Doctrine of The Sin Unto Death

Preface:       The sin unto death is not a particular sin, but the final stage of discipline for the believer whose life has gone awry.

Usually, when there is a doctrine out there which covers the topic, I defer to that doctrine; however, there are at least 3 sources out there, which, individually, present an incomplete picture. Therefore, I have taken their material and put it together below. However, almost none of the doctrine below is original with me.

1.       Introduction and definition

          1)       The phrase "sin unto death" describes the final stage of divine discipline in which God removes from the earth the person who is totally alienated from God. The "sin unto death" is not a particular sin; but it is, rather, a mental attitude of total indifference to and rebellion against the will and purpose of God.

          2)       The spiritual condition of the person who comes under the "sin unto death" is characterized by continual and maximum carnality (remaining out of fellowship); and this punishment represents God's final step of chastisement to those who are in maximum alienation from God. Only God can discern the true nature of a person's mind, attitude, or volition; and only God knows whether a person is actually implacable and deserving of physical death.

          3)       The "sin unto death" is described as a principle in 1John 5:16 Psalm 118:17,18 Ezek. 18:21-32.

          4)       The sin unto death is not a particular sin nor is it a list of sins.

          5)       There are definite characteristics by which to recognize the conditions which lead to God's applying the "sin unto death":

                     (1)      A persistent, unconfessed sin.

                     (2)      Sin which continues unchecked with no repentance, may bring a person under this category.

                     (3)      The person who persistently ignores Grace, warnings, and discipline may come under the "sin unto death." Lev. 26.

                     (4)      Sin which has a maximum adverse effect on other people (causing stumbling) may lead a person into severe discipline, even to the sin unto death.

          6)       Dying the sin unto death is not a loss of one’s salvation; it is simply the ultimate discipline of God for the believer. The believer is no longer of any use to God and their constant soulish rebellion has reached a stage where, in God’s plan, it is best that person die.

                     (1)      You may wonder, how can a loving God remove a Christian from this earth? Easy. God loves all believers with the same amount of love. The believer guilty of the sin unto death is very likely guilty of leading many other believers astray. Removing some believers simply minimizes the collateral damage which they cause.

                     (2)      Some families have experienced a similar circumstance. There is a young son, and he has become so involved with drugs (or alcohol) that the family must completely and totally cut him off—from all family interaction. The end result is best for the family as a whole. This is an illustration of the sin unto death; the family obviously does not kill the wayward son.

2.       Illustrations

          1)       Illustrations of the Sin Unto Death.

                     (1)      Gen X of the Exodus generation. They are described in Num. 14:26–30 And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, "How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me. Say to them, 'As I live, declares the LORD, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you: your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.’ ” See also Num. 14:20–23, 33 Joshua 5:6 Heb. 3:7–11

                     (2)      Nadab and Abihu. Their lines were ended, and Eleazar was not commanded to provide for their lines to be preserved. Lev. 10:1-2 1Chr. 24:1-2

                     (3)      Eli and his sons. 1Sam. 2:12-17,22-36 3:1-21 4:4-18

                     (4)      Saul and his sons. 1Sam. 15:10-35; 31:1-7 1Chr. 10:13-14

                     (5)      Ananias and Saphira. Acts 5:1-11

                     (6)      Hymenaeus and Alexander. 1Tim. 1:20

          2)       Illustration of failures who were not under the sin unto death:

                     (1)      Solomon is an outstanding example here. He married 700 wives and had 300 mistresses. There was a point in his life during which, he essentially did any damn thing that he wanted to do. Why didn’t God say, “I have had enough with your sins and you indulging your fleshly desires—you are toast, Solomon! But God did not do that. Why? Let me suggest that Solomon, despite his great failures, would rebound and he would have a great spiritual life at the end of his life (during which time, he will write the Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes). God, in His omniscience, disciplined Solomon, but He did not remove Solomon from the throne.

                     (2)      The Apostle Paul made a serious error of legalism in order to get a hearing from the Jewish believers in Jerusalem. Now, God had removed some believers in the early Church Age for errors which would seem much less important: Annanias and Saphira, for instance, or the Christian believers who participated in the Eucharist while out of fellowship—but God did not suddenly remove Paul from this life. Let me again suggest that God is able to see into the future, and God preserved Paul’s life for what he did later on. However, God also disciplined Paul as well. I don’t want you to plan on being a great servant of God, but first, you are going to engage in great sins for a bit of fun.

Sin Unto Death Verses (a graphic); from Visible Christianity; accessed October 18, 2015.

          3)       Illustrations of the Sin Unto Death judgment being stayed.

                     (1)      David’s almost dying the sin unto death. 2Sam. 12:13

                     (2)      Hezekiah’s close call. 2Kgs. 20:1-11; Isa. 38:1-22

                     (3)      The Corinthian man who committed incest. 1Cor. 5:5 2Cor. 2:6-11

          4)       Illustrations of the Sin Unto Death judgment being stayed, then reinstated.

                     (1)      Moses’ deferment (Ex. 4:24) and later judgment (Deut. 32:48-52).

                     (2)      Balaam’s deferment (Num. 22:31) and later judgment (Num. 31:8).

3.       Suffering the sin unto death does not mean a loss of salvation. With regards to the incestuous believer in Corinth, Paul wrote: You are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord (1Cor. 5:5). Our salvation is dependent upon Jesus Christ and His death on the cross for our sins. It is not dependent upon the sort of life we lead post-salvation. If you can lose your salvation after God has saved you, then your salvation is dependent upon you. Our salvation is a matter of faith alone in Christ alone; and once we have believed in Jesus Christ, we cannot lose the eternal life which God grants us. John 5:24 Point of fact: I say to you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. 2Tim. 2:13 if we are faithless, He [yet] remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.

4.       There are at least nine descriptive terms for the Sin unto Death in the Bible.

          1)       Delivered over to Satan (1Cor.5:5 1Tim.1:20 Phil.3:19).

          2)       Carcasses falling (Heb.3:17; 1 Cor.10:5; Num.14:29).

          3)       Given over to death (Psalm118:18).

          4)       Taken away (John 15:2 Acts 5:1-11).

          5)       Swift destruction (2Peter 2:1, 12).

          6)       Destroyed by the Destroyer (1Cor.10:10 Jude 5).

          7)       Crawling out a burning house with clothes on fire (Jude 23)

          8)       Premature death (Eph.6:1-4 Ex.20:12 Deut.5:16)

          9)       Sleep (euphemism for death of believer) (1Cor.11:27-32/ Eucharist/ 11:30)

1Corinthians 11:30 Graphic; from Jar of Quotes; accessed October 18, 2015.

5.       There are sins which are not "unto death."

          1)       First of all, there is a sin not unto death (ἁμαρτάνοντα ἁμαρτίαν μὴ πρὸς θάνατον). 1John 5:16–17

                     (1)      The context is a confident prayer ministry based upon our life in Christ. 1John 5:13-15

                     (2)      Intercessory prayer is prescribed for brothers sinning non-leading-to-death sin.

                     (3)      We should never request that any brother is subject to the sin unto death.  Such a request is an ἐρωτάω request (1John 5:16b) rather than an αἰτέω request (1John 5:14–16a).

          2)       A sin which is confessed is not "unto death." God does not discipline us with the sin unto death for a forgiven sin. 1John 1:9 1Cor. 11:31 Psalm 32:5 38

          3)       A sin which is discontinued is not "unto death." Heb. 12:1 Ezek. 18:21-32

          4)       The person who responds positively to divine discipline is not involved in the "sin unto death." Heb. 12:6, 11-15

          5)       The antithesis of death as a purpose-consequence is the glory of God purpose-consequence. John 11:4

                     (1)      Unrepentant, unconfessed sin results in operational death and premature physical death.

                     (2)      Confessed sin restores operational life and extends physical life with the purpose-consequence of God’s glory being achieved.

6.       So there is no fear that you might be suddenly subject to the sin unto death, there is a series of steps leading to that point. Heb. 12:5–11

          1)       Light discipline, called knocking in Heb. 12:5a Rev. 3:19–20 (which is a discipline passage, not a salvation passage, as it is too often incorrectly portrayed).

          2)       Heavy or severe discipline. Do not faint when you are reproved by Him; for those whom the lord loves He disciplines and He scourges every son whom He receives (Heb. 12:5b–6). Scourging certainly represents severe discipline.

          3)       Then the sin unto death.

          4)       There are exceptions to this, as we saw above with Ananias and Saphira. They were give a very short time to be honest and they chose not to be.

The Upward and Downward Roads (a graphic) comes from Biblenews1; accessed October 18, 2015. This illustrates that the believer is always advancing or retrogressing. Although this is an excellent graphic, it needs to be emphasized that the believer who goes out on the sin unto death is not in hell. That believer also enjoys eternal life, just as the person who takes the upward road.

7.       Summary and conclusions

          1)       The OT and the NT provide multiple illustrations for the Sin Unto Death.

          2)       Illustrations are provided as warnings. 1Cor. 10:1-11

          3)       The bottom-line cause of Sin Unto Death is idolatry (which is placing something else over God in your scale of values). 1John 5:21

                     (1)      The case of "lying to the Holy Spirit" (Ananias and Sapphira). Acts 5:1-10. Ananias and Saphira pursued the idolatry of approbation-lust (Acts 5:1-11).

                     (2)      The case of persistent carnality while sitting at the Lord's Table. Defiling the Lord’s Supper is the idolatrous practice of eating the table of demons. 1Cor. 10:20-22 11:30–31

                     (3)      Apostasy is the idolatrous practice of living the teachings of demons. Rev. 2:20-24  1Tim. 4:1

                     (4)      The case of disobedience to the Word of God.. King Saul did not kill Agag although directly ordered to do so by God; he insisted on personally offering sacrifices in the place of divinely appointed priests; and he consulted a witch, itself a capital offense. 1Chron.10:13,14 1Sam. 13:9-14

                     (5)      The case of self-righteousness and dependence on man which was perpetuated (case of Hezekiah). Isa. 38

                     (6)      The case of apostasy on the part of a believer. Num. 31:8 1Tim. 1:19,20.