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“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’”

There is no doubt that the Bible teaches us to love our neighbor. Leviticus 19:18 says,

“You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.”

This is at the root of the second greatest commandment, as Jesus affirms for us that the Law of God instructs us to “love our neighbor as yourself.” In fact, the Bible tells us that all of the second tablet of the Law, all of the 10 Commandments that cover how we relate to others, can be summed up in this Second Law. Paul writes in Romans 13:9,

“For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

As indisputable as it is that the Law expects us to love our neighbor, we see from the Rabbinical traditions that things were amended. At first, teachers removed the words “as yourself.” Since they were the chosen people of God who understood and sought to live in obedience to the Word of God, they saw no reason to love their neighbor as they loved themselves. They were better than their neighbors. So yes, they would love their neighbor, but a Pharisee’s highest love was loving and pleasing himself. This self love is demonstrated in his prayer, “‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men…” (Luke 18:11).

Next the religious leaders redefined who exactly was a neighbor. When we understand the change they made we suddenly realize how serious and shocking it was for Jesus to tell a Jewish audience that the Samaritans were their neighbors. The people had been taught for generations that a neighbor was a fellow Jew in good standing in the community who was well liked. If a person was a Gentile, he was not your neighbor. If he was a Jew, but had a bad reputation, he was not your neighbor. In fact, if he was a fellow Jew but you just didn’t like him, he was not your neighbor. The only people you had to love were people just like you who you already liked.

To make their point, the teachers added a phrase. They added to the Law, “Hate your enemies.” Literally, they said it was acceptable according to God’s Law to detest personal enemies, even to the point of being able to treat them badly.

But what does God’s Word really say? Jesus answers that question in verse 44.

But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,

Jesus confirms what the Word of God has always taught without contradiction. Not only are we commanded to love our neighbors, but we are even commanded to love our enemies. This is not just a New Testament teaching. It comes from the Old Testament. Consider these examples:

Exodus 23:4-5 says:

If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again. If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden, and you would refrain from helping it, you shall surely help him with it.

We are to demonstrate care for our enemies by being compassionate even to their animals.

Job 31:29-32 finds Job confessing:

“If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me, or lifted myself up when evil found him (Indeed I have not allowed my mouth to sin by asking for a curse on his soul); if the men of my tent have not said, ‘Who is there that has not been satisfied with his meat?’ (But no sojourner had to lodge in the street, for I have opened my doors to the traveler);

He tells us that he has been an example of righteousness because he has not spoken badly about his enemies. He has even been hospitable and opened his doors to those in need, even if he does not know where they are from or who they are.

Proverbs tells us:

He who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished. (Prov 17:5)

Do not say, “I will do to him just as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work.” (Prov 24:29)

If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. (Prov 25:21)

And then there is Psalms 7:4-5:

If I have repaid evil to him who was at peace with me, or have plundered my enemy without cause, let the enemy pursue me and overtake me; yes, let him trample my life to the earth, and lay my honor in the dust.

Treating people badly, even if they are our enemies, is dishonorable according to God’s Word. We are told over and over again to love our enemies and we see here in the Scriptures that this love is not simply an emotion or a feeling. It is a definable set of actions that we take toward other people – people that we do not like, but who we are commanded to love.

It is important to make a note here, that just as with the lesson from last week about our rights (Matthew 5:38-42), we are not talking about criminal matters, or even military matters, where the enemy is a law-breaker seeking to harm us or an army trying to conquer us. These teachings refer specifically to civil matters and to personal relationships. Jesus is clarifying for us what the Word of God tells us about dealing with disagreeable people on a personal level.

We must admit that there are those we have a personality conflict with, others who we just cannot seem to get along with – friends, family members, co-workers. But beyond our personal feelings for people, Jesus says we must love our neighbors and our enemies alike.

How do we measure this kind of love? From our study on Sunday mornings we see that love is measured by the cross of Christ. 1 John 3:16 tells us:

By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

His love is demonstrated for us by His laying down His life for us. And if we are to love others, that involves laying down our lives for them. It is self-sacrifice. This does not only mean that we die for them, it means we die to self for them. We put our self-interests aside and seek to please others.

Romans 5:7-8 makes it clear what this kind of love looks like:

For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

It is often times unthinkable to us to imagine dying for a stranger. Finding someone in danger and putting our lives between them and the threat. But the kind of love God has shown us and that we are to imitate is a love that will lay self aside even for a stranger and an enemy!

Here in our text, this kind of love is not an emotion or a feeling. It is an action. Jesus tells us how to love our enemies:

bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you

To bless, from the Greek word “eulogize”, is to praise, to say good things about (true things!). We love our enemies not by feeling good about them, but by saying good things to them. We praise those who are cursing us. We minister grace to them with our words. We are nice. We are gentle, compassionate, caring. We love them with our words.

Further, we are to do good to those who hate us. Doing good also involves speaking but goes even further. It means saying good, helpful things about our enemies to other people. It also means to treat them with excellence and honor.

But wait a minute? It is so much easier to slander our enemies, to gossip about them, to tell others how hatefully and sinfully they have treated us. But Christ forbids this! We are not to slander. We are not to lie about others or to others. We are also not to gossip, even if what we are saying is the truth, if we are saying it in order to hurt them then we are sinning with our tongues. Loving our enemies means that we say encouraging things to them and good things about them to others.

But Jesus takes it one step further. We are also to pray for them. These enemies may be spitefully using us, and even persecuting us, yet our response is to talk to God about them! To pray, not for their destruction, but for their salvation.

Psalm 35:12-15 says:

They reward me evil for good, to the sorrow of my soul. But as for me, when they were sick, My clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting; and my prayer would return to my own heart. I paced about as though he were my friend or brother; I bowed down heavily, as one who mourns for his mother. But in my adversity they rejoiced and gathered together; attackers gathered against me, and I did not know it; they tore at me and did not cease.

David had enemies. They rewarded him evil for good. But when they were sick, he did not cry out for them to die and be judged. He wore sackcloth and ashes and mourned for them and prayed for them to be well. He even fasted and thought of them as if they were a friend, or a brother. They still sinned against him, but he never wavered from doing what was right according to God’s Word.

Jesus tells us in verses 45 through 47 that the only way that we can love like this is to follow God’s own example.

that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?

We prove that we are sons and daughters of God, His children and heirs, when we love like He loves. Of course God’s highest love is for His Son and for His Elect. Jeremiah 31:3 shows us this love:

The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.

His love for His children is an everlasting love. And yet, it can also be said that God has shown common grace, a lesser form of love, to all of His creation. He takes care of the evil and the good, the just and unjust – sending sunshine or rain on them not based on what they deserve but on His own will and good pleasure to care for His creation. Daily provisions come from His hands for all of His creatures.

Psalm 145:9, and 15-16 show us this love in action:

The LORD is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works.

The eyes of all look expectantly to You, And You give them their food in due season.

You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing.

God takes care of all. He is good to all. He has mercy on all to some extent. If it were not for this mercy, though it does not bring salvation to all, it does spare them immediate judgment and wrath, which is all we really deserve left on our own without His grace.

Jesus’ point is that if we are to follow God’s example of love then we must do more than the minimum required of us. We must do more than the least that is expected. After all, if we only love those who love us, what kind of love is that? If we love those who hate us, that gives us a greater understanding of what love really is. Love is a decision of our will to treat someone else with dignity and respect no matter what they have done or said to us or about us.

Even tax collectors – the most hated people in society during Jesus’ time, and ours – even the most despised know how to love those who love them. But who loves the tax collectors? Jesus does! He even called one to be one of His Twelve Disciples – Matthew.

We see then that Jesus clarifies the Word of God for us. He shows us that we are expected to follow God’s example. After all, God does love His enemies. Remember Romans 5:8?

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

In coming to the conclusion of this section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus sums up all of these six points about the Law and our motives and actions towards others. In verse 48 we find the most important verse in this whole sermon. In fact, it is the verse that all the rest of the Sermon hinges upon.

Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

If we do what the Law requires of us, we will be perfect! There is just one little problem. Who can keep the Law perfectly? Only Christ. We cannot. We do not. The Bible tells us that if we break one small commandment we have broken the whole law. So how can we be perfect?

The truth here is the truth that the Law was given to teach us in the first place. On our own we cannot obey the Law, we cannot please God, we cannot earn salvation, we cannot be perfect. On our own without Christ we can do nothing to help ourselves, save ourselves, or even find any way to please God in anything we do, think, or say.

So what does Jesus mean when He tells us we will be perfect? The word perfect means “to reach the intended use or end.” Something that is perfect is doing and being exactly what it was intended to be without fault. It is whole, without defect, blameless, and complete.

We understand that only God is good and perfect. Psalm 18:30 tell us:

As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

Everything about God is perfect. He is perfect. His Word is perfect. What He does and says is perfect. Yet we are not perfect. So how can we be perfect? This is what Jesus tells us our goal should be. In order to prevent pride and self-righteousness, Jesus knows that the Word of God teaches us that it is only by God’s work in us that we can ever hope to be perfect.

Further down in the same Psalm we read:

It is God who arms me with strength, And makes my way perfect. (Psalm 18:32)

God can and will make us perfect so that we can think, say, and do the things He expects us and has created us to do. He has already begun the process! His saving us is how He makes us what we should be and how we reach our completion.
Philippians 1:6 assures us that He has begun the work and will finish it:

…being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ…

If we have repented of our sin and trusted in Christ, then in our past, He has dealt with every imperfection and shortcoming by forgiving all of our sin. In Hebrews 10:14 He explains it by saying:

For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.

By the offering of Christ for us He has begun this glorious transformation where we will one day be perfect. But what about the present? What about now? How can we love the way He commands us to love knowing that we are still imperfect? Paul sympathizes and says that we are to keep moving forward, to keep growing in grace, to keep pressing on to reach the goal. Philippians 3:12 says:

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.

For now, keep going, Keep imitating God. Keep trying! In the future, at our glorification, we will one day be perfect just as Jesus is perfect. In the mean time, in the present, we must press on. And for our lesson tonight we see that the biggest step we can take in being imitators of God is to do what Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:

Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us…

Imitate God by walking in love, not only love for people we like. Not love for those who love us back. But walk in love by loving like God loves us – without condition. Love even your enemies, not just by deciding to feel or think differently about them. Love them by taking action! Bless, do good, and pray for them.

When we treat even our enemies this way we are proving that we are sons and daughters of God and will one day be perfect because of the work He has begun in us and will bring to completion when Christ calls us to be with Him forever.

This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.

In preparing His people for deliverance, both from bondage in Egypt and from the Angel of Death, He tells them that this coming event is significant enough that it should be used as a milestone to mark the beginning of each new year. This passing over of the houses marked with the blood from the lamb that had been sacrificed was so precious an event that it was used to mark time and is proclaimed by God to be given as an “everlasting ordinance” to His people. We now remember and participate in this ordinance each time that we observe the Lord’s Supper, or Communion.

In Exodus we see that Israel was in bondage to Egypt just as we are all born slaves of sin (Rom 3:23; 6:16). Israel was crying out for deliverance (Exodus 3:7) and God was the One Who set in motion the plan to rescue them (Exodus 3:8), just as He set into motion the plan to redeem us from our sin (John 3:16; Eph 1:3-6). And just as He took His people through the wilderness to the Promised Land, so too, we look for heaven, to the return of our King, and to life in His presence forever (Heb 11:9-10).

For our beginning of months in this new year of 2012, let us think about the things that were necessary for the deliverance of God’s people. This gives us cause to remember and to rejoice in the salvation of our God.

Bondage

First we see that there had to be bondage. The people needed to be delivered. Without bondage, without being enslaved, and without being incapable of rescuing themselves the people had no need of a Savior. How often do we forget that we need to be saved and that we need to be delivered from sin and death and that there is nothing that we can do about it on our own? Since the fall, the race of Adam has been bound in sin and in need of salvation.

Death

Secondly we see that there had to be death. There was the death of the firstborn of the Egyptians that motivated Pharaoh to finally let the people go and there was the death of the Passover Lamb, sacrificed so that the blood could be spread on the doorposts of the homes where the Angel of Death would pass over.

Death is a fact of life in this fallen world. As we close out one year and ring in the new we remember those who died during the last 12 months, but even then we often try to hide from it, ignore it, or pretend that we will never die. We really do try not to think about death, but each of us will die physically unless Jesus returns first. The wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23) and we are all sinners. We live in a fallen world, afflicted with sickness, sorrow, and suffering. And sin is the only explanation that can be offered when we are asked why bad things happen.

Is this a reason to give up hope or to despair? Of course not. For those who have been delivered they have been passed over – physical death though inevitable will not hurt them. It is merely a step from this life into the presence of the One Who gave Himself to save us.

For those who have not been delivered from the power of sin through repentance and faith in Christ, death is a sudden step into eternity to face their Judge, and with all the talk these days about contextualizing the gospel and being relevant, perhaps we would be better off if we just realized that people are dying without Jesus and they need to hear the gospel. We need not contextualize it or make it relevant. All people are sinners. All people die. Only Jesus can deliver them from sin and death. You can’t get more relevant than that!

We must notice from the passage in Exodus that it was not only the firstborn of the Egyptians who died that night. The lamb died too. The lamb was sacrificed, and that gives us cause to rejoice because Jesus is our Passover Lamb. He died in our place, substituting Himself for us so that we need not fear death.

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing! And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: “ Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!”

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

Obedience

The third thing that we see that had to be necessary for the Passover was an obedient people. Moses and Aaron had to tell the people what God expected and the people had to hear and do what they were told. It was only through carefully following the things that Moses said that the people were spared death and freed from their bondage. There was only one way to get out of Egypt. There was only one route to freedom, and the instructions were specific.

Today we need to be reminded that there is only One Way to be delivered and that Way is Jesus Christ (John 14:6). His gospel is specific, it is a command, and we must hear and obey it if we are to be freed from this slavery to unrighteousness.

Beyond hearing the gospel for the first time we also need to continue to hear His voice as He leads us through His Word by the power of the Holy Spirit. We hear Him through reading, through listening to faithful preachers and teachers, through fellowship, though the songs of praise we sing, and through other means as we are exposed to the Word of God. As we hear the Word and obey the Word we prove that we love God (1 John 5:3), we are sanctified (John 17:17), we are transformed (Rom 12:1-2), and we are equipped to fight the good fight and overcome sin and temptation (Psalm 119:11).

There are plenty of false teachers out there. There are more than enough who try to entertain people and preach that it is all about us, all about being happy, having our best life, being healthy, wealthy, and wise. But this man-centered gospel never saved anyone – it only condemned those who hear it because it is not the truth. The truth is that it is not about us – it is about a Holy God. It is about hearing Him and obeying Him, not for what we can get from Him but because He alone deserves our worship, adoration, and obedience.

In this, our beginning of months, let us remember the things that God tells us are important, things important enough to rewrite the calendar. Let us be determined not to mark the time of our lives by the simple worldly things that pass us by, but by the worship of our God who has passed us over in regards to His wrath solely on the basis of His Son, freeing us from sin and death so that we might proclaim His holiness, His love, and His goodness.

In this New Year, it is not about us, it is about Him! That is the only place to begin.

“In the beginning, God…….”

When we think about having assurance of our salvation we usually are quick to affirm the truth that we have read in 1 John. We have been told “Now by this we know that we know Him” (1 John 2:3), and “These things I have written to you…that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). We know that we can know that we know Jesus. Or at least we hope so.

Some Christians will tell us that they have never doubted their salvation, as if a lack of assurance is evidence of weakness or immaturity. All I can say to that is that if someone really has not ever had any doubt at all then perhaps this reveals a false assurance, an assurance that is too good to be true. Not that I want anyone to doubt. I want us to be sure. Anyone who struggles with sin and desires sanctification surely has seen enough of themselves to wonder how God could save “a wretch like me”. Faith that falters is still faith.

We often miss the fact that when we doubt we are compelled to be reassured. Doubts about our salvation rarely destroy our faith and often lead to strengthening it as we shore up what is lacking. So while we should not fear doubts, we also should not let them linger. Let us sing “My heart has no desire to stay, where doubts arise and fears dismay.”

A doubt is a lack of faith, and too often we doubt the truth when we really should doubt the doubt. It is the doubt that is founded on fear and uncertainty. Why trust the doubt and let it affect how we think, feel, and act?

Doubts usually arise because of sin, sorrow, or struggles. We fall to temptation and are disgusted with ourselves, wondering how a person who is redeemed could do what we have just done. We become overwhelmed with grief or sadness and hope and joy give way to fear. Or we grow weary in the struggle against sin and sorrow, losing sight of Christ in the midst of trials and tribulation. We sink in the wind and waves and wonder how a disciple of Christ could fail so miserably.

In attempting to pull ourselves back together and regain some semblance of assurance we are often encouraged to look at our good works. We are told to examine our lives and see the things that are different now than before we came to know Christ. These outer changes, and even changes in attitude and appetite, are described as fruit, and we know you can tell a tree by its fruit. But too often when we do look at fruit and our good works we are still just looking at ourselves. True lasting assurance cannot originate with self because we know how prone to failure we are. Even the largest ego and the most assured self-esteem with falter when we come face to face with our depravity.

Where do we find assurance then? How can we really know that we know Jesus, and that He knows us?

Make Your Calling and Election Sure

We read in 2 Peter 1:10:

Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;

To be diligent is to “make every effort”, to work hard at accomplishing a task. Here we are told to be even more diligent to make our calling and election sure. In other words, we need to diligently make sure that we are called and elect.

In order to understand how to do this, and in order to find the key to true and lasting assurance, we must recognize that our calling and election is a matter decided by God, not by us. We are not being told here to examine anything that originates from us. It is not that we responded to the call, or that we ourselves have made a decision, or elected, to follow Christ. These words refer to specific acts of God directed toward us for His own purposes and glory. So assurance does not come from what we have done with what God gives us, our assurance is based on the fact that our salvation, start to finish, is a work God has done through Christ.

Calling

Calling refers to an invitation or command. We are called to salvation. This is referred to as the effectual calling and is mentioned by Paul in several of his epistles. This is God’s initiation of our relationship with Him. The truth is that as a carnal (lost) person, we on our own are dead and bound in sin and have no desire within ourselves to abandon our sin or come to Christ (1 Cor 2:14). As the great old hymn Oh, How I Love Jesus proclaims “Oh, how I love Jesus, because He first loved me.” This is absolutely true, if He did not love us first, we would never love Him. Hence Jesus tells us in John 6:44, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.” This is the calling. And when God calls us, He means it (Rom 11:29).

We see then that God calls us to repent and believe (Matt 9:13), to come and follow Christ (Matt 11:28), and to produce good works (1 Peter 2:21; Eph 4:1). While we may see the fruit of regeneration in our lives as we repent of our sin and trust Christ, following Him and producing good fruit – these things are not the basis for our assurance. The basis of our assurance is found in the fact that God has called us!

Election

Election is thought to be a controversial and confusing topic doctrinally, but it really isn’t either. The word “election” refers to making a choice. When it comes to salvation the choice that really matters is not our choice, it is God’s choice! Biblically we see that election refers to God’s choice in saving sinners, and no matter what we believe about the doctrine of election, this we can all agree on – if God did not choose to save, no one would be saved!

We know that He does not call us based on what He sees in us, for any good we have done, or evil that we have shunned (Rom 9:11). And it certainly is not based on anything good in us. When God went looking for good among men He proclaimed in His Word, “There is none good, no not one” (Psalm 14:1-3; Psalm 53:3; Romans 3:12).

What we see in 1 Peter 1:1-2 is that the doctrine of election speaks to more than just God’s choice to save us. It is deeper than that. We have been chosen by God to salvation, but we have also been chosen for obedience.

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.

Obedience is a mark of salvation to be sure, but it is not a reason for assurance. Our hope of assurance is found in the truth that when it comes to salvation God has chosen us. If we look to good works for assurance of salvation then we are really just looking at self. Self cannot save us or give us assurance. If on the other hand we look to Christ and the promises He has given us through His Word, then we can truly be sure, because Jesus never changes, the Spirit never leaves, and God cannot lie.

We have been called and chosen by God for salvation, justification, sanctification, and glorification (Rom 8:30), so that we might produce good works for His glory now and forever as we enjoy the everlasting life we have been given because of the life and death and resurrection of Christ, our Lord and Savior. In order to make our calling and election sure we must look to the promises of God. His Word is sure, steadfast, trustworthy, and pure.

God’s Sure Word

One promise from God’s Word can effectively and efficiently disperse our doubts. And while there are many promises to choose from and to meditate upon, let us look at one promise that Christ Himself gives us that will help us find assurance of our salvation.

When it comes to calling and election, Jesus said, “Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt 11:28). He also said, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37).

There is our calling and election. He calls, we come. If we come, He will not cast us out or turn us away. If our assurance is faltering and failing, if we are sinking fast into sin, sorrow, and struggles – look to Jesus, call to Jesus, come to Jesus! Based on the authority of His Word and the surety of His promise, if we come He will receive us. He is our assurance.

—-

Listen to the Bible Study Lesson behind this article here:
Make Your Calling and Election Sure - 2 Peter 1:10-11
Filed under: Articles Tagged: Recovering a Right Perspective ]]> http://timeintheword.wordpress.com/2011/07/07/are-you-sure/feed/ 0 Phillip M Way http://timeintheword.wordpress.com/2011/05/28/the-sin-unto-death/ http://timeintheword.wordpress.com/2011/05/28/the-sin-unto-death/#comments Sat, 28 May 2011 17:01:20 +0000 phillipmway http://timeintheword.wordpress.com/?p=1595 ]]> In his first epistle the Apostle John assures believers of the confidence we have knowing that when we pray God hears us. In 1 John 5:14-17 we read:

14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. 16 If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. 17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.

As we pray for one another within the Body of Christ, there are times that we intercede on behalf of those who have sinned. All through the Scripture we understand that sin is a serious matter. The wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23). It is because we are sinners that Christ had to die in our place as our substitute, bearing upon Himself the wrath of God for our sin (2 Cor. 5:21). We understand then that sin is deadly.

Due to the grace and mercy of God given to us through Christ, we who have repented of our sin and believed on Jesus have our sins forgiven. But while the eternal consequence of sin has been removed by the death of Christ, we see that we will still die if Jesus does not return in our lifetime. We are forgiven, but we are still living in this fallen flesh, and we still sin while in this earthly body. And the wages of sin are still death. The way in which we obey or disobey God and His Word will have consequences here and now.

King David is an example we can examine. When he committed adultery with Bathsheba, he was grieved and guilty, and even after he had been confronted by the prophet Nathan and repented, there were still consequences. David was still a child of God, but the baby conceived by the act of adultery died, and David suffered division and rebellion in the lives of several of his other children. His sin tore the family apart and affected him and them for generations.

What we sow, the Scriptures assure us, we will reap (Gal. 6:7). And lest we be ignorant of the matter, there are differing degrees of sin in the eyes of our all holy God. Each and every sin is deserving of death and will bring consequences in our life and the lives of those around us. But there are some sins that are worse than others.

All sin is an affront to God, but He tells us that there are seven sins that He especially hates. Proverbs 6:16-19 tells us:

16 These six things the LORD hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: 17 A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, 19 A false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren.

Looking at the list it is interesting that deceit is listed twice out of seven things God hates. “A lying tongue” and “a false witness who speaks lies” both earn a special hatred from the Lord. This makes sense when we understand that Jesus tells us that He is the truth (John 14:6). We also understand that the testimony of the Lord given in His Word assures us that every Word of the Lord is pure (Prov. 30:5), His Word is truth (John 17:17), and He will not lie because He cannot lie (Titus 1:2).

Also making the list are pride, murder, wicked intentions, a propensity to run swiftly into sin, and one who sows discord among brethren. This list is frightening when understood in light of the Sermon on the Mount, where Christ shows us that these outward acts are just as evil as the inward intentions behind them.

We also see in the Scriptures a number of examples of people in the church who sinned these types of sins and bore the consequences immediately. In giving instructions for observing the Lord’s Supper, Paul warns the church at Corinth that partaking in an unworthy manner has led some believers to be sick and others to die (1 Cor. 11:29-30). To celebrate the death of Christ for the forgiveness of sins all the while refusing to repent of sin, embracing and loving it despite the grace of God, is to sin a sin unto death, as the participant then literally eats the judgment of God.

The most powerful example is found in Acts 5 where we see Ananias and Sapphira lying to the Holy Spirit and to the Church, motivated by pride, devising wickedness in their hearts (Acts 5:1-3). It proved to be a deadly combination of sins that God hates! When confronted, Ananias fell dead at Peter’s feet.

Three hours later when Sapphira came into the church, not knowing what had happened, she was asked directly if she had been honest and she too lied right to Peter’s face. And she died immediately. The result was that fear came upon the congregation. God’s Word and His character were upheld and sin was exposed. This became a powerful example to the church about the dangers of sin.

Looking back at 1 John 5:14-17 then we see that John tells the church that there are sins that lead to death, and sins that do not lead to death. If the wages of sin is still death, and all sin deserves the penalty of death, then what does he mean by making this differentiation?

As he gives instruction and encouragement about prayer, we see that we can take confidence in the fact that when we pray according to God’s will, He hears and answers. So when we see a brother or sister in the Lord sinning, we are to pray for them. If they are not sinning a sin that is going to lead rather quickly to death, then God will hear, answer, and preserve the life of that believer. This would include granting them repentance and forgiveness as they confess this sin. So there are sins we commit, knowingly or in ignorance, that will not lead specifically to death as a consequence.

But there is a category of sins here that lead to death. When a believer sins these types of sins there will be no repentance granted and the consequence of death will follow rapidly. John tells the church that if they see a believer sinning the sin unto death that there is no need to pray for them! Why? Because if they have sinned the sin unto death, to pray for God to grant them repentance and to give them life is not praying according to His will. His will in this situation is the death of the believer. And no matter what we pray, His will is going to be done.

So there are sins that do not lead immediately to death, though all sin carries the death penalty. And there are sins that are considered worthy of death without delay. Apparently the church John was writing to could recognize the difference between the sins that lead to death and those that do not. He gives no further explanation. This has caused much discussion in the history of the church and those discussions often lead to confusion.

But God is not the Author of confusion. His Word is clear when it comes to telling us about sin and the consequences of disobedience. A pastor who mentored me once gave this explanation. God uses His Word to sanctify believers. That is to say He uses His Word preached, taught, and obeyed to conform us to the image of His Son Jesus Christ. If a believer persists in sin, especially an egregious sin without repentance and remorse, there will come a time when this sin prevents further transformation into the image of Christ and in fact brings shame upon Christ and His Church. At some point, when the sin unto death has been sinned, the Lord will cause the death of that person, basically taking them on to heaven where there will be no further hindrance to the transformation.

Paul in 1 Corinthians 5:4-5 tells the church that in the case of an immoral and unrepentant believer, the church in disciplining this member should deliver (turn over) such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh for the salvation of his soul. In other words, turn him over to his sin so that his sin might destroy him, leading to his death, and thereby freeing him from sin ultimately because of the salvation of his soul.

4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5 deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Church discipline always has as its goal restoration. However, when restoration is rejected and prevented, the Word of God gives us steps to follow in order to maintain the purity of the church and to uphold the Word of God as our standard for holiness. Here as in 1 Corinthians 5, this would be an instance where the church recognizes that this fellow believer has sinned the sin unto death and so turns them over to the consequence of their sin through the process of church discipline for the ultimate good of the believer and to maintain holiness in the church.

When a believer sins continually without repentance, in pride asserting that they are right, justifying their actions and even trying to prove that their wickedness is not in fact wicked, when their hearts devise wickedness, their feet are swift to run to those things that God hates, they are angry at fellow believers without a cause being guilty of the motive of murder, lying to themselves, the church, and to the Lord, spreading false testimony, causing division in churches and even bringing division in families – when we see a professing believer living like this, persistently refusing to repent of known sin, then they must be warned that they may be sinning the sin unto death.

As the church, when we gather to pray, we need to understand that we must pray for each other, for preservation from sin, especially the sin unto death. For once we have taken a step down that path, the Scripture is clear, praying for such a one is useless. In fact, the prophet Jeremiah tells us that there are times we are not to pray for people because God will not hear. His Word is clear that to pray against His will is futile.

There are times when believers are sick and die and these things have nothing to do with a sin that leads to death. But we need to be diligent in seeking holiness, and we need to see that there are times that God will turn His people over to their sin for the destruction of their flesh, to remove that which hinders their being conformed into the image of Christ.

There is sin that does not lead to death. Praise God for His mercy. There is also sin that does lead to death. Praise God for His sovereign care for our souls, for saving us from sin, for saving us from eternal torments in the second death, and for saving us from ourselves.