June 29 - 1 John 5:16-17. Pray.

June 29 - 1 John 5:16-17. Pray.

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. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.

What is the sin the leads to death? Well … no one is absolutely certain, but Stephen Smalley in the Word Biblical Commentary writes that the one sin we can’t come back from is denial of Jesus Christ.  Deliberately refusing to believe in Him is in essence, the unpardonable sin.  Anything else can be brought before His throne in repentance and will be forgiven.

While John isn’t pressing us to pray for those who refuse to acknowledge Jesus Christ, he definitely isn’t telling us not to do so.  I believe that God calls us to pray for all. We don’t know if their rejection of Christ is a deliberate refusal, or something else.  It is not up to us to decide.

Pray for everyone and let God sort it out.  He has all the right tools for that.