I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.
If you see a fellow believer sinning in a way that does not lead to death, you should pray, and God will give that person life. But there is a sin that leads to death, and I am not saying you should pray for those who commit it. All wicked actions are sin, but not every sin leads to death.
We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them. We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.
Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.
1 John 5:13-19, 21 New Living Translation (NLT)
Throughout 1 John 5, we are given a road map for our walk with God. We are to believe in God's Son to become children of God. We are to obey His commandments, the greatest of which are to love Him and our neighbors. As we do, we can have confidence that our Heavenly Father hears our prayers and is pleased to answer our requests as they line up with His will. Yet, before John finishes this teaching, he calls our attention to the results of disobedience: sin. We, who all fall short, have a propensity to sin. Jesus did not give His life because we are righteous, but because we are not.
We live in an evil world led by an evil force. Following Jesus Christ provides us help with battling this force because belief in who He is keeps us securely protected in His care. He did not give His life to only forgive our sins when committed but to teach us how not to sin. Also notice in verse 16, John does not call us to judge our fellow believers if we see them sin. He tells us to pray for them. When we begin to judge others for their sin, we must all fall to our knees praying since judging others is also sin. Praying to God for one another blocks the evil one whose primary intent is to keep everyone out of God's grace. None of us are exempt from the enemy's attempts to steal, kill and destroy and for now God is allowing him to control this world.
As believers in Christ and His truth, we are to pick up our crosses daily and follow Him, letting nothing take God's place in our hearts. We can let nothing separate us from God's love, especially not we ourselves.
FYI: The sin that leads to death mentioned by John in verse 16 is told to us by Jesus, who paid for our sin with His blood. Maybe it is a "don't bite the hand that feeds you" command. Let's just not do it and as believers we can ask Christ why when we see Him face-to-face.
“Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.” Luke 12:10 NLT
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