[0:00] Now if you turn with me this evening once again to 1st John, 1st John chapter 5, we're coming towards the end of our studies in 1st John, and tonight let's read from verse 13.
[0:15] 1st John chapter 5 verse 13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.
[0:27] 1st John chapter 5 verse 13 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.
[1:04] 1st John Well you will have noticed as we've gone through 1st John that he frequently comes up with these words, we know.
[1:17] Sometimes it's you know, here it's we know. 1st John chapter 5 verse 13 This is mentioned by him.
[1:31] Chapter 2 verse 3 for example. By this we know that we have come to know him if we keep his commandments. Chapter 3 verse 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brothers.
[1:46] Chapter 4 verse 16 Now you find again, so we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love. And you come to chapter 5 and verse 2.
[1:58] You find by this we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments. Then verse 13 These things I write to you so that you may know that you have eternal life.
[2:12] And then three further times verses 18, 19 and 20. You'll find a series there of we knows. We know that everyone who has been born of God. We know that we are from God.
[2:24] We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding. There are actually over 30 occasions in 1 John where you find we know or you know.
[2:35] And it reveals to us, it shows to us that one of John's great concerns was that these people, these Christians he was writing to, would have assurance in spiritual matters.
[2:47] That they would come to have a settled mind and an assurance of their relationship with God. They were obviously somewhat rattled by the false teachers that were trying to entice them away from the faith.
[3:01] They were aware as we saw earlier in the epistle of people who had actually gone out from their own number and actually gone to set up or follow this false teaching that had such a false view of Christ and were leading people astray.
[3:17] John was concerned as we've been looking at his epistle to bring those things to these Christians that would bring them to a settled faith and an assurance of their relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
[3:34] And that's important for ourselves. It's important to have eternal life. That's foundationally important to our lives. But John is saying that's very good.
[3:45] That's really essential to have life, to have this life that Jesus, that God gives through Christ. But also it's important to know that you have that life.
[3:57] To be assured that you're in a right relationship with God. Because there are some very important matters following on from that. As we'll see briefly in the passage even tonight.
[4:09] So the passage is really about assurance. It's obvious from what he says in verse 13. It's assurance in regard to knowing that you have eternal life. But that follows through into verse 14 and right through indeed to verse 17.
[4:22] To have assurance or what he calls confidence towards God in terms of prayer. And it's assurance not just of having eternal life. But that follows through logically actually into assurance in regard to our prayers.
[4:37] Because if we know that we have eternal life. Then we know that in relation to God our prayers are heard, our prayers are answered. That we have this facility.
[4:48] And that this is something that we hold as precious. So let's look at these two things. Assurance of having eternal life. Firstly in verse 13. And then we'll go to verses 14 to 17.
[5:01] And we'll see that there are some very difficult things in verses 16 and 17. We'll try and deal with them. And see how they fit into the passage.
[5:13] Assurance of having eternal life. Well he says, I write these things to you. Who believe in the name of the Son of God. That you may know that you have eternal life. And the first thing that meets you there is these things.
[5:26] What does he mean by these things? Is he just talking about what he's just spoken of before that. In verses 6 to 11. The testimony as we saw last time.
[5:36] That God has given of himself and of his Son Jesus Christ. Well there is that. But I think he's really casting their minds back to the whole of the letter that he sent to them.
[5:48] And as we read this ourselves now as part of scripture. God is saying to us, these things I'm writing. I've got this written so that you may know. These things, the whole of what he's written previously.
[6:00] And that's really important in terms of bringing them this assurance. Everything is said. And that's really the purpose of the letter you might say in verse 13. That's a summary of why John wrote this letter.
[6:13] We write these. I write these things to you. So that you may know that you have eternal life. And it's very interesting how that compares with how, as we read in the gospel.
[6:25] How he, as he wrote the gospel. He also specified why he had written that gospel to those that he wrote it to. Where you find in chapter 20 and verses 30 to 31.
[6:37] Now Jesus did many other things in the presence of the disciples. Which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ.
[6:49] The son of God. And that by believing you may have life in his name. In other words, there are two verses there that really encapsulate brilliantly. The purpose that John had in writing his gospel.
[7:02] And also writing this first letter. The purpose of his gospel was to bring people to faith. To bring people to see Jesus in such a way as would place their faith, their trust in him.
[7:16] And therefore, through that would come, as he says, by believing to have life in his name. He wrote the first epistle to those who had done that. And now needed assurance that this is indeed the relationship they had with God.
[7:30] That they had indeed in their possession eternal life. Through faith in Jesus Christ. And you wrote that's really, you could say, a summary of the purpose for which God has given us the Bible.
[7:44] It's not just in terms of John's writings. You could say this applies in principle to the whole of the Bible. The Bible that you have access to. That you have so readily in your possession and I with you.
[7:56] This whole scripture. This whole word of God. What is it about? Why has he given us this Bible? Why is it there? It's there so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ.
[8:10] And that by believing you may have life in his name. But also, so that having believed in his name and come to know eternal life through him.
[8:22] That you may be assured that you have it. Isn't that a most wonderful emphasis? That God is saying, I use this word to bring people to know me.
[8:32] And once they've come to know me, I use the same word to feed their souls. I bring them to me through this word as my spirit blesses it to them. And having blessed them and having brought them to know me.
[8:45] I don't give them another word. I don't give them something extra to the Bible. I feed them through the same scripture. What a wonderful thing the Bible is.
[8:57] And that God's design in giving us the scripture is precisely this. To bring us to have Jesus Christ as our Savior. And having done so, to bring us to assurance that that's where we're at.
[9:12] That that's what we have. Eternal life in him. That's the truth of God, you see. In this Bible, in the scriptures. This is the design of the scriptures.
[9:23] This is their purpose. God has designed them specially. So that they fit with our need. Unconverted to bring us to know Christ. And as converted to bring us to know that we have him.
[9:36] To be assured that God is nothing less than what he says. When he says that through faith you have eternal life. But he talks here.
[9:46] He specifies here as he writes to those people. He says to you who believe in the name of the Son of God. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God.
[10:01] Why is he specifying it as believing in the name of the Son of God? Well, he wrote already in his gospel. You recall that quite near the beginning of the gospel.
[10:13] John chapter 1 verse 12. This is what he said about receiving Jesus. To all who received him. Have he said that he came to his own and his own people did not receive him.
[10:24] But to all who did receive him. Who believed in his name. He gave the right to become children of God. Who were born not of blood. Not of the will of the flesh.
[10:35] Nor of the will of man. But of God. See the same thing repeated there. To those who believed in his name. I write he says to you in the epistle here. To you who believe in the name of the Son of God.
[10:48] Well, the name really is a word which means the whole person. The whole character of Jesus. Because remember, these false teachers that were going around. That were trying to bring them away from trust in the complete Christ.
[11:01] That John himself had been preaching. And had come to know. This is why he is now saying. You believe in the name of the Son of God. You don't believe in part of him. You don't believe in some of his attributes.
[11:12] You don't leave some behind. You believe in the whole Christ. The whole person of Jesus Christ. His Godhood. His humanity.
[11:25] His power. His humility. His death. His resurrection. His ascension to glory. Everything that's revealed about him.
[11:37] John is saying. That's the name of the Son of God. I write these things to you who believe. In the name of the Son of God. That is so incredibly important.
[11:50] In the day and age in which we live as well. Because you know. People pick and choose. What they believe. Or don't believe in the Bible. What they believe and don't believe about Jesus. And some of these people.
[12:00] Like these false teachers. In John's day. Are saying. Well we're Christians. And we're actually more advanced than you Christians. Who believe literally these things of the Bible. Who believe literally that Jesus rose physically from the dead.
[12:11] Who believe literally that Jesus is coming back again. On the day of judgment. We've advanced beyond that. We've advanced into spiritualizing these things. You don't have to believe them historically or factually.
[12:24] Or in terms of a physical resurrection and so on. Well yes you do. The Jesus of the apostles.
[12:36] Is the Jesus for today. And for every day. Whatever is true about him. Is what you believe. And as you believe in Jesus Christ.
[12:47] You believe in his name. You believe in his kingship. You believe in his lordship. You don't actually put a division between what he is as your savior. As the one who forgives your sins.
[12:58] And what he is as the lord of life. You don't choose to say as some would say. Well I'm happy to have him as my savior. To forgive my sin. To cover my sin. To bring me righteousness.
[13:09] And standing before God. But I don't really want him as lord of every aspect of my life. I don't want him to control every facet of my being. If you don't then you don't want to be saved.
[13:20] That's what John is saying. I write to you who believe in the name of the son of God. You know it's important. Not only to ourselves personally.
[13:32] And our own personal relationship with God. That we believe in this whole Christ. That we take this whole Christ. That we have come to embrace and receive this whole Christ.
[13:43] Not a part of him. Not some aspects of him. But all of him. For our own salvation. But also for the honor of God. For the honor of Christ. What are we saying about God? If we're saying that we can reinterpret the resurrection of Christ.
[13:57] So that's less than an actual physical resurrection from the dead. We are dishonoring the veracity. The truthfulness. The repentableness of God's word.
[14:09] And whatever you come across in this world. Believe in the name of the son of God. Believe in the whole Christ. And as Christ is offered to you in the scriptures.
[14:20] As he offers himself to you in the scriptures. He's not doing that so that you can pick and choose aspects of his person. And decide for yourself what you're going to accept and what you're not going to accept.
[14:31] It's the whole Jesus. The whole Christ. Everything that he's revealed to be. You see that's where our assurance begins.
[14:44] As John is saying. I write to you who believe in the name of the son of God. You can't have assurance even to begin thinking about assurance. Until you first of all have acceptance.
[14:54] And your acceptance of this Jesus is acceptance of the whole Christ. No point in asking how can I know that I'm saved if I haven't accepted Christ.
[15:06] You begin there tonight. This great Jesus. This wonderful complete amazing son of God. That's where we begin.
[15:17] That's where our priority is. That's why we ask ourselves. First of all when we come to ask. Where's my relationship to God? How can I see it? How do I know that I have eternal life?
[15:29] Well first of all. Have I accepted Jesus? Have I accepted him as he is in the gospel? Am I pleased with the whole Christ?
[15:42] Would I prefer a Christ of my own choosing? Would I prefer a savior of my own design? One that I think might be more fitting to my needs as I see them.
[15:53] No. John is saying. I write to you who believe in the name of the son of God. The whole Jesus. What a privilege. To have that whole Jesus.
[16:06] Presented in the gospel. And accepted. By faith. On our part. Well that's what he's saying. He's writing to them. And he's writing. That you may know that you have eternal life.
[16:20] He's writing for their assurance to. That they'll know they have eternal life. There are two things at least. I'm going to mention in relation to that. What it implies. This last part of verse 13.
[16:32] That you may know that you have eternal life. First thing it implies is that it's possible to be saved. And yet lack assurance that you're saved.
[16:43] It's possible to be saved. But lack assurance that you are saved. Let me just read from the confession of faith. And question. Not the confession of faith.
[16:55] But the larger catechism. Question 81. Are all true believers at all times assured of their present being in the estate of grace.
[17:06] And that they shall be saved. And it answers. Assurance of grace and salvation. Not being of the essence of faith. True believers may wait long before they obtain it.
[17:19] And after the enjoyment thereof. May have it weakened through manifold sins, temptations and desertions. In other words, that's saying to us, you can be saved and lack assurance that you're saved.
[17:31] Because assurance itself is not necessary for salvation. Faith is necessary for salvation. Trusting in Christ. Faith in Christ is.
[17:42] But assurance is something that alongside of faith may actually rise and fall. Different times in your experience. It's not essential to have assurance in order to be saved.
[17:55] Although it's also closely connected with faith. And that's what it says. As we follow the larger catechism there. But, so it's not, you can be saved yet lack assurance.
[18:06] Maybe that's your case tonight. It's been a problem with many Christians over the years. Some experienced Christians are still hesitant about saying, I'm absolutely sure that I'm saved.
[18:17] I'm sure that my life is right with God so that in Christ I am accepted. That I have the prospect of a glorious eternity and so on. Many, many Christians that can't say that with full confidence.
[18:31] At least not all of the time. But at the same time, although you can be saved yet lack assurance that you are saved, you and I must not make that the norm.
[18:45] We must not rest content with that and say, well, if I follow the teaching of the catechism based on the Bible, that I can be saved without being assured that I'm saved, I'll just leave it at that.
[18:57] You mustn't do that. John is saying, I'm writing this so that you may know that you have eternal life. It's important to him that his readers actually know that they have assurance that they are saved.
[19:09] So, in fact, you don't leave it at lack of assurance as if that was the norm or as if somehow or other that was praiseworthy. You know, there's some people, I've come across them in my ministry, that have really hesitated to say that doubt and lack of assurance are good for you.
[19:33] And that to have full assurance is not such a good thing. That it may lead to overconfidence or whatever. Well, there's nothing in the Bible to suggest that assurance of faith is a bad thing.
[19:45] It's the very opposite that John is saying. I write to you that you may know that you have eternal life. You mustn't think that assurance of being saved, assurance of being in Christ is an enemy of humility.
[20:03] You can have such a thing as making even lack of assurance something to be proud of. And that's not lack of humility. When you come to that point, you've made lack of assurance something of an idol.
[20:19] Something that you feel praiseworthy about. Something that you may feel proud of. No, John is saying, don't do that. Yes, it's possible to be saved, yet lack assurance that you're saved, but don't leave it there.
[20:35] Work towards assurance. Work towards gaining an assurance. Coming to the point where you hopefully come to be assured, if you lack it, that you're saved.
[20:46] That's why question 80 of the larger catechism says, Can true believers be infallibly assured that they are in the state of grace? And that they shall persevere therein to salvation.
[20:59] And it says, Such as truly believe in Christ, and endeavor to walk in all good conscience. Notice how often you find in the catechism this word, and in the confession this word, endeavor.
[21:12] It does away with perfectionism. It doesn't say here, Such as truly believe in Christ, and walk in all good conscience before him. Because those who drew up these great documents knew, that many, many Christians lacked assurance, and lacked the consistency, to walk in all good conscience before God.
[21:31] So this is how they put it. Such as truly believe in Christ, and endeavor to walk in all good conscience before him, may, without extraordinary revelation, you see, that's discounting the charismatic side of things, or the false teachers in John's day that say, Well, if you come up to our level, if you really actually graduate to our understanding, and our level of experience, then you can have assurance.
[21:55] No, John is not saying that at all. Neither is the catechism. It's saying, Without extraordinary revelation. In other words, you have it all in the Bible, everything you need.
[22:06] And by that, by faith grounded on the truths of God's promises, and by the Spirit enabling them. You may come, say a few other things, but you can be infallibly assured, that they are in a state of grace, and shall persevere therein.
[22:22] In other words, John is saying, Yes, you can. The catechism, rather, is saying, You can, and this is really what John is aiming at too, that you may know, that you have eternal life.
[22:35] Well, tonight, the most important thing to ask, and proclamation of what this passage means is, Have you come to receive the whole Christ? Have you made sure that, your trust is in Christ, that you have received, all of who he is, and what he's done, as you find that in the Bible?
[22:56] Have you come to, the acceptance point first? And having come to that, then you come to work toward assurance. Be persuaded that, lacking assurance, is not itself the same as being unsaved.
[23:11] But don't rest with that. Look to God, look to his word, look to gain further assurance. Ask God to give you, more assurance that you have, than you have, if you lack it.
[23:23] Come to God, and ask for his spirit, to help you, as the catechism says, to persuade you, that this is really, who you are, and what your relationship, with God is.
[23:35] Assurance of having, eternal life. And you know, isn't it a marvelous thing, that this whole Christ, is the one that is speaking, these words to us tonight, through his spirit.
[23:49] This wonderful, complete Christ, and all that he is. And what is, what's that saying to us? Well, he is saying really, don't put a limit, to what you receive.
[24:02] Don't put a limit, to what you receive, when you receive this Christ. You're receiving, eternal life. And you're being persuaded, of eternal life, when you come to assurance.
[24:14] I write these things to you, who believe in the name, of the Son of God, that you may know, that you have, eternal life. You may be able, to say tonight, I know that I haven't, yet accepted him.
[24:31] I just keep on, refusing to do that. I keep turning, away from him. There's something, in my heart, that still, rebels against, receiving Christ.
[24:44] Maybe you're saying, I'm afraid to do that. I have so many fears, against, giving myself, wholly into the hands, of this Jesus.
[24:55] Are we seeing, of all of this Jesus, what about the implications, of that? What will that do, to my life? What will that do, to my relationship, with other people? To those I work with, to my family, to my friends?
[25:08] What are the implications, of not having him? Remember the last word, of the previous passage, whoever has the son, has life.
[25:21] Whoever does not, have the son of God, does not have life. One of the great, priorities, in preaching the gospel, that we seek, to follow out, in the preaching, of the gospel, here in this pulpit, is to urge people, to receive Christ.
[25:40] Urge people, to believe in his name. To accept, the whole Jesus. Not to be afraid, to do so. Not to listen, to any other voice, that says, don't do it yet.
[25:53] It's absolutely, imperative, that you have him. That you have him, without delay. So here's the first thing, assurance, of having eternal life.
[26:04] But then he goes on, to assurance, for prayer, verses 14, through to 17. And this is the confidence, that we have towards him. He means, by confidence, say the confidence, of a child, to a parent.
[26:16] Cast your mind back, to chapter 3, verse 1, where he says, this is the kind of love, that the father has given us, that we should be called, children of God. And so we are. Verse 3, beloved, now we are, the children of God.
[26:31] And that's what he's saying, we have confidence, we have that boldness, of children, who are not afraid, to come to their father, with requests. And he's saying, we know that, this is the confidence, we have towards him, that if we ask anything, according to his will, he hears us.
[26:49] And we know, that he hears us, in whatever we ask. If he hears us, in whatever we ask, we know that we have a request, that we have asked on him. Well, he's saying, if we ask anything, according to his will, he hears us.
[27:05] Now, don't think that, that narrows things down, so much. As if you were listening, to those people out there, who will tell you, on Twitter, or wherever else it may be, or even to your face, prayer is just a waste of time.
[27:20] You're just narrowing, your life so much, when you think, that your life, has to be directed, by prayer to God, a God, who doesn't exist. Why spend your life, why waste your time, praying, to a God, who doesn't exist.
[27:32] That's the kind of thing, you face in the world, isn't it? So much of it, about in different forms. Well, here's John saying, this is the confidence, that we have, towards him. That if we ask, anything, according to his will, what is his will?
[27:48] His will, is basically this, God's will, is, ask, anything you like. That I say, is proper to ask, God is saying, that's what's open to you.
[28:01] Can you imagine, how wide, how great, how eternal, the will of God is, for his people? Can you imagine, that there are, restrictions, that we human beings, can actually place, upon the will of God, when he has willed, eternal life, for his people?
[28:20] When he has willed, to look after them? When he has willed, to be their father? When he has willed, everything in the Bible, that is revealed, to be his will? Is that narrow?
[28:33] Is that restricting, your life? Of course not. You have access, to this eternal God. You have access, to his will, for salvation, which, has at the very heart, of it, the person of Christ, the whole Christ.
[28:52] Don't listen, to these ideas, that somehow, you're restricting, your life, that this Christian faith, is a repressive thing, that just holds you back, and holds you down.
[29:04] Can anybody, truly believe, when you have Christ, in your possession, this whole Christ, this gigantic Savior, the Son of God, when you have, the will of God, and all that it contains, for good, and for blessing, to his people, can you say, that's far too restrictive, I need to just follow, my own will, human will, is puny, and narrow, let alone, calling it sinful.
[29:33] Here is John saying, if you ask anything, according to his will, he hears us. Of course that means, there are things, that God says, is not proper, for us to ask.
[29:45] things that would be, improper to ask, but what he is really, emphasizing is, the whole of what he has, positively willed, for the good of his people, it's open to you in prayer.
[29:58] And you can come before God, and say, Lord, this is what I would seek, this is what I would like, this is what, not I would like, but I would like, because you have willed it, for your people.
[30:08] And we know that, he hears us in whatever we ask, or if we know, he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the request, that we have asked of him.
[30:20] Now, that's somewhat difficult, and the passage goes on to, even more difficult parts, but, what he means by this, is something like this. When we bring our wills, up to God, you see, we don't take the will of God, and bring that down, to our will, so that we're just making, requests of God, as we see things, as our will would have it.
[30:40] We have to raise, our will up to God, and say, thy will be done. And that will, is as we said, so enormous, so huge. Everything we need, is in that.
[30:52] But, he's saying here, that, our prayers, what he's saying effectively, is, our prayers, are received, at once. We have, the request, that we have asked of him.
[31:04] When he hears, he immediately, receives that. Even if, the actual answer to it, will be somewhat further on, in our experience.
[31:17] I just think, let's just, briefly mention Daniel, chapter 10 of Daniel, I'll just, refer to it, without going into it in detail, because the time is passing. But, in chapter 10 of Daniel, Daniel was there, troubled, and mourning, for three weeks.
[31:33] And, we can't imagine Daniel, mourning for three weeks, without praying, and fasting. And, indeed, that's what he says, I ate no delicacies, no meat, or wine, entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself, at all, for the full three weeks.
[31:48] And, after that period, behold, he says, a hand touched me, and set me trembling, on my hands and knees, and he said to me, O Daniel, man greatly beloved, understand the words, that I speak to you, and stand upright, for now I have been sent to you.
[32:04] When he had spoken this word, I stood up trembling. Then he said, Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day, that you set your heart to understand, and humbled yourself before God, your words have been heard, and I have come, because of your words.
[32:21] The prince of the kingdom of Persia, withstood me, twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there, with the kings of Persia, and came to make you understand, what is to happen, to your people in the latter days, for the vision is for days, yet to come.
[32:40] In other words, what that's saying to us, is that, these great angelic figures, these angels, these chief angels, they were involved in, taking Daniel's prayer, or taking the answer to Daniel's prayer, back to himself.
[32:53] But this figure, this particular angel, had said to him, remember this is three weeks, after Daniel began to pray, and now the answer has come, I have come to bring God's response to you.
[33:10] He said, the king of Persia, withstood me. See, these are, the king of Persia, just like the other princes, the other princes, that he mentions, are these figures, in the angelic, or spirit world.
[33:26] Do we realize, should we do, but do we realize, to the extent that we should, that when we are praying to God, we are actually causing tremors, in the spiritual heights above.
[33:39] We are causing tremors, within the domain of Satan himself. Because when you pray to God, that registers, in the principalities, and powers, that have, that have, an opposition to us, and seek, to thwart the answer, to our prayers.
[33:57] When you pray, don't imagine, nothing is happening, just because you haven't had a reply, or haven't had a response, to what you specifically pray for. You don't know, what's happening, in the unseen realms above.
[34:12] There may be angels, wrestling against the evil powers, in order finally, to bring your prayer to its, fulfillment. These are mysteries of God.
[34:24] But that's what Daniel was told. And here is John saying, we know that, if we know that he hears us, in whatever we ask, we know, that we have, the requests, that we have asked of him.
[34:38] He hears, and it's with him, from the moment we ask. And how wonderfully, encouraging that is, to pray, to prayer.
[34:50] Soon as you pray, as a believer in Christ, however much you may lament, the weakness of your faith, or anything else about your life, you pray sincerely, in the name of Christ, and seriously, and earnestly to God, it's there.
[35:08] You know, sometimes you send for something, online, and very often you see, receive an instant reply, to your purchase. You purchase something, so you get, a proof, you get an instant reply, saying, the goods have actually, been set apart, or whatever, registering your purchase.
[35:26] Might be some time, after that, when you get another email, saying, your goods have now, been dispatched. That's how it is, with prayer. Whenever you put your prayer, up to God, you get a registering, with him.
[35:42] It's there, it's marked, it remains with him. And it may be, some time after, that, you get the message, or in some way, come to know, that your prayer, has been answered, that the reply is on its way, or reached you.
[36:00] It's, important that we don't lose, our focus, for prayer, because we're praying, to this great God. The God who instantly hears, who accepts the prayer, and who answers, in his own time.
[36:15] And then he goes on, to very difficult verses, let me just see, I don't want to leave them, I know the time has passed, and for the young ones here, tonight. It's great to see you, and to see that you're here tonight, I know this may be a bit longer, than you're used to, but let me just see, if we can finish this in a word.
[36:31] He says here, if anyone sees his brother, committing a sin, not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life, to those who commit sins, that do not lead to death. There is sin, that leads to death, I do not say, that one should pray for that.
[36:44] All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin, that does not lead to death. Now this has given rise, to a whole lot of speculations, different views, that I'm not going to mention, or going to. The key to it, seems to me, to be, in the false teaching, that John was facing.
[36:59] Because the false teachers, were basically saying, in different ways, it does not really matter, what we do, that involves our bodies, or the physical side, of our being, it is our soul, that really matters.
[37:11] And our soul, is not affected. If our body is defiled, and so be it, the body is going to die. And our soul, is not affected, and that is what is really important. And different ways, we have seen through the letter, how he said, very early on in the letter, if we say, that we have not sinned, we deceive ourselves.
[37:30] If we say, that we have not sinned, we make him a liar. There is sin, he says, that leads to death. For example, their view of Christ. They are dividing Christ, up into, what was acceptable, not acceptable to themselves.
[37:43] Well he is saying, that leads to death. You don't have the Christ, that is offered in the gospel, or if you have a Christ, of your own making, that leads to death. Or as he says elsewhere, whoever believes, that Jesus is the Christ, has been born of God.
[37:59] If we refuse, he is saying, the false teachers are saying, don't believe that, Jesus is the Christ. He was just an ordinary human being. Well here we are saying, John is saying, there is sin that leads to death.
[38:14] That's why I'm saying earlier, make sure that you've received this Christ, this whole Christ, for yourself. Because receiving him, believing in him, you do have eternal life.
[38:28] And John is saying, I'm writing that you may know this. So here is, an assurance for, our prayers as well. That in, the case of, all wrongdoing, which is sin, there is a sin, that does not lead to death.
[38:46] And so the important thing, for us tonight, is to realize that God, is faithful and just, as earlier in the epistle, to forgive our sins, if we confess them. And to cleanse us from all, unrighteousness.
[38:59] Let me just finish with one verse, from Proverbs. Proverbs chapter 28, and verse 23, one of the, first texts that I ever tried, to preach from. I've not looked back over it, I wouldn't like to, necessarily do that now, but, it's a wonderful text.
[39:16] Proverbs 28, 13. Whosoever, covers his sins, shall not prosper. But whoever confesses, and forsakes them, will obtain mercy.
[39:31] Whoever covers his sin, will not prosper. That's the opposite of confessing. That's trying to cover your sin yourself. And you'll not, he says, prosper.
[39:44] But whoever confesses, and forsakes them, that's bringing them to God, to confess them. What is it saying? He shall obtain mercy. Instead of trying to cover them, yourself.
[39:57] Confessing them, and saying to God, Lord, you please cover them. You please hide them, from your sight. You cover them, in your forgiveness.
[40:11] And then, I shall be saved. Let's pray. Lord, our God, we pray that your blessing, will follow your word. And once again, we give thanks, that you bring before us, the entirety of your person, the glory of your person, the wonder of your salvation.
[40:29] Accept our prayers, and our worship, we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Well, we'll sing in conclusion, from Psalm 118.
[40:41] That's on page 155. And verses 1 to 7, which in this time, is Herongate.
[40:52] Oh, thank the Lord, for he is good, his steadfast love endures always. Now let the house of Israel say, his love will last, through endless days. And I did mention the children there tonight, and it was a bit longer than usual, so it's really wonderful to have you, and to have you as part of the service tonight.
[41:13] And thank you for that patience. So, Psalm 118, verses 1 to 7, Oh, thank the Lord, for he is good. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[41:24] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[42:02] God let the hearts of the angels sing. His love forever will endure.
[42:19] May those to hear the Lord be here. His love will stand forever true.
[42:37] I cry in anguish to the Lord. He answered me and said he'd be.
[42:53] The Lord is with me and all here. All time can be the new to me.
[43:11] The Lord is with me constantly. He is the one who is the age.
[43:28] I look with triumph on my own. I will not be to thee afraid.
[43:46] Well as indicated as you know from the intimations. We won't be going to the door for the meantime. Now may grace and mercy and peace from God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be with you now and evermore.
[44:00] Amen.