1 John 5:17

17 Every kind of wrongdoing is sin, yet there are sins that don't lead to death.

1 John 5:17 Meaning and Commentary

1 John 5:17

All unrighteousness is sin
All unrighteousness against God or man is a sin against the law of God, and the wrath of God is revealed against it, and it is deserving of death; yet all unrighteousness is not unto death, as the sins of David, which were unrighteousness both to God and man, and yet they were put away, and he died not; Peter sinned very foully, and did great injustice to his dear Lord, and yet his sin was not unto death; he had repentance unto life given him, and a fresh application of pardoning grace:

and there is a sin not unto death;
this is added for the relief of weak believers, who hearing of a sin unto death, not to be prayed for, might fear that theirs were of that kind, whereas none of them are; for though they are guilty of many unrighteousnesses, yet God is merciful to them and forgives, ( Hebrews 8:12 ) , and so they are not unto death.

1 John 5:17 In-Context

15 We know that he listens to our requests. So we know that we already have what we ask him for.

16 If you see another believer committing a sin that doesn't lead to death, you should pray that God would give that person life. This is true for those who commit sins that don't lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I'm not telling you to pray about that.

17 Every kind of wrongdoing is sin, yet there are sins that don't lead to death.

18 We know that those who have been born from God don't go on sinning. Rather, the Son of God protects them, and the evil one can't harm them.

19 We know that we are from God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.