In this last chapter of 1 John we read how John is encouraging his readers that by having faith in Jesus, they (and we) will overcome the world and if we are truly saved we will not want to sin. An analogy that comes to mind is that a husband / boyfriend will not intentionally do something knowing it will upset their wife / girlfriend, so why would a follower of Christ intentionally sin? Keeping in mind that we are all sinners, but not necessarily intentionally, this world has only known one perfect human being that being Jesus Christ the Son of God,

John is also telling those who accept and have faith in Jesus Christ, will participate in eternal life on the new earth in the presence of our our Heavenly Father. When John is writing this segment he isn’t writing to the non-believers but to the believers, as at that time there were false prophets, teachers who through their teachings were making people think / question were they actually saved.

Verses 16 & 17 “¹⁶ If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. ¹⁷ All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.” [ESV] Made me think, as John is implying not all sin leads to death and if read incorrectly you can sin with no consequences. But it appears John was referring to those who unwittingly sin and those who intentionally sin. We need to remember though sin is sin. In my opinion we should be praying for all sinners (including ourselves). It is postulated that John was thinking that the sins that lead to death were those who denied that Jesus was the son of God, refusal to obey the commandments of God.

I find it interesting how John ends this epistle with “²¹ Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” [ESV], not take care, blessings etc. it made think what idols could be considered in my life? On reflection it could be my use of cloud storage, due to my dyslexia my short term memory is poor and I can rely on my cloud storage allowing me to quickly looking-up my theological notes, thoughts etc. and not God when I’m either in or about to go into a conversation with sceptic. During those times I try and remind myself that my cloud storage is a tool which God has provided for me, but it is God who will put the words into my mouth.

This coming week think what could be considered to be your idol?

All Bible links and quotes were taken from http://www.biblegatewa.com