1 John 5:13-16 — Confidence in prayer is real. But confidence is not control. There is a sin that will cost a believer his life, not his soul.

⛪ Preached at Pilgrim Baptist Church • Cookeville, TN • July 30, 2026.

This expository preaching message walks verse by verse through 1 John 5:13-16, moving from the believer's confidence in prayer into John's hardest statement in the letter: "There is a sin unto death." This sermon works through what that sin is not — it is not the unpardonable blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, and it is not the loss of salvation — before showing from 1 Corinthians 5, 1 Corinthians 11, Acts 5, 1 Kings 13, and Numbers 20 what it is: the chastening hand of God, taking a believer home early because his life down here has stopped bearing fruit for the Lord.

If you've ever wondered whether a true child of God can sin his way out of salvation, or wrestled with hard providences in the lives of believers who died before their time, this verse-by-verse teaching through 1 John was preached for you. It is honest about the tension in the text and honest about what the Bible actually says.

This is expository preaching in the fullest sense — not a topical survey of "the sin unto death," but a careful walk through the whole counsel of Scripture on the subject, letting Mark, Galatians, James, 1 Corinthians, Acts, 1 Kings, Numbers, and Deuteronomy interpret 1 John rather than human opinion.

This expository sermon walks through 1 John 5:13-16 and related Scripture, explaining:

• The confidence a believer has that God hears prayer according to His will

• Why an ordinary brother caught in sin should be carried to God in prayer, not gossip

• What "he shall give him life" means for a believer who has backslidden

• Why the sin unto death cannot be the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost (Mark 3:28-30)

• Why a true believer cannot lose his salvation, even in serious sin

• The chastening hand of God as the true meaning of the sin unto death

• The man in 1 Corinthians 5 delivered unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh

• "Sleep" in 1 Corinthians 11 as a believer's homegoing under discipline

• Ananias and Sapphira, the man of God and the lion, and Moses at the rock

⏱️ Timestamps:

00:00 - Confidence in prayer — 1 John 5:13-15 recap

01:12 - "There is a sin unto death" — the hard turn

02:30 - An ordinary brother, an ordinary sin — carry it to God

08:59 - Two kinds of sin, one hard verse

10:38 - Position 1: Is it blasphemy against the Holy Ghost? (Mark 3:28-30)

15:18 - Position 2: Can a believer lose his salvation?

18:38 - The true answer: the chastening hand of God

19:29 - 1 Corinthians 5 — delivered unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh

28:17 - 1 Corinthians 11 — sleep and the believer's homegoing

29:36 - Acts 5 — Ananias and Sapphira

32:03 - 1 Kings 13 — the man of God and the lion

37:00 - Numbers 20 — Moses, Aaron, and the rock

⛪ About Pilgrim Baptist Church:

We're a family integrated church in Cookeville, Tennessee where families worship together under verse-by-verse expository preaching from the King James Bible. At Pilgrim, we believe in serious teaching for strong families built on biblical authority.

Most of our sermons are verse-by-verse exposition through entire books of the Bible, systematically working through God's Word so believers understand Scripture in its full context.

Families worship together. No entertainment. No shortcuts. Just faithful, verse-by-verse Bible teaching that transforms families.

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📍 Visit Pilgrim Baptist Church: 170 4th Ave, Cookeville, TN 38506

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