I am new to this forum and for that matter have not been in a
forum before this time. I am no the greatest typist.
In regards to “assurance”. I think that one should be careful
in comparing the RCC understanding to your own.
The scriptures are a powerful tool and the often the assurance
that is considered is based upon 1 John 5. The word “know” is often
stressed. I would suggest that an honest inquiry be made on how often the word “know” is used in 1 John and in what ways.
You may end up with a different view on 1 John 5 after inquiry.
Blessings,
Doolin
Is it a so-called (professing only-not saved) brother committing apostasy for which our prayers are pointless because God has already determined they’re going into eternal death because their unbelief is fixed? **Or is it a believer **who is a true brother who has committed a sin which so has scandalized the church, or which the Lord in His determination understands harms the testimony of the church, compromises the integrity, the purity, the holiness of the church and the Lord determines He’s had enough and the church would be better off if they were removed? Which is it? And my answer is probably both. I don’t have any way to determine which.
Both are true. Which one John has in mind, he doesn’t make clear. But I know this, there is a time when people fully and finally reject the gospel.
Hebrews 6, “They can never be again renewed to repentance.” So-called brothers in the church professing Christ and yet living lives of sin and they pass a point and people are still praying and praying that they’ll come back and come back and they never come back. And then they go into eternal death. They don’t necessarily die physically, but they never come back and somebody says, You know, I know it’s Your will that they come back, I know it’s not Your will that they’re in sin, and why don’t You hear and answer this prayer according to Your will? And John is saying (paraphrasing), “Here’s what you need to know, there are going to be those people who’ve reached the permanent point of eternal death and there is no point in your prayers for them, just understand that.”
The purpose of John in writing this epistle is to create certainty in our minds, the minds of true Christians, certainty about Christ, certainty about salvation and certainty about all that God has promised. The word “know” appears 39 times in this epistle. You know…you know…we know…we know. Seven times in last few verses. This whole epistle is about knowing things for certain.
On the other hand, there are believers who have engaged themselves in whatever sin to such a degree that the Lord determines in His sovereignty they are better off in heaven and the church is better off without them, compromising its testimony. And so he says when those happen, I’m simply telling you, and I love the way this is stated at the end of verse 16, “I do not say that he should make request for this.” He doesn’t command us not to pray for these people, we don’t know who they are. He just says, “I can’t tell you that you should make requests on behalf of people like that,” which is another way of saying, “Don’t expect the outcome you might otherwise expect.”
