Confidence

Well, good morning, church.

Would you turn with me to the book of 1 John, chapter 5.

1 John 5 · chapter mention

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.