The Pulpit Commentary — 1 John — Section 169

111'oadest signification of our fellow-men, it is true that they are liable to sin. Genuine Christ.ians ~re so (cf. eh. i. 8, 10),. The grave fact of temptation to sin, t?o proneness of man to sm, the moral weakness 1n some respects of eYcn good men, the history of tho godly, the t.eachings of the Bible, and our own <'Xperience,-thcse show our liability f-? s:,n, 2. 7:'he knowledg_e of a brother's sin. "If any man se~ l)is brothe_r sinning a sm. The sm spoken of ts not a secret one. The kno1vkdge of 1t 1s not derived either from irresponsible rumour or from malignant slander. 'l'o tlrnse we should pay no heed, We should discredit them, and seek to extinguish them. But it is immediate direct and certain. 3. Prayer for a bmthei· because of his sin. "If any man see his 'brothe: sinning a sin not unto dcat.b, he shall ask,"etc. Without entering at present upon the mquiry of what is the "sin unto death," we may say, with Ebrard, that takin~ the Btaum1ents and directions of the text as to "sin not unto death" "in their simple meaning, the only thing laid down and pres:ipposed is this-that a sin which is not unt-0 death may be surely known as such. That any particular sin which another may commit, as also the general state in which he may be found, is not unto death-that he may still repent and be converted-this may be easily and ,vith the utmost con- fidence known. And where this is known with certainty, where there is no necessity for thinking another to be hardened and past salvation, there must prayer be offered." We know a great many sins which men commit for which there is forgive- ness with God, and in all such cases, unhindered by any questiol). as to the "sin unto death," we should pray to God for the sinner. But more than this, is not_Barnes right in saying, "It may be said now with truth, that as we can never be certain respecting any one that be hw; committed the unpardonable sin, there is no one for whom we may not with propriety pray"? Let us, then, learn from our text what our conduct should be towards a sinning brother. We are not to sit ia judgment on him and condemn him, not to spread abroad the fact of his sin, not to tnrn away from him as if he were unclean and we holy, not, on the other hand, to make light of his sin. Such, alas! is the treatment very often dealt to a brother who has sinned. But so should not we do. As Christians, onr duty is to pray for him. Such prayer is not optional, but obligatory, it is not a thing which we may do, but which we ought to do. "He shall ask." In this spirit St. Paul exhorted the Galatian Christians, " Brethren, even if a man be oYerlaken in any trespass, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one," etc. (Gal.-v_i. 1). II. THE ENCOURAGEMENT TO PRAY FOR THE BROTHER WHO HAS SINNED. "He shall ask, and God will give him life for them that sin not unto death." How unspeakably great and precious is the blessing which by our prayers we may secure for our erring bro!J.1er ! As a result of our petitions on his behalf, God will grant him forgiveness of hie sins and confer upon him spiritual life. How exalted and glorious a boon is this! 1 The knowledge that we may obtain such a blessing for him should prove a powerful stimulus to us to pray for the brother who has sinned. How can we do other than pray for him when our prayers may have such a glorious issue? '' My brethren, if any among you do err from the truth, and one convert him; let him know, that he which converteth a sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul froll). death, and shall cover a multitude of sins" (Ja.s. v. 19, 20). ill 'l'HE LIMITATION TO OUR PRAYERS FOB THE BROTHER WHO HAS BIN.NED. "There is a sin unto death; not concerning this do I say that he should make request." What are we to nnderstand by the "sin unto death"? With a view of ascertaining this, let us endeavour to fix upon the meaning of "death" here. There are three dis- tinct uses of the word in the sacred Scriptures. (1) The death of the body. (2) 'l'hat death of the spirit which is common to all men apart from the renewing grace of God. " Dead by reason of trespasses and sins." (3) 'l'be eternal death, which is the antithesis of the" eternal life" which God gives through Jesllfl'Christ (vera. 11-13). Now, "death" in the text cannot mean either (1) the death of the body, for that is the lot of all men; or (2) the spiritual death above mentioned, for every sin tends to such death. If we are right thus far, and in this also that the death must be the antithesis of the life, we conclude that it must be that death which i~ the just retribution of those who have deliberately and resolutely rejected the Christ. Such a sin involves the abiding loss of the li:e which iB derived through hiD" (ver. 12). The rejection of the Christ necessarily involves the renunciation of the iife. If a man deliberately and decidedly 1 See our homily on ver, 12, 011. v.1-21.] THE FIRS'f EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN. 167