Study Guide: 1 John 5

Record scratch sound.

We experienced some technical difficulties, and uh we uh Bruce and I were just laying out some thoughts on the the law and the gospel that were some of some of the best podcast tape probably ever recorded anywhere that um my computer um crashed out for.

So we'll stay where we are.

I think I was just talking where it stopped recording, was talking about the Pharisees making extra for these.

Hi, my name is James Rathman.

And my name is Bruce Nickley.

And this is the Redemption Church Denver Podcast.

We are concluding 1 John, better late than ever, and we are covering chapter 5 of 1 John.

Uh, you're certainly done with your 1 John study, but hopefully this will be encouraging and will uh remind you of the text that you've covered before.

And uh this is some awesome stuff in the last chapter as John brings his letter to a close.

But uh before we jump into that, I want to, of course, shout out to our sponsors.

We couldn't do it without them.

This uh episode of the podcast is brought to you by the uh our women's ministry's cooking decorating social.

So this is hosted by our uh women's ministry director, Liz Carr, who does such wonderful work in pulling events together for the women in our church.

And she is partnering this month with Allie Roth, who is uh cookie decorating extraordinaire.

If you've been to an Easter service here or other sorts of things where her cookies show up, uh they are the beautiful ones.

So that's how you can tell that Ali Roth made them.

Yes.

And uh uh so there'll be a cookie decorating social, which should be a really fun night.

That's Friday, June 19th from 6 to 9 p.m.

All the information's at uh redemptiondenver.com under calendar or in the calendar in the app.

Likewise, the RCD book club, uh, which I was thinking we should change its name to Spine Breakers.

Isn't that a cool name for a book club?

Yeah, I've got a few spines that are broken.

Exactly.

Exactly.

I feel like that that sounds cool to me.

Like it.

Book club sounds fine.

Yeah.

I like books.

But if I were to go to something called Spine Breakers, that sounds cool.

We can make shirts and stuff, hats.

Anyway, this week we were reading the sh or this month we were reading The Shadow of the Almighty, which is a biography of the life of Jim Elliott, a famous missionary.

And uh that is on Monday, June 29th.

You should pick up that book, begin reading it, find his life encouraging.

Um uh yeah, you could you could benefit greatly from reading that book, um, and it will only cost you some time and focus.

And uh I think if you uh he who trades such a small thing to gain such a great thing uh is no fool, which is a riff off of a famous Jim Elliott quote.

If you want to learn the real thing, you should probably read that book.

Um so that's Monday, June 29th.

Uh we meet at Levers Locavore from 7 to 8:30.

Uh, it's uh encouraging time and fun to read through those books.

So let's jump into 1 John chapter 5, the final chapter of our time in 1 John.

1 John 5 · chapter mention

Some topics that we're gonna get to cover in this chapter are looking at the relationship between our belief in Jesus, our love of God, and our obedience.

John is, he puts those things, those three things together such that, and he's done this throughout the whole book, where when you look at our love of God, he like it's like it's as if they're they're each windows that you can stand and look out of and see the other two.

When you look at your faith in Jesus, when you look through that window, you see love for God and obedience to his commands.

And when you look out the window of obedience to his commands, you look out that window and you see, hey, there's my faith.

And here's love.

When you look out the window of your faith, you see, oh, there's obedience and there's love.

He frames them in such a way where he shows that they're so interrelated, although they're distinct, they're almost like one thing.

Um although they are distinct from one another.

Uh, and then we're going to look at what it means to overcome the world, the testimony of the Son of God, and the water, the blood, and the spirit, the confidence that we can have before God, the sin that leads to death, and the encouragement of who Christ is and and the final exhortation to not let our hearts fall prey to idols.

So uh let's start in uh uh uh these first couple of verses, which which are really like a section to themselves.

So chapter 5 begins.

It says, Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God.

And everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome.

So born of God, what is that referring to?

The new birth, receiving the spirit, regeneration.

Regeneration.

Yeah, it's one of the three major analogies um that we find in scripture that relate to the regeneration of the soul.

You have being born again, uh-huh, you have the new creation in 2 Corinthians 5.

517.

And you have resurrection from the dead.

Yeah.

Um all indicating, I remember when I first studied this, um, what did I have to do with any of those things?

Yeah, well, about the you about the same amount you had to do with um the first time you were born.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Did I did I create myself?

You just you just hang on and hope to arrive.

So like that's what you did the first time.

Yeah.

You know, that's the the amazing part about um so many issues relate to this the idea of human autonomy.

Uh-huh.

Um, I'm gonna be a law unto myself.

Um you know, w the abortion issue.

Yeah.

Um, it's my body.

Right.

A presupposition like that needs to be challenged right from the beginning.

It's not your body.

Right.

We're not our own.

You you didn't make yourself.

Now, if you if you had some form of self-creation, you'd have an argument that it's your body.

But it's not your body.

Right.

You belong to the one who made you.

Yeah.

And he has all authority to instruct you how to live.

Yeah, for sure.

It's very hard to make yourself because it's very hard to stand but before the work is done.

Yeah.

Well, that's the absurdity of it.

Any any view of self-creation.

Yeah.

People will argue this about the whole creation.

Um, it's ultimately absurd because it's a gross contradiction.

Because to create yourself, you have to be there and not be there at the same time and in the same relationship.

That's right.

That's impossible.

Right.

That's right.

So this is so how are how do you how could we know someone who uh is born of God?

How can I know I'm born of God?

Well, everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God.

Which means that you can't believe that Jesus is the Christ if you haven't been born of God.

Yeah.

You can't have that faith if you haven't been regenerated by him.

And then the implication of that is if you believe that Jesus is the Christ, that means that you've been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.

So we are born of God, we believe in Jesus Christ, we love the Father, and we love those who have been born of him.

We love our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Yes.

Um, I think we've even covered that earlier in some podcasts that if you don't love your brother who you ha can see, how can you love God who you can't see?

Yeah.

And John is emphatic about this being probably the chief way um that not only is an expression of your regeneration, but is uh um absolute uh top um virtue in the Christian life?

Love.

Love.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And so then he says, by this we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments.

So what is obeying his commandments?

It's loving God and loving his children.

And how do we know that we love the children of God?

Well, we love we love God and we obey his commandments.

It's interesting we don't I I don't think we'd often think of I wouldn't I wouldn't think to take that angle of attack that John takes there in that verse.

Like, I'm not wondering, do I know that I love the children of God?

That one seems apparent to me.

Um but he's saying he's saying, by this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.

So I think the implication there is you might be deceived about whether or not you're loving the children of God.

How can you know if you are actually loving the children of God?

You're loving God and you're obeying his commandments.

There's not a there's not there's no true love outside of that.

That if you're if you it you're doing something, you're doing something else that can be called love, but it isn't.

Right.

Because it's not under a love of God and and an obedience to God's commandments.

If you're not loving people in such a way where you're hoping or seeking their obedience to God's commandments, then you're not loving them.

It's so obvious in our culture how that how those things are separated, right?

Because we would think that we can love other people while not seeking their obedience to God's commandments.

You know, I I I wrote on my notes here um the love of the law.

You know, so often in the Christian life, um grace is pitted against law and um love seems to be divorced from law as well.

Yeah.

Um and he's so straightforward here about um if you've been born again, you will love the law.

Right.

And when um Paul writes to the Romans in chapter 13, um, excuse me, it's a very clear passage about how good the law is.

Yeah.

He says, Um, no owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

The commandments you shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not covet, and any other commandment are summed up in this sentence you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Love does no wrong to a neighbor, therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

You can't speak about love apart from the law.

From the law.

Yeah.

It is the um chief expression of love, um, of keeping that law.

Now, is what kind of obedience is John talking about here when he says, and we obey his commandments?

Do you always obey his commandments, James?

Uh yeah.

Next question.

No, no, of course not, certainly not.

Because that's one of the functions of the law is to show us our need, show us our sin.

Yeah.

And um I always try to qualify.

I'm not adding to scripture, I think, here.

I'm I'm trying to understand it.

Um, but the kind of obedience um that is required is perfect obedience, right?

Correct.

God never lowers a standard.

Right.

But but for the Christian life, we acknowledge that's impossible.

I I cannot render to God that perfect righteousness.

That's why Christ died for me to give me his righteousness.

Right.

Um, but I think the thrust of these kinds of words in 1 John 5 is that we must offer God a purposeful obedience.

Right.

With all our strength, all our might, all that we can muster.

That's my purpose is to obey his commands.

Um and when I fail, John's already dealt with that, right?

Right.

We have an opportunity for repentance.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And and that is that is obedience.

Exactly.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And so there's a um, there's a I I think that in verse four, sorry, in verse three, it says, for this is the love of God that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome.

I think we can have this sense that um uh encouraging people towards the law of God is heaping burdens.

And we can like equivocate between like the heaping burdens that the Pharisees were doing to encouraging people towards obedience, and that can be like, that's legalism.

Yeah.

Uh and what the Pharisees were doing was uh a legalism by adding things that were not in the law.

But the reason that they were adding things that were not in the law was so that they could, in a sense, minimize the requirements of the law by adding things that were doable at a fleshly level, but that would not require the transformation of their hearts in order to participate in.

They were able to maintain the pride that they desired to maintain at the heart level by accomplishing an obedience which they designed for themselves.

Record scratch sound.

The uh we experienced some technical difficulties, and uh we uh Bruce and I were just laying out some thoughts on the the law and the gospel that were some of the best podcast tape probably ever recorded anywhere that um my computer um crashed out for.

So we'll stay where we are.

I think I was just talking where it stopped recording, was talking about the Pharisees heaping extra burdens of the law back up.

And on that same on that same thought, one of the things that we wanted to describe was that the the law that we receive from God is not burdensome.

And that the way that we tend to consider the law in uh that the that I think like uh ordinary people consider the law is you are either under a law, which is being under a burden, or you are not under a law, and that's being free.

We think of ourselves as being either constrained by something, and that that's being under some sort of tyranny, or being unconstrained, and in being unconstrained, then we're free.

And so we think of freedom as the elimination of law.

But the reality of being a human creature is that we are constrained beings.

We are made by God to be under him, and there is no situation we can find ourselves where we are not under some constraints, and we are not uh serving something.

And so because we're creatures like that, the question is not uh if we will be under a constraint or if we will be under a law.

The question is which law will we be under?

And the law of God is not burdensome, uh, but it it produces life and flourishing, it's for our good.

And it's uh uh perfectly fits the design of uh of a human person.

And so this means that when we are talking to non-Christians or this is why the gospel always involves a sharing of the violation of the law that people are doing.

Even people who wouldn't admit that they are under any law are under the law of God, which is not an opt-in type of thing.

It's not like the law of God works if you believe in it.

Right.

It works even if you don't believe in it.

And when we're explaining the violation of the law to people, then what the Spirit does through that witness is it in enlightens their minds so that they are able to see the sin and misery that comes from their violation of the law and the hope that's offered to them in the gospel of Jesus Christ, that this sin and menace and misery can be atoned for, and that they might be brought into the fullness of life, and they'll see the goodness of the law, and in seeing the goodness of the law, they'll seek to obey him from the place of uh forgiveness and grace that they've received in in Jesus Christ and a new spirit in him.

And so that that's our our relationship to the law is not um is a recognition that it's it's being brought into the fullness of life, it's not a new burden that's being heaped upon us.

Yeah, it's the removal of the burdensome law.

Yeah, scripture calls the law of God the law of liberty.

Yeah.

And um, you mentioned freedom.

Um sinful creatures have a pretty distorted view of what real freedom is.

It's they they think it's the ability to do whatever I want to do.

Right.

And even the right to do whatever I want to, that notion of autonomy.

Yes, exactly.

Our our notion of right is constructed around a notion it is is built on a concept of autonomy being our original position.

Yeah.

Um but when you think about uh the the requirement of righteousness that that is over each one of us as the image bearers of God, um righteousness is fundamentally doing what is right.

Right.

And um if you think about that in con in relationship to freedom, who is the freest being in existence?

God.

God is, yeah.

And yet he is the most righteous.

Right.

Um so we need to think about freedom and liberty, especially like looking toward our 250th uh anniversary of the founding of our country.

Right.

Um and liberty was at the core of the motivations for all this.

But we need to think of freedom as the ability to do what I ought to do.

Yeah, that's right.

That's what true freedom is, and Jesus said it in John 8.

If you continue in my word, you're truly my disciples, and you'll know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, it's a great analogy.

I mean, they were like the founders are throwing off a tyrannical law, and their hope is not like perfect.

After this, we'll be able to live in a lawless society.

That's that's not the hope.

Nobody everybody knows that that's that would not be freedom.

No.

Uh, but that would be a different type of and a worse tyranny.

Yeah, exactly.

Uh so so the law is good.

The law is good.

Um That reminds me.

Didn't Paul say the law is good if anyone will use it lawfully?

Paul writes in first Timothy chapter one, verse eight.

We know that the law is good if anyone uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, immoral persons, sodomites, kidnappers, liars, perjurers, and whatever is else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the glorious gospel of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.

So you see, the law is essential, uh and it's right there linked with the gospel, because it is the law that shows us our need.

For a righteousness that is outside of ourselves.

We cannot give to God that perfect, perpetual righteousness that He re that He requires.

Right.

And when you begin to be awakened to your sin, that's when you begin to think I'm lost because I can't give God what He requires of me.

Maybe there's another way.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So the law then teaches it's like a tutor that leave it lead us to be justified by faith in Christ.

Yeah.

Yeah, because we recognize it cannot we cannot justify ourselves by the works of the law.

Right, right.

So continues on, and in verse four, he links this to the the being born of God to our overcoming the world.

He says, For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world, and this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith.

Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

So why is our faith that which overcomes the world?

Well, because it's placed in the one person who actually has overcome the world.

Yeah, that's right.

I guess what does it mean to overcome the world?

Yeah.

Well, um, Jesus did it by um serving the purpose of God in his life, um, which meant he had to live a perfect life and offer that life as a atonement for our sins to pacify the wrath of God.

Um and and by that he he overcame the evil of the world of the devil by his perfect righteousness.

Right.

Um and uh scripture calls us to to not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with with good, right?

Right.

So the the practice of what is good, the practice of what is righteous, um, I think is an expression of the fact that we have in Christ overcome the world.

In uh I think that it's the that's that sense that you're hitting on, that Christ has overcome the world.

He is the one who has overcome the world.

So our victory, our conquering, is faith in Christ, in what he has done.

Yes.

And then we participate in the victory that he has accomplished.

It is done.

The world is overcome.

In this world, you have many troubles, but take heart.

I have overcome the world.

Why can we take heart in him?

He is the one who has overcome the world on our behalf.

The victory secured.

Our champion's gone forward and secured the victory.

Yes, absolutely.

And so we how do we then have that victory?

How do we overcome the world?

Faith in Jesus Christ.

Right.

Boy, as we look at um as our world um yeah, so many believers today think that we're in the very last days.

Uh-huh.

As many generations before us have thought.

Yeah.

Um and part of it is um the fact that it looks like we have not overcome the world, that Christ has not overcome the world.

Yeah.

Um, but we must remind ourselves to walk by faith and not by sight.

Jesus has indeed overcome the world, and he is ruling over it even as we speak.

Yeah.

Um, nothing's happening outside of his plan and purpose that he's predestined from the foundation of the earth.

Right.

Um, and the fact that he is ruling in heaven right now at the right hand of the Father should be a great encouragement for us to realize that we sit there with him in Christ, and we share in his overcoming of this world.

I would like some assurance of that.

I would like something that testifies to that reality.

You need a testimony?

I need a testimony.

What would be nice if I had three.

Nice segue.

This is he who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ.

Not by the water only, but by the water and the blood.

And the spirit is the one who testifies, because the spirit is the truth.

For there are three that testify the spirit and the water and the blood, and these three agree.

So this is these are the the testimony, the spirit, the water, and the blood that testify to Jesus being the Son of God.

How is this uh uh I guess let's start with what's the what's the water and the blood?

Well, I think um those are two bookends of his ministry.

Um he began it with the waters of baptism, and what did what did John see there?

He saw the Spirit of God descending upon Jesus as a dove and abiding on him.

Right.

Um that's a testimony.

This um the testimony of God uh came in a couple of ways by saying, This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased.

Right.

Um so the Father testifies, the Spirit testifies that this is the Son of God in the waters of his baptism, but then also uh in the blood of his sacrifice.

Right.

Um that testifies that he was the Lamb of God, who by shedding his blood takes away the sin of the world, is what John prophesied about him.

He understood it, he knew that that was his mission.

So um those three things testify that Jesus is Messiah.

Yes.

The water in his baptism, the blood poured out on the cross, and the spirit attending.

Right.

And it says the spirit is truth.

The spirit who attends these things is truth.

Jesus also said that of himself.

That he is the truth.

The truth.

It says, if we receive the testimony of men, I love these plain arguments, if we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater.

For this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his son.

Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself.

Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his son.

So he's saying though the water, the blood, the spirit, these are the testimonies of God concerning Jesus Christ as the Son of God.

And then he makes the simple argument you you'll hear a man's testimony and you'll believe his testimony.

This happens all the time.

You believe people all the time.

Could you possibly believe the testimony of a man and not believe the testimony of God?

And if you don't believe the testimony of God, consider what you're saying.

You are saying that God is a liar.

Yeah.

That He is making this testimony and it's not true.

That's how plain the testimony of God is to John.

You know, he's explaining the plainness of it.

You see the water at his baptism, you see the blood at his crucifixion, you see the Holy Spirit attending this, bringing bearing witness to the truth.

This is the sufficient testimony of God.

It's amazing to me when you hear um either agnostics or uh atheists talk about uh what they believe um regarding evidence of the existence of God.

Uh-huh.

They say, I don't see any evidence of God's existence.

Right.

Right.

And it it is nothing but a willful blindness.

Right.

Um, to avoid being accountable to the God who made us.

Yeah.

Um so you not only have the testimony of nature uh about the existence of the eternal power and deity of God through creation, right?

But he has come and spoken with us.

Yeah.

He has come and lived among us.

He has come and demonstrated his power and his truthfulness in the miracles that he performed.

Yeah.

That testify to the message that he brought.

So for someone to say there's no testimony, that there's no evidence of God's existence is just the most um well, probably the stupidest thing you could ever believe.

Yeah.

So fools fools say there is no God.

And then it it and this is even more particular than that.

Because it's saying Jesus Christ, this man, is the Son of God.

Yes.

Jesus Christ is God.

And he's saying that testimony is as plain.

Right.

Because of the water and the blood and the spirit.

Yes.

And if you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that testimony resides in you.

And testimonies are things that you say.

And this resides in you.

It is a it is a um it's a it's a truth that you have in you to proclaim, to say.

Yes.

Jesus is the Son of God.

This is the the statement that we're making, and what does that testimony amount to?

He says, this is the testimony that God gave us eternal life.

And this life is in his son.

Whoever has the son has life.

Whoever does not have the son of God does not have life.

It's so plainly said, and it's also like, of course, of course.

We are under the wrath of God in death.

Our only hope of escape of that is by the Son of God who was sent for us to be a propitiation for our sins.

If we have the Son, we have the life, because He overcame the world.

If we don't have the Son, you don't have the life.

Okay, we're picking back up on where we're trying to pick back up on where we left off, although my computer keeps bugging out.

So we've switched the audio that we're recording on, and we're gonna try we're gonna try this.

So uh we were in uh uh whoever has the sun has the life, whoever does not have the sun does not have the life.

That's the place that we were at, Bruce.

And you'd read from us John 3, although I think that got cut out.

Oh, okay.

Well, my uh thought was that he's hearkening back to um John three.

Um at the end of the chapter there, um he says basically the same thing, only I think this is a stronger statement.

He who believes in the Son has eternal life, he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him.

So he wants the person in 1 John 5 who does not um um receive the Son to understand that his predicament is far greater than just not having life.

There's a positive aspect of God's wrath that is resting upon him.

Yeah, that's right.

Sobering, um sobering words.

Well, he goes on to move into a place of uh of offering this assurance.

And that's where he really concludes is around this idea of um the conference that we can have before God.

He says, 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.

This is like the purpose of why he's shared this dynamic of being in Christ, of the love of God being in us, of obeying his commandments.

These are these all serve this purpose of knowing that we have eternal life because we believe in the name of the Son of God.

It's that simple gospel that's just right there in the text.

Yeah.

And what what a what good news it is that it is possible for a believing person to know with absolute certainty that they have eternal life now.

Um, as opposed to, say, other other systems of theology, for instance, Roman Catholicism, you can never know that you really have eternal life in the Roman system.

Right.

Because you can commit a mortal sin uh that they draw from this passage and be de-justified.

Yeah.

And um you're you're the I guess the eternal life that God promises us for Roman Catholics is not really eternal life.

It's six months, eight months, two years until the moral sin is committed.

Yeah.

So a Catholic can have no real assurance about their salvation.

Yeah, it's it's horrifying.

And it defeats the purpose of why John is writing this.

Exactly.

He wants us to have certainty.

Yeah.

That's a great word.

I think it's one of the big three things the soul longs for.

The mind longs for certainty, the heart longs for security, and the will longs for significance.

Yeah.

Um, but look at all this.

I think he uses the word no here at least eight times in this fifth chapter.

Yeah.

And when Paul uses the word no, that is an absolute knowledge of the truth.

I know the Christian can say, I know I have eternal life.

Right.

And non-Christians would say, well, that's awfully arrogant.

Yeah.

No, no.

Why isn't it?

Well, because it's not something we concocted.

Yeah.

It's something we received.

Yeah.

God graciously gave us faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that has content to it.

I mean, there's a there's a whole lot of content that we've seen in John, uh, first John, that um the apostle wants us to know with absolute certainty.

The real arrogance is to call God a liar.

Yeah.

And say, I don't really know if I can have eternal life.

Yeah.

Well, he says it right here.

Yeah.

If you believe in the Son of God, you have eternal life.

Wow.

And this is the confidence that we have toward him.

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.

How do you know to ask for things in accordance with God's will?

Well, he taught us how to pray.

And so we can know that we're praying for things that he wants us to pray for when we pray for how he taught us how to pray.

Yeah.

Um we I think we can see the I I think we we pray according to his commands.

All right.

And we pray according to his promises for what he's promised to give us.

Yeah.

And we know we have it.

Yeah.

Those are wonderful realities.

Um Paul writes to the Thessalonians in chapter five of his first epistle to them.

It says, Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.

Yeah.

Um, there are some very specific things that we should pray for in accord with the will of God.

Um, to give thanks in all circumstances.

Well, that's one of the things that I think God delights in.

Yeah.

Is his people giving him thanks and praise for his goodness and gifts.

If we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

Um there's obvious questions to ask about this.

Well, it seems like there's a lot of things I don't have that I've asked of him.

Yeah.

But he says we know that we have them.

Yeah.

You you have everything you need for life and godliness.

Yes.

And if if I pray for something that I don't receive, uh-huh, then it's probably because I don't need it.

Yeah.

Um, and what that's a great uh way to live.

Yeah, that is.

Um, that's a faith proposition that says, you know, Lord, you know what's best for me.

Yeah.

Um and and I can say with the the apostles, teach us to pray, Lord.

Yeah.

Um, because I okay, well, now we are just recording on my laptop, uh, sitting in your car because we got kicked out of our building because of a fire drill.

Somebody doesn't want this podcast to happen, and uh, we are going to count on our persistence beating the resistance.

Um so we were right at uh um praying, and you were saying how we have everything, the promises that we have everything that we need for life and godliness.

And uh the uh and I'm I'm trying to trust that promise right now as we can.

For some reason, computers don't work anymore.

Oh boy.

Um yeah, um I think you you were asking, or you made the comment that um sometimes we don't get what we ask for.

Right.

Um and I think what John is trying to encourage us here with is to be so much in the Word of God that we know what He wants for us and pray in in regard to those things.

Fire truck.

Oh yeah.

So um so that's uh that's uh again a way that I think we overcome.

We overcome the world is we're we're steadfast in prayer that's guided by the word of God.

Yeah, yeah, for sure.

And then we know, and that's what it's where we want our our hearts to be.

We want we want to want the things that God wants.

Yes.

And we and when we we know that he will give those, and we pray for them, we ask for them.

But man, it requires such humility when we don't receive what we think we need.

Yeah.

In trusting him that he knows.

Yeah.

Um, there was a verse in in the psalm.

Um it says, um, in thee our fathers trusted, in thee they trusted, and were not disappointed.

Um I remember praying that when I got um, I broke up with the the woman I thought was gonna be my wife, uh-huh, and God gave me that promise, and I said, Okay, Lord, I'll trust you.

Yeah.

And it wasn't but a couple months later that I met my my true love, Marty, and and I have not ever been disappointed in what he has for me.

Yeah.

So yeah, it's a good word.

Well, he goes on in as we're talking, as he's talking about prayers, he sort of guides the prayers of the people, and he says, 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.

All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.

So I guess first he's saying when you see your brother in sin, you should pray for them, and the Lord will deliver will deliver them.

If it's the sin that does not lead to death.

And he's saying there is sin that does not lead to death.

Now that sounds strange.

Yeah.

It's but maybe the strangest part, actually.

Yeah.

What does he mean when he says that there is sin that doesn't lead to death?

Sin leads to death.

Yeah, in in one sense, um all sin is a capital offense against God.

Um but in his grace and mercy, um he doesn't require.

That all sin be treated as a a capital offense in the realm in which we live.

Even in the Old Testament law, there was provision for the forgiveness of sins.

Right.

And there is that provision, as we've seen even in 1 John, that if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If we say we have no sin, we make him a liar again.

Yeah.

So the Lord graciously provides for the forgiveness of our sins on a continuing basis.

Yeah.

And and uh when we see our brother sinning, you know, we have some some obligation to help him come to repentance for that sin.

And so I think that's what what he's getting at when we pray for the sin that doesn't lead to death.

But that leaves the question what is the sin that leads to death?

Yes.

Yes.

Um he says it it uh there is sin that leads to death.

I do not say that one should pray for that.

Now, I think that what he's describing there is is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, the denial of the truth of Christ, and that that finally leads to death.

Uh there is there is no rescue outside of Christ.

So, James, are you saying that uh, you know, one of God's elect can actually lose their salvation in all this?

No.

Thanks for the tea up.

No, but we but what we are saying is that there are people who could have all of the signs, who could appear to be a brother, and who could be uh, and who are are deceiving those around them and are deceived in themselves, and that they are sinning against the Holy Spirit, they are denying Christ.

Um this is sort of the same sort of wrestling that we would do in Hebrews 6, Hebrews 10, as people who have tasted of the blessings of Christ.

Yeah.

And who have proclaimed Christ, who have performed miracles in his name, then reject Christ, or finally see that they are reject they have rejected him.

And uh these people were they were never in Christ.

Right.

Although they had all the external signs of the covenant.

And are even set apart by their participation in the covenant community of God, by their participation in the church.

They're set apart from the world.

But in their heart and their spirit, they're not transformed.

That's right.

In in Hebrews 10, it speaks about one who had great many benefits.

Um He says, How much more or worse punishment do you think will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and outraged the spirit of grace?

Um how can a how can an unbeliever be spoken of as one who has um been sanctified by the blood of the covenant?

Yeah, I mean, they've w walked forward and received the Lord's Supper.

Yes.

And it looks like it testifies to, it proclaims the death of our Lord, and it is taken faithlessly.

Yeah.

And it they're set apart by that, they're set apart from the world, they are marked out to the world as belonging to Christ.

And so they're sanctified in that regard, they are set apart, and yet the truth is not in them.

They're in the visible church, the visible covenant community.

Um, and that's a real, that's a real thing.

It's a reality.

Yeah.

Um, and God takes that very seriously.

Um but this particular person that he has in mind here has lied about the condition of his soul.

Right.

He he he is not feeding upon the body and blood of Christ in his soul.

Right.

Just outwardly.

That's all it is, is an outward thing for him.

Yeah.

And um yet the apostle here goes on to say, for we know him who said, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, and the Lord will judge his people.

Well, didn't Paul warn you read the the warning in 1 Corinthians 11 every every Sunday, um, that some of you have become ill or even died because of the profanation of the way they took the Lord's Supper.

Right.

Um so it's it's this is consistent with that.

But when he says I also think that there's there's uh in this context, you know, there's a hopefulness with regards to that, which is that God um uh uh God will I I think a lot of people can wonder, like, am I doing this?

Am I doing this?

And that sort of like the the Lord will use corporal punishment.

And it he he it is not the Lord's desires to have you questioning.

You can you can in a sense know if you're deceiving yourself, and he'll make you know that.

Yeah, he'll make you know that.

That's why he's like getting you sick and things like that in uh 1 Corinthians as it's described.

He's not trying to keep it hidden from you, whether you're blaspheming the Holy Spirit.

Right.

You know, and there's there's a continual way to um bolster our assurance in the faith.

The the weekly supper that we celebrate is one of those ways because we're required to examine ourselves to see if we're holding to our faith.

Right.

Test yourselves unless you fail to meet the test.

Don't realize that Jesus Christ is in you.

And um so that that's a good thing because we need those reminders, we need them regularly.

Yeah, and when he when he says here, the Lord will judge his people, he's dealing with this person covenantally.

Yes.

Um, he has violated the the visible covenant that he was a part of by turning his back on it all, yeah, throwing it away, saying, you know, cursed be Christ.

Um this was not true, none of this is true.

Um that's the kind of person that's in mind here, not just the one who who is backsliding some.

Right.

I I don't think.

Yeah, I I think that's true.

I agree.

So continues on, he 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.

That's good news.

Yeah.

Yeah.

That's really good news.

The evil one does not touch him.

Yeah, there's not a there's not a fear of the um the Christian being able to be taken over like the Garcian demoniac uh by the principalities and powers of the world.

That's not uh that's not possible.

We're we're not susceptible to that.

We are not like the um man who is freed from demons and then the place is swept up and left in order so that he can go out and bring back his the demons can go out and bring back their seven friends and move in again.

Right.

There's not that vacancy left in our hearts.

We have the Holy Spirit in us.

We do.

And the sign says no vacancy above our hearts if a demon were set to enter in that regard.

Yeah, and and the basis of that is the fact that we're regenerate.

Yeah.

He mentions it twice.

Born of God.

Um, the one born of God protects him.

Isn't that interesting how he he links our being born of God along with the one who is who was born of God, who's Christ.

Who's Christ, yeah.

Yeah.

But he's born of God.

Yeah.

Um in in the utterly unique way.

Yeah, for sure.

That we don't share in the aren't sons of God like Christ is God the Son.

Yeah, we are not begotten like the Son was.

Right.

But we are in him.

We're in Him.

So we receive His inheritance.

Yes.

That's that's great news.

So he goes on, he says, 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.

Just as at the beginning of the book, uh he begins by describing the Christ, who they have seen and who they have heard, and their um uh the testimony that they have done.

Um sorry, the somebody outside the car looked like they needed to talk to me.

Um I think they were just seeing who it was.

Okay.

So he begins the book by the testimony uh that he's sharing the one that they've seen, the one they have heard, the one that they have touched, uh is who they're testifying to, it's Jesus Christ.

And then he ends the book here with uh the this fullness of that we had we he's demonstrated we can know the Son of God, that this testimony has been made sure.

We are being we've been given this understanding, and then he just he just makes it so clear he is the true God and eternal life.

Wow.

Well, again, you see the absolute certainty that the apostle wants to impart to us.

I love the way he says in verse 20 here.

Uh we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we might know him who is true.

Yeah.

Um it's a beautiful testimony again of God's sovereignty.

Um none of us who are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ would have come to this on our own.

Right.

We we were doing everything in our power to probably suppress the truth.

Yeah, for sure.

And reject the the gospel, reject um the Lord Jesus, and not believe that he has come in the flesh.

Right.

Um, but when God gives us understanding, that's part of the new birth.

Yeah, he renews the whole image of God in us and knowledge, holiness, and righteousness.

And we have understanding because he's enlightened our minds.

Yes.

And if that's not a testimony to the absolute grace of God in our salvation, I don't know what is.

Yeah, for sure.

For sure.

And that final line, little children, keep yourselves from idols.

It's like this final defense.

He's he's like, You've I have shown you who the true God is.

It's been shown to us in Christ, that Christ is the true God.

And don't be deceived by anything else, but hold fast to him.

You can know this, you can certainly know that he is the life.

And yeah.

I love the way that um the prophets um at times will mock the idols.

Yeah.

In the Old Testament, especially.

And this, and you know, they live in a culture that was full of actual idols that people would bow down to and make with their own hands.

I love that, I think it's in Jeremiah where he says, think about how stupid this is.

Yeah.

Half of this wood you make into an idol and fall down before, and half of it you burn in the fire to keep warm.

Yeah.

Can you not connect those things?

That's right.

Right.

Isn't that kind of stupid on your part to think that this has any life in it at whatsoever?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Um, but we we we worship the living and true God.

Not idols.

That's right.

Not idols.

That's right.

And we know his name, and he's shown himself to us and his son.

So, alright, we should probably wrap up there.

Alrighty.

Before this before this conks out on us.

Exactly, and everything deletes.

Uh, thanks for sticking with us.

This has been an adventure for us uh trying to record this podcast, but we uh our prayer is that uh these truths would really go into the hearts of the people who listen, so we pray that they do.

All right.

Thanks everyone.

Bye.