Am I My Brother’s Keeper?

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. All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.

1 John 5:16-17

This passage speaks about our corporate responsibility toward one another in the church. Since Christians are born of the heavenly Father, they all are brothers and sisters.

Unlike Cain, who killed his brother Abel, we who are Christians are our brother’s keepers. We are a family. But not all who call themselves Christians are Christians. Some are false. Even though they are in the church, these people fail the most important test-the relational test of love. Like Cain, false Christians hate the brothers and deny the Lord Jesus Christ.

The context of this passage speaks about our assurance of salvation. In verses 14-15 we learn that this assurance of salvation enables us not only to pray effectually for ourselves, but also for our brothers who may be sinning.

A true Christian loves his brothers and sisters in the local assembly. In this epistle we are told that this love is shown to our fellow Christians in two ways: by meeting their material needs and by meeting their spiritual needs. So in 1 John 3:16 we read, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth.”

So we see that we have a responsibility to respond to the material needs of our brothers. But we also need to take care of their spiritual needs. In 1 John 5:16-17 we are told to pray for their spiritual needs: “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. All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.” So we share our material wealth with those who are our brothers in need of material things. Also, we give spiritual help to brothers in the church who are sinning.

The Responsibility of Fellowship

What is the importance of fellowship? Some people think that a person can be Christian without participating in a local assembly. Such thinking is against God’s word.

John writes, “If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death. . . .” John’s first point is that a believer may see another believer commit a sin. This requires close interaction and fellowship between believers. In Acts 2:42 we read that in the early church, the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer. God wants his people to live in such close fellowship that they are visible to each other so that their needs can be discerned. Believers are to be part of a church, in other words, and live transparent lives within that fellowship. Additionally, Christian love requires that we be interested in the lives of others.

Small group fellowship facilitates this type of mutual understanding and edification. Notice, John says, “If anyone sees a brother sinning. . .” In other words, the sin of a brother is visible to others and, to some degree, ongoing for others to notice it. Thus, John is saying, the one closest to that brother, the person who notices the sin first, must pray for his brother.

The second point is the duty of prayer and ministry we have toward each other. John is saying that because we have assurance of our salvation, we will have confidence toward God. We can know that he will answer our prayers, not only for ourselves, but also for our sinning brothers. It will be effectual intercession.

No Perfectionism in This Life

This passage tells us that there is no perfection in the church, even though some people, including John Wesley, taught the doctrine of perfectionism. But if we read the Bible, and especially this epistle, carefully, we will realize that there is no such thing as perfection in this life.

For example, in 1 John 1:8 we read, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” In verse 9 we read, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” This tells us that believers who sin must confess their sins. In 1 John 2:1 “My children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody sins, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense, Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins.” In 1 John 3:9 we read, “No one who is born of God will continue to sin because God’s seed remains in him.” In other words, a believer cannot go on sinning because he has been born of God. That does not mean he may not continue in sin for a little while. But the idea is that he will not habitually sin. And here in 1 John 5:16 we read, “If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death. . .”

All of these scriptures tell us that we cannot achieve perfection in this life. When we die, God will perfect our spirits and receive us to heaven. Then, of course, at the resurrection he will give us glorious spiritual bodies. But we will never be entirely free from sin while we are alive on this earth.

How to Help a Brother Who Sins

When a fellow believer sins and we see it, what is the first thing we ought to do? We should pray for that brother or sister, because we love that individual. We are to go to God in behalf of our fellow believers and say, “O God, I have seen my brother sin and I want to minister to him and help him. First, though, I want to pray that you give him the gift of repentance, for without that he cannot be restored.” We must realize that only God can give us repentance. That is why we must pray for our brothers, that God would grant them this gift. Prayer is also important because it puts us in the proper frame of mind to go and minister with great humility and compassion.

Jesus Christ himself interceded in this way especially for Peter, as we read in Luke 22:31 and 32. There Jesus told Peter, “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” In Romans 8 we are told that even now Christ intercedes for us in heaven as the Holy Spirit intercedes for us on earth. Therefore we also have a responsibility especially to intercede for a sinning brother.

The problem with sin is that it also hurts others and therefore affects our relationships with them. When we sin, we grieve the Holy Spirit and wound the people of God. In Isaiah 59:1 we read, “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.” Sin cuts off fellowship with God and with God’s people.

The Watchman Ministry

Thus, the first thing we have to do when we see a brother or sister sinning is to pray. But that is not all. As the nearest ones to the brother or sister who is sinning, we have a responsibility to counsel that person with the goal of turning him or her around. In other words, we are the watchmen appointed by God to watch our brothers and sisters in Christ.

We read about this ministry of being a watchman in Ezekiel 3:17-19:

Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from it. When I say to a wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself.

When we see a brother sinning, not only are we to pray for that person but also we are to counsel and minister to that person, trying to persuade him to turn from his dangerous course.

In this sense, then, every believer has a pastoral responsibility toward other believers. John writes, “If anyone sees a brother sinning. . . .” Notice, he did not say, “If the minister sees someone sinning” but “If anyone sees a brother sinning a sin not unto death. . . ” Who is the first person to see a brother sinning? Usually the one who is closest to him relationally. That person has the responsibility not only to pray for his brother but to minister to him.

Suppose, then, a Christian father sees his son or daughter sinning. That father has the responsibility to pray and minister to his child. A mother may see her husband or children falling into sin; that mother must be first to go to those people and, with humility and compassion, point out their sin. A sister may see her brother sinning, a roommate may see another roommate sinning, a classmate may see a classmate sinning, or a friend may see a friend sinning. All who see others sin have certain responsibilities: “The one who sees sinning must pray and must minister.”

Why is it so important to pray for and minister to a brother or sister who sins? Because the sin they commit affects not only them, but the whole assembly of God. Just as the sins of Korah and Achan affected the entire assembly, your sin that you commit in privacy affects me as well as you. Because we are one in Christ, what one does affects the rest.

The Responsibility of Ministering to the Sinning Brother

We want to examine a few scriptures about the responsibility of a person who sees a brother sinning. In Matthew 18:15 we read, “If your brother sins against you, go to him and show him his fault, just between the two of you.” Notice the term “your brother.” When a brother sins against one person, he is sinning against the whole church. Notice, prayer is not stated here, but that does not negate John’s injunction to pray. This is the beauty of systematic theology. Elsewhere we are told to pray and that is the first thing to do. We must pray for the person who is sinning. So Jesus says, “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you.” Then he says, “If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.”

In Luke 17:3 we read, “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.” Here we don’t find the term “against you,” but it is understood that this brother is sinning against individuals in the church, against the church at large, and, ultimately, against God. What is our responsibility in this situation? Not only are we to pray, but here we are told to rebuke the sinning brother. This is the counseling ministry of every believer. The pastor is not the only person who can rebuke another person. Whoever is closest to the situation must rebuke him. Luke continues, “and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.” This is our God-given responsibility. When we see a person sinning, we cannot walk away and say, “Well, that’s his problem. I don’t have that problem. In fact, compared to him, I am doing fine.” We cannot do that because we are one in Christ; thus, we are our brother’s keeper.

In Galatians 6:1 we read, “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently.” This verse is referring to a member of the body of Christ who is committing a sin not unto death. This person is “caught” in a sin, meaning it is not deliberate. It is as if the person were walking along when he suddenly stepped on ice and fell down. So those who are obedient to the Holy Spirit “should restore him gently.” It is like setting a broken bone to bring it back to its original condition. Then Paul writes, “But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.” But the issue here is that when we see somebody sinning, we simply cannot walk away and say, “It’s not my problem.” It is your problem! If you see a fellow believer sin, you have a responsibility to pray for that person, to rebuke that person, to warn that person, to confront that person, and to beseech that person to repent and return because he is hurting himself and others.

James 5:19-20 is an important passage, parallel to 1 John 5:16-17. There James, the brother of the Lord, says, “My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth. . .” Here we see the problem of a brother in the church who is wandering away from the truth of the gospel and, therefore, also wandering away from the ethical life that he should be living. Then James says, “and someone should bring him back. . . .” If we sin, those who are spiritual must, in humility and gentleness, love us, care for us, pray for us, warn us, rebuke us, and counsel us with a view of bringing us back.

Then James says, “Remember this: whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover a multitude of sins. What a profound statement: we become saviors! Of course, we understand God is the one who saves. But the issue here is that God uses us as instruments in his restoration of sinners. That is why when we read 1 John 5:16, we must note that the actual text says, “If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and he will give him life,” that is, the one who prays will give him life. In the NIV, it is translated “God will give him life,” which is true. But the idea here is that when we pray, we are in some way used by God to give him life. God uses us as instruments to give his life to others.

So James says, “My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back. . . .” Father, have you brought your son or daughter or wife back yet? Wife, have you brought your husband or children back? Oh, they may be out in the world making money and appear to be doing very well outside of God. But do you understand how serious it is to wander away from the truth? How can you sleep at night? PGM How can you live when you see your loved ones walking in great danger? If our loved ones are sinning, we should never have peace.; rather, we should fast and pray and minister to these persons, counseling them, rebuking them, warning them, correcting them, and saying, “You know, you are in serious trouble. And not only does your sin affect you, but it affects others too. There will be great harm because of a sin.”

But James gives a word of encouragement: “My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.” In other words, his sins will be forgiven. There is only one way to cover sin: through the blood of Jesus Christ. In other words, what we must minister to people is that God will forgive all their sins. We must tell them, “Yes, I know you committed a lot of sin. But God will forgive you. Christ died for your sins. Turn to him and be saved.”

In Galatians 2 we find reference to a problem between Paul and Peter. Doctrinally there was no difference between the two, but behaviorally we find that Peter was inconsistent in his practice of Christian doctrine. Paul noticed Peter’s inconsistent actions, so in Galatians 2:14 he wrote, “When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, ‘You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?'” Paul rebuked Peter publicly as part of his responsibility to minister to a brother who had an ethical lapse.

What Is “The Sin That Leads to Death”?

We must have fellowship with one another; otherwise, we will not see how others are doing and be able to minister when we see them falling into sin. Second, we must pray and minister that brothers who are sinning may be restored to fellowship with God and the church. Third, we need to have discernment when we see a brother sinning as to whether it is the sin that leads to death or a sin that does not. How can we do our ministry without having some understanding of what is the sin that does not lead to death and what is the sin that leads to death?

What does John mean by the term “sin that leads to death”? Some people say that he is referring to certain sins that lead to physical death. For example, in 1 Corinthians 5 we read about a man who was living with his father’s wife in an incestuous relationship, against the Scriptural exhortation. Paul wrote that the church was to excommunicate the man and hand him over to Satan so that his flesh might be destroyed, meaning that he could die, while his spirit was saved. In 1 Corinthians 11:30 Paul wrote to the Corinthians that because of their sin, “many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.” In other words, people do die prematurely because of sin. In Acts 5 we read about Ananias and Sapphira, whose sin resulted in their immediate death. So it is true that some people die before their time due to God’s judgment of their sins. Yet they do not die the eternal death, we are told.

Some people see the “sin unto death” as the mortal sins of the Roman Catholic teaching. Roman Catholic doctrine speaks about mortal sins, including murder, adultery, and so on. Some people say that the “sin unto death” is one of the mortal sins. But this cannot be true here because David, for instance, was forgiven for murder and for adultery, which, according to the Roman Catholic system, are mortal sins.

The “sin unto death,” therefore, is to be seen as a sin unto spiritual death, which is also called second death. Committing this sin results in being cast into the lake of fire forever and ever; thus, it is a sin that no true believer can ever commit.

What, then, is this sin that is unto spiritual death? It is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. It is the unpardonable sin. It is the sin that crucifies Jesus Christ afresh. It is the sin that the Gnostics in the church of Ephesus committed. It is the sin of rejecting the teaching that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, who became incarnate to atone for our sins. It is the sin of persistent unbelief in the gospel.

In 1 Timothy we read about some who committed the sin that leads to death. They rejected the gospel of Jesus Christ, especially the truth regarding the unique person and atoning work of Christ. In 1 Timothy 1:18-20 we read:

Timothy my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.

In 1 Timothy 4:1 we read, “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” Paul mentions the same situation in Titus 3:10-11, saying, “Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him. You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.”

The writer to the Hebrews speaks about this refusal to repent and believe in the person and work of Christ in Hebrews 6:4-6:

It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

In Hebrews 10:26-29 we read more about the sin that leads to death:

If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 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 underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?

In John 8 Jesus Christ himself speaks about certain people dying in their sins. In John 8:21 he told the unbelieving Pharisees, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.” In John 8:24 he said, I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.” This is the sin that leads unto death.

What “the Sin That Leads to Death” Is Not

How do we know if we have committed the unpardonable sin that leads to eternal spiritual death?

1. First, let me assure you that those who fear that they have committed it are not guilty of it. Those who truly commit the unpardonable sin have no such feeling of guilt.
2. Second, to be assailed by doubts about Jesus does not mean a person has committed the unpardonable sin.
3. Third, those who would say, “We are sinners who are not worthy of salvation” have not committed this unpardonable sin.
4. Fourth, if a person is seeking God, he or she has not committed the unpardonable sin.
5. Fifth, those who sin the sin that is unto death deny that Jesus is the Son of God. They refuse to submit to him and obey him, reject salvation by the blood of Jesus Christ, and hate and persecute true Christians.
6. Sixth, many of those who commit the sin that leads to death go out of the church into the world. Called antichrists, they love the world and practice immorality.
7. Seventh, those who commit the unpardonable sin display great arrogance by rejecting the authority of Scripture. As a result, divine judgment comes upon them and they experience God’s judicial blindness. Jesus himself spoke about such people in John 12:39, “For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere: ‘He has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts, so that they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts nor turn-and I would heal them.'” The Bible speaks about the Spirit of God striving with people, and even now the Spirit of God may be speaking to you and striving with you. But after awhile God no longer strives with those who have deliberately suppressed the truth. Here we see that God hands people over to their sin and withdraws from them permanently. Oh, what terrible judgment that is! We read about it also in Romans 1:22, 24 and 26.

In John 12 we read that not only does God cease to strive with people, withdraw from them and abandon them, but he also deliberately hardens their hearts. Such people, therefore, may be in a church, yet they are false brothers. These are the people who have sinned the sin unto death, and the Scriptures tell us not to pray for such people. In Jeremiah 7:16, 11:14 and 14:11 God himself tells Jeremiah not to pray for such people. Jesus also makes a distinction in his great prayer of John 17. In verse 9 he says, “I pray for them,” meaning those who believe in Christ. Then he said, “I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.” I myself don’t pray for certain people. I make a certain distinction based on discernment.

Thus John writes in 1 John 5:16, “There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about that.” Those to whom this letter was written knew what that sin was, and John told them not to pray for people who sinned in that way. But we are to pray for our brothers who sin a sin not unto death, which is any sin that does not deny the person and the atoning work of Jesus Christ.

When a person engages in such a sin, his fellowship with God and the church is cut off. Through intercessory prayer and the counseling ministry of those who saw him and are nearer to him, such a person is restored. He is restored to fellowship with God and the church. We should pray for him, and God will give him life, meaning that God will restore him to the enjoyment of eternal life he has received from God when he first trusted him. When we commit a sin not unto death, we do not lose our salvation, but we lose our fellowship with God until we repent and are restored. But those who commit a sin unto death are people who never have been saved.

Conclusion

Now, in conclusion, let me ask you a few questions. Suppose you are a Christian. What about your backslidden husband or wife? You are in the same bed and you see the person daily sinning. What about your backslidden children? What about your sister, your brother? Have you been praying for their restoration? Have you been warning them of the danger they are in? The nearest person, the one who sees one sinning, has the responsibility to intercede for his or her restoration. We are our brother’s keeper. We are God’s family. We are to practice love.

What about you? Are you a loner? Do you just come in and go out of the church, without letting anyone know who you are? It is vitally important as a Christian to have fellowship. If you have a tendency to be a loner, I suggest you join a small group in which you can be transparent and receive the ministry of others as well as minister to others.

In the history of the church, a number of people who were sinning a sin not unto death have been helped and restored to great fellowship, and they now flourish in God’s church. Others over the years have committed the sin unto death and went out from the church. John says we do not have to pray for such people.

What great joy we experience when we see a brother who sinned a sin not unto death be restored to Christ! When a person repents and forsakes his sins, God receives the repenting sinner instantly. He is able to save to the uttermost, and C. H. Spurgeon said we have not gone beyond the uttermost. If we are God’s children, even though we have sinned, God still loves us with everlasting love and waits for us to come to him

If you have sinned, how do we know you have not sinned a sin not unto death? It is very simple to discern. When you are confronted about your sin, you will repent, believe, and return. And our heavenly Father, who is waiting for us to come him, will embrace you and bless you with many kisses. The Bible tells us to look to him and be restored, to turn to him and be saved, and to call upon him and be healed. Praise God, he is still striving with us and has not abandoned us or hardened our hearts. If we are hearing his voice today, may we not harden our hearts, but trust in him and be made whole. May we return to him and enjoy the great feast of fellowship with him. Our hearts are restless until they find rest in God.

May God help us who are in the church to be our brother’s keepers and demonstrate God’s love to them. May those who have been sinning be enabled by God to come back to him and be restored. God’s love is an everlasting love. May God himself draw us to him that we may be restored to him today. Amen.