True love for our brethren is demonstrated by showing concern for
them. One’s primary concern should be to pray for the brethren to obey God. Continuing
from where he left off in the previous verses, John showed that believers can
deploy prayer, our God given instrument, for our brethren. Bear in mind that
prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance but laying hold of His willingness.
So in praying for our brethren, (1) we are showing love for them; and (2) we
are seeking God’s help for them. Specifically, these verses have to do with
praying for our brethren who have sinned.
While we are asked to pray for our brothers who had committed sin,
we are told not to pray for those whose sins that are leading to death. This is
where the complication is. What constitutes a sin leading to death? Remember
that John was speaking to believers who were exposed to Gnostic teachings, that
essentially denies Christ and the teaching of the Apostles. How can one have
life when one stubbornly refuses to acknowledge the source of life? In the New
Testament, the writer to the Hebrews said that it would be impossible to
restore one to repentance, when he had rejected Christ after having tasted His
goodness (Hebrews 6:4-6). Perhaps this was what John was talking about. The
certainty of death would fall upon a person who obstinately refuses to
acknowledge the Lordship of Christ, to a point where he would totally
dissociate with Him. It is likely that he was talking about not praying for
such kind of a person
However, verse 17 implores believers to pray for all who have
sinned because there is a sin not leading to death. Let’s not allow our lack of
theological understanding be a hindrance to praying for others. We acknowledge
that this is a tough issue, but we are called to love and not to judge. We
should seek to be the light and not to judge our fellow believers. Whether a
person is ultimately saved or not is not our call, it’s God’s. Let’s do our
part to pray for them and leave the judgment part to the Lord, who alone had
the right to judge. Our key to this is: keep on praying and quit worrying about
the tares in the Kingdom. They will be taken care of at the final harvest and
accounting.
Finally, John set out to fortify the lives of believers. He gave
them some instructions to help them strengthen themselves, and not be lured
into idolatrous practices. As God’s children, we should not live a life
pandering to sin. And as we learn to walk closely to the Lord living by the
Word, we will find divine immunity from the touch of the evil one. Why? That is
because we belong to God and separated from the system of the world, which the
evil one has power over.
or believers, we can know God intimately and can certainly abide
in God and in His Son, Jesus Christ, Who is the true God and eternal life. This
eternal life John talked about is a relationship with the Father and the Son. So
as John closed, he sent a stern warning. Guard yourself from idols. Since this
letter had been warning against false teachers and their teaching, hence to
depart from the true God and His teaching, would tantamount to idolatry. We must
always seek to walk and live right and so please the Lord. Let this be a core
value we seek to build in our Kingdom living.
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