1 John 1:1-10
1 John 1:7
1 John 1:9
1 John 2:1
1 John 2:15
1 John 2:15-16
1 John 2:16
1 John 2:28
1 John 3:1-3
1 John 3:2
1 John 3:6,9
1 John 3:8
1 John 3:9
1 John 3:10
1 John 3:18
1 John 4:2-3
1 John 4:4
1 John 4:10
1 John 4:20
1 John 5:11ff
1 John 5:11-12
1 John 5:11-13
1 John 5:13
1 John 5:14
1 John 5:16
Topic : 1 John
1 John 1
Afraid of the Light
We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark, the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light. - Plato
1 John 1:1-10
Rationalizing Sin
The well-loved author Corrie Ten Boom, in her autobiography, The Hiding Place, made a keen observation about the futility of rationalizing our sins. She said, “The blood of Jesus never cleansed an excuse.” Although we are fully justified as Christians, we must honestly acknowledge wrongdoing for what it is—sin against a holy God. If we hide behind excuses, we will neither sense His forgiveness nor gain the victory over evil habits.
A woman said to her pastor, “I’m deeply troubled about a problem I know is hurting my testimony: I exaggerate. I always seem to enlarge a story until it’s all distorted. People know they can’t trust me. Can you help me'
The minister said, “Let’s talk to the Lord about it.” She began to pray, “O God, Thou knowest I have a tendency to exaggerate.” At this point the preacher interrupted, “Call it lying, ma’am, and you may get over it!” The woman began to weep, because she knew he was right. She had been trying to make “lying” acceptable, and her excuse-making had made praying about it nearly impossible.
All of us are prone to cover up our sins by giving them polite names. Bad temper is said to be “nerves” or “righteous indignation,” untruthfulness is labeled “harmless exaggeration,” and dishonesty is dignified by calling it “good business.” To grow in grace, we must put aside all rationalizing and get to the heart of the problem. The blood of Jesus does not apply to excuses, but it has the power to cleanse any sin. - H.G.B.
1 John 1:7
Making Decisions in the Dark
Making decisions in the dark can lead to some regrettable consequences. Let me illustrate. Back in the days before electricity, a tightfisted old farmer was taking his hired man to task for carrying a lighted lantern when he went to call on his best girl. “Why,” he exclaimed, “when I went a-courtin’ I never carried one of them things. I always went in the dark.” “Yes,” the hired man said wryly, “and look what you got!” - D.J.D.
The Robber
When evangelist John Wesley (1703-1791) was returning home from a service one night, he was robbed. The thief, however, found his victim to have only a little money and some Christian literature.
As the bandit was leaving, Wesley called out, “Stop! I have something more to give you.” The surprised robber paused. “My friend,” said Wesley, “you may live to regret this sort of life. If you ever do, here’s something to remember: ‘The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin!’“ The thief hurried away, and Wesley prayed that his words might bear fruit.
Years later, Wesley was greeting people after a Sunday service when he was approached by a stranger. What a surprise to learn that this visitor, now a believer in Christ as a successful businessman, was the one who had robbed him years before! “I owe it all to you,” said the transformed man. “Oh no, my friend,” Wesley exclaimed, “not to me, but to the precious blood of Christ that cleanses us from all sin!”
Havergal, Hymn Writer
The hymns of Frances Ridley Havergal have greatly blessed the church. She wrote such songs as “Who is on the Lord’s Side?” “Like a River Glorious,” “I Gave My Life for Thee,” and “Take My Life and Let It Be.” She was not always a happy Christian, however. As F. J. Huegel pointed out in his book Forever Triumphant, she was plagued by depression. Perhaps overly sensitive to faults in her life, she was a defeated believer who lacked the joy that should characterize every forgiven child of God. Huegel says, “She walked with bowed head. Romans 7 seemed to be her lot.”
One day she had a life-transforming experience, however. Huegel says that the Lord led her into the joy and blessing described in Romans 8. A great crisis marked her entrance into “the promised land of a life of fullness and victory.” She was reading her New Testament in the Greek, as she often did. When she came to 1 John 1:7, she discovered from the tense of the verb that the blood of Christ keeps on cleansing the believer who walks in the light.
Says Huegel, “The result for Frances Havergal was a mighty revolution. A new day dawned. She would no longer be sad because of her faults and blemishes. She would rejoice because of the infinite efficacy of the Savior’s atoning death.”
1 John 1:9
Tell It to the Church
I would let no man take confession away from me, and I would not give it up for all the treasures of the world, since I know what comfort and strength it has given me.
Honest Prisoner
Prussian King Frederick the Great was once touring a Berlin prison. The prisoners fell on their knees before him to proclaim their innocence—except for one man, who remained silent. Frederick called to him, “Why are you here?” “Armed robbery, Your Majesty,” was the reply. “And are you guilty?” “Yes indeed, Your Majesty, I deserve my punishment.”
Frederick then summoned the jailer and ordered him, “Release this guilty wretch at once. I will not have him kept in this prison where he will corrupt all the fine innocent people who occupy it.”
1 John 2:1
My Advocate
In a poem entitled “My Advocate,” Martha Snell Nicholson dramatically portrays the adequacy of Christ’s atoning work on the cross. She wrote:
I sinned. And straightway, posthaste, Satan flew
Before the presence of the most High God,
And made a railing accusation there.
He said, “This soul, this thing of clay and sod,
Has sinned. ‘Tis true that he has named Thy Name,
But I demand his death, for Thou has said,
‘The soul that sinneth, it shall die.’
Shall not Thy sentence be fulfilled? Is justice dead'
Send now this wretched sinner to his doom.
What other thing can righteous ruler do?”
And thus he did accuse me day and night,
And every word he spoke, O God, was true!
Then quickly One rose up from God’s right hand,
Before whose glory angels veiled their eyes.
He spoke, “Each jot and tittle of the law
Must be fulfilled; the guilty sinner dies!
But wait—suppose his guilt were all transferred
To Me, and that I paid his penalty!
Behold My hands, My side, My feet! One day
I was made sin for him, and died that he
Might be presented faultless at Thy throne!”
And Satan fled away. Full well he knew
That he could not prevail against such love,
For every word my dear Lord spoke was true!
Do you sometimes wonder how God could accept you? Look again to your Advocate. God is satisfied with His sacrifice, and no accusation of Satan or of your conscience can undo the completeness of Christ’s work. - D.J.D.
He who died as our substitute lives as our advocate.
Looking Upwards In A Storm
God of my life, to Thee I call,
Afflicted at Thy feet I fall;
When the great water-floods prevail,
Leave not my trembling heart to fail!
Friend of the friendless and the faint,
Where should I lodge my deep complaint,
Where but with Thee, whose open door
Invites the helpless and the poor!
Did ever mourner plead with Thee,
And Thou refuse that mourner’s plea'
Does not the word still fix’d remain,
That none shall seek Thy face in vain'
That were a grief I could not bear,
Didst Thou not hear and answer prayer;
But a prayer-hearing, answering God
Supports me under every load.
Fair is the lot that’s cast for me;
I have an Advocate with Thee;
They whom the world caresses most
Have no such privilege to boast.
Poor though I am, despised, forgot,
Yet God, my God, forgets me not:
And he is safe, and must succeed,
For whom the Lord vouchsafes to plead.
1 John 2:15
Quote
The Christian is not ruined by living in the world, but by the world living in him.
The Crane and the Swan
An old fable tells about a crane that was wading in a stream looking for snails when a beautiful swan landed nearby. The crane had never seen a swan before, so he asked, “What are you?” “I’m a swan,” came the reply. “And where did you come from?” the crane inquired. “Heaven,” the swan answered. “What is that?” asked the crane. The swan eagerly began to explain its beauty and glory. He spoke of the new Jerusalem, the city of pure gold with a jasper wall and pearly gates. He described its “pure river of water of life, clear as crystal.” At that point the crane interrupted, “Tell me, are there any snails in heaven?” “No, I’m afraid not,” the swan said. “Then I don’t care to go there,” the crane stated decisively. “I like snails!”
Can you see how some people are like that crane? They are so enamored by earthly possessions that they fail to appreciate the eternal riches of Christ and all He has to offer. Like the rich young ruler in Mark 10, they foolishly choose the things of earth instead of the wonderful realities of heaven.
1 John 2:15-16
Worldliness
The Bible defines worldliness by centering morality where we intuitively know it should be. Worldliness is the lust of the flesh (a passion for sensual satisfaction), the lust of the eyes (an inordinate desire for the finer things of life), and the pride of life (self-satisfaction in who we are, what we have, and what we have done).
Worldliness, then, is a preoccupation with ease and affluence. It elevates creature comfort to the point of idolatry; large salaries and comfortable life-styles become necessities of life. Worldliness is reading magazines about people who live hedonistic lives and spend too much money on themselves and wanting to be like them. But more importantly, worldliness is simply pride and selfishness in disguises. It’s being resentful when someone snubs us or patronizes us or shows off. It means smarting under every slight, challenging every word spoken against us, cringing when another is preferred before us. Worldliness is harboring grudges, nursing grievance, and wallowing in self-pity. These are the ways in which we are most like the world.
Resource
- A Holy Rebellion, T. Ice & R. Dean, Harvest House, 1990, pp. 59ff
Lust
- The lust of the flesh: sensualism
- The lust of the eyes: materialism
- The pride of life: egotism
(Vernon Grounds)
- The lust of the flesh: passion
- The lust of the eyes: possessions
- The pride of life: position
(S. Briscoe)
Resources
- God Came Near, Max Lucado, Multnomah Press, 1987, p. 95, The desire to enjoy things, the desire to achieve things, the desire to get things.
- Commentary in Satan is No Myth, J. O. Sanders, Moody, 1975, pp. 50ff
Enemies
- The World: external enemy
- The Flesh: internal enemy
- The Devil: infernal enemy
1 John 2:16
Resource
- John White, The Fight, pp. 80-1
1 John 2:28
Ashamed at his Appearing
Donald Grey Barnhouse told a story he read in a London newspaper about a divorce case heard in the courts of that city. A wealthy young man had gone away to war soon after he was married. His new bride wrote him of the demanding schedule she had to keep as a nurse in a certain hospital. Apologizing for her infrequent writing, she explained that she was spending a great deal of time with the wounded. Some months later when the man was scheduled for leave, a friend suggested, “Don’t announce your coming. Slip in quietly.”
Arriving in London, the young man went directly to the hospital, but his wife was not there. He then went to their house, where he was told by the servants, “Oh, she will probably be at the tea dance at the Ritz.” Going there, he found her in the company of another man. How shocked and ashamed she was at her husband’s appearing!
1 John 3:1-3
Unprepared
A small boy, Paul Hailey lived in Denver, suffering from terminal cancer. President Dwight Eisenhower often vacationed in Denver and learned of this boy’s illness. One day he drove up to the lad’s house in the presidential limousine. His father came to the door, unshaven, hair uncombed, blue jeans, dirty T-shirt. The President gave Paul a gift, picked him up, and took him out to see the limousine. Within 20 minutes the President was gone, and all the neighborhood was abuzz with the excitement of the visit. All except for Paul’s father.
1 John 3:2
Resource
- Leadership IV, 3, p. 95, Another World
Comfort in Death
Charles Simeon, the great 19th-century English preacher, lived in this hope to the day of his death. As he lay mortally ill in his Cambridge home, he realized that his time on earth was fast slipping away. He turned to those at his bedside and asked, “Do you know what comforts me just now? I find infinite consolation in the fact that in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” His friends asked him how that thought could give him solace as he faced death. He answered with the confidence of one about to meet his Lord, “Why, if God can bring all the wonder of the worlds out of nothing, He may still make something out of me!” - P.R.V.
Eyesight Restored
William Dyke was a rich Englishman who had been blind since early childhood. After acquiring his wealth, he fell in love with one of England’s most beautiful young ladies. Soon they were engaged and a date was set for the wedding. Shortly before the anticipated event, Dyke submitted to a new surgical procedure that specialists said would restore his sight. Since his bandages had to stay on until the day of the wedding, the couple decided to have them removed during the ceremony. When the day arrived, William Dyke nervously took his place in the church. Soon the bride approached the altar on the arm of her father. Then came the dramatic moment when the doctor removed the last covering from Dyke’s eyes. As the groom’s eyes grew accustomed to the light, the first sight he beheld was the face of his beloved. As their eyes met, he exclaimed in wonder and joy, “At last!” - P.R.V.
1 John 3:6,9
God Too the ‘Want To’
“Whosoever is born of God doth not commit (that is, practice) sin; for his seed remaineth in him and he cannot sin, because he is born of God” (1 John 3:9).
It is the grace of God working in the soul that makes the believer delight in holiness, in righteousness, in obedience to the will of God, for real joy is found in the service of the Lord Jesus Christ. I remember a man who lived a life of gross sin.
After his conversion, one of his old friends said to him, “Bill, I pity you—a man that has been such a high-flier as you. And now you have settled down; you go to church, or stay at home and read the Bible and pray; you never have good times any more.”
“But, Bob,” said the man, “you don’t understand. I get drunk every time I want to. I go to the theater every time I want to. I go to the dance when I want to. I play cards and gamble whenever I want to.”
“I say, Bill,” said his friend, “I didn’t understand it that way. I thought you had to give up these things to be a Christian.”
“No, Bob,” said Bill, “the Lord took the ‘want to’ out when He saved my soul, and he made me a new creature in Christ Jesus.”
When we are born of God we receive a new life and that life has its own new nature, a nature that hates sin and impurity and delights in holiness and goodness.
Resource
- Difficult Passages in the Epistles, R. Stein, Baker, 1988, p. 52
1 John 3:8
Defeated Enemy
A friend and associate of boxers, American writer Wilson Mizner was himself a talented fighter. One night Mizner and boxer “Mysterious” Billy Smith visited a San Francisco bar, where Mizner started a fight with some longshoremen. At the end only one longshoreman was left standing. Although Mizner rained punches at him, he stayed obstinately upright. Suddenly, Smith noticed what was happening. “Leave him alone, Wilson!” he shouted. “I knocked him out five minutes ago.”
On investigation it turned out that a punch from Smith had indeed knocked the longshoreman out cold, but had also wedged him vertically between two pieces of furniture.
Here’s an accurate picture of our already-defeated but still standing enemy Satan!
1 John 3:9
Resource
- A. T. Robertson, Minister., p. 99
1 John 3:10
Moral Behavior of Christians
A study conducted by The Roper Organization for High Adventure Ministries in 1990 found that the moral behavior of born again Christians actually worsened after their conversions. Examined were incidences of illegal drug use, driving while intoxicated and marital infidelity.
The problem can be solved, says one researcher, with a new commitment to accountability and discipleship.
1 John 3:18
Love in the Abstract … Not the Concrete
A story about a professor of psychology illustrates the difference between showing love and simply talking about it. The man had no children of his own, but whenever he saw a neighbor scolding a child for some wrongdoing he would say, “You should love your boy, not punish him.” One hot summer day the professor was repairing his concrete driveway. Tired after several hours of work, he laid down the trowel, wiped the perspiration from his forehead, and started toward the house. Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a mischievous little boy putting his foot in the fresh cement. He rushed over, grabbed him, and was about to spank him when a neighbor leaned out his window and said, “Watch it, Professor! Don’t you remember? You must love the child!” At this, he yelled back furiously, “I do love him in the abstract, but not in the concrete!”
Poor Widow
In his Treasury of Quotations, F. B. Proctor told the following story: A man was trying to get financial help for a widow who was in dire need, but his efforts were meeting with very little success. Even so, most of the people he contacted did express their regret over the sad situation of the poverty-stricken woman. The concerned man, refusing to give up, had high hopes as he approached a wealthy acquaintance, but he too refused to offer help. In declining the request, the rich man said, “I do want you to know, however, that I really feel sorry for that poor woman.” The one who was asking for the money responded, “I’m sure you do. But I’m afraid you don’t feel it in the right place.” “Oh, yes, I do,” the man replied, “I feel it very deeply in my heart.” The other responded, “That’s the problem. You feel it in the wrong place. I just wish those feelings were also in your pocket.”
1 John 4:2-3
Resources
- Difficult Passages in the Epistles, R. Stein, Baker, 1988, p. 131
- Taking The Guesswork Out of Applying The Bible, Jack Kuhatschek, IVP, 1991, pp. 40ff
1 John 4:4
Death Plot Failed
John G. Paton, a missionary to the South Sea Islands, often lived in danger as he worked among the hostile aborigines who had never heard the gospel. At one time three witch doctors, claiming to have the power to cause death, publicly declared their intentions to kill Paton with their sorcery before the next Sunday. To carry out their threat, they said they needed some food he had partially eaten. Paton asked for three plums. He took a bite out of each and then gave them to the men who were plotting his death.
On Sunday, the missionary entered the village with a smile on his face and a spring in his step. The people looked at each other in amazement, thinking it couldn’t possibly be Paton. Their “sacred men” admitted that they had tried by all their incantations to kill him. When asked why they had failed, they replied that the missionary was a sacred man like themselves, but that his God was stronger than theirs.
From then on Paton’s influence grew, and soon he had the joy of leading some of the villagers to the Lord.
1 John 4:10
Constant Hope and Strength
When a godly Christian became seriously ill, several friends gathered around his bedside to ask God to restore him. The last one to pray spoke of the faithful service of this man, and concluded his petition by saying, “Lord, You know how he loves You.” After a moment of silence, the sick believer said to him, “I know you meant well, but please don’t plead for my recovery on that basis. When Lazarus was ill, Mary and Martha sent for Jesus, but their request was not based on his affection for Christ. They said, ‘Lord, he whom You love is sick.’ It’s not my weak and faltering allegiance to Him that calls forth His attention, but His perfect love for me that is my constant strength and hope.”
The same thought was forcefully impressed on hymn writer Philip Bliss one day after he finished singing, “Oh, How I Love Jesus.” “These words are true,” he said. “Yet I feel guilty for having sung so much about my poor love for Christ and so little about His endless love for me.” As a result, he wrote a song that is well known today. It reads,
I am so glad that our Father in heaven
Tells of His love in the Book He has given;
Wonderful things in the Bible I see—
This is the dearest, that Jesus loves me.”
Yes, our greatest comfort in life or in death is not that we love Him, but that “He loved us” (1 John 4:10). - H.G.B.
His Love for Us
A devout Christian was taken seriously ill. In his weakened physical condition, he became vulnerable to Satan’s attacks and began to have many doubts and fears. He was especially troubled about the lack of love he felt in his heart for God, so he asked the advice of a fellow believer who called on him. His friend offered this wise counsel: “When I go home, I expect to take my baby girl on my knee, look into her sweet, trusting eyes, and listen to her delightful chatter. I’ll do this because I thoroughly love that child. She’s just an infant, and she loves me very little. If my heart were breaking, her innocent sleep would not be disturbed. If my body were racked with pain, her play would not be interrupted. Even if I were to die, she’d probably forget me in a few days. But all the money in the world could not buy my little daughter. And why? Does she love me, or do I love her? Do I withhold my love until I know she feels the same toward me? Certainly not! I love her because she’s my child.”
The illustration spoke to the sick man’s heart. Tears began to well up in his eyes. “Now I see!” he exclaimed. “It’s not my love for God but His love for me that I should be thinking of. Oh, I do love Him now as never before!” - H.G.B.
1 John 4:20
Part of the Package
There is a natural, logical kind of loving that loves lovely things and lovely people. That’s logical. But there is another kind of loving that doesn’t look for value in what it loves, but that CREATES value in what is loves. Like Rosemary’s rag doll.
When Rosemary, my youngest child, was three, she was given a little rag doll, which quickly became an inseparable companion. She had other toys that were intrinsically far more valuable, but none that she loved like she loved the rag doll. Soon the rag doll became more and more rag and less and less doll. It also became more and more dirty. If you tried to clean the rag doll, it became more ragged still. And if you didn’t try to clean the rag doll, it became dirtier still. The sensible thing to do was to trash the rag doll. But that was unthinkable for anyone who loved my child. If you loved Rosemary, you loved the rag doll—it was part of the package.
“If anyone says ‘I love God’ yet hates his brother or sister, he is a liar,” (1 John 4:20) “love me, love my rag dolls,” says God, “including the one you see when you look in the mirror. This is the first and greatest commandment.”
1 John 5:11ff
The Portrait
The story is told of a wealthy man who lost his wife when their only child was young. A housekeeper was hired to take care of the boy, who lived only into his teens. Heartbroken from this second loss, the father died a short time later. No will could be found; and since there were no relatives, it looked as if the state would get his fortune.
The man’s personal belongings, including his mansion, were put up for sale. The old housekeeper had very little money, but there was one thing she wanted. It was a picture that had hung on a wall in the house—a photo of the boy she had loved and nurtured. When the items were sold, nobody else wanted the picture, so she bought it for just a few pennies. Taking it home, she began to clean it and polish the glass. As she took it apart, a paper fell out. It was the man’s will, and in it he stated that all his wealth should go to the one who loved his son enough to buy that picture.
1 John 5:11-12
Comic Relief
I’ve been intrigued by a television advertisement for life insurance. It’s about a businessman who thinks that he was almost hit by a car. Somewhat ruffled, he says, “Whew, that was close! I didn’t think I was going to make it.” Suddenly two men in white suits join him on the busy street, and one of them replies, “You didn’t!” The three then engage in some light talk as they begin walking together. The businessman remarks that at least he has peace of mind because he knows his family is covered by insurance. then they all mysteriously walk through some solid objects to show that they are now existing in a new dimension. The real punch comes in the last line of the ad, however, as the man and his two escorts are riding an escalator up into the clouds. It is then that you hear him say with relief, “I’m sure glad we’re going up!”
That last line was meant to provide some comic relief, but for the thoughtful person it raises the serious issue of heaven and hell. It reminds us of Jesus’ words in today’s Scripture that not all people are “going up.” He said that in the resurrection some would come forth unto the resurrection of life and some unto the resurrection of damnation. Jesus is the only One who can five us eternal life. When we place our trust in Christ, who died for us, He assures us of an eternal home in heaven. - M.R.D. II
1 John 5:11-13
Not My Feeling
A man once came to D. L. Moody and said he was worried because he didn’t feel saved. Moody asked, “Was Noah safe in the ark?” “Certainly he was,” the man replied. “Well, what made him safe, his feeling or the ark?” The inquirer got the point. “How foolish I’ve been!” he said. “It is not my feeling; it is Christ who saves!”
1 John 5:13
Nagging Doubts
Many Christians are buffeted by nagging doubts about their salvation. They long for some reassuring word—some evidence that they are truly saved.
An elderly man said to H. A. Ironside, “I will not go on unless I know I’m saved, or else know it’s hopeless to seek to be sure of it. I want a definite witness, something I can’t be mistaken about!” Ironside replied, “Suppose you had a vision of an angel who told you your sins were forgiven. Would that be enough to rest on?” “Yes, I think it would. An angel should be right.” Ironside continued, “But suppose on your deathbed Satan came and said, ‘I was that angel, transformed to deceive you.’ What would you say?” The man was speechless. Ironside then told him that God has given us something more dependable than the voice of an angel. He has given His Son, who died for our sins, and He has testified in His own Word that if we trust Him, all our sins are gone. Ironside read 1 John 5:13, “You may know that you have eternal life.” Then he said, “Is that not enough to rest on? It is a letter from heaven expressly to you.” God’s Spirit used that to bring assurance to the man’s heart.
1 John 5:14
God’s Will Better Than Ours
Here you ask: Do you mean to say that this promise is always true even though God often does not give what we have asked for? As His Word shows, it is certainly His will to deliver you from all evil, not to leave you in temptation, and to give you your daily bread. Otherwise He would not have commanded you to pray for these things. If you pray in this way—that all may go according to His will—then your prayer is certainly heard. Therefore when in trouble and danger, you should certainly pray for deliverance and help, but in the way the Lord’s Prayer teaches you—if it tends to hallow His name and please His will; if not, that He will act as He sees best. If it is not heard according to our will, then it is heard according to the will of God, which is better than ours.
1 John 5:16
Fearful Prospect
The “sin unto death’ is, in context, a sin committed by a Christian “brother,” not an unbeliever, and so is not the so-called “unforgivable sin,” the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Christ said the latter sin cannot be forgiven, “neither in this world, neither in the world to come” (Matthew 12:32). It is the ministry of the Holy Spirit to convict unbelievers “of sin, because they believe not on me” (John 16:8-9). If a person irrevocably rejects Christ, even after he fully understands the evidences of His deity, His substitutionary death with its offer of salvation, and the awful consequences of eternity without Him, then he “hath done despite to the Spirit of grace” (Hebrews 10:29). In effect, he has put his faith in Satan rather than Christ, and there is nothing more that God’s Holy Spirit can—or will—do. This is the truly unforgivable sin.
The Christian can persist in some known sin, though not the sin of total unbelief or willful apostasy; a true Christian will not commit that kind of sin. If he deliberately continues to practice ungodliness in life or doctrine, however, refusing to repent, not even responding to God’s chastening discipline (note Hebrews 12:5-11), then the only recourse of the Lord may be to send physical death, although not eternal spiritual death, for such a person is delivered “to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (1 Corinthians 5:5).
This is a fearful prospect even for the believer, and should be a sober warning against persistence in any known sin. “He shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire” (1 Corinthians 3:15).
Sin Unto Death
The verse reads, “If any man see his brother sin a sin which not unto death, he shall ask, and He shall give him life.” (1 John 5:16). This situation in Corinth illustrates this principle. God chastened some believers who sinned in Corinth with a sickness that led to their physical death (1 Corinthians 11:30). This may also be the “like measure” taken in James 5:14, 15. In cases where chastisement results in physical death, prayer will not succeed in turning away the divine rod of chastening. These believers, as was true of Ananias and Sapphira, do not lose the salvation of their souls, but their physical life on earth is ended. But if the sin is not “unto death” as God’s form of chastisement, we can pray for the fellow believer and God will restore him.
The “sin unto death” is not a single, isolated act, but one that has been repeated over and over again by the disobedient child of God. The words “If a man see.” seem to indicate that the sinning involved some overt action, probably something that affected the entire assembly of believers.
Sin Leading to Death
The Scriptures teach there is no sin that God cannot forgive. “Whoever believes in [Jesus Christ] should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
Even as Christians we may sin against God. When we do, God disciplines us, as a father disciplines his erring children. “Those whom the Lord loves He disciplines” (Heb. 12:6).
God may discipline us through physical sickness, although not all sickness is the result of specific sin. God may also give us mental frustration or a lack of inner peace. As a last resort, God may remove us by physical death. This happened to some in Corinth who misused the Lord’s Supper (I Cor. 11:30; cf. John 15:2).
The apostle points out in 1 John 5:16 that believers can sin to the point that God’s judgment is physical death. The Greek shows he is talking about sin, though not a specific sin. This should remind us to respond immediately when God disciplines us.
No Need to Pray
In my judgment, 1 John 5:16 echoes Jeremiah 11, and similar texts in that book. Israel had returned to the sins of their forefathers and, God says, “refused to listen to my words.” The people were joined to their idols. According to 2 Chronicles 36:16, “They mocked God’s messengers, despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets. until there was no remedy.” So the Lord says to Jeremiah, “Do not pray for this people because I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their distress.” The sin unto death is determined, open rebellion against God by a person who once professed to know and love Him.
John says that we need not pray for such a person. There is no remedy.
Resource
- Difficult Passages in the Epistles, R. Stein, Baker, 1988, p. 146
