Be encouraged; Live for God
1 John Bible Study, Part 13
1 John 5:13-21
Introduction
- If you accept God’s testimony and believe on it for yourself (v9)
-- You have internal assurance of what God has done and consider it true
-- You cannot believe something without knowing and accepting it as fact
-- Therefore, your belief gives you comfort and assurance of God’s word (v10)
- APP: If you reject what someone is telling you, you would say they lied
-- Therefore, if you reject God’s testimony; you are calling God a liar (v10)
-- John is straight to the point in this … and we must be as well
- The testimony of God is simple:
• God has given us eternal life
• This life is in his Son.
- Whoever has the Son has life;
- Whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
- John does a great job at re-affirming for us some basic covenants of the faith
-- It is what we finish with tonight, and finishes this letter with … two great points
- Read 1 John 5:13-21 / Pray
∆ Point 1 – Believers have eternal life
- John’s writes this letter for the same reason that he wrote his Gospel
-- So that those who read it, and believe, may know what He knows
-- APP: That if we believe on Christ, we shall eternal life with Him
- Re: the Gospel was written for one purpose: to evangelize
-- To show lost people how to not be and how to have eternal life with Christ
-- The Gospel reveals who the Messiah is, and what we need to do to know Him
- This epistle is to encourage them that they may know they have eternal life
-- It is the “part 2” of John … it’s the “what’s next?” being addressed for us
- In v14 we are reminded (ref Ch. 3) that prayer allows us to come before God
-- Our confidence in prayer is because we are confident in Who our faith is in
-- Re: Prayer has always been, and will always be, God’s thing …
- Warning: Praying for people is a gift, a pleasure, a good thing to do
-- But we cannot treat it flippantly or think that we can misuse it
-- Ex: Someone asks for prayer, you say you will, and then do not
-- In saying you will, what God hears is: “My child will spend time with me”
-- When we don’t, we break the appointment with God (and we lie about praying)
- Therefore, when we come boldly to God in prayer; it’s because we know Him
-- We know that He will provide wisdom and answer; so we go to His will
- When we ask in prayer, we ask in God’s will, and not our own
-- Natural question that gets asked: How do we know the will of God?
• Sometimes scripture makes it really clear for us (ex: don’t sin)
• Sometimes spiritual maturity and discernment guide our prayers
• It requires asking ourselves what would God do in this area
• The will of God will ALWAYS line up and honor scripture
- IMP: Prayer must not be viewed as an attempt to get God to get on our boat
-- This is why v15 is so driving: “we know that we have what we asked of him”
-- We are given what we’ve asked for, as long as it lines up with His will for us
- Most don’t like this – most will argue that God’s “wait” really means “no”
-- But … consider this: looking back on your life, all the prayers you’ve said:
-- Are there unanswered prayers that you are grateful for? Why?
-- Because it is not what you really needed; and He knew it better than you!
- God’s will for us is not our greed or our success … but our wanting of Him
-- It is what should drive us to want more of Him (ref John 3:30)
-- APP: It’s why we can boldly come to Him … b/c He knows
- TRANS: Therefore, if He knows us, then He ought to direct how we should live
∆ Point 2 – God’s Children do not continue to Sin
1) We should pray for a brother who commits sin that does not lead to death;
2) But, not pray for a brother who commits sin that does lead to death?
- Anyone else confused here?
- Let’s see if we can’t unpack this together …
- First question is: What sin will lead to death?
-- There are several possibilities given by scholars and wise-men alike
1) A particularly bad sin that God will not pardon
-- Nothing else in the NT suggests that there is sin that God cannot pardon
-- Peter even cursed and denied he knew Jesus; yet he was restored to grace
-- Some might think that some sins are worse than others, so there is a scale
-- If there is such a sin bigger than God; then is God really God?
2) This could refer to some sort of apostasy; or falling away from the faith
- John 3:9 taught us that: “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.”
-- If you can fall away, you were never a part of the faith in the first place
-- A person who is part of the faith will continue to desire to be closer to God
3) It could be “blaspheming the Holy Spirit”
-- Matthew tells us that this sin is unforgiveable and could not be forgiven
-- Matt 12:31-32, “Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.”
-- But … John addresses this to a “brother”; so that person must be in the faith
4) Lastly, some say that this has to do with the physical death
-- For example, Ananias and Sapphira sinned so bad that God took their life
-- Yet, once a person dies – how can they be prayed for?
-- There is no praying for someone after death; their eternity is sealed forever
-- The Bible makes no mention of an “after-life waiting room” …
- Q: With so many conflicting views, how can we know which one is correct?
-- The answer is actually found in what John continues to speak about here …
- We are to pray for brothers who are sinning; which is in line with God’s will!
- Even Jesus prayed for Peter on the night of his betrayal
-- Luke 22:32, “But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
- We should be willing to do the same for one another; to pray for each other
-- It’s Christian living at its best, and where we will land the plane for this letter
∆ Big Ideas
- John ends with three “we know” statements of affirmation for us to walk with
- Let’s read them together …
∆ Change Slide - Insert 1Jn 5 V18 in slide
- When we are of God, we are made safe and cannot be harmed by the devil
∆ Change Slide - Insert 1Jn 5 V19 in slide
- We are not under Satan’s control as the world is; but under Christ forever
∆ Change Slide - Insert 1Jn 5 V20 in slide
- The Son has come to give understanding which leads to salvation
-- Therefore, when we are in Him, we are made free and have eternal life forever
- So, verse 21 … keep yourselves from things that are not of God
-- Focus intently on living for Him; honoring Him; and desiring more of Him
- Pray
