I teach an Adult Bible Community at Thomas Road Baptist Church called the G.A.P. (for Graduates and Professionals), and each week I post the outlines and discussion questions from my lessons on the G.A.P. page on Facebook. A while back I started posting these notes on the blog too. So, here is the outline for our meeting on June 26-July 3, 2011. A while back we started a new series on 1 John entitled "Theology Matters." This lesson looks at 1 John 5:13-17 and discusses the idea that Christians should have boldness in their prayers because of the confidence they have in Christ. In fact, confident prayer starts with assurance, is built on a confident relationship, and results in life. We have to remember that the life God has given us in Christ is not for us alone, it is a gift to be shared with others. One means of doing that is through prayer for those who have fallen into sin. This lesson looks at that issue and even considers an answer to the question of the sin unto death. If you have any questions or would like to add a comment or two, that would be great!
Confident Prayer
1 John 5:13-17
Theology Matters Series
Introduction
Let me start with a confession
I have never been what you might call a prayer warrior
In fact, my batting average at getting positive answers from God is not very high
Truth be told, I know I could do more in prayer
No doubt we all share a similar view
We are pretty sure that we don’t pray enough
Maybe when we do pray we aren’t real sure that we know what we are doing or that God will hear us
We lack confidence
Our passage today addresses that issue
In 1 John 5:13-17, John gives us three parts of confident prayer
1. It starts with assurance
2. It continues with a confident relationship
3. It results in restoration and life
Confident prayer is a desperate need for the body of Christ today
1. Confident Prayer Starts with Assurance
1 John 5:13—John ends his letter by letting his readers know his purpose.
In the Gospel of John 20:30-31, John says that he wrote so that people may believe in Jesus the Messiah/the Son of God (i.e., the Incarnation) and that by believing receive eternal life in his name.
In the letter, John’s purpose is to assure those who have put faith in the Incarnation. His purpose is to give them confidence in their salvation. Verse 13 states this purpose clearly.
John begins this section with a statement of assurance
He says that faith in the name of Jesus leads to confidence in salvation
He speaks of knowing our relationship to God
John uses some form of the word “know” in his short letter over 40 times
At least 8 of those uses are found in chapter 5
John seems to be saying that our confidence begins with our salvation and our salvation is something we can know
Throughout his book, John has given us indications of how we know we belong to God
In our passage from a couple of weeks ago (1 John 5:6-12), John tells us that we have an internal and an eternal witness by God’s Spirit in us, but we also have a historical and a supernatural witness to salvation in the testimonies of God’s people and God himself
We also saw that we can be confident of knowing God when we keep his commandments (1 John 2:3-5), when we love as God loves (1 John 3:14-16, 4:7-16), when we have the witness of the Spirit in our confession of Christ (1 John 4:13-16) and when we love God and love his children (1 John 4:19-5:3).
Assurance of salvation is based primarily on what Christ has done for us
We have confidence because God has provided salvation
God manifested his love for us in Christ, and that love is our assurance
Confident prayer begins with assurance in salvation/eternal life
Has your life been transformed by the salvation that only comes through a knowledge of Jesus?
If so, then you have assurance that the God who saved is the God who will hear
This is good news: Our Father hears us
2. Confident Prayer Continues with Confident Relationship
1 John 5:14-15—John continues his conclusion by reminding his readers of their intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
1 John 5:1 reminds us that faith in Christ has resulted in our becoming children of God
This means that we have a family and a familiar relationship with God
As a child has special privileges with his or her parent, so we have the privilege of confidence as children of God
“Confidence”—remember that we defined this word as meaning in some sense “freedom of speech” (cf. 1 John 2:28; 4:17 both regarding judgment)
1 Jon 3:21-24 is almost a parallel passage here regarding prayer
John is saying that because of our relationship with God as children, we can come into his presence to make our requests with boldness—we have confidence and freedom to speak directly to our Father
Ray Stedman says that God delights in bold praying and in bold people—our prayer to God should be confident, bold, and certain because he loves us
This confidence arises from two principles given in these verses: the certainty of being heard (a promise) and the certainty of receiving (a qualification)
The promise: When we pray, God hears us and responds
a. We ask confidently (Hebrews 4:16)
b. We come into his presence (the words “in him” in verse 14 could be rendered “before him”). We come confidently into our Father’s presence to speak freely with him
c. We must ask for him to respond
d. We have an audience, so we must talk to our Father and we must listen for and anticipate his response
Remember as Andrew Murray says, “Prayer is not monologue, but dialogue. Gods voice in response to mine is its most essential part.”
Prayer isn’t a magic lamp or a secret code by which we obtain all our wishes, but rather as Ray Stedman says, “Prayer is a means of obtaining the will of God, and is limited always by the will and purpose of God.”
That brings us to the Qualification—we must ask according to God’s will (cf. Matthew 6:10; John 14:13)
John is not saying that we can get God to do whatever we want by adding the magic words “in Jesus’ name”
a. Prayer is not asking God to move towards us, but for God to move us towards him
b. Pastor E. Stanley Jones: "If I throw out a boat hook from the boat and catch hold of the shore and pull, do I pull the shore to me, or do I pull myself to the shore? Prayer is not pulling God to my will, but the aligning of my will to the will of God. "
Remember, James 4:3 reminds us that we can pray and ask improperly
In fact, James acknowledges that we often fail to receive answers to our prayers because we ask for selfish reasons
John says that if we know we have eternal life through our relationship with God by faith in Christ, then we can be confident that our Father God will hear us when we pray
If God hears us, it then follows that like a good Father he will respond to us
But John goes a step further—not only does God hear us, but “we know that we have obtained the request made of him”
This sounds like we can be assured of a favorable response
So, does God answer all your prayers with “Yes”?
Yeah, me neither!
The problem goes back to that little phrase: “according to his will”
a. This means we must line up with God—like Jesus in Gethsemane, we must make sure our hearts cry out “Not my will, God, but yours”—our focus must be on the best interests of God and his kingdom and not our selfish desires
b. We must not harbor un-confessed or habitual sin (Psalm 66:13)
c. We must trust God for the answer (Matthew 21:22)—he will respond, but not always in the way we desire or expect!
d. We must be sure to seek what God wants, for in doing so we will pray for what he longs to accomplish—we can only do this by spending time with God in his Word and in prayer (remember the Sears catalog—Ray Stedman)
Confident prayer keeps a relationship with God fresh
This kind of prayer also has amazing results
3. Confident Prayer Results in Restoration/Life
1 John 5:16-17—John now gives application to his lesson on praying according to God’s will by giving an example to his readers
Praying isn’t just about us, praying is for our brothers and sisters
We should pray confidently for each other
We should pray for restoration and life
Again, John gives a promise and a qualification here
a. The promise—if we pray for a brother or sister who is not committing a sin unto death, then God will give them life
b. The qualification—the promise does not apply to the one committing a sin unto death
A quick disclaimer: We tend to get tangled up in a discussion of what a “sin unto death” may be, but John assumes his readers know this already. The point John seems to make here is that praying according to the will of God means that we should pray for each other, that we should pray for restoration and life for those committing sin
a. We have a responsibility to each other
b. Part of loving God’s children is to pray for them
John doesn’t say, “If you see your brother or sister sinning, quickly get on the phone and talk to others about it!” He doesn’t say, “Let the pastor know so that he can deal with it!” No! John says, “Pray for your brothers and sisters and God will give them life.”
a. We are brothers and sisters, not competitors
b. All sin is serious
c. You can’t be indifferent to sin if you love others
If our prayers are for children of God who sin, then in what sense do they need “life”? John says our prayers will result in life from God for those who commit sins not unto death
To answer that question is to continue on to the qualification—What is the sin unto death?
Take a few minutes, get into groups of two or three, and scan through 1 John. Find places where the words “sin,” “death,” and “life” show up.
What did you find?
There are typically three responses to what the “sin unto death” may be
a. Some specific sin that causes the person to die physically (cf. Moses, Achan, Uzzah, Ananias and Sapphira, the folks in 1 Corinthians 11)
b. The unpardonable sin, blasphemy of the Holy Spirit or rejecting Jesus
c. The sin of the false teachers who denied the Incarnation and lived immoral and unloving lives
It seems likely that the background for John’s comments here is to be found in 1 John 3:11-18 and the contrast between the children of God and the children of the devil
1 John 3:14—”We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brothers. He who does not love abides in death.”
The sin unto death, at least in part, seems to be a persistent and intentional disobedience of Jesus’ command to love one another. It is denying the love of Jesus and following the unloving example of the false teachers
1 John 3:23—disregarding this command leads to death
Regardless of the view one takes on this issue, John expects his readers to pray for one another especially when they fall into sin
So, when should we not pray?
That is difficult to say, isn’t it?
Apparently there is a time in which prayer is no longer useful—note that John does not command us not to pray, but he seems to suggest that when a person reaches the point of “sin unto death” prayer will not help
We should respond, then, by continuing to pray unless we get some indication from the Spirit to cease praying
If all wrongdoing is sin, then praying for restoration of our brothers and sisters is the best starting point
Confident prayer results in restoration and life for those who sin
We cannot ignore the sin of others
We should pray for God to work in their lives
Application
How do we respond to this difficult passage?
There seems to me to be only one response, we must become a people of prayer, and not just any prayer, but a confident prayer that comes from an assurance of our relationship with our Father through his Son, Jesus Christ
As E. M. Bounds says, “"What the Church needs to-day is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but people whom the Holy Ghost can use – people of prayer, people mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through people. He does not come on machinery, but on people. He does not anoint plans, but people, people of prayer."
How does this look in every day life?
First, we must be diligent in keeping our relationship with God current. That requires time with God, with his Word, and with his people
Second, we must pray. We need to carve out time to meet with God in prayer. This week set aside at least 10 minutes a day where you simply get with God to pray for others.
Finally, we must avoid sin. We need to live accountable lives with each other so that we can honor God. Remember, everything we do reflects on the character of God. Our lives are the best (or worst) witness for the grace of God in Jesus Christ. How are we doing?
Confident prayer begins with salvation, continues with a confident relationship, and results in restoration
Will we practice it?
Thanks for reading!
