1 John 5:16-17 contain some of the most disputed verses in the New Testament. John, in urging us to pray for others, talks about ‘sin that leads to death’ and ‘sin that does not lead to death’. Interpretations of these verses have varied over the years, looking at the question of whether a believer can lose their salvation. Is John referring to physical death or spiritual death? Is he talking about believers or non-believers? Whilst it is impossible to be wholly positive about his meaning, it seems clear that the majority of this letter was written to encourage believers to stand firm in the face of opposition which John categorises as ‘antichrists’, those opponents who refused to acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God and who, therefore, were cut off from the forgiveness and salvation offered by His sacrifice for us. John seems to be at pains to stress that confidence and assurance can be the experience of believers.

In 1 John 5:18, we read ‘We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them.’ The Christian does not make a practice of sinning (see 1 John 3:9). We dwell in Christ and though we do still sin, we have God’s nature now living within us, steering us away from sin. The relationship between believers and Christ is emphasised by the phrase ‘born of God’; we rely on Christ to protect us and ensure our safety. We do not have to live in anxiety, wondering if we have committed the ‘unforgivable sin’ (see Matt 10:33, Mark 3:29), for God keeps us from falling and will present us before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy. (Jude 1:24) Jesus Himself prayed for our protection (see John 17:11, 12, 15) and assures us that no one can snatch us out of His hand. (John 10:28) Peter reminds us that Christians ‘through faith are shielded by God’s power’ (1 Pet 1:4-5) We need not fear, for God protects us (see Ps 32:7, Prov 2:8) and will strengthen us and protect us from the evil one. (2 Thess 3:3)

Tonight’s Bible study looked at 1 John 5:13-18. Strictly speaking, verse 13 belongs more to the previous section, when John is writing about the testimony God has, namely that life is in the Son. His aim in writing is that we may know we have eternal life. Once more, he is full of assurance and confidence, which is not at all the same as arrogance; as John Stott writes, “certainty and humility do not exclude one another.” The certainty and assurance of believers rests in the promises of God’s Word and not merely in subjective feelings; John has given them throughout the previous chapters 3 criteria (doctrinal, moral, social) by which to test themselves and others. The purpose is to establish their assurance.

1 John 4:14-17 goes on to look at how this assurance helps us in prayer. We have confidence to approach God, knowing that He hears us (see Ps 116:2, Ps 34:15, John 9:31). Just as Jesus prayed before Lazarus was raised to life again (John 11:41-42) with confidence that His Father always heard Him, so our relationship with our heavenly Father means our prayers of faith mean we believe in order to see (see Mark 11:24). The key condition to answered prayer, of course, is that we pray according to God’s will (see Matt 6:10), remembering that unconfessed sin hinders our prayers (Ps 66:18-19) and that prayer is rooted in relationship (with God and with others, see John 15:17, Matt 5:23-25, 1 Pet 3:1-7).

Some may well ask if it is God’s will for us to receive answered prayer, why do we have to bother asking in the first place? Warren Wiersbe writes ‘Prayer is the way God wants His children to get what they need.’ We pray in obedience to God’s commands and because our wills are aligned with His as we pray.Jesus prayed. He depended on prayer. He arose early in the morning to pray (Mark 1:35). He spent whole nights in prayer (Luke 6:12). He prayed with strong crying and tears. (Heb 5:7) If the sinless Son of God needed to pray, how much more do we?

Those of you who remember the series on the Apostles’ Creed will know that our church thinks it’s important that we know what believe! Newsboys’ song ‘We Believe‘ is another attempt to put what we believe to music and help us to articulate our faith.

‘In this time of desperation
When all we know is doubt and fear
There is only one foundation.
We believe, we believe
In this broken generation
When all is dark, You help us see
There is only one salvation
We believe, we believe.

We believe in God the Father.
We believe in Jesus Christ.
We believe in the Holy Spirit
And He’s given us new life.
We believe in the crucifixion.
We believe that He conquered death.
We believe in the resurrection.
And He’s comin’ back again, we believe.

So, let our faith be more than anthems
Greater than the songs we sing
And in our weakness and temptations
We believe, we believe!

Let the lost be found and the dead be raised!
In the here and now, let love invade!
Let the church live loud our God we’ll say
We believe, we believe!
And the gates of hell will not prevail!
For the power of God, has torn the veil!
Now we know Your love will never fail!’ (‘We Believe’, Newsboys)

Every year there is one book (apart from the Bible, of course!) to which I regularly return. Its title in my version is ‘The Journey’, though in America I believe it was published with the title (a quotation from Nietzsche I have always relished) ‘A Long Obedience in the Same Direction.’ The sub-title is ‘a guide book for the pilgrim life’ and it is a commentary on the Psalms of Ascent (Ps 120-134) by Eugene Peterson. The psalms are probably my favourite book in the Bible and I enjoy digging deep into these songs.

The songs of ascent were sung by Hebrew pilgrims each year as they went up to Jerusalem to celebrate the great festivals. They were probably sung in sequence three times a year (see Ex 23:14-17; 34:22-24) to celebrate God’s saving ways at the Feast of Passover,  to renew their commitments as God’s covenanted people at the Feast of Pentecost and to celebrate God’s blessings at the Feast of Tabernacles. The reason they are known as ‘songs of ascent’ is simply that Jerusalem was the highest city geographically and all who travelled there had to do so by going uphill! Phil Wickham captures this in his song ‘The Ascension’:

‘Let us start the ascension
Let’s begin the climb
Up this holy mountain
Where Your glory shines
Further up, further in
Just to be with You again
Let us start the ascension.’ (‘The Ascension’, Phil Wickham)

A pilgrimage is a spiritual journey and as Mark reminded us on Sunday, the whole of life is rather like a journey. It seemed fitting, therefore, to return to these ‘songs for the road’ as I meditated on this idea. Armies are used to having chants and songs to help them march in step (though I have a soft spot for the song with changed lyrics in the ‘Sergeant Bilko‘ film as more reflective of how tiring all that marching must be!) and music is certainly a great way to keep rhythm going and spirits up as we journey on in life. We all need songs in this ‘in-between’ stage, ‘between the time we leave home and arrive at our destination; between the time we leave adolescence and arrive at adulthood; between the time we leave doubt and arrive at faith.’  (quoted P 8) It’s too easy for us to believe the whispers of the world that this life of faith isn’t worth it and won’t get us anywhere, but we need to grasp that life is ‘a pilgrim path of wholeness in God.’ (P13)

John Bunyan’s ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress’ is a spiritual allegory reminding us of the journey all Christians need to take from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City. Words from this have been immortalised in the hymn ‘He Who Would Valiant Be’:

Today we received a newsletter from Steve & Katuska Davies, missionaries we support in Maputo Bay, Mozambique. In early October, Steve suffered the symptoms of a TIA or mini-stroke; they write ‘to date we haven’t found an explanation, but nor are there are any lasting effects. Pray for our health, which is regularly a concern in one way or another.’ As with Matthew Murray recently, the threat of malaria is very real in their situation and with three children, there are always health situations to negotiate!

They also ask for prayer for the programme of study at the Bible college and for the students there, who often struggle to keep studying because of unstable work or finances.

We also had the pleasure of celebrating another birthday!