(Read 1 John 5:16, 17.) “A sin that does not incur death” is not willful, and it would not be wrong to pray that the repentant wrongdoer be forgiven. (Acts 2:36-38; 3:19; James 5:13-18)

²¹ Hence, “if anyone [especially a spirit-anointed elder] catches sight of his brother sinning a sin that does not incur death [“second death”], he will ask, and [God] will give life to [the sinner],” saving him from eternal destruction. Of course, “all unrighteousness is sin,” or a missing of the mark as far as God’s righteous standards are concerned. “Yet there is a sin that does not incur death” because it results from our imperfection, we are repentant, and the sin is covered by Christ’s sacrifice.