What is the unforgivable sin of 1 John 5:16? | Bible Questions & Answers

question for tonight is what is the unforgivable sin of first john 5 16 what is the unforgivable sin of first john 5 16 so turn with me to first john chapter 5 and we'll look at verse 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 so apparently there's a sin unto death that can't be prayed for there's nothing that can be done about it and hence it is an unforgivable sin so the question is what is that what is the unforgivable sin of first john 5 16. one thing that people sometimes connect it to is matthew 12 verse 32. so get with me matthew 12 verse 32. matthew 12 32 and whosoever speaketh a word against the son of man it shall be forgiven him but whosoever speaketh against the holy ghost it shall not be forgiven him neither in this world neither in the world to come so how do we know if the sin unto death in 1st john 5 is referring to matthew 12 32 or is it referring to something else how do you know well the key to answer that question is that every verse exists within a context so if you're trying to think about first john 5 16 you want to look at the specific context in which it exists so go back with me to first john we read verse 16 but we didn't really look at the verses around it and so since we said since we read for verse 16 let's just keep reading verse 17 first john 5 17 all unrighteousness is sin and there is a sin not unto death verse 18 we know that whosoever is born of god sinneth not but he that is begotten of god keepeth himself notice this next part and that wicked one toucheth him not so apparently in the context of first john there's an issue of the wicked one touching people well what does that sound like well let's do a little searching here what does it mean when it says the wicked one toucheth him not well the first thing we want to do is let's understand something about the wicked one so i'm going to um i'll i'll run this in quotes um we realize if i run it in quotes i'm restricting it to only those times where wicked one occurs as an exact phrase so if there was a phrase one who is wicked it wouldn't capture that so understand that you know we're running a search term that's a little narrower than we would normally run but just for the sake of time i'm going to do it that way so let's let blue letter bible process and we'll see our results here all right so blue letter bible is still thinking the artificial intelligence here is is slow it sort of matches the human intelligence not real quick all right so let's look at some of these hits so matthew 13 verse 19 when anyone heareth the word of the kingdom and understandeth it not then cometh the wicked one and catches the way that which was sewn in his heart this is he which received seed by the wayside well who's the wicked one in matthew 13 it's obviously satan isn't it that's what it's a reference to matthew 13 38 the field is the world the good seed are the children of the kingdom but the tares are the children of the wicked one now i'm going to turn to matthew 13 just for a minute because there is um one thing that i want to read to you so in matthew 13 verse 39 the enemy that sowed them is the devil so when you read matthew 13 the parable of the sower and the parable has some figurative things in terms of soils and sowing and seed and so on in the very chapter it tells you how to think about that parable and it tells you specifically that the enemy is the devil so in matthew 13 when it refers to the wicked one who's it talking about it's talking about the devil so let's keep looking here first john 2 13 i write unto you fathers because you have known him that is from the beginning i write unto you young men because ye have overcome the wicked one i write unto you little children because you have known the father verse 14 i have written unto you fathers because you have known him that is from the beginning i have written unto you young men because ye are strong and the word of god abideth in you and you have overcome the wicked one first john 3 verse 12 not as cain who was of that wicked one and slew his brother so it's very clear from the verses that we've looked at that the wicked one can be a reference to satan what we see in first john when there's references to the wicked one is it can refer it seems to the beast so that's that's who scripture tells us is the wicked one so when we think about first john 5 18 and that wicked one toucheth them not that's a reference either to satan or it's a reference to the beast during the 70th week now let's go back to the top here and let's let's think about our search just for a minute i ran that with quote wicked one close quote and that's a narrow search right because it's only going to capture that specific phrase so what i want to do with you turn with me to second thessalonians chapter two second thessalonians chapter two and i'm going to show you a cross-reference that the wicked one search would not pull up but if you just ran the word wicked it would be pulled up now you'd have to sort through more results to do that but of course it's worth the time to dig in to get to the truth so look with me at 2 thessalonians chapter 2 verse 7. for the mystery of iniquity doth already work only he who now letteth will let until he be taken out of the way the he that lets the he that holds back the wicked one i was going to point to the chart but that's the dispensation of grace it's the dispensation of grace that holds back the wicked one that holds back the prophetic calendar from progressing so if we look at verse 8 and then shall that capital w wicked be revealed so that's a reference to a very specific person isn't it you can tell that because it's capitalized and it says and then shall that wicked be revealed well who is it that's revealed after the rapture after the catching up well it's it's the man of sin the son of perdition so it seems very obvious that the wicked here is a reference to the beast and then shall that wicked be revealed whom the lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming notice verse 9 even him that's the wicked whose coming is after the working of satan with all power and signs and lying wonders well in the context of 2nd thessalonians 2 the capital w wicked is not a reference to satan it's a reference to the man of sin the beast that comes pursuant to satan whose coming is after the working of satan so it seems to me when you think about first john 5 let's go back there if we could so in first john 5 18 says but he that is begotten of god keepeth himself and that wicked one toucheth him not well if the wicked one is a reference to the beast as it plainly is and it talks about the wicked one touching him not what does the beast do to touch people during the 70th week well it's obvious what he does during the 70th week there is something called the mark of the beast is the mark of the beast forgivable well look with me at revelation look with me at revelation and look with me let's look at chapter 14. so chapters 13 and 14 have some things to say about the mark of the beast we're going to go to chapter 14 right now so revelation 14 and look with me at verse 11 revelation 14 11 and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever and they have no rest day nor night who worship the beast in his image and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name so what happens when someone takes the mark of the beast they're going to be tormented forever there's no there's no fixing it you can't after you get the mark of the beast you can't wash it off you can't undo it it is unforgivable well doesn't that line up perfectly with what we just saw in first john it would be a sin unto death because you're going to spiritually die and it can't be fixed and it lines up nicely with what first john 5 18 talks about and that wicked one toucheth him not so what first john 5 16 is talking about when it talks about the sin unto death it's talking about the mark of the beast now get with me if you would first john chapter 2 first john chapter two so when we've been trying to understand first john 5 16 we've done a couple things that that make a lot of sense right so we've looked at cross references so we know that in the context of first john 5 16 there's a reference to the wicked touching him not and so we ran some verses on the wicked one and we could see what the wicked one is in the bible who it's referring to so that was helpful to do but one of the other basic things that we need to do is we need to read the context and let me just tell you the the way that this sort of works a lot of times people will look at a verse and they won't understand the verse and so they'll read the verse and they'll read the verse before it and they'll read the verse after it and that's a good start but you realize that the context often includes the entire book so if you're reading first john 5 16 which is at almost at the end of the entire book you have to understand first john as a whole to understand first john 5 16. so what happens is sometimes we get lazy with context we think well it's enough if i just read the verse before and read the verse after no that that's not enough you need to read the whole book you need to understand how everything fits together what happens if you do that look with me in first john chapter 2. first john chapter 2 verse 18. little children it is the last time well is that helpful clarification as to what we're talking about i would say that it is see what it tells you is as you think about the first john and you think about the the verses and what they possibly might mean if first john tells you that it is the last time you're really sort of left with only two things really it could be the last time of the dispensation of grace or it could be the last time of the prophetic program it could be the near the end of the 70th week that's it there's nothing else it can be so we know from first john 2 18 little children it is the last time and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come well it's first john written to the body of christ is the antichrist going to show up during the dispensation of grace can't be we were just in second thessalonians 2 and it told us that the wicked isn't even revealed until after the catching up of the body of christ so when you're reading something talking about the antichrist it's not during the dispensation of grace it's obviously during the 70th week little children it is the last time and as you have heard that antichrist shall come even now are there many antichrists whereby we know that it is the last time wow so if you want to understand first john 5 16 you need to read the whole book and first john just comes right out and tells you first john is telling people this is a book written about the 70th week you can't miss it because it talks about the antichrist it talks about the last time and it pretty clearly talks about the mark of the beast so it's pretty clear where first john applies in terms of its context now i'll tell you something that i see happen all the time what many people will do is they'll go to first john 1 9. get with me first john 1 9. and first john 1 9 is called the christian bar of soap so look with me at first john 1 9. if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness and so people take that verse and they say here's the way your christian life works if you confess your sins then he will cleanse you so what you have to do is day by day moment by moment confess your sins and therefore get cleansing and you need to do that on a continual basis that's the way that it's taught but think about that just for a minute get with me colossians chapter 2 colossians chapter 2. colossians chapter 2 verse 13 colossians 2 13 and you being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh hath he quickened together with him notice what the next phrase says having forgiven you all trespasses now think with me for a moment this is going to be an easy question how many times do you need to continue to be forgiven after you've already been forgiven of all trespasses let me ask the question another way how many different times do you need to be forgiven of all trespasses once see what happened when you believe the gospel is this were any of your future sins a secret to god did god for example look at jonathan and say well i'm willing to save him now but i know what's going to you know i don't know what he's going to do in the future i mean he might sin tomorrow he might sin the next day he might do all sorts of crazy things i mean it's jonathan after all right was god confused about that did he have no idea what was going on or did god have 100 percent perfect knowledge of all things and when jesus christ died on the cross he died for all of the sins of mankind and the moment you believed the gospel he justified you and declared you righteous for every sin you ever had committed or ever will commit well that's what he did a believer today during the dispensation of grace doesn't have to keep confessing to get forgiveness you have already obtained forgiveness of all trespasses notice this just one more time colossians 2 13 having forgiven you all trespasses it's already completed having forgiven you all trespasses so first john 1 9 is not the christian bar of soap it has nothing to do with us today first john 1 9 is plainly applicable during the 70th week now one of the things that happens is this when you read first john it's a very short book it only has five chapters it's not very long but when you read it it uses the word love again and again and again and so for that reason a lot of people are very enamored with the book because it talks a lot about love and so they like it and they think first john 1 9 applies to them but if you actually read first john if you just sit down and read it verse by verse it doesn't have anything to do with the body of christ the first thing is there's a sin unto death there is no sin unto death today there's no sin you can commit today that that's unforgivable you can get saved up until the moment that you die all you have to do is have faith in christ well that's not that's not the way it works in the 70th week and that's not the way that it works in first john first john tells you in john chapter in 1 john chapter 2 that it's the last time let me give you another example of something first john does look at first john 3 verse 9. now let's read this verse and you tell me if this verse applies during the dispensation of grace first john chapter 3 verse 9 whosoever is born of god doth not commit sin is there anyone in the audience that can say that's me i'm born of god because i'm born of the spirit galatians 4. i'm a believer and you know what i don't sin i just gave it up i said i'm done with it i'm saved i'm done with sinning all gone hey that's not reality if you think that's reality you're lying to yourself and you need to just get over yourself look at first john 3 verse 9 whosoever is born of god doth not commit sin for his seed remaineth in him and he cannot sin because he is born of god can anyone raise their hand and say not only do i not sin i can't i've lost all ability to sin i am that solid in my righteousness see that's just crazy talk first john is true for certain people who are enabled by the holy spirit to live that way but that's not true of you today get with me first john chapter 1. what i'm doing is i'm showing you some things about first john that if you actually read it it tells you again and again and again this isn't a book written to the body of christ this isn't a book that applies during the dispensation of grace this is a book that applies during the 70th week look at first john chapter 1 verse 1. now while you're turning there let me ask you this question you'll know the answer to this what is the customary way for a new testament epistle to begin in other words what is typically the first one or two words of a new testament epistle what's the answer well the answer is it's normally the name of the author so paul wrote 13 letters what's the first word of every single one of those letters paul simon peter wrote a couple epistles what's the first words of those epistles simon peter similarly with with jude well look what first john does first john chapter 1 verse 1 that what a strange way to begin an epistle that which was from the beginning which we have heard which we have seen with our eyes which we have looked upon and our hands have handled of the word of life first john doesn't tell you who wrote it explicitly but it spends a bunch of time doing what let's read it again that which was from the beginning who is it that's from the beginning in the beginning was the word and the word was with god and the word was god that which was from the beginning which we have heard which we have seen with our eyes which we have looked upon and our hands have handled of the capital w word of life see what's going on in first john is fascinating what what the author of first john does just to start out the book with a with a with pace to get right into it he's talking about jesus christ he's talking about the word of life and what does he say about him we've heard him we've seen him our eyes have looked upon him we've handled him we've touched him why is he doing that what's the point of that get with me first john chapter 4. first john chapter 4. verse 2 hereby know ye the spirit of god every spirit that confesseth that jesus christ has come in the flesh is of god and every spirit that confesseth not that jesus christ has come in the flesh is not of god and this is that spirit of antichrist whereof ye have heard that it should come and even now already is it in the world what's going on here's what's going on if you think about the 70th week there is a major doctrinal issue and that major issue is simply this has jesus christ already come in the flesh think of it this way during the 70th week mankind is going to classify into two basic religious viewpoints two basic doctrinal views one of those is that the beast the man of sin is god if you recall 2 thessalonians 2 what does the man of sin do he goes into the temple showing himself that he is god in other words the beast literally claims to be god in the flesh you know from revelation that the whole world wondered after the beast he's so convincing he's so mesmerizing he's so persuasive that the world is going to fall down and worship the man of sin the beast as being god that's one viewpoint the other viewpoint is jesus christ was the son of god and he came in the flesh during the first century and he's going to return again at the second coming in other words what happens during the 70th week is those people that think the man of sin the beast is god they deny the first coming they don't think that jesus was the christ they think he was an imposter he was just a man he was a fake the real guy they claim is the beast the truth of the matter however is jesus christ did come in the flesh and he's returning at the second coming that's why first john 4 verse 2 gives you a test during that time to test the spirits if a spirit says that jesus christ has come in the flesh that's a good spirit because it's testifying that jesus was the christ the messiah the son of god but if a spirit denies that it's the spirit of antichrist and that's why first john chapter one begins the way it does what the author of first john does is he comes right out of the gate and says look we've heard the son of god we've seen him with our own eyes did he come in the flesh yeah we heard him he talked to us we saw him we looked upon him with our own eyes we scrutinized him are you a ghost are you fake or are you real and then what does he say what's the ultimate test of whether he's come in the flesh our hands have handled did the author of first john physically touch the lord jesus christ yes was there any doubt that he came in the flesh no there was no doubt whatsoever so what first john is about as a book is it's written to people during the 70th week and it's some guidance on them as to how to navigate the 70th week and it tells you that the big doctrinal issue during the 70th week is you're going to worship one or two people you're either going to worship the true christ the one who previously came in the flesh and returned to the second coming or you're going to worship the false christ the man of sin the beast and if you do that and you take the mark then that is the sin unto death and there's no fixing it so let me close with this praise god first john has nothing to do with you do you need to worry about the mark of the beast not if you're saved because you will disappear from the earth before the mark of the beast even becomes an issue but do you know what that means for us we're surrounded by tons of family members and friends and neighbors and co-workers and other folks where if they don't believe the gospel now while they have a chance they will either die and go to hell or if they miss the rapture then they'll be on the earth during the time of where where god's prophetic program resumes where there's going to be wrath and judgment and no one no one would no one should want that that you need to get saved today and avoid that well thank you for studying with us we're glad that you did and we we look forward to being able to study with you again hopefully soon let me close us into word of prayer father god thank you for your word we thank you that we can study together with the saints we pray that the teaching of the word of god would be helpful to people we pray that you would help folks get established in in grace that they would understand the gospel that they would understand their security and their position in your son help us lord to be the ambassadors that you want us to be and it's in the name of the lord jesus christ the king of kings and lord of lords that we pray [Music] amen do [Music] do do you

Channel: Columbus Bible Church

Views: 1,631

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: vWfisO5_N10

Length: 31min 39sec (1899 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 02 2020