“Nothing is certain but death and taxes.”

Benjamin Franklin wrote those words in 1789. Of course, a wise man like Franklin knew that many other things are also certain. The Christian also knows that there are many certainties. Of spiritual truth, Christians are not afraid to say, “We know!” In fact, the word know occurs thirty-nine times in John’s brief letter, eight times in this closing chapter.

Man has a deep desire for certainty, and he will even dabble in the occult in his effort to find out something for sure.

The life that is real is built on the divine certainties that are found in Jesus Christ. The world may accuse the Christian of being proud and dogmatic, but this does not keep him from saying, “I know!” In these closing verses of John’s letter we find five Christian certainties on which we can build our lives with confidence.

1-Jesus Is God (1 John 5:6-10)

This is the one who came by water and blood–Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. {7} For there are three that testify: {8} the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. {9} We accept man’s testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. {10} Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son.

In 1 John 5:1-5, emphasis is placed on trusting Jesus Christ. A person who trusts Christ is born of God and is able to overcome the world. To believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God is basic to Christian experience.

The child of God is to expect victory. Much of the power of the early church found its source in this expectancy. They had stepped into a new kind of life, rather than merely adopting a new religion. The unseen things of eternity had become more real to them than the three dimensional materialism of this earthly existence. Friends marveled at it, enemies trembled at it, and emperors went mad in trying to understand the dynamic with which the first century faced both life and death.

In the verses before us, John pin-points the source of power. It is our faith. Faith in the firm conviction that, in Jesus, the word of power by which God sustains the worlds, became flesh! It is a personal trust in Him that makes His power our own, His victory ours.

New Testament faith is more than mental assent to a proposition. It is more than mere belief. It is more than the acceptance of theological dogma or conformity to doctrine. Faith is the assurance of our hope; a conviction of unseen realities. (Cf. Hebrews 11:1) The child of God knows from experience that the real values of life, both here and hereafter, lie in an other-wordly realm. We are “not in the flesh, but in the spirit.” ( Romans 8:9).

Faith is not merely a positive attitude toward life. It is more than self-confidence. Faith must have an object. It is a trusting-awareness of that object. The object of the Christian faith is a Galilean Carpenter, who, through certain phenomenal events in His life, was revealed to be the uniquely begotten Son of God; a visitor to this dimension from another arena of activity. Of these phenomena, John selects two which suit the purpose of this epistle: His baptism and His death.

John presents three infallible witnesses to prove that Jesus is God.

First witness—the water.

Jesus came “by water and blood.” The water refers to His baptism in Jordan, when the Father spoke from heaven and said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:13-17). At the same time the Spirit descended like a dove and rested on Him. This was the Father’s attestation of His Son at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.

Second witness—the blood.

But the Father gave further witness as the time drew near for Jesus to die. He spoke audibly to Jesus from heaven, and said, “I have both glorified [My name], and will glorify it again” (John 12:28). Furthermore, the Father witnessed in miracle power when Jesus was on the cross: the supernatural darkness, the earthquake, and the rending of the temple veil

(Matthew 27:45 )  From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.

(Matthew 27:50-53 )  And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. {51} At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. {52} The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. {53} They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

No wonder the centurion cried out, “Truly this was the Son of God!” (Matt. 27:54)

Third witness—the Spirit.

The Spirit was given to bear witness to Christ

(John 15:26 )  “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.

(John 16:14 )  He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.

We can trust the Spirit’s witness because “the Spirit is truth.” We were not present at the baptism of Christ or at His death, but the Holy Spirit was present. The Holy Spirit is the only Person active on earth today who was present when Christ was ministering here. The witness of the Father is past history, but the witness of the Spirit is present experience.

How does the Spirit witness within the heart of a believer? “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons, by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Rom. 8:15-16, nasb). His witness is our inner confidence that we belong to Christ—not a confidence that we “work up” for ourselves, but a confidence that God gives us.

The Spirit also witnesses to us through the Word. As we read God’s Word, He speaks to us and teaches us. A Christian feels “at home” with God’s people because the Spirit dwells in him. This is another way the Spirit bears witness.

The testimony of all these three witnesses is for one thing: “That ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye may have life in His name.” (John 20:31)

In the late third or early fourth century A. D., a scribe who was copying this scripture probably inserted (in v.7 ) a sentence which reads, “for  there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost.” (King James Version ) It is not within the scope of this present work to discuss the relative merits of this sentence. It is a matter of record that it appears first, not in the original Greek of the New Testament, but in the Latin translation.

The earliest manuscript in which it appears in Greek is a copy made in  the sixteenth century. It is not needed to complete John’s argument concerning the divine proofs of Jesus’ identity as the Christ, the Son of God. Since we are following the text of the American Standard Version which omits this sentence, we shall not comment on it.

People often say, “I wish I could have faith!” But everybody lives by faith! All day long, people trust one another. They trust the doctor and the pharmacist; they trust the cook in the restaurant; they even trust the fellow driving in the other lane on the highway. If we can trust men, why can we not trust God? And not to trust Him is to make Him a liar!

Jesus is God: this is the first Christian certainty, and it is foundational to everything else.

2-Believers Have Eternal Life (1 John 5:11-13)

{11} And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. {12} He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. {13} I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

A word needs to be said about “eternal life.” It is far more than “forever existence.” Because man is essentially in the nature of God, man can never cease to be. This in and of itself is no blessing. In fact it can become the greatest possible curse. It is this same inspired writer who warns us of the danger of being “tormented day and night forever and ever. ” (Rev. 20:10). Eternal life is the kind of life that finds its fullest expression in God Himself. It is His life, and men come to it through Jesus, and no other way. (John 14:6)

Eternal life is the kind of life that vibrates in the very being of God and which, as Jesus demonstrated, cannot be held by death. In the believer it is a present reality and not merely a doctrine of the future. John has written in this epistle, and now reminds his readers, that eternal life is characterized by certain qualities and that one who has those qualities may know with certainty that he has eternal life. Such a person will accept divinely revealed truth in preference to human philosophy.

Eternal life is a gift; it is not something that we earn (John 10:27-29; Eph. 2:8-9). But this gift is a Person—Jesus Christ. We receive eternal life not only from Christ, but in Christ. “He who has the Son has the life” (1 John 5:12, nasb). Not just “life” but “the life”—the life “which is life indeed” (1 Tim. 6:19, nasb).

God wants His children to know that they belong to Him. John was inspired by the Spirit to write his Gospel to assure us that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (John 20:31). He wrote this epistle so that we may be sure that we are the children of God (1 John 5:13).

3- God Answers Prayer (1 John 5:14-15)

{14} This is the confidence we have in approaching God: 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 what we asked of him.

It is one thing to know that Jesus is God and that we are God’s children; but what about the needs and problems of daily life? Jesus helped people when He was here on earth; does He still help them? Earthly fathers take care of their children; does the Heavenly Father respond when His children call on Him?

Christians have confidence in prayer, just as they have confidence as they await the judgment

(1 John 2:28 )  And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.

(1 John 4:17 )  In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him.

We can come to the Father freely and tell Him our needs.

Of course, there are conditions we must meet.

First, we must have a heart that does not condemn us

(1 John 3:21-22 )  Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God {22} and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.

Unconfessed sin is a serious obstacle to answered prayer

Psalms 66:18 If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened;

It is worth noting that differences between a Christian husband and his wife can hinder their prayers

(1 Peter 3:1-7)  Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, {2} when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. {3} Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. {4} Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. {5} For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, {6} like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear. {7} Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.).

If there is anything between us and any other Christian, we must settle it

(Matthew 5:23-25)  “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, {24} leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. {25} “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison.

And unless a believer is abiding in Christ, in love and obedience, his prayers will not be answered

(John 15:7)  If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.).

Second, we must pray in God’s will. “Thy will be done” (Matt. 6:10).

“Prayer is a mighty instrument, not for getting man’s will done in heaven, but for getting God’s will done on earth,” wrote Robert Law.

George Mueller said: “Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance. It is laying hold of God’s willingness.”

There are times when we can only pray, “Not my will but Thy be done,” because we simply do not know God’s will in a matter. But most of the time we can determine God’s will by reading the Word, listening to the Spirit (Rom. 8:26-27), and discerning the circumstances around us.

“But if it is God’s will for me to have a thing, then why should I pray about it?” Because prayer is the way God wants His children to get what they need. God not only ordains the end, but He also ordains the means to the end—prayer.

And the more you think about it, the more wonderful this arrangement becomes. Prayer is really the thermometer of the spiritual life. God has ordained that I maintain a close walk with Him if I expect Him to meet my needs.

John does not write, “We shall have the requests,” but, “We know that we have the requests” (cf. 1 John 5:15). The verb is present tense. We may not see the answer to a prayer immediately, but we have inner confidence that God has answered. It is God witnessing to us that He has heard and answered.

What breathing is to a physical man, prayer is to a spiritual man. If we do not pray, we “faint” (Luke 18:1). Prayer is not only the utterance of the lips; it is also the desire of the heart.

“Pray without ceasing” (1 Thes. 5:17) does not mean that a Christian is always saying an audible prayer. It suggests the attitude of the heart as well as the words of the lips. A Christian who has his heart fixed on Christ and is trying to glorify Him is praying constantly even when he is not conscious of it.

• The pages of the Bible and the pages of history are filled with reports of answered prayer.
• Prayer is not spiritual self-hypnosis.
• Nor do we pray because it makes us feel better.
• We pray because God has commanded us to pray and because prayer is the God-appointed means for a believer to receive what God wants to give him.
• Prayer keeps a Christian in the will of God and living in the will of God keeps a Christian in the place of blessing and service.
• We are not beggars; we are children coming to a wealthy Father who loves to give His children what they need.

Though He was God in the flesh, Jesus depended on prayer. He lived on earth, as we must, in dependence on the Father. He arose early in the morning to pray (Mark 1:35), though He had been up late the night before healing the multitudes. He sometimes spent all night in prayer (Luke 6:12). In the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed with “strong crying and tears” (Heb. 5:7). On the cross He prayed three times. If the sinless Son of God needed to pray, how much more do we?

The most important thing about prayer is the will of God. We must take time to ascertain what God’s will is in a matter, especially searching in the Bible for promises or principles that apply to our situation.

Once we know the will of God, we can pray with confidence and then wait for Him to reveal the answer.

Three Outstanding Facts Regarding Prayer

1. To continue in prayer. The essence of prayer is holding communion with God. Like all other acceptable service to God, our hearts must be in our prayers, if we expect them to be heard. (Matthew 15:8) ”’These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

(Acts 2:42) They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

(Ephesians 6: 18) And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind. be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

 

2. To expect answers to prayer.

No one can believe in the wisdom and goodness of God and at the same time think that He meant for prayer to be an empty form, a meaningless ceremony, a heartless mockery.

(Psalms 37:4-5 )  Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. {5} Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:

(Philippians 4:6-7 )  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. {7} And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

(Philippians 4:19 )  And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

(Hebrews 13:5-6 )  Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” {6} So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

3. To expect greater things than we can ask or think.

(Jeremiah 33:3 )  ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’

(Ephesians 3:20-21 )  Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, {21} to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

4 — Christians Do Not Practice Sin (1 John 5:16-19)

1 John 5:16-21: “If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about that. {17} All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death. {18} We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him. {19} We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. {20} We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true–even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. {21} Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.”

The total context of I John is concerned with the assurance of his own life by a child of God, and with the tests by which one may know certainly that he is himself a child of God. John is suggesting that the fact of answered prayer is evidence of such sonship. However, there is a condition in which one’s prayer may not be answered. There is an exception to the certainty of prayer.

John identifies that exception. He does not do so in order to prevent us from praying for anyone. Rather he does so in order that we will not doubt our own divine sonship when this particular prayer is not answered. If we pray for one who is sinning sin toward death, (and John explicitly says he isn’t telling us to do so), we are not to be surprised when “nothing happens.” The most frequent question asked in response to these verses is “what is the unpardonable sin?” Asked against the backdrop of the whole gist of I John, and particularly in the context of this fifth chapter, the question is superfluous. It is so much so that John doesn’t identify what he refers to as “sin toward death.”

The first step toward possible clarification of the wide-spread confusion in this matter is the realization that the Bible nowhere uses the term “the unpardonable sin.” John has something more in mind than a single unrighteous act.

Jesus did not use this phrase, “the unpardonable sin,” although He is generally credited with it. A careful reading of the synoptic references usually cited in support of the doctrine of “the unpardonable sin” will prove enlightening. These references are Mark 3:29, Matthew 12:32, and Luke 12: 10,

Mark 3:29 quotes Jesus as saying “, . . whosoever shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, bur is guilty of eternal sin. . .” Matthew’s version of the same quotation is, “. . . but the blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven . . . whosoever shall speak against the Spirit, it shall nor be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in that which is to come.” (Matthew 12: 31-32) Luke has”. . . but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Spirit it shall not be forgiven.” (Luke 12: 1 0) On the surface, and in the context of Jesus’ statement, the most obvious conclusion is that attributing to Satan the work of the Spirit is un forgiven. However, as we putsue the matter deeper into the New Testament, we discover there is a great deal more to it than merely stating that Satan has done some work which is in fact the work of the Holy Spirit.

That such blasphemy is not to expect pardon will no doubt prove true, but we ought not suppose that the making of the statement per se pre-empts all possibility of subsequent salvation.

 

It has been suggested that denial of the deity of Jesus, since it, in effect, calls the Holy Spirit a liar, is the sin referred to here. If we are to identify sin toward death as one particular act, the denial of Christ probably comes closer to the truth than any other single sin.

John has just said that the testimony of the Holy Spirit supports the incarnation of the Word in the person of Jesus. (I John 5:7-11) To call Him a liar certainly comes under the heading of blasphemy. However, the absence of a definite article, “the”, with sin in I John 5:16-17, suggests the probability that John is not speaking of one single act of SIn.

The denial of Jesus by those who have come to know Him, as opposed to rhe denial that is made by others who have never confessed Him, has been suggested as the sin unto death. Hebrews 6:4-6 would seem to support this conclusion. However, when read in the original language, even these verses do not close the door forever upon the one who has faIlen away. It is true “it is impossible to renew them again unto repentance.” (Hebrews 6:6), but there is no indication that they cannot themselves repent.

The Hebrew writer comes back to this same vein in Hebrews 10:26.

A literal translation of that verse would read “For we, going on sinning deliberately after we have received the knowledge of the truth, not concerning sins is there left a sacrifice.”

Such literal renderings in English are always awkward reading, but often very helpfuL The key word here is the participle translated “[(oinK on sinning” modified by the adverb translated “deliberately.” “Going on sinning” describes a continuing state, rather than a single misdeed. “Deliberately” underscores that state as one of choice.

One can violate the will of God out of ignorance, compulsion, inability to resist some strong tempcJ[ion. or he can violate the will of God as a matter of deliberate choice. In the case of the former he will probably hate the sin, both during and after its commission, and even hate himself for his weakness. He will shrink in horror at the thought of repeating the disobedience to God, and yet may yield again to the same temptation.

So long as he is honest in the revulsion, fundamentally sorry for the guilt, and faces his own responsibility for it as well as the reality of it, the blood of Christ is equal to cleansing it. (See on I John 1: 8-22) On the other hand, when one violates the will of God cold-bloodedly, aware of his transgression but determined to have his own way regardless of God’s will and delighting in his sin, he has removed himself from the reach of the cross. To continue in such a state is to “sin toward death.” The overt act committed outwardly may be the same in both cases.

Sin toward death is not necessarily measured by the deed done. It is the state of a man who has heard the call of sin and has decided to serve it rather than God. He has listened to falsehood and decided to accept it rather than truth. He will readily commit any and every act that has ever been identified with “the unpardonable sin,” and do so without remorse.

Such a person cannot be said to walk in the light. The light reveals the nature of sin and the personal guilt involved in it, and he has preferred to live in sin; possibly even to deny guilt. The light has revealed the eternal nature of the things of God, bur he has chosen the love of the things of the world; to be a materialist. The light has revealed Jesus to be God’s Son and he has chosen to deny Him. He “has loved darkness rather than light, because his deeds are eviL” (John 3: 19) His life will not meet any of the tests presented in I John.

One who has made this final choice has forfeited all hope of divine forgiveness. Consequently, the child of God is not expected to pray for him, and if one does pray for such a person, he is not to take the absence of an answer as a slur against the reality of his own eternal life.

Prayer must never be selfish; it must never be concentrated entirely upon our own selves and our own problems and our own needs. It must be an outgoing activity.

Again and again the New Testament writers stress the need for this prayer of intercession.

• Paul writes to the Thessalonians: “Brothers, pray for us” (1 Thessalonians 5:25).
• The writer to the Hebrews says: “Pray for us” (Hebrews 13:18, 19).
• James says that, if a man is sick, he ought to call the elders, and the elders should pray over him (James 5:14).
• It is the advice to Timothy that prayer must be made for all men (1 Timothy 2:1).
• The Christian has the tremendous privilege of bearing his brother man to the throne of grace.

This passage speaks of the sin whose end is death and the sin whose end is not death. There have been many suggestions in regard to this.

The Jews distinguished two kinds of sins. There were the sins which a man committed unwittingly or, at least, not deliberately. These were sins which a man might commit in ignorance, or when he was swept away by some over-mastering impulse, or in some moment of strong emotion when his passions were too strong for the leash of the will to hold. On the other hand, there where the sins of the high hand and the haughty heart, the sins which a man deliberately committed, the sins in which he defiantly took his own way in spite of the known will of God for him. It was for the first kind of sin that sacrifice atoned; but for the sins of the haughty heart and the high hand no sacrifice could atone.

First of all, let us try to fix more closely the meaning of the mortal sin. In the Greek it is the sin pros thanaton. That means the sin which is going towards death, the sin whose end is death, the sin which, if continued in, must finish in death. The terrible thing about it is not so much what it is in itself, as where it will end, if a man persists in it.

It is a fact of experience that there are two kinds of sinners. On the one hand, there is the man who may be said to sin against his will; he sins because he is swept away by passion or desire, which at the moment is too strong for him; his sin is not so much a matter of choice as of a compulsion which he is not able to resist. On the other hand, there is the man who sins deliberately, of set purpose taking his own way, although well aware that it is wrong.

“We know that no one who is born of God sins” (1 John 5:18, nasb). “No one who is born of God practices sin” (1 John 3:9, nasb). Occasional sins are not here in view, but habitual sins, the practice of sin. Because a believer has a new nature (“God’s seed,” 1 John 3:9), he has new desires and appetites and is not interested in sin.

A Christian faces three enemies, all of which want to lead him into sin: the world, the flesh, and the devil.

The world “lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19, nasb), Satan—the god of this age (2 Cor. 4:3-4, lit.) and the prince of this world (John 14:30). He is the spirit who works in the children of disobedience (Eph. 2:2).

Satan has many devices for leading a believer into sin. He tells lies, as he did to Eve (Gen. 3; 2 Cor. 11:1-3), and when men believe his lies they turn away from and disobey God’s truth. Or, Satan may inflict physical suffering, as he did with Job and Paul (2 Cor. 12:7-9). In David’s case, Satan used pride as his weapon and urged David to number the people and in this way defy God (1 Chron. 21). Satan is like a serpent who deceives (Rev. 12:9) and a lion who devours (1 Peter 5:8-9). He is a formidable enemy.

Then there is the problem of the flesh, the old nature with which we were born and which is still with us. True, we have a new nature (the divine seed, 1 John 3:9) within us, but we do not always yield to our new nature.

The world is our third enemy (1 John 2:15, 17). It is easy for us to yield to the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life! The atmosphere around us makes it hard for us to keep our minds pure and our hearts true to God.

Then how does a believer keep from sinning?

First John 5:18 gives the answer: Jesus Christ keeps the believer so that the enemy cannot get his hands on him. “He [Christ] who was born of God keeps him [the believer] and the evil one does not touch him” (nasb). The Authorized Version here gives the impression that a believer keeps himself from sin, but this is not what the verse says. Of course, it is true that a Christian must keep himself in the love of God (Jude 21); but it is not true that a Christian must depend on himself to overcome Satan.

Peter’s experience with Satan helps us to understand this truth.

“Simon, Simon,” said Jesus, “behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:31-32, nasb).

To begin with, Satan cannot touch any believer without God’s permission. Satan wanted to sift all the disciples, and Jesus gave him permission. But Jesus prayed especially for Peter, and His prayer was answered. Peter’s faith did not ultimately fail, even though his courage failed. Peter was restored and became a mighty and effective soul-winner.

Whenever Satan attacks us, we can be sure that God gave him permission. And if God gave him permission He will also give us power to overcome, because God will never permit us to be tested above our strength (1 Cor. 10:13).

One of the characteristics of “spiritual young men” is their ability to overcome the evil one (1 John 2:13-14). Their secret? “The word of God abides in you” (1 John 2:14, nasb). Part of the armor of God is the sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17), and this sword overcomes Satan.

When a believer sins, he can confess his sin and be forgiven (1 John 1:9). But a believer dare not play with sin, because sin is lawlessness (1 John 3:4, where “transgression of the Law” means “lawlessness”). A person who practices sin proves that he belongs to Satan (1 John 3:7-10). Furthermore, God warns that sin can lead to physical death!

“All unrighteousness is sin,” but some sin is worse than other sin. All sin is hateful to God, and should be hateful to a believer; but some sin is punished with death. John tells us (1 John 5:16-17) about the case of a brother (a believer) whose life was taken because of sin.

The Bible mentions people who died because of their sin. Nadab and Abihu, the two sons of Aaron the priest, died because they deliberately disobeyed God (Lev. 10:1-7). Korah and his clan opposed God and died (Num. 16). Achan was stoned because he disobeyed Joshua’s orders from God at Jericho (Josh. 6-7). A man named Uzzah touched the ark and God killed him (2 Sam. 6).

“But those are Old Testament examples!” someone may argue. “John is writing to New Testament believers who live under grace!”

To whom much is give, much shall be required. A believer today has a far greater responsibility to obey God than did the Old Testament saints. We have a complete Bible, we have the full revelation of God’s grace, and we have the Holy Spirit living within us to help us obey God. But there are cases in the New Testament of believers who lost their lives because they disobeyed God.

Ananias and Sapphira lied to God about their offering, and they both died (Acts 5:1-11). Some believers at Corinth died because of the way they had acted at the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11:30). And 1 Corinthians 5:1-5 suggests that a certain offender would have died had he not repented and confessed his sin (2 Cor. 2:6-8).

If a believer does not judge, confess, and forsake sin, God must chasten him. This process is described in Hebrews 12:1-13, which suggests that a person who does not subject himself to the Father will not live (Heb. 12:9). In other words, first God “spanks” his rebellious children, and if they do not yield to His will, He may remove them from the world lest their disobedience lead others astray and bring further disgrace to His name.

“The sin unto death” is not some one specific sin. Rather, it is a kind of sin—it is the sort of sin that leads to death. With Nadab and Abihu, it was their presumption in taking the priest’s office and entering the holy of holies. In the case of Achan it was covetousness. Ananias and Sapphira were guilty of hypocrisy and even of lying to the Holy Spirit.