Austin Bible Church
The sin unto death is not a specific sin. The sin unto death is the most severe form of divine discipline administered from the justice of God to a believer who has gone into emotional revolt, put on scar tissue in the soul, reverted to carnality for a good amount of time, and therefore is taken home to heaven prematurely in physical death. 1 John 5:16; Psalms 118:17-18; Ezek. 18:21-24.
“If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this.” (1 John 5:16, NASB)
“I will not die, but live, And tell of the works of the LORD. The LORD has disciplined me severely, But He has not given me over to death.” (Psalms 118:17-18, NASB)
“"But if the wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed and observes all My statutes and practices justice and righteousness, he shall surely live; he shall not die. "All his transgressions which he has committed will not be remembered against him; because of his righteousness which he has practiced, he will live.” (Ezekiel 18:21-22, NASB)
“"Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked," declares the Lord GOD, "rather than that he should turn from his ways and live? "But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity and does according to all the abominations that a wicked man does, will he live? All his righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered for his treachery which he has committed and his sin which he has committed; for them he will die.” (Ezekiel 18:23-24, NASB)
The sin unto death is an unconfessed persistent unchecked sin which ignores God's grace and is preceded by warning divine discipline followed by more intense divine discipline, and ultimately the sin unto death. It is a sin which has a maximum adverse effect on other believers. Rev. 3:20; Psalms 32:1-5; Rev. 3:16; Phil. 3:18-19. See category on Divine Discipline.
“'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.” (Revelation 3:20, NASB)
“A Psalm of David. A Maskil. How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit! When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.” (Psalms 32:1-5, NASB)
“'So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.” (Revelation 3:16, NASB)
“For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things.” (Philippians 3:18-19, NASB)
The sin unto death is the “end of the road” in God's administration of divine discipline to the believer. Heb. 12:6; Heb. 12:10-11.
“FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES."” (Hebrews 12:6, NASB)
“For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” (Hebrews 12:10-11, NASB)
Mechanics of the sin unto death involve scar tissue of the soul. The believer fills up their soul with scar tissue, persistent negative volition toward Bible doctrine, and a frantic search for happiness. This is reversionism. Reversionism ultimately leads to the sin unto death, if the believer does not return to fellowship with God. Jer. 9:16; Jer. 44:12; Jer. 44:27; Rev. 3:16.
“"I will scatter them among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send the sword after them until I have annihilated them."” (Jeremiah 9:16, NASB)
“'And I will take away the remnant of Judah who have set their mind on entering the land of Egypt to reside there, and they will all meet their end in the land of Egypt; they will fall by the sword and meet their end by famine. Both small and great will die by the sword and famine; and they will become a curse, an object of horror, an imprecation and a reproach.” (Jeremiah 44:12, NASB)
“'Behold, I am watching over them for harm and not for good, and all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will meet their end by the sword and by famine until they are completely gone.” (Jeremiah 44:27, NASB)
“'So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.” (Revelation 3:16, NASB)
No believer who dies the sin unto death will ever lose their salvation and eternal life with God. What they will lose is any rewards that would have been given at the Judgment Seat of Christ. 2 Tim. 2:11-13.
“It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him; If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us; If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.” (2 Timothy 2:11-13, NASB)
Cancellation of the Sin unto Death
In the believer’s spiral downward in reversionism and ultimately the sin unto death, spiritual recovery can occur at any time by confession of known sins to God the Father using 1 John 1:9. To avoid return to the downward spiral, the believer needs to get into learning Bible doctrine and growing spiritually. They must have a change of mind with regard to the Word of God and the authority of the pastor who communicates it. They must grow spiritually and rebuild their edification complex of the soul. This is the only way to renew their thinking. 1 John 1:9; 1 Cor. 11:31; Psalms 32:5; Psalms 38; Rom. 12:2; 2 Cor. 2:5-10; Eph. 4:24.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9, NASB)
“But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.” (1 Corinthians 11:31, NASB)
“I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.” (Psalms 32:5, NASB)
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2, NASB)
“But one whom you forgive anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ,” (2 Corinthians 2:10, NASB)
“and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.” (Ephesians 4:24, NASB)
Examples of the Sin unto Death
Because the sin unto death it is not a specific sin, there are many examples in Scripture. One example is the incestuous Corinthian who eventually recovered. 1 Cor. 5:1-5; 2 Cor 7:8-11.
“It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father's wife.” (1 Corinthians 5:1, NASB)
“I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” (1 Corinthians 5:5, NASB)
“For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it—for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while— I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us.” (2 Corinthians 7:8-9, NASB)
“For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter.” (2 Corinthians 7:11, NASB)
Another example is Ananias and Sapphira lying to the Holy Spirit. They were in long-term carnality and ultimately were trying to get spiritual credit for something they didn’t do and lied to God and everyone about it. Acts 5:1-10. See category on Ananias and Sapphira.
“But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife's full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? "While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God." And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came over all who heard of it.” (Acts 5:1-5, NASB)
“Then Peter said to her, "Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well." And immediately she fell at his feet and breathed her last, and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.” (Acts 5:9-10, NASB)
Another example was Corinthians in persistent carnality without confession of sin participating in the Lord’s Table. 1 Cor. 11:27-28; 1 Cor. 11:30-31.
“Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.” (1 Corinthians 11:27-28, NASB)
“For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.” (1 Corinthians 11:30-31, NASB)
Some believers in the church at Laodicea received the sin unto death for their long-term carnality. Rev. 3:16.
“'So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.” (Revelation 3:16, NASB)
An Old Testament example was King Saul’s rejection of Bible doctrine. Saul had no business offering sacrifices. He was a king, not a priest. The priest didn’t show up when Saul thought he should. Saul was told to annihilate Agag. He didn’t. Saul consulted a medium - the Witch of Endor. 1 Chron. 10:13-14; 1 Sam. 13:9-14.
“So Saul died for his trespass which he committed against the LORD, because of the word of the LORD which he did not keep; and also because he asked counsel of a medium, making inquiry of it, and did not inquire of the LORD. Therefore He killed him and turned the kingdom to David the son of Jesse.” (1 Chronicles 10:13-14, NASB)
“therefore I said, 'Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not asked the favor of the LORD.' So I forced myself and offered the burnt offering." Samuel said to Saul, "You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you, for now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. "But now your kingdom shall not endure. The LORD has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you."” (1 Samuel 13:12-14, NASB)
Another example was King Hezekiah’s sustained rejection of God’s Word with self-righteousness and dependence upon man in his foreign policy with Egypt. God put him under more intense divine discipline, but King Hezekiah finally confessed his sins to God the Father and avoided the sin unto death. Isaiah 30:1-3; Isaiah 31:1-3; Isaiah 38:1-5.
“"Woe to the rebellious children," declares the LORD, "Who execute a plan, but not Mine, And make an alliance, but not of My Spirit, In order to add sin to sin; Who proceed down to Egypt Without consulting Me, To take refuge in the safety of Pharaoh And to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt! "Therefore the safety of Pharaoh will be your shame And the shelter in the shadow of Egypt, your humiliation.” (Isaiah 30:1-3, NASB)
“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help And rely on horses, And trust in chariots because they are many And in horsemen because they are very strong, But they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the LORD! Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster And does not retract His words, But will arise against the house of evildoers And against the help of the workers of iniquity. Now the Egyptians are men and not God, And their horses are flesh and not spirit; So the LORD will stretch out His hand, And he who helps will stumble And he who is helped will fall, And all of them will come to an end together.” (Isaiah 31:1-3, NASB)
“In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, "Thus says the LORD, 'Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.'" Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, and said, "Remember now, O LORD, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in Your sight." And Hezekiah wept bitterly. Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah, saying, "Go and say to Hezekiah, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David, "I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add fifteen years to your life.” (Isaiah 38:1-5, NASB)
Another example was the believer Balaam who turned apostate and stayed there and died the sin unto death. Num. 31:8. See category on Balaam.
“They killed the kings of Midian along with the rest of their slain: Evi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba, the five kings of Midian; they also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword.” (Numbers 31:8, NASB)
Another example was Hymenaeus and Alexander who were in long-term carnality. 1 Tim.1:19-20.
“keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme.” (1 Timothy 1:19-20, NASB)
Some of these sins are gross and overt, some are mental attitude sins. The sin unto death is not a specific sin, but continual long-term carnality without confession of sins to God the Father and return to filling of the Holy Spirit even under severe divine discipline.