Having set forth the orthodox teaching, the Synod rejects the errors of those

Who teach that those who truly believe and have been born again can commit the sin that leads to death (the sin against the Holy Spirit).

For the same apostle John, after making mention of those who commit the sin that leads to death and forbidding prayer for them (1 John 5:16–17), immediately adds: “We know that anyone born of God does not commit sin” [that is, that kind of sin], “but the one who was born of God keeps himself safe, and the evil one does not touch him” (v. 18).

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The issue raised here is whether a Christian can commit the sin unto death mentioned in 1 John 5:16–18. The Canons of Dort, Fifth Head of Doctrine, Article 6, specifically teach that God does not permit his elect to fall so far that they commit the sin unto death or the sin against the Holy Spirit (the so-called “unpardonable sin”) and plunge themselves into eternal ruin. The Canons do not deny that genuine believers can fall into serious sin; rather, they affirm that God preserves them from final apostasy and eternal destruction. John writes, “we know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him” (1 John 5:18). According to John, those born of God are protected from continuing in sin and from the wiles of the Devil (the evil one).

As noted in the previous articles on the fifth head of doctrine regarding perseverance, Arminians insist that salvation ultimately stems from an act of the human will—choosing to trust in Jesus Christ. Of course, Arminians argue that universal grace is available to all who seek it, but such grace remains merely provisional and conditional unless people avail themselves of it. If this is true, then it naturally follows that one can, through an exercise of the will, cease believing, fall from grace, and ultimately be lost.

The mention of a sin that leads to death in 1 John 5:16 is used as a proof text to support the idea that, should a Christian commit this sin, they do indeed fall away, nullifying the Reformed doctrine of final perseverance.

This is why it is important to notice that John makes a distinction here between sin that leads to death and sin that does not. John does not define this sin, and Christians have long been divided over its meaning. Some take this to refer to a specific sin, such as those mentioned in the Mosaic law as capital offenses (to be punished by death). Some of the church fathers interpreted this to mean that there were sins of ignorance and other sins stemming from wanton rebellion against God—the latter leading to death. This eventually led to Rome’s distinction between venial sin and the so-called seven deadly “mortal sins.” Rome’s view is in error, given the arbitrary nature of the distinction. It certainly does not fit the context here.

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