Praying for Each Other

성경전서 개역개정판 5장

누구든지 형제가 사망에 이르지 아니하는 죄 범하는 것을 보거든 구하라 2)그리하면 사망에 이르지 아니하는 범죄자들을 위하여 그에게 생명을 주시리라 사망에 이르는 죄가 있으니 이에 관하여 나는 구하라 하지 않노라

17 모든 불의가 죄로되 사망에 이르지 아니하는 죄도 있도다

1. Praying for each other requires involvement in each other’s lives (1 John 5:16-17)

a. This section starts with the reminder to pray. Remember in 14-15 that John tells us that whatever we ask of God, God hears us. Then in verse 15, John writes, because He hears us, it tells us everything we have in the present is because of the prayers in the past.

b. John’s focus is telling all believers to continue to pray. Not only are we to pray for ourselves, but John tells us in verse 16 that if you see another brother committing sin, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. This is important to recognize here that the focus that John is telling his listeners is to pray.

c. You should not only pray for yourselves but pray for those around you. Pray for the others in your church. Why? Because when we go back to verse 14-15, we know that God is listening. God is not absent. Because He is present, John tells us to pray for them. God will do the work in them.

d. That’s the focus of this verse. But I want to also address an application of this text. John says if anyone sees his brother committing sin. What is the stress in this phrase? It is to tell us that praying for each other involves involvement in each other’s lives. We need to have a genuine interest in the lives of others in the church. We should never do anything out of duty. When we do this out of duty, we are missing the point of loving someone.

e. When we read this, this seems very difficult to understand. But when we think about context, and what John is saying within the book of 1 John, it gives us perspective. A major theme that runs throughout the book of 1 John is the theme of family. John has talked about the family of God all throughout the book of 1 John. Even in 1 John 5:1-2, John says whoever believes Jesus is the Christ is born of God and then in verse 2 says that we know we love the children of God when we love God and observe His commandments. John is simply saying if you believe that Jesus is the Christ, then you will love others and keep His commandments because that was His commandment, that you love others.

f. So what does the family of God have to do with any of this? Well John says firstly, if anyone sees his brother. Notice that. John is saying that you must take care of each other. Remember, John knows that he won’t be around that much longer and because he loves his children in the faith, his primary task is to teach them so that when he is gone, they can still sustain and keep themselves. So he’s teaching his children, hey take care of each other. Just as I’ve taken care of you, take care of each other.

g. One of the biggest problems with people’s view of the church is that they miss this definition and understanding. People think that a church is merely a collection of individuals who hold to certain views in common and come together for certain purposes. We think that the church is a place where like believers come together to worship. Yes, that is true. That is a church, but a church is so much more. In John’s context, a church was not just a place where people shared their faith. It was where they shared their lives. Remember last week’s message in Acts 4:32-37? They met the needs of everyone there. They sold their property so that people were without need. It was not just a place people gathered because they believed in the same thing. It was a place where people shared their lives. This is what the church is. It’s a place where we truly can love one another just as much as we love our own families. A church is a place where we grow together and die together. This is what John was teaching his children.

h. This idea of love is so missing in many churches in America and our church as well. This should make us question ourselves what we mean by loving others. What does it mean to love others? Loving others is simply thinking of others beyond yourself. It is to think of the other person before you think about your own interest and your own thoughts. So when we think of loving others in context, it is to be involved in other people’s lives. The focus of John’s statement is if anyone sees his brother in sin, this requires an involvement in people’s lives.

i. If we think that our involvement in the lives of others is just on Sunday, you will never see someone commit sin. You see John was making it clear that he spent a lot of time with his followers. He spent a lot of time with those with whom he was discipling. This was the same with Jesus. John spent a lot of time with Jesus. And as he spent time with Jesus, I am sure Jesus saw the things that he was doing wrong.

2. Praying for each other requires caring for each other’s lives (1 John 5:16-17)

a. But the important thing here is that we have to be involved in the lives of others so that we can see how they are in person. When are we the most comfortable? It’s when we are at home and we can be ourselves. But when and how do we see people sin? It’s when we see others work with us. It’s when we spend more time with each other. That’s when we start to see what type of people they are. This is how we see people commit sins.

b. When we start working with others, we really get to see what type of people they are. This is where we can also fall into sin. We start judging people and start making assumptions about their character. When we see hard working people, we like them, but if they aren’t hard working, we can start questioning their character. When this happens, John tells us to do what? He says let him ask of God to give him life to those who commit the sin.

c. John is telling us instead of complaining about the people around us, he says the first thing is we should pray for these people. But just as much as we should be praying for those around us, if they are sinning, the same goes for us. Verse 14-15 tells us that we are to pray for ourselves. You see when you are involved in any form of ministry, it requires a lot of prayer. It requires prayer to serve with the right mindset. Therefore, when John opens the section on praying, he starts by saying we should pray for ourselves but also pray for others. Why? Because when you live your life, you will be around people and they will make life difficult sometimes. They might even cause you to sin. This is why John is saying, pray first for yourself. Pray because God will answer your prayers. But don’t stop there. Pray for others as well. Pray not only so that you won’t stumble but also so that others might not sin.

d. I’ve tiptoed around this difficult phrase. John says there is a sin not leading to death. Then says that there is also a sin that leads to death. So the question is, what do these phrases mean?

e. The first thing we must recognize is John’s statement in verse 17. All unrighteousness is sin. John makes a statement that speaks regarding the entirety of sin. Anything that is not living according to God’s way of life for us is sin. Anything that is a departure from God’s will and purpose and desire for us is sin. Anything that is not righteous is sin. So the question again is what is sin? It is a violation of God’s law.

f. So what does sin actually do? In order to understand what sin does, we have to understand what it affects. This is the issue in which John is speaking about. 1 John 5:11-13 gives us the context of what John is speaking about. Eternal life is the gift all believers receive when they put their hope and trust in Christ. What is eternal life then? It is to have communion, to have a relationship with Christ. So when we have eternal life, it means that we enjoy being in the presence of God, to know God but also to be known by Him. It is in the words of John to have fellowship with Christ and the Father, to become children of God and be welcomed into the family of God.

g. When we think about what eternal life is, John says that there is a sin that leads to death and a sin that doesn’t lead to death. What John is saying here is that sin does something. Sin leads to death and there is also sin that doesn’t lead to death. When we take relationships into this context, it helps us to understand that there is a sin that will sever our relationship with God completely and there are sins that don’t do this.

h. You see when John says there is a sin that doesn’t lead to death, he is saying there are sins that won’t cut you off from your relationship with God. This is not to say that these sins are less grievous. No this is why John says in verse 17 that all unrighteousness is sin. All sin is an offense to God. But what John is saying here is that there are sins that can cut off your relationship with God.

i. Jesus also taught this as well as the author of Hebrews. Hebrews 6:4-6 speaks of those who have fallen away into apostasy. Matthew 12:31 is Jesus saying the same thing. There are sins that are forgivable, but blasphemy against the Spirit are not forgivable. So when John says here that there is a sin that doesn’t lead to death, John is simply saying that there are sins that are rebellious against God, but it won’t completely sever your relationship with God. But there is a sin that will lead to complete spiritual death. Just as the Jesus says in Matthew 12:31 and Hebrews 6:4-6, apostasy is irreconcilable.

j. So when we take these two verses together, John is telling us be involved in the lives of others and not only that, care for them. If you see them committing sin, if you’ve built a good relationship with them, tell them that what they are doing is wrong or bad. Before you start to judge them and criticize them, get to know them and firstly, pray for them. If you feel the urge to criticize, instead of doing that, pray for them. John says if you see someone sinning, he shall ask God. It doesn’t tell us to confront them. Rather, be patient with them and pray for them. Let God work in them.

k. Through your relationship with them, bring your concerns to them. I am always reminded by the statement, it is more important to win the person than the argument. This is how we win the person. Winning the person is to pray for them and ask God to intervene in their lives. And when our relationship with the person grows, we can talk to them and ask them about how they are doing and even talk about sin in their lives. This is what it means to be family. Just because you have family doesn’t mean you say everything and anything you want. Even family members can’t handle certain things. It’s no different in the church.