Well, good morning, church.
Would you turn with me to the book of 1 John, chapter 5.
So we've come to the end of our sermon series in the book of 1 John.
That's page 959 in the Pew Bible.
We're going to be looking at the last section of chapter 5, verses 13 through 21.
We'll also have it on the screen when I read it in just a minute.
But before we read, before I read for us, let me pray.
Father, we ask for the work of your Holy Spirit now as we draw near to your word.
That he would come and he would give understanding to our minds,
but also a receptivity of our hearts to really receive what it is you're saying to us
for our good and for our spiritual benefit.
Father, most of all, we want to see Christ, our Savior, in a fresh way
and behold him with the eyes of faith
and know how wide and long and high and deep is your love for us in him, our Savior.
We pray this in his name. Amen.
All right.
John 5, 13 through 21.
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 this is the confidence that we have toward him.
If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask,
we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
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 a sin.
There is sin that leads to death.
I do not say that one should pray for that.
All wrongdoing is sin,
but there is sin that does not lead to death.
We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning,
but he who was born of God protects him,
and the evil one does not touch him.
We know that we are from God,
and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
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.
He is the true God and eternal life.
Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
So throughout this letter,
John has been trying to bolster our confidence,
our assurance,
that in Jesus Christ,
in the biblical gospel,
we have eternal life.
Like the gospel of John,
the first letter of John ends with a purpose statement.
John's gospel, you might remember,
that we read earlier in the service,
John's gospel ends this way.
In John 21, 20, 31, we read,
these are written so that you may believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that by believing,
you may have life in his name.
In other words, the gospel of John
is written to help unbelievers
come to faith in Christ
and so have eternal life.
The letter of 1 John, on the other hand,
was written to believers
to give them assurance of the eternal life
that they have already in Christ.
We see that in 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.
John wants us to know,
to be assured,
to be confident
that in Jesus,
we have eternal life.
And this assurance,
this confidence,
is a good thing.
You know, we tend to think
that confidence will lead to arrogance,
don't we?
But proper Christian confidence,
assurance,
does just the opposite.
It leads to humility
and joy
and love.
Because this assurance
isn't really a confidence
that's rooted in ourselves
or our own abilities,
not even in our own faith.
No, it's a confidence
that's rooted
outside of ourselves
completely
in Christ.
He's our confidence.
So John wants to leave us
with an exhortation
to live
in this confidence.
Live
in the confidence
that in Jesus the Son,
you have
eternal life.
Now, what does this confident
life
look like?
Well, that's what John
kind of shows us
as he wraps up
his letter.
First, he says,
it means living
in the confidence
that God hears us.
Living this confident
life of assurance
in Jesus Christ
means living
in the confidence
that God
hears us.
He hears
our prayers.
We see this in verses
14 through 17.
God hears
our prayers.
Now,
nearly every
religion,
in every approach
to spirituality
has something
to say about prayer,
whether it's
the meditation
of Buddhism
or the set
prayers of Islam
or the Psalms
of the Old Testament.
In fact,
one way to
approach the question
of the religions
and to ask
which religion
might be true
is to ask
which one
gives the best
account of prayer?
Which one
gives us
the greatest
incentive to prayer,
the greatest
freedom in prayer?
prayer?
Because after all,
what is prayer?
Prayer is
communion
and communication
with God.
It's fellowship
with the divine.
And if you can
find a religion
that unlocks
that door,
perhaps you
have found
the real one,
the true one.
prayer.
The poet
George Herbert
in his poem
about prayer
captures some
of the wonder
and the promise
and the desire
that we have
as humans
for prayer.
In one line,
he calls it
God's breath
in man
returning
to his birth.
What a wonderful
picture
of the intimacy
of prayer.
God's breath
in us
returning
to our birth.
But then
in another line,
George Herbert
calls it,
calls prayer
reversed thunder.
That is something
so full of power
that it can
shake the heavens.
Is there any religion
that can get us there?
Which one opens
the door
on this most basic
of human longings
for genuine,
real prayer?
Well, if you
compare religions,
you'll start to see,
I think,
that Christianity
sweeps the field.
For here's a religion
that says,
God is utterly
holy,
beyond words.
The God of the Bible
is transcendent
and mysterious,
full of fire
and all.
But this utterly
holy God
has come near.
He's opened
the door
of the heavens,
he's pulled
the curtain back,
and he's made a way
for flawed
human beings
to approach
his holiness
with confidence.
The Father
has sent
the Son
to remove
the barrier
of sin
through his death
on the cross.
And then they've
sent the Spirit
to cause us
to be partakers
of the divine nature,
members of the divine
family.
For all who believe
in Christ,
prayer is now
the act
of children
approaching
a loving God
who has embraced
a sinful world
with both arms
and yet has not
compromised
one ounce
of his holiness
and transcendence.
After all,
for prayer
to really be prayer,
don't you need both?
Prayer isn't prayer
if God isn't
holy
and transcendent
and full of wonder.
prayer.
The finite
touching the infinite
is the very thing
that prayer speaks of
that we want.
So any religion
that makes God
less than perfectly
awful
in his holiness
can't really offer
us true prayer.
But for prayer
to really be prayer,
God must also
be near
and approachable.
There must be
intimacy.
There must be
intimacy.
But how do you
get both?
Christianity
answers that
question
like none
other.
It answers
the question
of prayer
with the cross.
At the cross,
we see a God
so holy
that human sin
has to be punished.
But at the same
time,
at the cross,
we see a God
so merciful
that he pays
the punishment
for sin
in his very
own being.
You see,
friend,
only the gospel
can really
give you
true prayer,
intimate
fellowship
with a holy
God.
Only Jesus Christ
can usher you
into the presence
of a blindingly
transcendent God
and let you
be welcomed
as a familiar
friend
or a beloved
child.
God.
And when you
come to believe
and trust
in Christ,
then prayer
becomes
what Herbert
talked about.
On the one
hand,
God's breath
in man
returning to
his birth.
The intimate
breathing in
and out
of a beloved
creature simply
enjoying
fellowship with
our creator.
And on the other
hand,
it's reversed
thunder.
It is the
finite touching
the infinite.
It's a sound
on earth
that rattles
the heavens
and moves
mountains.
And look at
what John
says in our
passage.
He says,
if you are
in the sun,
Jesus Christ,
verse 14,
this is the
confidence that
we have
toward God.
That if we
ask anything
according to
his will,
he hears us.
And if we
know that
he hears us
in whatever
we ask,
we know
that we
have the
requests that
we have
asked of
him.
God hears
and answers
our prayers
as we pray
according to
his will.
We know
that he
hears us,
John says.
How could
he not
hear us?
God gave
his only
son for us.
God filled
us with
his own
spirit.
There could
be no more
intimate bond
between a
human and
God than
what the
gospel offers.
But John
says he
doesn't just
hear.
God answers.
He says we
know we
have the
requests.
Now of
course,
the apostle
John knows
that often
our prayers
seem to go
unanswered.
We pray
for peace,
but often
our anxiety
remains.
We pray
for a loved
one to get
well,
but so often
they remain
sick.
So how can
John say
that we
have the
requests?
Well notice
on the one
hand that
John says
we are to
ask according
to his
will.
God reveals
his will
in scripture
and as we
pray in
line with
scripture,
our prayers
will be
directed toward
the ends
that God
desires and
we will see
him make
good on
his faithful
promises.
God, as
our sovereign,
wise,
heavenly
father,
friends,
he knows
how to
answer our
prayers
better than
we do.
We pray
for peace,
but peace
doesn't seem
to come.
and yet
in those
moments of
trial and
strife when
the prayer
seems
unanswered,
our sovereign,
wise,
loving,
heavenly
father is
preparing
something greater
for us.
Something that
if we knew
all that God
knew,
we would
agree that
God is
indeed granting
our requests
exactly as it
should be
answered.
And this
means we
can pray
freely
and
confidently.
It means we
don't have to
get all the
words right
when we
pray.
It means we
don't have to
get all of
our motivations
right before
we pray.
Just pray,
Christian.
God hears
you,
and he will
answer in the
perfect way,
at the perfect
time.
One specific
way that
John,
applies this
confidence in
prayer,
is to our
praying for
one another
in verses
16 and
17.
Now,
you probably
thought when
we were
reading those
verses that
they were a
bit confusing,
right?
What does
John mean
by a sin
that leads
to death
and a sin
that doesn't
lead to
death?
It's not
100% clear
what exactly
John means
by that.
In church
tradition,
this has
sometimes been
explained as
a distinction
between mortal
sins and
venial sins.
mortal sins,
it is said,
are the
really bad
ones,
adultery,
murder,
and the
like.
Venial sins,
we're told,
are the
not so bad
ones.
But that
doesn't seem
to be what
John is
saying here,
and that
distinction
doesn't seem
to find much
support in
the rest of
the New
Testament.
I mean,
after all,
King David
and the
Apostle Paul
both stand
out as
examples of
an adulterer
and a
murderer who
are both
forgiven and
healed.
So what
is this
distinction
that John
makes?
Well,
in the
context of
1 John,
it would
seem that
sin that
leads to
death is
the sin
of entrenched
denial that
Jesus is
the Christ.
An
entrenched
denial that
Jesus is
the Christ.
Throughout
this book,
John has
been warning
against false
teachers who
have been
unsettling the
church by
teaching false
things about
the person
and work of
Jesus.
So it would
seem to make
sense that as
John wraps up
his letter,
he's offering
again some
warnings and
some direction
on how to
approach this.
This sin,
this entrenched
denial of
Jesus as the
Christ,
inevitably leads
to death.
Why?
Because in
rejecting Christ,
these false
teachers are
rejecting the
only source
of God's
freely given
forgiveness.
Apart from
Christ incarnate,
crucified,
and risen,
where will
they find a
substitute for
their sins?
Where will
they find a
sin bearer who
lifts the
penalty of
death?
Where will
they find a
righteous record
freely,
freely given
to them so
that they might
be right with
God?
It can't be
found anywhere
else.
And so to
actively deny
Christ is
to commit a
sin that
necessarily leads
to death.
But why does
John say,
I do not say
that one should
pray for that?
That seems a bit
odd.
Is he saying
that we shouldn't
pray for someone's
conversion?
I mean,
haven't there
been many people
who at one time
rejected Christ
only to have
their eyes
opened by
the grace
of the Spirit
and the preaching
of the gospel
and then come
to repent
and believe
in him?
Sure.
Every Christian
in this room
that has been
true.
So what does
John mean?
Well, this is
one of those
verses in the
New Testament
where we can't
be exactly sure.
But if I had
to make a wager,
I think what
John might mean
here is,
don't pray
for these people
as if they
were believers.
In the first
part of the verse,
John is encouraging
us to pray
for our fellow
believers.
To pray for our
fellow believers
when they're stuck
in sin.
That God would
grant them life.
And that life
that God grants
might look different
in different
situations.
Perhaps life
looks like the
strength to
overcome temptation
in a particularly
stressful season.
Perhaps life
looks like conviction
of sin and repentance
when a brother or
sister doesn't
see the trap
that they're in.
Perhaps life
looks like the
joy of breaking
free from a
destructive pattern
of sin once
and for all.
Our prayers
for one another
as Christians
should include
prayers that we
overcome sin
in our lives.
If our prayers
simply stay at
the level of our
material,
physical needs,
then we're
missing such a
big part of our
intercession for
one another
prayer and the
freedom that God
wants to bring
through our
prayers for each
other.
But John may
be saying here
that for the
person that
actively openly
rejects Christ,
perhaps teaches
actively even against
the truth of the
gospel, John's
saying our prayers
have to be
different in that
case.
We can pray for
their conversion,
of course, but we
can't pray for
their sanctification.
That is their
growth in holiness.
By rejecting
his son, they're
still separated
from God.
Friend, if that
is you this
morning, if you're
harboring rejection
in your heart
towards Christ,
will you hear
John's warning?
This is a path
that leads to death.
Now, I don't
know why or how
you came to
think as you
do about
Jesus.
Perhaps you've
been hurt by
so-called followers
of Jesus and
now you want
nothing to do
with him.
Perhaps you've
not really spent
much time
considering Christ
and the idea
of God taking
human nature to
die for your
sins, it all
seems irrelevant.
Whatever it is,
would you look
again?
Would you look
again at Jesus
Christ?
Yes, those who
take up the
name of Christ
often tragically
fall short, but
he will never
fail you or
forsake you.
Perhaps religion
feels irrelevant
and boring, but
you know, Jesus
Christ himself was
never accused of
being irrelevant or
boring.
Read the Gospels
for yourself.
People had all
sorts of things to
say about him.
Some people called
him crazy.
Some people called
him demon-possessed.
At the end of
his life, there
were a lot of
people recognizing
him as a
political threat.
But no one ever
seemed to call
Jesus boring.
And then there
were those who
heard his voice
and saw in him
a mercy and a
holiness like
nothing else.
And the more
they spent time
with him, the
more they were
driven again and
again to one
conclusion.
the very conclusion
he himself kept
telling them and
showing them in a
hundred different
ways.
That he was the
Christ.
God in the flesh,
the Redeemer and
their Lord, the
long-awaited King of
Israel and the
King of all
nations.
Friend, you can
know that you have
eternal life.
you can know that
God hears you and
loves you and
answers your
prayers.
How?
You can know
this in Jesus
Christ.
This is true for
everyone who's
placed their trust
in him and it
can be true for
you too.
That's what John's
telling us.
But this
confidence in
Christ means
that God doesn't
just hear us.
He also protects
us.
He doesn't just
hear us.
He also protects
us.
This is John's
second point.
We can have the
assurance, the
confidence that God
protects us from
evil and we should
live in this
confidence of God's
protection.
Look again at
verses 18 and
19.
John says,
we know that
everyone who has
been born of God
does not keep on
sinning, but
he who is born
of God protects
him and the
evil one does not
touch him.
We know that we
are from God and
the whole world lies
in the power of
the evil one.
You know,
according to the
Bible, the world
is a spiritually
charged place.
There's real evil
in the world.
There are
principalities and
powers at work.
But there's also
real evil in our
own hearts.
We live in a
fallen world and
we carry this
fallen nature
inside of us as
well.
And apart from
God's gracious
intervention, we're
captive to those
fallen desires.
You know, we're
thrown into life and
we think that we're
free, but actually
we're enslaved.
The drive for money
and success or love
or power, we think
we control it and
then we find that it
controls us.
It's like a
snowball that keeps
gaining momentum as
it rolls down the
hill, getting bigger
and bigger, and
suddenly it's out of
our control.
It's an avalanche.
But God doesn't
leave us there.
God does graciously
intervene, and he
has intervened in
Christ.
Those who are in
Christ, John says,
have been born of
God.
They don't belong to
the world anymore.
They've been set free
from the power of the
evil one that holds
sway over the world.
And the power of
internal sin has been
broken in those who
have been born of
God.
John says, everyone
who's been born of
God does not keep on
sinning, but he who is
born of God protects
him.
Now this has been a
theme throughout the
letter of 1 John.
And you'll remember
that when John says we
don't keep on sinning,
he means it's not our
life anymore.
That habitual control
that sin once had over
us is broken.
Yes, Christians will
still be tempted, and
yes, we will still
sadly give in to
temptation at times.
But we don't enjoy sin
like we used to.
A change has happened.
Now we're convicted of
sin.
We want to leave it
behind us, and we find
that more and more our
lives change.
Never perfectly, never
in a straight line.
Sometimes not always
perceptible to us.
Usually through the
help of Christian
brothers and sisters
coming alongside of us.
But over time, we do
change.
How does this happen?
What keeps us on the
new path?
What guards us from the
old habits and the dark
powers that lay behind
them?
John says,
he who was born of God
protects you.
What a wonderful
assurance.
That is, Jesus, the
living and risen King,
the eternal Son of God,
personally protects you.
He surrounds you with his
sovereign might and his
tender love, and he
won't let anything harm
you.
Why?
Because you, Christian,
are his beloved.
Do you know the old hymn
that we sing sometimes?
The church's one foundation
is Jesus Christ, her Lord.
She is his new creation by
water and the word.
Do you remember how the
second half of that first
verse goes?
From heaven he came and
sought her to be his holy
bride.
With his own blood he bought
her, and for her life he
died.
Friend, if that is true,
surely he will keep on
protecting you to the very
end.
Guarding you, keeping you,
making sure you arrive safely
home in the new
heavens and new earth.
So what is this confidence
we have?
What is this confidence that
John wants to joyfully live
out as we leave this
letter?
First, that God hears us.
Second, that God protects
us.
And third, that he gives us
understanding of what's
really real.
We see this in verses 20
through 21.
He gives us understanding of
what's true, what's genuine,
what's really real.
Let me read those last two
verses for us again.
And we know there's that
note of confidence that John
wants to leave us with.
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.
He is the true God and eternal
life.
Little children, keep yourselves
from idols.
You see, the confidence that
Christ brings isn't just about
prayer or spiritual protection.
It's about being in touch with
what's true and genuine and real.
We live in an age when it's hard
to tell what's real, isn't it?
You know, when you can fire up
chat GPT and almost be led to
think you're interacting with a
real person.
Perhaps it's getting harder
than ever.
But spiritually speaking,
counterfeits have always been
around.
There have always been idols
masquerading as the real thing,
promising power and happiness
and love, but in the end,
never able to deliver.
But Christ is different.
He has come and given us
understanding.
Not just that we might know
him who is true, but notice,
John says, so that we might be
in him who is true.
That's the promise of the
gospel.
Not just that we know what's
real, but that we become more
real ourselves.
To be in him who is true.
true.
You see, a deep principle of the
spiritual life is that we become
like what we worship.
If we worship what's transient and
fake, we will become transient and
fake ourselves.
If we worship a parody of the true
God, we will become a parody of a
true human.
But Jesus Christ has come.
And as John says, he is true God
and eternal life.
In beholding Christ, we behold God
in all his reality.
And in beholding Christ, the true
God, we become truly human, who we
were created to be.
Irenaeus, the church father, is
sometimes quoted as saying, the glory
of God is man fully alive.
In other words, when humanity is
recovered from the fall and restored
in dignity and beauty and living in
the full flourishing that God
intended, then we will see how
glorious God truly is.
When his work of redemption is
complete, then God's glory will be on
display, not just as creator, but as
redeemer.
God is glorified in us when we are
most alive in him.
God is glorified in us when we are
in us when we are in us when we are
in us when we are in us when we are in
us when we are in us when we are in us.
We must look to Christ.
He is the true God and eternal life, and
there are no substitutes and no rivals and
none that compare.
Everything else is a mere idol.
That's why John ends his letter with that
seemingly strange, but when you think
about it, utterly fitting note.
Little children, keep yourself from idols.
The whole letter, he's been trying to
distinguish for them what's true and
what's fake.
And having exalted the true God in
Jesus Christ, he says, now go forth and
stay away from everything that's going to
lead you from him, from all the cheap
substitutes and facsimiles that this
world offers.
So when we want to know what's real and
what's lasting, we can have the deep
assurance and confidence that when we
look to Christ, we see it.
This is the assurance that we have in
him, that looking to Christ, we see what's
most real, what's most genuine, what's
most permanent.
And so, even if we find ourselves as
Christians out of step with the world at
times, we don't let that discourage us.
The kingdoms of this world are passing,
friends.
His kingdom is forever.
It can't be shaken and it cannot fail.
And fixing our eyes on him, we know
that we will be heard when we pray,
protected when we walk.
But best of all, beholding the glory of
the Lord, we are being transformed into
the same image from one degree of glory
to another.
For God who said, let light shine out of
darkness, has shown in our hearts to
give the light of the knowledge of the
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
That is the joyful assurance we have in
him.
That is the confidence of knowing Christ.
And John says, go church, live it.
Let's pray.
Father, we take a moment and just pause
quietly before you, asking you to come by
your spirit, speak to us what needs to be
spoken, and work these truths down into
the corners of our heart.
And we humbly ask that you would give us this
assurance, this confidence.
We know that it is a gift from you.
And you say that if human parents know how to
give good gifts to their children, how much
more will you, our Heavenly Father, give the
Holy Spirit to those who ask?
Thank you.
And that's a good joke.