1 John 5:14-16 - We know that He hears us

5:14

So, we do not need to be people who are full of doubt. Instead we are to be full of assurance. Throughout history there have been debates about assurance of salvation, with some saying that we can never be completely assured. This seems to me to be a very unbiblical attitude. We are certainly to put every effort into seeking to faithfully serve the Lord, but we do so in full assurance of our salvation, not in order to gain our salvation. And we can approach God with confidence, knowing that He hears us.

5:15

When we pray He hears us, whatever we ask. Now this verse is not grounds for thinking we will get whatever we want from God. In fact, in the previous verse John has spoken of “anything according to His will”. We know that when we ask according to His will He will answer us. This is not a cop out, nor a meaningless promise. It means that when we walk in step with the Spirit we can do so confidently, knowing that God hears our prayers and answers them.

5:16

John has talked a lot about sin, using someone continuing to sin as a sign that they do not belong to God. as we have said, this should not be taken to mean we are under condemnation if we sin, as we all will. It is a persistent hard hearted attitude that he is talking about, and this verse illustrates that. One might conclude from what he has said earlier that if we see a fellow Christian sin that automatically means they cannot really be a Christian. That is not at all what John means, and if we see a fellow believer sin we are to pray for them, and God will give them life, not cut them off forever! It is not absolutely clear what John means by “a sin that leads to death”. It could be that he means that if someone dies as a result of sin we are not to pray for them. We are not in to praying for the dead.