Pastor Chris’ Corona Quarantine Epistles to the Flock of AIC Ngong Road, in Dispersion and Isolation. 99th. Edition.
Dear People whom God Bought with His own Blood,
We saw in our previous passage that God promises to answer our prayers and give us what we ask for, as long as it is within his will. Today’s passage (1 John 5:16- 17) teaches us that not all prayers are worth the breath expended on them. In some cases, you simply should not bother!
Worthy Plea (v. 16a). If as a believer you see another believer indulging in sin, you ought to pray for the brother (or sister). Of course, we should do more than just pray. We should do our best to restore such a one (Galatians 6:1). This is commendable before God and will result in God giving life to the brother.
Worthless Prayer (vv. 16b-17). But there is sin that leads to death. No matter how hard, long and sincerely we pray, we cannot change its outcome. This passage has presented interpreters with a challenge. What kind of sin is this? Most interpreters have gone the path of the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:22-32), in which a person will not be forgiven, because they have rejected the Saviour, even when the Holy Spirit demonstrates convincingly that Jesus is the Christ of God. That may well be what John meant. But there is a problem with this interpretation. John uses the term “brother,” which is used by believers in the New Testament. If John is talking of a believer, then he cannot be implying that the believer’s sin will not be forgiven because of unbelief. That would be a contradiction.
The simpler conclusion would be that some believers end up dead because they dabbled in sin. It would be useless to pray for such because they are dead already. In the case where such a person is not dead yet, they will die. The purpose of believers remaining in this life is to glorify God. This happens as God sanctifies us, making us more and more Christlike. When we continually ignore the prompting of the Holy Spirit and wallow in sin, we render ourselves ineffective for witness and the glory of God.
He might as well take us home before we cause more damage. Some believers in Corinth died because they dishonoured the Lord’s Table (1 Corinthians 11:27-30), so it is possible for a Christian to die because of sin. If you are a believer, quit fooling around with sin. I want you alive and honouring God.
Your Loving Pastor Chris.