1 John 5:21

Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

Having given the assurance that every true prayer of a Christian is heard by God, the apostle now specifies one form of prayer, that of intercession: If anyone see his brother sinning a sin not unto death, he shall pray, and to him will be given life, to them that do not sin unto death; there is a sin to death, I do not say that he should pray concerning that. Our brethren are always in need of our most earnest intercession, but what they need most of all is that they be kept from sin. And should one of them fall into sin, transgressing some command of the Lord in such a way as to fall from grace, as to lose his hold on Christ for the time being, then we should not turn from him in disgust and self-righteousness, but earnestly admonish him and also pray with all fervor that God may turn him back from the error of his way. If we thus follow the will of God, we, on our part, will do our share in giving back to such fallen brethren or sisters that life which had for the time being slipped out of their grasp. Only one sin there is where prayer is futile and foolish, namely, the sin of willful rejection of the accepted truth of salvation, the sin against the Holy Ghost. This sin will only very seldom be identified with certainty, but when this is the case, intercession may as well cease, for this sin, by its peculiar nature, precludes forgiveness. See Matthew 12:31; Mark 3:29; Luke 12:10; Hebrews 6:4.

At the same time we should remember: All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not unto death. Whenever our life does not measure up to the holy will of God, whenever we transgress His commandments, no matter whether the trespass seem ever so slight and insignificant in the eyes of men, yet such unrighteousness is sin. The apostle therefore sounds this warning: Resist the beginnings. Even the smallest failing must not be taken lightly, lest the habit of sinning grow on us and we finally become guilty of that one terrible blasphemy which is unto death, eternal death and damnation. Through the grace and power of God let us make the time between transgressions longer and longer, and let us arise from every fall with a firm trust in His mercy.

Lest we brood over our sins without aim, the apostle writes: We know that every one that is born of God does not sin; but he that has been born of God observes Him, and the Evil One does not touch him. See chap. 3:9. So far as our new spiritual nature is concerned which we have received by virtue of our regeneration, we Christians do not sin; we do not, according to the new man, commit any sin, we do not serve sin. Instead of that, all true children of God keep a watchful eye on Him, they observe His holy will very carefully. This attitude is the best form of defense against the attacks of the devil, who finds it impossible to make a successful attack under such circumstances. Even if he does succeed in placing a poisoned arrow and causing a Christian to fall, the latter will arise with undaunted spirit and hurry back to the true fellowship with God.

In addition to the security which we enjoy through the guardianship of Christ we have that of God's embrace and fellowship: We know that we are of God, and the entire world is lying in evil. We Christians are of God, born of God, regenerated through His power in the Gospel. We are God's dear children and mean to keep this relation toward Him, though the entire world, the great mass of unbelievers and enemies of God, is lying in wickedness and sin, is full of enmity toward God. We are secure under the protecting power of God as a child is in its mother's arms.

And a final assurance and guarantee is ours: But we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding that we may get to know the True One; and we are in the True One, in His Son, Jesus Christ. If a thousand doubts should assail us with regard to our salvation, the certainty of our entering into the joy everlasting with our Savior, this knowledge will sustain us. The eternal Son of God was made flesh, and His incarnation is not only an overwhelming demonstration of God's interest in us and His concern for our soul's salvation, but He has also wrought in us the understanding of faith. Through His merciful power we know the true God as the God of all grace. The fellowship in which we stand with God and with Jesus Christ, His Son, is not a matter of our imagination, but it is a certainty which no man nor any other enemy can take from us. We are not trusting in a mere man, whose most serious attempt at gaining salvation for the world would have resulted in miserable failure, but: This Jesus Christ is the true God and eternal Life. He, our Savior, Jesus of Nazareth, true man, is at the same time true God with the Father; and He is Himself eternal Life, the Life which came into this world to bring the world life and in whom we have perfect, glorious, unending life.

With a final affectionate appeal the apostle closes his letter: Little children, guard yourselves from the idols. His readers, with many of whom he was connected by the bonds of the closest affection, knew Jesus, Christ as the true God, as the one Savior in whom they were sure of eternal life. To Him, therefore, they should cleave, and not accept the anti-Christian substitutes which the false teachers were trying to introduce. While they should watch for dangers from without, they should be just as assiduously on their guard for perils from false brethren. It was not a matter to be taken lightly, since it involved their soul's salvation. Thus we also, in these last hours of the world, must be vigilant and sober to reject all anti-Christian errors and to keep ourselves unspotted for the glorious revelation of Jesus Christ, our Savior.

Summary. The apostle discusses the power, the testimony, and the substance of faith, and concludes with a summary showing the certainty of the Christian's trust, the obligation, of his sonship, and the deity of Jesus Christ, his Savior.