DATE: 8-27-23
SERIES: 1 John
SERMON: Confident Prayer, Confident Faith
TEXT: 1 John 5:14-21
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Take notes here
As always it’s good to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time or are joining us at our North Main Campus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.
If you have your Bible — please turn with me to First John chapter five — we’re finishing up our time in this book as we look at verses fourteen through twenty-one together today. And — while you’re finding First John chapter five — let me remind you — for the last time — why the apostle John wrote this letter. He wrote it so that Those who believe in God can know that they have eternal life.
In First John chapter five — verse thirteen — we read, 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. - 1 John 5:13 (ESV)
And each week — in this series — we’ve discovered ways we can know if we believe and have eternal life — a series of tests that John’s given us to examine our faith. For example — back in the first chapter — we learned that our love for one another multiplies when our lives are centered on Jesus — for John says he wrote this letter so that our joy may be complete. - 1 John 1:4b (ESV)
Meaning our joy — as a family of believers — will find its completion — its fullness — when you and I unite together with our eyes, hearts, minds, and passions all centered on Jesus. And us collectively having a laser focus on Jesus — implies that we’ll live in a particular way — for John gives us expectations of how the gospel changes a person and how it shapes a community of believers. One of the expectations being that — since God is light — those who believe in him walk in his light. John writes, But if we walk in the light, as he (that’s God) is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. - 1 John 1:7 (ESV)
Another expectation — that John gives us — is that true disciples are lovers not haters — they obey God’s commandment to love one another — a love for each other because of their love for God. And their love for God comes at the expense of how they used to love the world — for another test — to see if our faith is legitimate — is whether or not we love the world. For John warns us, Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. - 1 John 2:15 (ESV)
And — not only do we not love the world — John’s told us that true believers overcome the world. We overcome everything the world throws our way because of our faith in Jesus. And — by that — I mean — that a person’s relationship with Jesus gives them the power to overcome the things of this world like fear, doubt, struggles, and depression — for a person’s relationship with Jesus gives them an amazing promise of joy, hope, and life that’s better than they dare to dream.
And this is possible because true followers of Jesus persevere in their faith — even as we live in the last hour — God’s people persevere in our faith. For we live in an age of abandonment — people leaving the faith to chase after all sorts of things to the detriment of their soul. Yet we persevere by having confidence in Jesus’ return. For — when he returns — there will be some who stand confident before him and others who will shrink away in fear — and — our confidence — comes from knowing that we’re God’s children.
But — until that day — we hold fast to the truth that Jesus’ perfect work enables us to fight against sin for the glory of God. As John tells us, By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. - 1 John 3:10 (ESV)
John continues by reminding us that — since Jesus laid down his life for us — we must love one another. He writes, For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. - 1 John 3:11 (ESV)
And — we love one another — because — God first loved us. And — knowing that God loved us first helps us to conquer our fears — including our fear of God’s judgment. For fear of God’s judgment is overcome by true belief in his love for you. Meaning your fears — including the fear of death — can be conquered — it can be defeated — by believing in God’s love for you.
We’ve also seen many controversies that false teachers were spreading in this local church. Thus John warns his recipients that deception is possible — so we must test what we believe — including what we’re taught in the church — just as we’re to test our personal beliefs about Jesus — in the context of Christian community — and — equally important — we should test what we’re taught by the world.
And this idea of deception is what we find in the closing verses of our letter. For John wraps up his letter with a warning about the dangers of worshiping anything other than Jesus.
Here are the words found in First John chapter five — beginning in verse fourteen.
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. 20 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. 21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. - 1 John 5:14-21 (ESV)
Would you consider yourself to be an idol worshiper? Now — not to brag — but I think I know your answer. So let’s compare my question with something that — Christian or not — I know you talk about every year. How many of us annually participate in a conversation around the topic of people not knowing how to drive in winter weather? Now — I know — it’s August — how dare we start to think of those gloomy, gray, wintery days so soon — but stick with me for a moment.
What’s gonna be the topic of discussion the first morning the roads are icy or we get some snow? We all know — we’re gonna complain about how bad people are at driving in winter weather. Why? Because that’s what we all do.
But here’s the real question: Who are the people who don’t know how to drive in winter weather? I ask — because — everyone seems to think that it’s other people. It’s never them, right? I mean — you drive great — no matter the road conditions, right? We all think everyone else is a bad driver — not us — it’s them.
So back to my original question: Would you consider yourself to be an idol worshiper? I don’t know many who’d admit this about themselves. Maybe it’s because we often think of idols as something African tribes use — like voodoo dolls — or something from ancient times — like Greek and Roman gods — but — maybe our problem is that we’re blind to the idols of our own day and age.
You see, idolatry is simply worshiping something other than Jesus. And — just like bad winter driving — we easily see idolatry in others — but don’t see it in ourselves. It’s those people who struggle with idolatry — not me.
Now — you may be wondering — “Why all of this talk about idolatry?” Well idolatry is John’s focus at the conclusion of his letter. Did you notice how John ends his letter quite abruptly and somewhat strangely? He doesn’t end with a farewell — no goodbye — no “I hope to see you soon” — he ends with a command — which we find in the final verse: Little children, keep yourselves from idols. - 1 John 5:21 (ESV)
Now the reason why this last verse seems both abrupt and strange is because this is the first time John’s used the word “idol” in his letter — and he ends with it. And it’d seem ridiculous for John to bring up a brand new idea in the last sentence of his letter without further explanation, right? It seems like John was thinking, “I know I haven’t mentioned this in the previous one hundred and four verses, but now that I’m wrapping this letter up — how about you all stay away from idols while you’re at it.”
But maybe John isn’t bringing up a new idea — maybe he’s giving us a summary of his entire letter in one brief four word command: Keep yourselves from idols.
So — as we conclude this letter — we’re going to see how we keep ourselves from idols, how we keep others from idols, and we’ll end with a promise from God.
But — first — how do we keep ourselves from idols? We keep ourselves from idols by living out of our new birth.
Look with me in verse eighteen. John writes, We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God (that’s Jesus — and he does what to those who’ve been born of God? He…) 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. 20 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. - 1 John 5:18-20 (ESV)
We keep ourselves from idols by living out of our new birth. Now — previously in this series — I’ve tried to help us understand what our new birth is — so we won’t go into the specifics again — instead — let’s look at three implications of a life that’s experienced the new birth.
The first implication — of being born of God — is that you do not keep on sinning. Look with me in verse eighteen. We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning… - 1 John 5:18a (ESV)
Now what could John mean here — and is he contradicting himself — because — back in chapter one — he wrote, If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. - 1 John 1:8 (ESV)
So which is it John — does a person born of God not sin or are we deceiving ourselves?
First, John’s saying that to be born of God — means you have a new life — a new way of living — even in regards to sin. And — second — and this isn’t as easily seen in our English Bibles — but John isn’t implying that Christians never sin — what he’s saying is that Christians don’t make it a “habit to sin” — Christians don’t “live in sin.” We fight sin — if you remember — by the power of the Holy Spirit — and we live out of our new birth.
Tim Keller is helpful here. He said, What he (John) is saying is when you’re born again, you don’t continue in sin the same way. You don’t continue to go on sinning the same way. Here’s what he means. Do you have a problem with anger? Do you have a problem with jealousy? Do you have a problem with shyness? Do you have a problem with anxiety? Do you have a problem with these things? If you really have your mind changed under the new spiritual awareness and you really have your heart changed and your fundamental allegiance and identity changed, then there will be a change. If you go on and you say, “I’ve been born again,” and yet weeks, months, years go by…no change in the anger, no change in the jealousy, no change in the irritability, no change in all these things, you’re not born again. If you just go on the same way, if you just continue and you don’t change, you haven’t been changed to the foundation, because your behavior comes from the heart. The anger and the anxiety and the jealousy and all that, is because something is more important to you than Jesus at that point, something besides Jesus is functioning as your god. - Tim Keller
And that’s the essence of idolatry — something is more important to you than Jesus — something besides Jesus is functioning as your god.
And this means that idolatry is dangerous — leading to our next observation — which is — in being born of God — you are protected by Jesus. Again, verse eighteen states, 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. - 1 John 5:18 (ESV)
What a reassuring promise: Because you are born of God — you’re protected by Jesus. And notice how John takes the idea — of being born of God — and shows how it climaxes in Jesus Christ. For Jesus is God in the flesh. Jesus is “he who was born of God” — the firstborn of all Creation. He is the One through whom all things exist and have their being. And Jesus is the One who protects all who’ve been made alive by God’s Spirit through a new birth. And notice the extent to which we’re protected — John says that the “evil one does not touch him” — “him” being the follower of Jesus.
Now this doesn’t mean we won’t suffer. This doesn’t mean we won’t experience the wounds of the spiritual war we’re part of. What this means is that — ultimately — our eternal life is secure because we’re protected by Jesus Christ — thus our future is secure. For his power protects us from the greatest desire our Enemy has for us — that we’d not have eternal life. But eternal life is guaranteed to all who’ve been born of God — and it’s guaranteed because we’re protected by Jesus. And this eternal protection is something all human hearts long for — yet — this promise of protection — is true for all who’ve been born of God — how amazing is that?
Finally, we see that because you’re born of God you are no longer under the power of the Evil One. In verse nineteen we read, We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. 20 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. - 1 John 5:19-20 (ESV)
Christ has set his people free from the power of the Evil One. For Jesus’ power is greater than Satan’s and — as we just saw — his power protects us from falling back under the power of the Evil One.
Now — I can imagine how this truth may be shocking to some — because you don’t like what it implies — because this truth implies that — if you’re not born of God — you’re under the power of the Evil One — and that’s offensive to you. But — as John’s told us in this letter — you’re either a child of God or a child of Satan. A child of light or a child of darkness. A child of truth or a child of deception. And the promise to those born of God is that you’re no longer under the power of the Evil One. And God’s in the rescuing business — by the way — so though this may be offensive news for you — it’s the news of your rescue if you cry out to God for help.
What we’ve seen — so far — is that our new birth helps us to keep away from idols. But — now — let’s consider how we help others keep away from idols.
We keep others from idols by praying for them. Now — this isn’t the only way — but prayer is a key way we keep each other from idols. And — I know how prayer can sound so simple — but let’s see what John tells us about our prayers for one another. In verse sixteen he writes, If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall (do what? He shall…) ask, and God will give him life (him being the person committing the sin) — 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. - 1 John 5:16-17 (ESV)
An observation, an explanation, and an implication from these verses.
First the observation. This kind of praying for one anothers suggests that we must have a deep concern for each other. A “one another community” — a church that prays for each other — is made up of people who have a deep concern for each other — this is why we call ourselves family here at Gateway.
Reflect back on your week. What’s your prayer life been like? Who’s been the focus of your prayers? The type of congregation that John says is a spiritually healthy church is a family of believers who have deep concern for each other — who pray for each other’s sin struggles.
Who knows your struggles in this congregation? Who’s pleading on your behalf to God so that you might not get caught up in idolatry? Who among this congregation are you so deeply concerned for that you regularly lift them up to God — asking him to protect their heart from idolatry?
There’s a mutual responsibility to watch out for one another, to admonish one another, to warn one another, and to pray for one another. This is a benefit of being a member in a local church — a benefit you don’t get if you just pop in and out or make no formal commitment to us — in this family we’ll watch out for you and you’re to watch out for us — as we pray for each other — so we don’t fall into idolatry.
Now the explanation. Let’s read the verses again. 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. - 1 John 5:16-17 (ESV)
So let’s talk about what most people focus on — you know what that is? The sin that leads to death.
Now I couldn’t find one commentator who was confident that they knew exactly what sin John was referring to. So — if you’re certain that you know what John means here — you’ve got a book to write — or maybe a bit too much pride — but — regardless — here’s what we do know. With some confidence — we can say that John doesn’t mean plain old “unbelief” — meaning the sin that leads to death isn’t “not believing in Jesus.” Now it’s absolutely true that not believing in Jesus leads to eternal death — but that doesn’t fit the context of John’s letter — unbelief isn't what he’s been writing about.
Second, I don’t think John wants us to think of the unpardonable sin — blaspheming of the Holy Spirit — something Jesus talks about — but John hasn’t in his letter.
But what has John talked quite a bit about in this letter? How about believing in a false Jesus — he’s mentioned that quite a bit, hasn’t he? The false teachers have tried to get this church to believe in a Jesus who didn’t come in the flesh — who didn’t die on the cross. Maybe that’s the sin that leads to death that John is referring to here — saying you believe in Jesus — but the Jesus you believe in isn’t the true Jesus.
Regardless — let’s not let the “sin that leads to death” become our focus when there’s a clear implication for us that should stir our hearts. What’s that? The implication for us is that the only way we can pray for each other’s sin is by being a grace-soaked community. Only a gracious group of Christians will trust each other enough to pray against ways we’re tempted by idolatry. You see, we can easily get caught up in trying to figure out what’s the “sin that leads to death” — when John’s point is something pretty simple: pray for those in your church family.
Pray that each other would be repentant of the sin in their life. Pray that they’d repent of their sin before it becomes an idol of their heart. And — the only way we can pray for others to repent of sin — is if we have great hope in the power of the gospel to change lives — including our own lives — changing us into grace-soaked individuals who come together to form a grace-soaked family.
Do you know why it’s so easy to judge other people’s sins — to focus on their sin instead of on their repentance? Because you haven’t yet soaked yourself in the grace of God that’s available to you. You might have dipped a toe in God’s grace, but — as Tim Keller implied earlier, “You’re still showing signs that being a judge of others is what you worship more than Jesus.” When someone — who has only shown signs of love for you — corrects you — points out sin in your life — if suddenly your conclusion is that they no longer love you — if the problem is with them and not you — maybe you’re worshiping being right — or being uncorrectable — more than you’re worshiping Jesus.
But when you soak yourself in the grace of God — when God’s grace envelopes you — to say that your prayers for others will be changed is an understatement. For you will see their sins through the lens of God’s love for them — and you — as displayed on the cross. You will see God’s grace in a fellow Christian when they warn you of sin in your life.
We’re to keep ourselves from idols by living out of our new birth and we’re to keep others from idols. But where does our hope come from? What’s the source of our confidence that our prayers for one another matter — how can we have confidence that God even hears our prayers? Because we ask according to his will. When we ask — when we pray — according to God’s will — he hears us. We see this in verse fourteen. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. - 1 John 5:14 (ESV)
And how do we know God’s will? By knowing God’s revealed will in his Word — the Bible. Do you know that God’s will is revealed to you right here on the pages of the Bible? You don’t have to go looking for some mysterious will of God that’s been hidden from everyone else except for some guru or psychic or pastor who has all the answers. You don’t have to find the key that unlocks the codes of the Bible — you don’t have to do any of that. God’s will is revealed to you right here in his Word. And when you pray according to God’s will — as revealed in his Word — it’s guaranteed that God hears you.
Do you lack confidence in prayer — do you feel that praying is a waste of time? Maybe it’s because you’ve disconnected your prayers from God’s Word? For you can’t pray according to God’s will if you’re unfamiliar with his Word. And our memories fade — don’t they? Thus, the longer you’ve been out of God’s Word — or when our time in the Bible is inconsistent — things — spiritually for us — start to feel off. Or worse — things feel fine — and we don’t know things are off — we don’t even know we’re praying according to our will and not God’s.
As John Stott has said, “Prayer is not a convenient device for imposing our will upon God, or for bending his will to ours, but the prescribed way of subordinating our will to his. It is by prayer that we seek God’s will, embrace it, and align ourselves with it. Every true prayer is a variation of the theme “your will be done.” - John Stott
Thus the implication for us — the answer to our question about confidence — is this: If we know that God hears us — we will have confidence when we pray. In knowing that God hears you — because you’re praying according to his will — as revealed in his Word — you should have great confidence when you pray. Dwell on this: when you pray — the Creator of the universe hears you — that’s what John tells us. 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. - 1 John 5:14-15 (ESV)
Look at the boldness — the confidence — in John’s words. “If — meaning — since we know that God hears us in whatever we ask — because we ask according to his will — we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.” “We have the requests” — that’s in the present tense — why does that matter? Because John’s saying that we have the answers to our prayers as we’re praying them.
Listen — when you pray according to God’s will — God acts on your request immediately. Now — you may not hear his answer immediately — or understand his answer — you may even have hoped for a different answer — but don't ever doubt that God doesn't immediately answer your prayer. He hears you — and he answers you — why? Because you’ve asked according to his will.
And — in knowing this — what could possibly stop us from being driven to our knees to pray when we know that — God not only hears us — but immediately answers our prayers that are according to his will? As Charles Spurgeon powerfully said, “Brethren, if there be a God, and if this Book be his Word, if God be true, prayer must be answered; and let us on our knees go to the sacred work of real success.”
The promise to us is this: We can have confidence in knowing that God hears our prayers. For — when we ask according to his will — he hears us — and he not only hears — but he answers. And John reminds us of this great promise as he urges us to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ to keep away from idols
Now — as we conclude our time in this letter — I want us to notice one incredible hope giving, confidence stirring, life changing word. What word? The word “and” found at the beginning of verse fourteen. Do you see it? And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. - 1 John 5:14 (ESV)
That word — “and” — is huge — do you know why? Because it connects verse fourteen with the verse that comes right before it.
And do you remember the verse that comes right before verse fourteen? Of course you do! It’s the verse that I’ve said so many times you’ve probably got it memorized. 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. - 1 John 5:13 (ESV)
As John concludes his letter — he tells us that — not only do we who believe in the name of the Son of God have confidence in knowing that we have eternal life — he tells us that we also have confidence in knowing that God hears us when we pray. What a way to conclude a letter — what a way to conclude our time in John’s letter — ending with a reminder of the confidence we’ve been promised.
Dear Christian, would you receive this promise from God to you? His promise of supernatural confidence because you know that you have eternal life — supernatural confidence because you know that he hears you when you pray.
If you believe in Jesus — I hope these promises floor you — and stir in you a desire to keep away from idols. I hope these promises will instill in you a desire to know God’s Word — even better than you do right now — so you know his will and align your prayers accordingly. I hope these wonderful promises will give you a steadiness when life throws distractions or sickness or disease or sorrow or death your way. That your days ahead — and mine — will be filled with supernatural confidence because God loved us first and gave his Son for us to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins and — in doing so — has secured eternal life for all who believe in his Son. For these truths — these promises — give true believers great confidence and great faith. Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, I pray that no one within the sound of my voice will reject what you’ve said to us through your Word today. Break our hearts so we worship you alone. Lead us in your will by your Word. Show us specific ways to live because of these truths from your Word throughout this week as we go about our lives.
Spirit, reveal to us ways we’ve been uncorrectable — always right — have judged those who love you and us simply because — in love — they called us to repentance. None of us are without sin and your people are not to live in sin. Strengthen us as a family who love each other so well that we deal with our sin in a way that honors you.
And may we go with great confidence in knowing that — because we’ve believed in you — Jesus — the Son of God — we have eternal life. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
May you go knowing that you have eternal life because you believe in Jesus Christ. Amen.
God loves you. I love you. You are sent.
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