Praying for Another Believer in Sin

Transcript

GR 1105
4/10/1983

I John 5:16,17
Gil Rugh

I John in your bibles. I John chapter 5 and we are going to do the last half of last week's message in our study this evening. One thing you don't know as you sit out there is what I had planned. You know what the Lord had planned because that's what we get done. This morning we did half of what I had planned and we'll do the other half of my planning next week according to the Lord's plan. This evening we are doing the last half of what we looked at last week which ties together, and yet it forms a natural break. Last week we looked at verses 13 and 14 and 15 in our study together, focusing attention on prayer. Verse 13 forming the transition, you remember, and as those who are believers in Jesus Christ, those of us who have eternal life, we are those with the confidence of addressing God in prayer. Of coming and talking with Him. Of bringing our requests before Him. Of knowing that He hears us and will answer us. And we noted in verse 14, "This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us." And that hearing is conditioned upon asking according to His will. And it's as we come and ask according to the will of God. We come submissive to the Spirit and as a result of the Spirit's moving in our lives, in effect it is God motivating us to prayer. That He moves us to ask Him so that He can respond to our prayers and do what He has planned.

So that is an important condition there, asking anything according to His will. Now I don't believe we ought to be hung up here saying boy, I don't know how to pray; I don't know what to pray for; I don't know if I should pray; how will I know for sure if it's the will of God; how will I know if it's not the will of God? Well, we noted the will of God is found in His word. I pray according to His word. I want to be submissive to the Spirit. And so I pray according to the information and knowledge I have in light of that, leaving it open to God to change it according to His plan. That's why we noted that prayer is not telling God what to do, but prayer is coming and laying before God our requests with the realization that our knowledge is limited. I pray with full confidence. This is what I believe God wants done in this situation. This is what I believe God would have me do. This is what I really believe that I should ask God for in this situation. But I do it with a submissive spirit that if He should choose to do otherwise, I will accept that. And that becomes a key. Am I, 0 I don't want to say bitter, that's too strong a word, but we do sometimes become somewhat upset with God because we have prayed about something several times and He still hasn't done it. And I need to remind myself that I have this privilege in prayer, but He accomplishes it according to His will and His purposes. He hears us and we have whatever we ask. And I take it you have to take the context, We have whatever we ask when He hears us. He hears us when we ask according to His will. Someone made a note on the card regarding Mark 11:24 where Jesus spoke that all things that we ask, believing that we've received them, God will give us. I take it that all things has to be placed in this context as well. All things in the context of believing. The context of being submissive to His will. Those are the things that God promises to hear and promises to give. And we noted, a natural question is, why bother praying? God is going to do what He wants anyway. And praise God that's true.

I'd hate to think that God's purposes in my life depend upon your prayers. God's purposes for your life depended upon my prayers. That God's waiting to decide what He ought to do according to our instructions. Obviously that wouldn't work if He is a sovereign God. You couldn't have finite people giving you your instructions. But what a tremendous privilege it is that we have to come before God. That He uses us in the accomplishing of His purposes. Moves us to prayer. And I take it as we talked about our responsibility is key here even in light of God's sovereign purposes and plan. Verse 15, "If we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him." Now, what verses l6 and 17 do are give us an example of prayer. Here is a specific situation where we pray. And so it becomes an example that is presented to us. "If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not leading to death." Now, keep in mind the context here. The context is prayer. And what we pray for. How we pray and the response we get in prayer. These verses in verses 16 and 17 with the sin to death and the sin not to death, so absorb us we forget the context. What he is doing here is giving us an example of praying in s specific situation. Praying for a brother. I would take it that would refer to a fellow Christian. "Sees his brother" a fellow Christian, "committing a sin not leading to death" and we have the word leading inserted in the New American Standard to give you the idea. It is a sin not leading to death. Not to death. Not culminating in death. I take it it refers to physical death. The context here would indicate that. Some other passages that we’ll look at here in just a moment I think would support that. Here you see a Christian that is sinning but the sin is not going to result in physical death, then what do you do? Pray. And God will give life to those not committing sin leading to death.

You note. My prayer does not change if it's a sin to death. Now you say, well wait a minute. If you see a Christian committing a sin not to death, you ask and God will give life to those who are committing a sin not to death. Now if it's a sin not to death, he won't die anyway so why should I pray? Now here you see that which is almost a mystery. That the part I play is crucial. God does say that my prayer is significant. God gives life in response to my prayer. He'll give life when I pray. So the prayer is important and significant, even though it's a prayer offered in light of the overall plan of God. I have a recognition that this is not a sin to death and so that God can and will spare the life. "He shall give life to him who commits a sin not leading to death." Tending toward death. Moving in the direction of physical death. That's what we're talking about here, not eternal death or condemnation. I take it the context here is the same as James chapter 5- Let's look at James chapter 5 and do these passages together.

James chapter 5 verse 13, "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praises." Interesting that we see that prayer is brought about in the context of suffering. And when you're happy, you sing praises. "Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." The example of the prayer of a righteous man was Elijah. He prayed and it didn't rain for 3 years and 6 months. He prayed again and it began to rain. Now that's an example of effective praying. It didn’t rain for 3T years. Verse 19, "My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth", now I take it when he says "any among you" he's talking about believers. "Strays from the truth" so here is a believer who has strayed from the biblical truth "and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his will save his soul from death, and will cover a multitude of sins." I take it when he says that "he'll save his soul from death" in the context here, he is talking about physical death. And that word "soul" is used of our life generally as well as our eternal soul. So that's not a problem here. He'll save his soul from death. Save his life from death. I take it what is happening here you have a Christian who becomes involved in sin and God intervenes in judgment in that life. In discipline, if you will. And thus he is tending moving toward physical death. That's the context I understand, particularly in verse 14, why you would call for the elders of the church. The person here indicates he is willing to deal with his sin. He wants to confront his sin. He wants to turn from his sin. He calls for the elders of the church to acknowledge that. Then the elders can pray for him and God can restore him to health. We're going to have the communion service this evening. We’ll see this in the context of that as well. Maybe you ought to just turn back there quickly. I Corinthians chapter 11. In I Corinthians chapter 11, some among the Corinthians were indulging in partaking of the communion service, the Lord's supper, with a light attitude.

In other words, they were indulging in sin and coming and partaking of the Lord's table. Saying oh yes, the Lord died for my sin. It was my sin that sent Him to the cross. And acknowledging the awfulness of sin and continuing to indulge in it. Partaking of the Lord's supper. Verse 30 says, "For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord in order that we may not be condemned along with the world." So in verse 30, some are weak and sick and a number sleep. That word "sleep" is used only of the death of a Christian in the New Testament. It refers to the temporary inactivity of the body.

So among the Corinthians, some were suffering physical weakness, sickness and some had even died as a result of the discipline of the Lord in their life. The severe chastening of God. That's the same thing we're talking about in James 5» The same thing we're talking about in I John chapter 5. So you talk about a sin leading to death. Old Testament example, back to Numbers, if you would. Numbers 18. Expression is used "sin to death". So it has an Old Testament precedent. Numbers chapter 18. Then we'll look at an example out of the Old Testament. Verse 21, "And to the sons of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they perform, the service of the tent of meeting." Now note verse 22, "And the sons of Israel shall not come near the tent of meeting again, lest they bear sin and die." Now in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, that says literally "lest they sin unto death". Same expression we have in I John 5« "Lest they sin unto death". So as the readers of I John, being familiar with the Old Testament as John would have been particularly, to draw this expression. What was the sin unto death? It was when the children of God rebelled against the instructions of God and He had to intervene and discipline their physical life. That’s the context of Numbers 18. What's carried over? Example of this: Moses. In rebellion.

Not the particular sin of Numbers 18. Look in Deuteronomy chapter 32, just after Numbers. Deuteronomy chapter 32 verse 48. Deuteronomy 32:48, "And the Lord spoke to Moses that very same day, saying, 'Go up to this mountain of the Abram, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab opposite Jericho, and look at the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the sons of Israel for a possession. Then die on the mountain where you ascend, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people." Why? "Because you broke faith with Me in the midst of the sons of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, because you did not treat Me as holy in the midst of the sons of Israel. For you shall see the land at a distance, but you shall not go there, into the land which I am giving the sons of Israel." Moses sinned unto death. He transgressed against the word of God, the instruction of God, in such a way that physical death was the outcome. We call it a premature death because, had Moses not committed sin, he would have been privileged to lead the people into the land of Israel. So God took his life. An example there of a sin unto death.

Now in some cases, that can be reversed. James 5 talked about that. Where you pray, you turn one from the error of his way, and save a soul from death. In other cases, it cannot. Moses being an example where it could not. His prayers could not change God's mind on that. His sin was viewed as severe enough that God would take his life for it.

So we come back to I John. I take it this all ties together. We have the same issue in I John. What we have is a Christian involved in sin and he becomes sick. Physically ill. Perhaps church discipline. And to me, this is one of the very important reasons for church discipline, that we provide the pressure in a building way. I think that's the same in our families. Some parents don't discipline their children unless they beat the living daylights out of them. There is no building. That's not fair. That's not right. That's not what God plans for the church either. There is a progressive discipline. That's laid out in the discipline booklet that is made available to you of the various procedures as the discipline gets more firm and finally, where we cut off a person from fellowship with believers. You say 0, how can you do that? Because we love them so much! To emphasize to them the seriousness of their condition. Because we go from here to God's more severe discipline. Physical illness and problems. To even the taking of their life. So that's the procedure.

So how do you know if it's a sin unto death? Well, one of the indicators would be if I am aware of a believer who is ill who has been involved in sin, I will not pray that God will restore them to health. I will not ask that God strengthen them. I cannot do that. They're obviously in rebellion against God. Now, a couple of things to note here. One. I take it, and this is important. If you are ill because of sin in your life, you will know it. When I discipline my children, I make clear to them the reason for the discipline. You know, you don't give your child a spanking and they walk away and say now what in the world was that for? The discipline would be to no purpose, wouldn't it? It would create confusion. And that's not the purpose. The purpose of discipline is to correct them and to build their life.

God works the same way in our life. Now if I get ill and I know I've had an area of rebellion in my life, I put two and two together rather quickly. And I assume that's what's going on in my life. Now if I get ill, taken sick, and I do not know of anything in my life that (I realize I'm not perfect) but any areas of rebellion or sin that I've been indulging in, then I just take it this is God's plain for me now. I say that because I do not think you ought to be going in turmoil and confusion saying I wonder if God is disciplining me. If you are open before the Lord, you'll be well aware if that discipline is for sin in your life.

Secondly. Need to be careful when you see somebody else ill, that you don't say aha, must be sin. And I didn't know what the sin was, but I knew something was there. Need to be careful. There are physical things brought into our life. We've seen that in our study of Philippians with Epaphroditus who almost died, yet Paul gives no indication that there was any sin in his life that he was being disciplined for. Rather, he holds him up as an exemplary servant of the Lord. But he was ill and Paul prayed for him and God restored him. So I need to be careful. I can't always make that judgment. If sin is obvious, I can. If the sin has been open and I am aware of it and others are aware of it and someone gets ill, then I put it together. But I do not discern the heart. I realize that we indulge in secret personal sins that can be every bit as gross as those that are known. God knows them and you know them, if you're indulging in it. I know when I indulge in sin.
The Spirit of God convicts me of it. If I persist in that, I am aware of it. I have a guilt of it. I am uncomfortable with it. So there is no secretiveness here. I take it that's what's going on in I John We have people under discipline at Indian Hills Community Church. They turn up at the hospital with a serious disease, I would assume that that’s the hand of God upon them in discipline. And the burden is on them. They call for the elders. The pressure is on them to want to deal with their sin, and that's why they call. It's their way of acknowledging their sin and their desire to deal with it and thus then prayer can be offered and if the illness is because of sin and the sin is taken care of by the person, then God can restore them to health. Now that's not always the case. Moses is an example. Moses didn't persist in that sin, but nonetheless, God held the discipline as firm. So it's before the Lord. But evidentially, in I John 5 we are able to make certain determinations. The idea of a mortal and venial sin as the Roman Catholic church teaches, has nothing to do with anything here. We as believers have the observation and the ability to determine and, we as believers are given the responsibility to pray. Now we are talking about the general situation like at Corinth. Could Paul tell them what the causes of their illnesses were? What the case of some of the death was? Yes. It was obvious.

Here are Christians indulging in sin. It's obvious. And they're sin and they're dying. Put two and two together. Christians who indulge in sin will be disciplined by the Lord. That's what I John 5 is talking about. Now there is sin in verse 16 end of the verse. There is a sin not to death."I do not say that he should make request for this." That's what we're saying, you don't pray for that. But on the other, we can. You say well, I don't know whether to pray then. This person may have secret sins in his life. Well, I don't know. I pray according to my knowledge. I am aware that God works. Now I realize that some that may not be in sin are going to get sick and die and it would seem to be premature. You say, my they shouldn't have died at that early age. But it was God's plan and program for them. So I say this because we need to be very careful that we don't make a case where it's not. I believe in the will of God. I could get sick and die in the next year and it would simply be indicative of God's plan for me was complete. He was ready for me to come to glory. And that would be a great blessing. By the same token, I could because of sin become ill and die and it would be a tragedy because God had to discipline me in that way and I’ve lost the blessing of a more fruitful life and the rewards of that life. So both are true. We need to be careful in how we look at it. But we need to be honest too. We shy away from this idea. I believe that many Christians suffer physical problems and maladies because of sin. Now, all of us are going to get sick and die some time and it's not necessarily the result of sin. So there ought to be clarity here and I take it the clarity is here as it was in James 5 and I Corinthians 11, as it was in Numbers 18 and Deuteronomy 32. Clear instances. So here's an example of praying. And praying according to the will of God. You say, 0 look, I don’t care that that person's been living in adultery. I'm going to pray the Lord gives them physical health anyway. Well, that's not praying according to the will of God. God's will is clear. That He disciplines them. His will is that they stop the sin. It amazes me how people will persist in sin even under the heavy hand of God. And I should say, God lift your hand off of them so that they have more freedom in their sin? Well, I need to pray according to the will of God. The will of God is revealed here. When I pray according to the will of God, He can respond.

Verse 17, "All unrighteousness is sin." All sin is sin. So we're not making a distinction there, and saying well some sin is bad sin and some sin is not bad sin. And so if you are sinning and not sick, you’re probably doing a not-bad sin. God makes the determination. You read the Old Testament and read the sins of the various people. Why because Moses struck the rock should he have to die, and David murdered someone, committed adultery, and he was permitted to live? Well you say, the rock was the type I know. But still, as we would look and measure it, I would say striking the rock isn't as bad as committing adultery and then murdering to cover up the sin and then living a self-righteous life in condemning the example given by the prophet when he comes to confront David. Only God makes the determination. All sin is unrighteous. I need to see sin in that light rather than saying, well this isn't so serious I don't need to worry about it or it's not bad if you indulge in that. God says all sin is unrighteousness. So that's the general character of sin. There is sin not to death. The distinction he just mentioned. There are sins we commit that result in God's disciplining us to death. But God makes the determination. Just as you, the parent, do. I have to decide what punishment is fitting for my children. And they say, well wait, that's not fair. Well, I have to tell them, I have to decide what's right for you in this situation and follow through accordingly. And that's the way it is here. God does. So there's a sin not to death. Praise God that God doesn't, you know, take our physical life or none of us would be here this evening. Why? Because we've all sinned since we became believers. We'd all be gone. But need to be careful I don't take a light attitude of sin either. So the balance there and God is determinative.

Ought to note. In I John, I take it this is the only place along with the opening verses of chapter 2, where John deals with sin in the life of a believer. There, if any man sins, we have an advocate with the Father. John basically through his book has what? Dealt with issues black and white. Believer and non-believer. But on these two occasions in I John chapter 2 and the opening verses, and here at the end of chapter 5» he does touch on the fact that Christians do sin and how sin is to be handled. And what am I to do about praying for a Christian who is in sin? How do I handle that? So even though he has been dealing with believer and non-believer, he brings up the matter that there can be sin in a Christian's life and it's a very serious matter. I think we've lost sight of it.

The lack of church discipline has caused us to lose sight of the seriousness of sin. We haven't dealt with it the way we should. We've taken a light attitude towards it. God's attitude towards sin hasn't changed. So I take it we need to be careful to have His attitude and His perspective. So the whole paragraph from 13 to 17, we have assurance in Christ. We have confidence in Christ. We have the exhortation and encouragement to pray specifically in light of that relationship that we have with Him. We ought to be praying for one another. Prayers make a difference. Our prayers make the difference of life or death. And so our ministry to one another is crucial. And our prayer life is crucial. I trust that God will burden us to be praying for one another. Upholding one another in prayer. Not just in the specifics that we studied in verses 16 and 17, but generally, we need to be praying for one another that God will keep us from sin. Where we know that there are weaknesses. That there are Christians involved in things they shouldn't, we need to be praying for them. Upholding them instead of tearing them down, looking for opportunities to be used of the Lord to turn them around according to the injunction given by Christ that we are to go to them, talk with them. I can do that if I've been praying for them. Then I go with the right attitude. If I've been praying with a burden for you and the sin I see in your life, then I come with a different attitude of sin in our life and the importance of prayer.

Let's pray together.