Just the reading of this verse in John's writing may give you cause for concern. Since Scripture says there is a sin that leads to premature death, you might be wondering if you've commited it. So you'd better understand this sin and avoid it with diligence or you might find yourself victimized by your own ignorance.

In the same passage John mentioned that there are sins that do not lead to death. That's important because he wanted everyone reading it to understand that most sins will NOT result in an early exit from this life. Still, it's worth our time to pay attention to this issue and avoid becoming another casualty of sin.

In Matthew 12:41 Jesus warned Pharisees who accused him of casting out demons by power of the devil to back off. Well, at least he might as well of said it that way. That's because Jesus actually perfomed his miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit. In effect, the Pharisees were robbing the Spirit of His glory by suggesting Satan would even do if he could. Such a sin was so egregious to Jesus, He told them such sin would never be forgiven in this life or the next. That is the unforgiveable sin.

You might be thinking right now that you'd never say what those Pharisees said to Jesus. I mean, knowingly you'd never say anything bad about the Holy Spirit, would you? I don't think so. But what about those people who have such disdain for Jesus Christ, they will use his name in vain and reject His offer of eternal life laughingly?

What forgiveness is there for someone who ignores God's gift of grace offered in Jesus and dies without receiving His life as a pardon for their sin? It doesn't matter what you think of the unpardonable sin if you die without Jesus. If you continue to reject Him as Savior, one day you will will do it one too many times and no one will be able to save you.

1 Developed from Read the Bible Thru ( Hs. 1:1-3:5 1 Jn. 5:1-21 Ps. 124:1-8 Pr. 29:5-8 )
2. Scripture comes from the Holy Bible, New International Version; (c)1978 by New York International Bible Society

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