Christianity is unique and exclusive because it claims to be the only true passage to heaven. It is based purely upon ‘grace through faith’ (Eph 2:8-9), in contrast to all other religions of this world, which promote ‘works,’ to attain righteousness, in the sight of God. In this broadcast Carl investigates the mysterious ‘sin unto death’ which believers are told, ‘not to pray for.’ What possible sin exists which other Christians are warned not to supplicate for? What could be this mysterious sin? Tune in now to find out…
Here is a complete transcript of the broadcast (below)…
Friend, this is the final session on our first epistle of John, chapter 5 in the latter half of this chapter, and I want to thank you for having the patience to stick by with me and go through this wonderful letter written by the Apostle John, and it has been a real blessing for me, man. I am fired up after reading this letter once again. But let’s continue here in verse 12 of this chapter. It says, “He that has the Son has life, and he that has not the Son of God has not life. These things have I written unto you, that you believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe on the name of the Son of God. In other words, we can know we have eternal life now.” Every other religion doesn’t really know.
Whether it’s a works-based system, all of the works are going to be weighed in the weighing scale, and if your good works outweigh your bad, then you’ll enter into heaven. You’re not going to know you’re saved until you get to judgment. Such is the case with the false religions of this world. However, we know because we have the Son, we believe in his name, we believe on his name, and he abides with us and inside of us. Amen. And then in verse 14, this theme of confidence is repeated again. Remember we talked about it before in verse 21 of chapter 3, the confidence aspect when we come to petition our Heavenly Father. It says “this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” You know, some people think it’s really hard to receive from God. You know, it’s like a potluck. 20% of the time you might get an answer.
Friend, this is a lie from the pit of hell. The biggest obstruction to receiving from God is not knowing his will. And that is easily resolved, of course, because if we know his word, we know his will. This is the last will and testament of Jesus Christ I’m reading from right now. This is his will for you. So if you may lack confidence today because you simply don’t know his will for healing, for finances, for deliverance, to be free from addictions, you don’t know whether he wants you to be free from that addiction to drugs or alcohol. You’re not quite sure whether he wants you healed or not. And the reason you’re not sure is because you have not meditated in the Word of God to bring confidence that when you approach the throne of grace, you may boldly come and receive your answer. Because friend, the time to believe is when you pray.
Mark 11:24, “Whatsoever things you desire when you pray, believe that you receive them and you shall have them.” Then and there. The time to believe is when you pray. And if you don’t believe when you pray, or you don’t have faith to believe, go off into the Scriptures, get some confidence for yourself in his word, and then return and pray the prayer of faith. And you shall receive, friend. You will receive every time the petitions of your heart, because God hears us every time. Yes? He lives inside of you. He lives in the third heaven also. He is omniscient, all-seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful, omnipotent, and whatever big theological words we can conjure up to know that God is everywhere. He sees everything, and he is all-powerful. You should have confidence, friend, because you’re one of God’s children outlined earlier in this text. And you keep his commandments daily outlined again in the previous text. Therefore you should have confidence. Alright? You’re walking in the light, you’re walking in love, and therefore you will receive what you desire. But let’s get to verse 16, “If any man sees his brother 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.” Now this is a very mysterious Scripture. Why would we not want to pray for someone who is sinning unto death? Well, I’ll tell you why, friend.
Because the sin unto death is an act of the will, and someone else’s prayers are not going to override someone’s will. Now you might want to just sit there and just let that park for a little bit, and I’ll run up and down on your toes for a while. But a sin unto death is very unique. It is very special. I’ll tell you three things that the sin unto death could be, and then I’ll tell you what I believe it is. The first thing that it could be is excommunication from the church. In the church at Corinth, you remember that very embarrassing situation where a young man was having sexual intercourse with his mother-in-law in 1 Corinthians 5 verses 1 through 5. At the end of the discourse, the Apostle Paul says that he’s going to deliver such a one over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. For very indecent acts of immorality and things that are egregious, people need ministry, okay? And in times of extreme argument or conflict also, there are means to excommunicate people from the church, as outlined in 1 Corinthians 5, as I just discussed, and then Matthew chapter 18 verses 15 through 20, which mentions the four steps of church discipline in conflict. Now when a believer is excommunicated, it means he is placed back under the authority of Satan for the destruction of the flesh.
And that’s the physical life only, but their spirit will be saved. They will not lose their salvation, friend. I want you to understand this. And this is a very, very unique situation, all right? Now as a pastor, friend, you see a lot of things. And unfortunately, in my time, I have seen people who were born again in spirit filled, and in a time of weakness, they have gone back into the world in a very heavy way. And these are very serious sins of immorality, you know, taking meth and whatever else. And I’m like, dude, if you do that, you are going to open the door to the devil. You are allowing legal rights and means for him to come into your life and physically destroy you. And friend, that may be a tough word, but it’s true. There are rules and spiritual laws we go by here, and this is a very serious broadcast today, because we do not want to be in this situation. We want to honor the Holy Spirit and holiness, okay? And those people, friend, truly never had the mind of Christ developed within them. They simply were not rooted and grounded in Christ, and that’s why they couldn’t continue to live that godly life, and were drawn back again into the world, friend.
But like I said, the example of excommunication could be egregious sin. Then we have conflict between people, right? The first step is for the offended brother to go to the offender and show him his fault. And this is Matthew 18:15 through 20 I’m talking about. If that produces no response, the second step is for the brother to approach him again, but this time with two or three witnesses. If that doesn’t bring about the needed result, the third step is to bring it before the whole body, the local church. If that does not get the result, then the fourth step is to, quote, let him be unto you as the genteel and the publican, meaning untouchable or excommunicated.
At that point, a person is placed outside the body of the church. During the first three steps of church discipline, we can continue to pray for that person. But if that person, friend, is dogged and unresponsive and unrepentant, because it’s a decision of the will to get over offense, it’s the decision of the will to forgive someone in that instance, then that person is going to be left over to Satan for the, you know, for the destruction of his flesh. You can’t have a legal door of unforgiveness or whatever or lasciviousness or extreme sin in your life and expect it not to go punished, okay? And I’m going to talk more about that in a minute. Number two, the sin unto death could also be blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. And blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is spoken of in Luke chapter 12 verse 10, “And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him. But unto him that blasphemes against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven.” The point is, in other instances in the Gospel, Jesus was being accused of casting out demons by Beelzebub, by the devil, and Jesus responded in his narrative, you know, why would the devil cast out himself? That makes total nonsense, I’m paraphrasing. A house divided against itself cannot stand, etc. In other words, the wicked Pharisees were accusing Jesus of working the works of the devil. And this is what blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is.
It’s attributing the works of the devil to the Holy Spirit and attributing the Holy Spirit works to the devil, okay? Now you can believe whether or not the Holy Spirit charismata has passed away, that’s your choice. You can believe in cessationism, that God is pretty much dead in terms of working through people in the gifts of the Spirit, that’s your choice. You’re not blaspheming the Holy Spirit when you do that. However, if you’re saying tongues are of the devil and the Holy Spirit move is of the devil today, be very careful with that accusation, okay? Because you’re actually attributing the works of the real charismata, operated by 670 million people on this planet right now, the true gifts, and you’re labeling them as the works of the devil. And that is very dangerous ground. I’m not going to say any more there, but be very careful with your words.
But number three, this is what I think it is. It is unforgiveness. The sin unto death is unforgiveness. Because it is a choice, it cannot be prayed for. Unforgiveness is a thief. It will rob you in this lifetime. It will block up your receiving channel from the Lord, and in some cases, you could end your life physically early. Once again, you will not lose your salvation. But you are opening doors to the enemy, and the enemy is going to walk through and steal, kill, and destroy, potentially, unless that door is shut. In Matthew 6, verse 14 through 15, it says, “for if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” In other words, it’s a decision. It’s a choice. I can’t pray for you to forgive someone. That’s a choice you’re going to have to make.
Now, I can pray for your well-being, and believe that you will see the light, and you will come around to the Father’s will. I can intercede for you in that regard, yes. But I can’t make the decision for you. And that is why unforgiveness is the sin unto death, in my opinion. But in the context of all the passages we’ve read, and walking in the light, and loving your brother, I believe the Apostle John was hitting the nail on the head, and he’s talking about unforgiveness. And friend, it doesn’t say what the sin unto death is in the text explicitly. I’m giving you my opinion. Yes, the sin unto death is very serious, but it is not common in Christianity. And friend, the Scripture doesn’t say, don’t pray for him. It says, don’t pray for the sin. And there’s a difference, okay. Like I said, you can intercede for someone who is in the sin unto death, and believe that they will come around.
And in Mark 11:25, after the discourse of speaking to the mountain, once again the Lord says, forgive, otherwise your speaking to the mountain isn’t gonna work, right? Check out Mark 11:25 tonight, an often misunderstood, or not referenced Scripture. And you may have some unforgiveness towards God. Release any ought against your heavenly Father, friend, and watch times of refreshing come back in the presence of the Lord. And verse 17, all unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not unto death. Verse 18, “we know that whosoever is born of God sins not, but he that is begotten of God keeps himself, and the wicked one touches him not.” Friend, if you keep yourself, and you’ve closed all doors to the enemy, all legal grounds, then the enemy cannot touch you. And that should be your regular disposition, by the way. The enemy shouldn’t be coming in and out and doing his will at his pleasure in your life. No, the doors of sin are shut, you’ve confessed them, you’re walking in the light, amen, you’re loving on the Lord, you’ve got a contrite heart, and the wicked one can touch you not, and that is the truth. You are walking in freedom and liberty that Christ won for you. That is your natural disposition. And you don’t practice sin, of course, if you’re a believer.
That’s reiterated in this verse. And then verse 19, the reason why so many people are mad at God but blind to the existence of Satan himself. It says, “and we know that we are of God and the whole world lies in wickedness.” Friend, look around you. The whole world lies in wickedness. The ISV says we know that we’re from God and the whole world lies under the control of the evil one. The LEB says we know that we are from God and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. Friend, we’re on enemy territory. We’re in this world, we’re not of this world. We are sojourning in passing through, okay? The God of this world has jurisdiction here, and we need to walk through and claim our territory from the heavenly realm onto this earth. And friend, I want to make something clear. It was the Pharisees who blasphemed the Holy Spirit, and they were unsaved.
They weren’t believers, okay? It is extremely difficult to blaspheme the Holy Spirit if you’re a believer. It may not be possible, okay? But I’m just letting you know these are extreme examples I’m giving today. I’m giving some real meat, all right? And some people don’t talk about it, quite frankly, but I want to go through the word, verse by verse, precept upon precept. This is an exposition or commentary study that we have done, the first one I’ve done with you on the radio. And we’re gonna do more. We’re gonna study Ephesians, we’re gonna study other books, Colossians potentially, all right? And so this is the first of an exposition series. If you have any questions about this study, please email me. until tomorrow goodnight god bless and remember to spread the good news.
https://carljosephministries.com/god-is-a-consuming-fire/
https://www.thebibleversebyverse.com/1-john-commentary.html
Title: Commentary on 1st John: Part 8
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Six Frequently Asked Questions:
1. What is the “sin unto death” mentioned in 1 John 5:16, and can Christians commit it?
The “sin unto death” is serious. While Scripture doesn’t define it explicitly, the broadcast presents three possible interpretations:
- Excommunication due to egregious sin (1 Cor 5)
- Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Luke 12:10)
- Unforgiveness, which blocks God’s forgiveness (Mark 11:25)
The most likely, according to the speaker, is unforgiveness, because it is a conscious decision of the will. You can’t pray away someone’s unwillingness to forgive—they must choose it themselves.
2. Should we stop praying for people who are in serious sin?
No, but we must understand the difference. 1 John 5:16 says not to pray for the sin itself if it’s unto death—not necessarily to stop praying for the person. You can still intercede, asking God to work in their heart and bring them to repentance. However, you cannot override someone’s will with your prayers.
3. Can a born-again Christian be touched by the devil?
Not if they “keep themselves” (1 John 5:18). A believer walking in obedience, love, and holiness, with no unconfessed sin or open doors, is protected. The devil has no legal right to touch them. But ongoing sin, especially serious sin, gives the enemy access to attack or influence a believer’s life.
4. What is the role of confidence in prayer according to 1 John 5:14–15?
Confidence is crucial in prayer. Scripture says if we ask according to God’s will, He hears us, and we can know we have what we ask. The biggest obstacle to answered prayer is simply ignorance of God’s promises. If you’re unsure, get into Scripture, build your faith, and return in boldness to pray, according to His promises.
5. Can a Christian lose their salvation by committing a sin unto death?
According to the teaching, no—the “sin unto death” results in physical consequences, not loss of eternal life. Examples include excommunication or early death due to extreme sin (1 Cor 5), but the person’s spirit may still be saved. However, ongoing rebellion or unrepentant hearts put believers in a dangerous position that opens the door to destruction.
6. What does John mean when he says “we are of God, and the whole world lies in wickedness”? (1 John 5:19)
This means that believers belong to God, but we are currently living in a fallen world under the influence of Satan, the “evil one.” The world is spiritually dark, corrupt, and hostile toward God. As believers, we are called to walk in the light, resist the influence of the world, and live holy lives while recognizing that this world is not our home. We are in it, just not of it.
Carl is an authority. He is a biblical scholar, minister, author, husband, father, and life coach. In his mid-twenties he had a powerful encounter with God and saw miraculous healings as a result. Carl is a unique researcher who investigates current affairs, societal trends, prophecy, technology, cults, and end time events, all through a biblical lens.
Carl holds a Doctorate in Theology (Th D). His Alma Mata includes: Salford University, Manchester, UK, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London, UK, Rhema Bible Training College (Tulsa), and Southwestern Christian University (Oklahoma City).
Carl Joseph Ministries empowers believers in Christ to fulfill their God given potential. Join Carl every other Monday on the Lions Unchained Podcast, available on Spotify, iTunes and other mainstream platforms.
He currently resides in Colorado, with his lovely wife Amy, and their three children.
