Victory by: #2 of 3 - Confident Prayer for Regular Church Sinners

Life, Death, and Prayer

(1 John 5:13-19, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, March 5, 2017)

[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. [14] And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. [15] 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. [16] 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. [17] All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death. [18] 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. [19] We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

This morning's passage is not an easy one. To start, we can identify certain matters that John states with confidence, as if we should already understand them, and yet we do not.

1. 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.
2. 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.

Wrong over-extensions of the plain language of these verses might cause us to imagine that John is saying that we can get anything that we want right now even if God is against it, and secondly, that real Christians don't ever sin. Yet these incorrect interpretations are denied in other passages by John and other New Testament writers. John is well aware that Jesus Himself immediately prior to His death on the cross asked for something that He was denied and He added in Luke 22:42, “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” Paul pleaded three times with the Lord in 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 that a “thorn in the flesh” be removed from him, and the only answer he received was, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” On the question of Christians sinning, 1 John 1:8 says plainly, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

A third matter is perhaps more difficult. John refers to “sin that leads to death.” What is this? The apostle instructs his readers that “I do not say that one should pray for that,” that is, to pray that God would give a person “life” who was in a state of “sin that leads to death.” Is he prohibiting prayer of a certain kind or is there something else going on here?

To sort this out, we must understand that the church is the community of holiness and life. To be outside the church is death. In passages such as 1 Corinthians 5, Paul instructs the church that there are certain sins that are so serious that they must be met with humble but uncompromising action for the glory of God, and for the good of the church and also the person stuck in sin. Paul instructs the church regarding a man involved in a very scandalously immoral relationship that “you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.” This is an example of a situation that requires more than prayer. John is not talking about that situation in his remarks about prayer, but about everyday sin.

That you may know

So yes, John knows that we can't always get what we want, that we still do sin (though we should not), and that sins in the church require action that separates an individual from the community of life. See 1 John 2:19 for more on that. With these things said, what is clear within this passage? Think of the context. John is writing in this chapter about the church overcoming the world. Notice verses 13, 18, and 19 in this passage. We overcome by 1) the testimony of God's Word, 2) something that is our main focus today (confident prayer, especially for life for everyday sinning brothers and sinners), and 3) the worship of the true and living God.

What about this confident prayer? Notice verses 14 and 15 for the general point. Even if we join Jesus in rightly saying, “not my will, but Yours, be done,” we should still pray with boldness when we believe that we are asking for that which God wants us to request. We not only have eternal life, but with it comes the privilege of confident biblical prayer. God hears us, and He uses our prayers for the spiritual battle in which we are engaged.

Life with a brother or sister committing a sin not leading to death

Now on to the central matter that could change our lives: We need to care about sin and pray for life. The most important part of this passage is stated in the first part of verse 16. “If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life.”

Consider Job. He cared about sin within the religious unit of his family, and he was commended for turning to God and seeking life for his children. After his children spent time together celebrating, Job had an unusual practice that we read about in Job 1:5. “And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, 'It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.' Thus Job did continually.”

We do not want to see harm come upon our brothers and sisters in the church. If we have a conflict with one of them, do we have the habit of offering up prayers to God for that person, asking God to give them “life” and not death?

Paul wrote to the church in Philippi to thank them for their gift. In the process of completing that task he called out two woman who were quarreling. He said in Philippians 4:2-3, “I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.” Their problem was not their own. Every “true companion” was called upon to “help these women” with the confidence that their “names are in the book of life.”

This starts with bold prayer to God. We ask not only for forgiveness for our own selves but for the whole church by name. We do not want the weight of death to be upon the holy people of life. Unrepentant sin is a burden that none of us can bear. It will drag us down if we do not find a friend to lift us out of the mess. The Son of God is that friend. He can give us life, and we should seek life for one another in prayer. Simple confident prayer is a gift for all those who have been born of God. We should use that blessing for the benefit of our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ, that they might grow toward the abundant life that God has for His children.

Old Testament Reading—Psalm 4 – Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

Gospel Reading—Matthew 6:7-8 – [7] And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. [8] Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.