1. VIII. Love and the Fallen Brother (5:16-5:17)
Thematic Relation: Love in action will petition God for the return of a wayward brother. Obedient love will also recognize that there are limits to what may be returned from.

Some Key Words

Committing (hamartano[264]):
to sin, to miss, one who keeps missing the mark in his relationship to God; to err, to wander from the path of uprightness and honor
Sin (hamartia[266]):
similar to the above
Death (thanatos[2288]):
natural death, spiritual death - separation from God, eternal death and everlasting punishment; death comprising all the miseries arising from sin
Unrighteousness (adikos[93]):
unjust, falling short of the righteousness required by divine laws, wanting in the imputed righteousness of faith, not as it should be; unrighteousness of heart and life, a deed violating law and justice; wrongfulness of character, life or act
 

Paraphrase

16 In most cases, we ought to pray for those who are slipping into sin, although there are exceptions. God will respond to such prayers, and restore the fallen one. 17 All sin is unrighteous, but some sins are worse than others.

Key Verse

5:16 - the other is just clarification.

Thematic Relevance:

 Love bears duty. Part of that duty is to pray for those we see slipping away.

Doctrinal Relevance:

 16 There is sin which is unforgivable. Most sins are forgivable.

Moral Relevance:

 We should be praying for those around us - first for the fallen that they might be restored, next for the restored that they might not fall - finally for those that have never lived that they might find life.

Questions Raised:

 What is that sin we should not pray for?

Some Parallel Verses

5:16
Jas 5:15 - faithful prayer restores health to the sick and forgiveness to the sinner. Num 15:30 - those who act defiantly, blaspheme the Lord, and should be removed from His people Heb 6:4-6 - there is no second chance for those who fall away, for they have crucified Christ a second time [this seems to rather neglect Christ's own reaction, clarification please?] Heb 10:26 - ah, he speaks of willful continuation in sin - defiance. This needs to be squared with Ro 6 - 8. Jer 7:16 - injunction against praying for an idolatrous people Jer 14:17 - because they have loved to wander. I.e. - it wasn't a slip up, it was a way of life.
5:17

New Thoughts

The line between a slipping into sin, and a habit of abiding in sin is a thin line and dangerously easy to cross. The penalty for the latter is patently clear in the above set of scriptures - it will lead to a loss of the possibility of restoration for us, for we knew the consequences going in. In the former case, we can stop ourselves, and we can pray for the stopping of others before they or we have gone too far, before it's become more habit than accident. This seems the balance of scripture's lesson - taking the above verses alongside Romans. Scary to fail to understand correctly, given the potential consequences.