This research paper by Thomas Haviland-Pabst, submitted to Dr. Michael Kruger for Hebrews–Revelation at Reformed Theological Seminary – Charlotte, examines the notoriously difficult phrase “sin unto death” in 1 John 5:16. Haviland-Pabst surveys four major interpretive categories—different petitions, penalties, sins, and people—and concludes that the passage does not describe degrees of sin but distinguishes between true believers and apostate secessionists who have departed from the faith.
Through careful lexical and syntactical analysis, he argues that John’s command not to intercede for those committing the “sin unto death” recalls Old Testament prohibitions of prayer for apostate Israel (Jer 7:16; 1 Sam 7:3–9). The phrase hamartia pros thanaton thus identifies a persistent state of rebellion marking those who were once part of the Christian community but are now under divine judgment. By contrast, believers who sin “not unto death” are promised restoration through intercession, affirming that prayer mediates God’s life-giving forgiveness within the church.
The paper concludes that 1 John 5:16 reinforces the epistle’s dual message of assurance and discernment: God grants life to His sinning children, but those who deny the Son and depart from fellowship stand outside the sphere of intercessory grace. The “sin unto death,” therefore, exposes the spiritual condition of the secessionists—those who persist in unbelief and opposition to Christ—while assuring believers of the security and mercy that belong to those born of God.
Course and semester: Hebrews–Revelation — Spring 2016
