The First Epistle of John: Lesson Sixty-Eight

"Now, no chastening

seems to be joyful for the

present, but painful; nevertheless,

afterwards it yields the

peaceable fruit of

righteousness to those who

have been trained by it."

Hebrews 12:11

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Good day! Let's begin out time with prayer....

"Holy Father God in heaven, today, Lord, we will look once again at sin and what it does to the believer and non-believer. I thank You, Lord, that you have given us a guide on how to please You: Your word. We bless Your holy name, Lord, and praise You because of Your gift of mercy to us.

I seek forgiveness of my sins because I know my sins have separated me from You and I do not want to be separated from You, Lord. I pray that You will wash me and cleanse me and fill me with Your Holy Spirit this day.

I lift up each woman reading this study today, Lord, and ask that You be with her. Lift her up and give her strength for each new challenge that she will most assuredly face today. Walk with her, encourage her, and fill her heart with Your Holy Spirit and give her peace.

In Jesus' name...amen."

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Confidence and Compassion in Prayer

As we continue to look at the assurance of our salvation through prayer, we will look at how to pray for those believers who are in sin. All of us sin, but we are commanded to pray for one another even if we know a brother is in sin.

That precious gift of prayer is essential to the Christian life. We looked at that last time. But it is essential for the brethren to pray for each other regarding sin.

1 John 5:16-17-

"If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death."

Remember that an overview of chapter five reveals that the word "know" is mentioned 8 times in this chapter alone. "Love" is mentioned 5 times and "born of God" is mentioned 3 times. It is obvious to the reader that John wants his readers to know that they have that eternal life from God through His love for us.

To know something is to have that assurance.

How does chapter 5 relate to chapter 4?

-If we love.....we are born of God.

-If we do not love....we are not born of God.

-If we love God....we obey Him.

Sin is what keeps us from all that God has for us: namely, a life in total communion with Him. Satan's main goal is to interrupt that communion because he knows that the greatest good for humankind is to have communion with our Creator.

To interrupt that communion is what leads us to death.

Ecc 7:17

Acts 5:1-11

In these verses we learn that there is great consequences to sinning against God.

Ps 51:3-4

David acknowledge that even though he sinned against the people, Urriah, and Bathsheba...he ultimately sinned against God.

Like Nathan, sometimes God uses us to convict other believers who are in sin and bring them back to their senses....

1 Cor 5:1-13

Here Paul gives the church in Corinth precise instructions on how to handle those believers in immorality. That church was stuck in the middle of a very corrupt town much like Las Vegas...only worse. People were having sex out in the open and were even including sex acts as part of worship!

It was very difficult for these believers to be set apart...or sanctified....in the midst of all that sexual sin.

1 Cor 15:33

Paul took this saying from a popular Greek play at the time. The Christians in Corinth had been corrupted by all the false teachings around them much like the church today.

1 Tim 1:19-20

2 Tim 2:17-18

Paul warned Timothy, a young pastor, to chasten believers when they have gone astray. Likewise, we Christians are to do the same.

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We learned in our last lesson the importance of asking God for things that are according to His will and in His authority. To pray in "Jesus' name" is to pray this way.

John 14:14

John 16:24

John 15:7

1 John 5:14-15

It is obvious that these verses are connected to each other and do not stand alone.

But we also learned that our sin keeps God from hearing us...not because He can't hear us, but that He doesn't hear us.

John 9:31

Prov 28:9,11

Is 59:1-8

1 Pet 3:7

1 Pet 3:12

Ps 66:18

1 John 3:21-22

We have learned the importance of talking to God and taking all our petitions before Him as long as they are in His will and in His authority.....and He hears us!

Heb 11:6

Matt 21:18-22

Our God is a loving and merciful God who takes care of His children.

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Now lets look at the significance of taking our requests about other believers before the Lord in prayer:

John writes in 1 John 5:16 that those who are "committing sin" (written in the present active participles) that if we pray for such a believer, God will give this person life.

Can a true Christian live in continual habitual sin?

1 John 3:6

Can a Christian sin?

1 John 2:1

In 1 John 5:16, John is writing about "brothers" or other believers who are sinning a sin that does not lead to death ( most commentaries signify this sin leading to death as blasphemy of the Holy Spirit...).

In God's word, we are given instructions to pray for fellow believers.

Gal 5:25-26

Gal 6:1-5

And God tells us about non-believers...

Jer 7:16

Jer 14:11-12

That is why it is most important for the Christian to examine herself daily for sinful behavior. It is most important for us to ask God to examine us for sin daily.

1 Cor 11:20-34

Paul warns for us not to even approach the Lord's table without examining ourselves. If there is unforgiven sin in our lives, deal with it first before coming to the Lord's table. Is there unforgivenss in your heart toward someone? It must first be dealt with before going to the Lord's table.

Or we face great judgment from God.

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After this study on prayer for brethren....what have you learned today about the power of prayer? Take all that you have learned about 1 John 5:16-17 with you today and remember that prayer is further proof of the assurance of our salvation and eternal life.

Take time to praise the Lord for all that He has done for you. And take time to thank the Lord for those who are praying for you today.

(1 John, 2001, Precept Ministries, used by permission)

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Life Application

The power of prayer is a wonderful gift of God. I know that many people have prayed for me and my family over the years. I have been blessed to see my prayers that I lifted up for fellow believers answered.

But sometimes we believers hesitate to pray for other Christians who are caught up in sin. We tend to not want to judge others or interfere. I wish someone had interferred with me when I was caught up in sexual sin!

Gal 6:1-5

Paul commanded us to restore one another in a spirit of gentleness. He commands us to bear one another's burdens to fulfill the law of Christ.

James 2:8-9

I wish now that someone had approached me in love and gentleness and convicted me of my sins. It would have spared me years of pain and emotional scarring. Now when I see other believers living in sin, I tend to speak to them about it.

As our opening verse says, no chastening feels pretty good...for awhile. But we need discipline. Everyone has been near a child who has not been disciplined by the parents. It is difficult to be near a child like that. The parents may think they are doing good for the child by never chastening them, but in the long run they are hurting that child more than they know.

But chastening brings forth that fruit of righteousness. We all have been there! It hurts to be disciplined by parents, teachers, or the Lord. But in the end we are better people for it.

So, remember that part of loving the brethren is to pray for them if they are in sin and restore them spiritually in gentleness and love. Only then can the law of Christ be fulfilled and you will be blessed....and ultimately the church will remain pure before Him.

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Until next time...

"True believers want the best for each other, so if someone stumbles and falls, our hearts do not want to relinquish the possibility that the 'brother' is a true Christian. He may not be a true believer, but we are deeply grieved at that prospect. He was once a part of us but now is outside the church and outside the fellowship....the greatest blessing of intercessory prayer is that you bring glory to God when you pray for others. God wants you involved in the lives of others through intercessory prayer."

-Dr. Joel Beeke (The Epistles of John, 2006, pp. 205 & 207)

Blessings,

Ruth