Lord's Day: June 28, 2026 Preacher: Carlos Montijo Series: First John Topic: Sin Scripture: 1 John 5:11–17; Hebrews 7:25; Romans 5:9; Galatians 6:1; Proverbs 27:17; 1 John 2:19–20; Psalm 97:10; 1 John 2:9, 11; 3:15–17; Romans 6:23; James 2:10

16If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this. 17All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not leading to death. 1 John 5:16–17

• Challenging, difficult verses to translate and to interpret
• Any translation requires interpretation
• Who is “the brother” sinning not unto death? Who do the pronouns refer to? What is the sin unto death and not unto death? What kind of death and life? Whio should we pray for and not pray for?

I. Many have misunderstood and misused this text to develop false doctrines and conclusions.

• Mortal and venial sin
• Intercessory prayer
• "Prayer is not to be made for the dead, nor for those who are known to have sinned the sin leading to death” (1689 Baptist Confession, cf. Westminster Confession of Faith).
• Galatians 6:1

II. Who do the pronouns refer to?

• Every interpretation has difficulties.

III. Four major views of the passage

Join us on Sundays for worship at 10:00am:

• ThornCrown Covenant Baptist Church
  4712 Montana Ave
  El Paso, Texas 79903

Contact us at:

• web: ThornCrownCovenant.Church
  call/text: (915) 843-8088
  email: ThornCrownCovenantBChurch@gmail.com

Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com

Lord's Day: July 5, 2026 Preacher: Carlos Montijo Series: First John Topic: Sin Scripture: 1 John 5:16–19; Psalm 97:10; Acts 5:1–11; 1 Corinthians 5:5; 11:30; 1 John 5:20; 3:14; 2:19–20; Hebrews 6:4–8; 1 John 5:10–12; Galatians 1:6–9; 5:12

Gordon Clark: "If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not unto death, he shall ask, and he will give him life, to those who sin not unto death. There is sin to death. I do not say that he should ask concerning it. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not unto death." 1 John 5:16–17

• The two best interpretations

I. (3) Believers can both sin unto death and not unto death.

• God may discipline the believer sinning unto death with physical death, or the sin itself may lead to physical death.
• Objections

II. (4) A believer commits sin not unto eternal death, and an unbeliever commits sin unto eternal death.

• How do you judge apostasy?
• Catechism of the Catholic Church: “Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent.”
• Objections
• Interpretive key: already, not yet
• 1689 Baptist Confession, Chapter 18: The Assurance of Grace and Salvation

Join us on Sundays for worship at 10:00am:

• ThornCrown Covenant Baptist Church
  4712 Montana Ave
  El Paso, Texas 79903

Contact us at:

• web: ThornCrownCovenant.Church
  call/text: (915) 843-8088
  email: ThornCrownCovenantBChurch@gmail.com

Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com

Lord's Day: July 12, 2026 Preacher: Carlos Montijo Series: First John Topic: Sin Scripture: 1 John 5:16–19; 1 Timothy 1:12–14; Galatians 1:6–9; 1 John 3:4–10; Psalm 97:10; 1 John 5:1, 11; 3:9; Revelation 3:3; John 17:2; 1 John 1:8–10; 2:1–2; Psalm 130:3; 121:7–8

17All unrighteousness is sin, but there is sin not resulting in death. 18We know that everyone fathered by God does not sin, but God protects the one he has fathered, and the evil one cannot touch him. 1 John 5:17–18 (NET)

• Challenging passage

I. The apostle continues to deal with generalities, categoricals

• Law or Gospel?
• Continued emphasis on knowledge and sin

II. Making sense of the difficulties

• Original language, textual variants
• πᾶς ὁ γεγεννημένος, “everyone fathered [born] by God”

III. Interpretive Challenge: Do saints still sin?

• Believers sin differently
• Thesis 1. Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, when He said, Repent [Poenitentiam agite], willed that the whole life of believers should be repentance
• 1689 Baptist Confession 15.4: "Repentance is to continue through the whole course of our lives because of our 'body of death' and its activities. So it is everyone's duty to repent of particular known sins with particular care."

Join us on Sundays for worship at 10:00am:

• ThornCrown Covenant Baptist Church
  4712 Montana Ave
  El Paso, Texas 79903

Contact us at:

• web: ThornCrownCovenant.Church
  call/text: (915) 843-8088
  email: ThornCrownCovenantBChurch@gmail.com

Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com

Lord's Day: July 19, 2026 Preacher: Carlos Montijo Series: First John Topic: Spiritual Warfare Scripture: 1 John 5:18–20; Psalm 97:10; 2 Timothy 2:15; Matthew 5:37; 6:13; 1 John 3:8–13; 2:13–14; 4:4; Job 1:8–22; 2:3–6; Luke 22:31–32; Ephesians 6:12–13; 4:26–27; 1 Peter 5:8; Ephesians 6:16; Romans 8:28–39; Philippians 1:6

18We know that everyone fathered by God does not sin, but God protects the one he has fathered, and the evil one cannot touch him. 19We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. 1 John 5:18–19 (NET)

• Another interpretive dilemma
• The devil is God’s devil. He is on God’s leash, a defeated foe whose days are numbered.

I. Define: We, God, evil one, touch, whole world

• Define correctly, understand correctly

II. And the evil one cannot touch him

• What does touch mean in this verse?
• Job

III. Are there covenantal differences?

• Peter
• 1689 Baptist Confession, Chapter 17: The Perseverance of Believers

IV. How do we reconcile all this?

"When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, / my grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
the flame shall not hurt thee; I only design / thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.

"The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose, / I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
that soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake, / I'll never, no, never, no, never forsake."

Join us on Sundays for worship at 10:00am:

• ThornCrown Covenant Baptist Church
  4712 Montana Ave
  El Paso, Texas 79903

Contact us at:

• web: ThornCrownCovenant.Church
  call/text: (915) 843-8088
  email: ThornCrownCovenantBChurch@gmail.com

Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com

Lord's Day: July 26, 2026 Preacher: Carlos Montijo Series: First John Topic: End Times Scripture: 1 John 5:18–19; Colossians 1:12–14; 1 John 2:1–2, 15–20; 3:1, 13; John 17:9; Galatians 1:3–5; 1 John 4:3–5; John 15:19; Revelation 19:15–19; 2 Corinthians 4:3–4; 2 Timothy 3:1–14; 1 John 5:4–5

19We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. 1 John 5:19

I. And that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one

• One of Apostle’s favorite words, uses it to the fullest extent and range of meanings

II. Is the “entire world that lies under the evil one” getting better, or worse? Shrinking? Expanding?

• Postmillennialism—highly optimistic

III. Why is Jesus coming back with eyes of flaming fire, clothed with a robe dipped in blood…

• Know Your Enemy: The Devil’s End | Revelation 20, Know Your Enemy: The World, the Flesh, the Devil, ThornCrown Covenant Baptist Church, June 16, 2024, mp3, https://www.thorncrowncovenant.church/sermons/sermon/2024-06-16/know-your-enemy:-the-devil-s-end-revelation-20
• We must ensure that our theological timeline, past, present, future, is biblical, so that we not be deceived, and abide in hope, well-grounded assurance

The world is very evil, / The times are waxing late;
Be sober and keep vigil, / The Judge is at the gate;
The Judge that comes in mercy, / The Judge that comes with might,
To terminate the evil, / To diadem the right.

Join us on Sundays for worship at 10:00am:

• ThornCrown Covenant Baptist Church
  4712 Montana Ave
  El Paso, Texas 79903

Contact us at:

• web: ThornCrownCovenant.Church
  call/text: (915) 843-8088
  email: ThornCrownCovenantBChurch@gmail.com

Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com

Lord's Day: August 2, 2026 Preacher: Carlos Montijo Series: First John Topic: Truth Scripture: 1 John 5:18–20, 1; John 14:6; 1 John 5:6; Galatians 4:3–9; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 4:22–25, 6–8; Luke 10:29; John 6:63; 17:1–3; 2 John 1–3; 1 John 2:23–25; Romans 1:16

And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. 1 John 5:20

• Capstones the letter—profound emphasis on knowledge; God; His Son; what God has done for us, is doing; Incarnation; Union with Christ; Revelation, illumination; eternal life, vv. 18-20

I. We know, that the Son of God has come…

• What does this understanding entail? Why else did the Son of God come?
• The beauty of Double Imputation
• R.L. Dabney, Systematic Theology: “to reckon or account to any one, is sometimes employed in the English Scriptures as the translation of bv'h;, logizomai, ellogew, and correctly. Of the former we have instances in Gen. 15:6; 38:15; 2 Sam. 19:19; of the next in Mark 15:28; Rom. 2:26; 4:5, etc.; Gal. 3:6, etc.; and of the last, in Rom. 5:13; Philem. 18.”

II. The Son of God has come, to give us a double imputation

• Romans 4:22–25
• Did Luther invent his doctrine of justification, imputation?
• What does God say? What did the ancient holy men of God speak and say? Romans 4:6–8
• A righteousness extra nos

III. Knowing God requires knowing true things about God

• John 17:1-3
• To be in God is to be in Christ, and to be outside of Christ is to be outside of God
• One of the most important gifts that God has given us...

Join us on Sundays for worship at 10:00am:

• ThornCrown Covenant Baptist Church
  4712 Montana Ave
  El Paso, Texas 79903

Contact us at:

• web: ThornCrownCovenant.Church
  call/text: (915) 843-8088
  email: ThornCrownCovenantBChurch@gmail.com

Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com

Lord's Day: August 9, 2026 Preacher: Carlos Montijo Series: First John Topic: Sin Scripture: 1 John 5:18–21; Jeremiah 17:9; Exodus 20:3–7; Deuteronomy 5:12; Colossians 3:5; Matthew 6:24; 1 Samuel 15:23; Genesis 3:5; Isaiah 14:13–14; Galatians 4:8–9; John 1:1; Romans 13:12; Ephesians 6:10–11; 2 John 9–11; 1 Timothy 6:20–21; 1 John 5:11

And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. Little children, guard yourselves from idols. 1 John 5:20-21

• Concludes with an exhortation, two commands: to do something and not do something

I. Children, guard yourselves from idols.

• John Calvin: The fallen, sinful human heart (inner man) is an “idol factory,” and the “mind begets an idol, and the hand gives it birth."
• Belgic Confession, Article 22: The Righteousness of Faith

II. What is an idol?

• Idolatry is a fundamental sin, root sin, major sin
• The Baptist Catechism, Q. 51-52

III. Idolatry is a pervasive sin

• Widespread sin, motivates many sins, encompasses several sins
• See Timothy F. Kauffman, “‘Getting Sanctification Done’: The Primacy of Narrative in Tim Keller’s Exegetical Method,” The Trinity Review (Unicoi, TN), no. 311 (June 2013), https://www.trinityfoundation.org/journal.php?id=293.
• For criticisms and refutations of Doug Wilson, see: https://thorncrownministries.com/search?q=wilson
• Thomas Manton: “Now self is the great idol of the world.”

IV. How do we protect ourselves from idols?

• One of the most important gifts that God has given us, and to protect ourselves with—is understanding, knowledge, truth
• Jehovah’s Witnesses
• Ephesians 6:10–1, Romans 13:12
• Abstain from false teaching—do not let false teaching/teachers into your home, church (2 John 9-11)
• Six S’s of Spiritual Deliverance & Combat

• Sermon series, Know Your Enemy: The World, the Flesh, the Devil: https://www.thorncrowncovenant.church/sermons/series/know-your-enemy:-the-world-the-flesh-the-devil

Join us on Sundays for worship at 10:00am:

• ThornCrown Covenant Baptist Church
  4712 Montana Ave
  El Paso, Texas 79903

Contact us at:

• web: ThornCrownCovenant.Church
  call/text: (915) 843-8088
  email: ThornCrownCovenantBChurch@gmail.com

Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com

Lord's Day: June 21, 2026 Preacher: Carlos Montijo Series: First John Topic: Of Man Scripture: Proverbs 20:6–7; 31:10; John 5:24; 1 Corinthians 11:27–32; John 19:30; Exodus 20:12; 1 Peter 2:17; Romans 12:9–10; Ephesians 2:10; Proverbs 4:1–13; 1 Corinthians 4:14–17; Romans 1:16; Matthew 23:6–12; Ephesians 5:1–2, 15–33; 1 Corinthians 11:3; Genesis 2:23; 1 Timothy 2:12; 1 Peter 3:7; Ephesians 6:1–4; Matthew 6:33; Proverbs 22:6; 2 Timothy 3:15; Deuteronomy 6:1–9, 20–21; Joshua 24:15

Many a man will call out his own lovingkindness, But a faithful man, who can find? A righteous man who walks in his integrity— How blessed are his sons after him. Proverbs 20:6–7

• Men, like women, need local, godly role models and influences in their life to show them the way—highlights the importance of a sound local church.

I. A Godly Father is a Godly Son

• A godly son is a wise son, recognizes the generational wisdom of his spiritual forefathers who came before him.

II. A Godly Father is a Godly Husband

• A godly husband loves his wife and honors her, 1 Peter 3:7

III. There are some who deny the importance of family worship…

• Ephesians 6:1–4
• God commands fathers to be intentional about training their children, not haphazard.

IV. The Family & Worship

• "A sacred duty of parents, especially fathers, is to practice family worship in the home, since they are ultimately responsible for teaching and modeling the Scriptures to their children." (Of Mankind, Gender, Marriage, Family, & Sexuality)
• John Calvin on Ephesians 5:31

Join us on Sundays for worship at 10:00am:

• ThornCrown Covenant Baptist Church
  4712 Montana Ave
  El Paso, Texas 79903

Contact us at:

• web: ThornCrownCovenant.Church
  call/text: (915) 843-8088
  email: ThornCrownCovenantBChurch@gmail.com

Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com