16. If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him 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 he should pray about that. 17. All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.

John recapitulates his teaching on sin. He has conveyed this teaching in every chapter of his epistle (1:7-9; 2:1-2, 12; 3:4-6, 8-9; 4:10). Now he speaks of sin and death, of prayer and life, and of wrongdoing and remission.

a. Sin. "If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death." When John writes "brother" in his epistle, he means a fellow believer. Whenever a member of the Christian community notices that a brother is falling into sin, he should pray to God on his behalf (compare James 5:20).

John distinguishes between "a sin that does not lead to death" and "a sin that leads to death." In this passage he mentions the first kind three times and the second only once. He clearly implies that praying for the sinner who commits "a sin that does not lead to death" is the intent of his writing.

What is the meaning of the word death? In addition to 5:16, where it occurs three times, the word appears twice in 3:14: "We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death." John is not thinking of physical death. Rather, he is referring to spiritual death. He contrasts death with eternal life (3:15) to set apart the believer, who possesses this life, from the person who denies that Jesus is the Son of God (2:22-23) and who hates the believer (3:13).

Who, then, commits the sin that leads to death? The person who rejects Jesus as the Christ and who does not love the believer commits this sin. He does not share in the fellowship of the Father and the Son (1:3), and is excluded from eternal life (4:12). He left the Christian community because he did not really belong to it (2:19). He had been a pretender.

b. Prayer. Although a believer commits sin (2:1), he does not practice the sin that leads to death. If a brother sins, John counsels, the community ought to ask God to "give him life." That is, God will forgive his sin and restore him to fellowship. John knows that in the Christian community many believers fall into sin. He uses the plural and writes, "I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death."

Should the Christian community pray for the person who commits "a sin that leads to death"? John does not call this person a "brother." Writes John, "I am not saying that [the believer] should pray about that." In these words we hear the echo of Jesus' voice when he prayed for his followers, "I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours" (John 17:9). The false teachers whom John opposes in his epistle "have gone out into the world" (4:1), because "they are from the world" (v. 5). These teachers have directed their false doctrines against the believers, have been disruptive in the Christian community, and have demonstrated their hatred against the church (compare II John 7). Therefore, John adds his personal advice not to pray for them. Note that 5:16 is the only passage in this epistle that has the personal pronoun I.

c. Comfort. "All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death." John calls attention to the seriousness of sin. "Sin is lawlessness" (3:4) and is always an affront to God. In fact, in the sight of God, sin is a transgression of his law and the person who "stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking" the whole law (James 2:10).

But not every sin leads to death. When a believer transgresses God's law, he does not deny the sonship of Christ and hate the church. Moreover, God stands ready to forgive his sin. John teaches that "if we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1:9). God forgives sin when the sinner confesses and fellow Christians pray for him, for "God will give him life."

Doctrinal Considerations in 5:16-17

The Old Testament makes a distinction between unintentional and intentional sin. When a person sins unintentionally, he is forgiven when the priest makes atonement for him. However, the person who sins intentionally blasphemes the Lord, despises his Word, and breaks his commands. "That person must surely be cut off," says God (Num. 15:31; also see vv. 22-31).

Even though John distinguishes between two types of sin in verses 16 and 17, allusions to similar teachings in the Old Testament are entirely absent. We should listen to what John has to say and interpret his message in the historical and theological context of his day.

The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews, by contrast, exhorts his readers not to turn away from the living God and uses examples and precepts from the Old Testament to strengthen his admonition. Says he, "Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?" (Heb. 10:28-29; also consult 6:4-6).

Greek Words, Phrases, and Constructions in 5:16

ἐάν—this is a conditional sentence of the future more vivid type: the aorist subjunctive ἴδῃ (from ὁράω, I see) in the protasis and the future indicative αἰτήσει (he will ask) in the apodosis. The aorist signifies single occurrence.

ἁμαρτάνοντα—the present active participle denotes continued action. It is followed by the noun ἁμαρτίαν (sin) as the cognate accusative that repeats the content of the verb.

μή—the negative particle with an implied participle expresses condition or prohibition. The negative particle in verse 17 is οὐ (not).

δώσει—although grammatical syntax requires that the subject of this verb be the same as that of αἰτήσει, the meaning of the verbs demands that the one who prays is the believer and the one who gives life is God.

ἐρωτήσῃ—the aorist subjunctive from ἐρωτάω (I ask, request) is in a clause that indicates indirect command. In this verse, the verb ἐρωτάω is the same as the verb αἰτέω.

18 We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him. 19 We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. 20 We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

21 Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.

Baker New Testament Commentary - Baker New Testament Commentary – Exposition of James, Epistles of John, Peter, and Jude.