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Dr. Ron Hall, professor and pastor, and Peter Englert, pastor, help you delve into 1 John. Understand the context and background while applying this practical book of the Bible to your life.
1 John - 5-13-21.mov
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Peter Englert
00:00 - 00:08
Welcome to the Reading First John podcast. Ron, we have gotten to the last section. Can you believe it?
Ron Hall
00:08 - 00:11
It's been a journey, a good one.
Peter Englert
00:12 - 00:30
Well, there we go. Well, so we're closing today, you know, this part of kind of the text. We might come back to other podcasts on this, but we're in 1 John 5, 13 through 21. Ron, before we get started, you really love the closing of this passage.
Peter Englert
00:30 - 00:35
And before we read it, why don't you kind of give why you love the closing and even the purpose of the closing?
Ron Hall
00:36 - 01:10
Well, Peter, it picks up on the themes that we've already had in the letter, going all the way back to chapter 1, and about if we confess our sins, He's faithful and just to forgive us. It picks up in chapter 2 of the pattern of sin, that to say you're in Christ but you walk in habitual sin, that you're not a true believer. And it picks up on what does a committed faith really look like. And we'll see the crowning verse, the whole letter, verse 21, will look like it's out of place, but it's really not.
Ron Hall
01:10 - 01:11
So that's a thumbnail.
Peter Englert
01:12 - 01:36
All right, well, let's read it together. It says this, I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked of him.
Peter Englert
01:36 - 01:56
If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death, and I'm not saying that he should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.
Peter Englert
01:57 - 02:20
We know that anyone born of God does not continue in sin. The one who is born of God keeps him safe and the evil one cannot harm him. We know that we are children of God and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is true.
Peter Englert
02:20 - 02:43
And we are in Him who is true, even in His Son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God in eternal life. And then the closing verse, mic drop, dear children, keep yourself from idols. Well, before we get to the closing part of that, let's talk about verses 13-15.
Peter Englert
02:44 - 02:51
There's kind of a throwback to prayer, God's will, following Him. Why don't you go from there?
Ron Hall
02:53 - 03:15
Peter, you can tell even by reading it, it's a very complex passage. It has a variety of layers to it, but it wants to first of all focus on this belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Right from the outset of the letter, it is driving home the deity of Jesus, that he came in flesh and blood. It's about the Incarnation.
Ron Hall
03:16 - 03:27
Same as John did in his Gospel in chapter 1, in the beginning was the Word. Well, here he's reinforcing the same thing. And then he deals with our having confidence in our walk with God.
Peter Englert
03:31 - 04:07
One maybe frustration or maybe question that people might have in reading this passage and reading 1 John is, he repeats himself a lot. manage the tension of intentional repetition versus you. You and I, we've probably have done it as pastors and preachers, but sometimes we run out of words and we say all this. What do you think about this closing being more intentional than maybe random?
Ron Hall
04:08 - 04:22
Yeah. What John does is a literary feature. It's cyclical. So you cycle back again and again to drive home the truths that you feel are relevant and essential.
Ron Hall
04:23 - 04:39
So you're going to read Chapter 1, and then you're going to read Chapter 5, and you're going to see the parallelism over and over again. And it's so that we get the message. You know, tell them what you're going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them. Well, that's exactly what he's doing.
Ron Hall
04:39 - 05:06
In a practical way, he is reinforcing the truths he wants them to have. And also remember, he is coming against the false doctrines that existed within that whole area of Asia Minor. And those doctrines of denying the deity of Jesus Christ, the technical words are Gnosticism and Doceticism. And the belief that Jesus didn't literally come in flesh and blood, and John said, no.
Ron Hall
05:06 - 05:13
We've tasted him, we've been there, we've seen with our own eyes, we've witnessed him.
Peter Englert
05:15 - 05:39
Well, and I think it's important. So let's use another book of the Bible. One of my favorite structures that you give is from the book of Hebrews, where the writer hug and then they slug you with some truth and then they hug you again. You know, I think it's important that every time you see I write these things, you start connecting it.
Peter Englert
05:39 - 06:05
And so for some of you that maybe are more in the engineering mind, you can start to connect these phrases to what he says that it's far more intentional than we think. I so you know, we're talking a little bit about the assurance of salvation, which is something that Jesus brought up. But then or that John brought brings up about Jesus. But then we move in verse 14 to the insurance and approaching God.
Peter Englert
06:06 - 06:21
And then we we talk about this. kind of fading, illustrious thing of God's will, where a lot of God's will has been talked about in this chapter and other letters and other sections of the Bible, that it's not something that's mysterious and out of place.
Ron Hall
06:25 - 06:39
No, it's not mysterious. It's something that is necessary for us to always reinforce what we've seen in the Bible. And repetitive is the pattern. I'm thinking about the repetition that comes in the Sermon on the Mount.
Ron Hall
06:39 - 06:45
Over and over again, Jesus said, you have heard that it has been said, but I say unto you. That kind of idea.
Peter Englert
06:48 - 07:24
Well, and so I think, you know, the second part of verse 14, that if we ask anything according to God, Jesus's will, he hears us. And sometimes, you know, it's not far to make the claim that maybe it's name it, claim it. But I think what this passage is saying is, when you become who Jesus has created you to be in your heart, soul, and life, you're going to ask for the right things. So this is not a this is not a verse that says, hey, I want a new car, new job.
Peter Englert
07:24 - 07:45
You can pray for those things and it's not name it, claim it. But, you know, when we think about the whole book of John and In the handout, you actually have a number of these things in there where it's God's will for us to be watchful for sanctification, for the fruits of the Spirit, that when we ask those things, those are the prayers that God answers.
Ron Hall
07:45 - 08:12
Yeah, and that's why I have in the notes that much of God's will is no longer a mystery, since God's already revealed it to us. you're spot on according to his will. Thinking about John 15, if you remain in me and I remain in you, then you can ask what you will and it will be done. Well, if we're remaining in him, his will is going to become our will.
Ron Hall
08:13 - 09:00
Great Old Testament verse, Psalm 37, 4, "...delight yourself in the Lord, and he'll give you the desires of your heart." That word, delight, in the Hebrew means to be pliable and moldable. So, if we're pliable and moldable in the hands of the Lord, His desires will become our desires, and then we're asking for those things that He wants us to have. And I also illustrated it through the model prayer that Jesus gives, our Father who art in heaven, and it comes down to, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth, even as it is in heaven. So it's not, as you said, the name acclaim it, blab it, grab it, the idea that we are thinking we can rescue something that we want.
Ron Hall
09:01 - 09:19
No, we are identifying, God, help me to discern the things that you want me to have. And we need to be glad that God didn't answer a lot of our prayers, because they weren't in our best interest. So that we're asking God, help me to pray according to your will.
Peter Englert
09:21 - 10:10
One thing I just want to cover before we head to verse 15, because you spend a lot of time focusing on asking for God's will, comfort in knowing God hears in struggles and prayer. You know, for our listeners, you know, obviously you had this accident that is just a life altering. And, you know, I think what's hard about that is you live within the struggle every day of praying for healing, praying for something radical to happen. And how do you kind of process through this prayer personally, knowing that on this side of eternity, you might not get physically better, even though this verse is kind of pointing at who you're becoming and trying to wrestle with the reality of, I might be in the wheelchair
Peter Englert
10:10 - 10:11
for the rest of my life?
Ron Hall
10:11 - 10:36
Yeah. And that's hard to digest, but we have to have the attitude of the Apostle Paul and 2 Timothy. chapter 4, where he said, I've fought a good fight, I've kept the faith, I've finished the course. Henceforth there's laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only unto me, but unto all those who are looking and longing for his appearing.
Ron Hall
10:37 - 11:05
So you have to have the end in view, that ultimately is being faithful to the Lord. And if God would choose to heal, I sure would appreciate that, even today going to physical therapy, and the work is rigid, structured, it's arduous, but nevertheless, I'll do what I can now, but ultimately, it's gotta be God's work in my life. So I'm challenged with this. What is God's will?
Ron Hall
11:08 - 11:33
I look at Johnny Erickson, and if the audience doesn't know about Johnny Erickson, they definitely need to look it up. You know, I became, wounded with a spinal cord injury, a complete severed her spinal cord at the age of 17, and she is now 75. And what she's gone through is incredible. And she can no longer feed herself the assistance she needs, but her life has had a powerful impact.
Ron Hall
11:34 - 11:43
And God didn't heal her physically, but he sure has used her in a mighty way. That doesn't make it any easier to process, but we realize God's faithful just the same.
Peter Englert
11:45 - 12:13
Yeah, the one thing I want to just say to kind of close this is there's a Harvard professor on, I think it's happiness, but his name's Arthur Brooks. And one of the things that he says that's missing is this idea of suffering that gives meaning. Tim Keller talked about, I never want to go through pancreatic cancer and I would wish it on my worst enemy. my prayer life is changing." And Ben Sasse actually quoted Tim Keller.
Peter Englert
12:13 - 12:50
And I think one of the things that we have to wrestle with in prayer, yes, God hears, yes, there are certain things that we want, but we can't always tell what God is doing in the midst of this. And it's only maybe on the other side of suffering, whether that's on this side of eternity or the other, that we'll really understand. But I don't think that this is some triumphant prayer that we can just kind of sit there and life's going to be great and easy. No, I think this is leaning into the reality that life is really hard.
Ron Hall
12:52 - 13:14
And that is Paul's attitude in Romans 8. I consider the sufferings of this present world They're not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in us. And Romans 8 walks through the fallen world in which we live. And someday it's all going to be over, and we're going to have a new life.
Ron Hall
13:14 - 13:28
But in the meantime, it's being faithful just the same. So you're right, it's not necessarily triumphant if we ask anything according to as Willie hears us. Well, and there'll be people that disagree. They think everybody should be healed.
Ron Hall
13:28 - 13:35
but everybody's not healed. So what do you do if you're not? You become bitter against God? No.
Ron Hall
13:35 - 13:42
Do you become bitter against other people? No. Do you give up on life? No.
Ron Hall
13:42 - 13:54
Do you feel that you no longer have a purpose? No. On and on the list goes of saying, then what should we do? And Paul is triumphant with Romans 8.
Ron Hall
13:54 - 14:05
that we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. So sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared, but ultimately we'll conquer through His love.
Peter Englert
14:07 - 14:38
All right, let's move forward. So another repeated theme, it might feel like a left turn, but verses 16 through 17 talks about, you know, a brother or a sister committing sin and praying with them. So we have the line of prayer and it moves maybe towards the community. Why do you think in the theme of 1 John and even in the argument now, He's moving in this direction in verse 16 and 17 to care for others.
Ron Hall
14:39 - 14:55
It's loaded, because it does look like an abrupt change. But he's been dealing with relational community. Back in chapter 1, if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another. And the blood of Jesus, God's son, cleanses us from all sin.
Ron Hall
14:56 - 15:13
So that takes us back to chapter 1. He deals with the tension of relationships in 2 and in 3. for about loving one another, and how can we say we love God that we've not seen if we can't love our brother whom we have seen? So now he brings it right down to this relational part.
Ron Hall
15:14 - 15:25
So it's really not out of place. It's the cyclical nature of wrapping it up, pulling it together, and saying, now, what are we going to do with a brother who's committing a sin?
Peter Englert
15:31 - 15:56
Let's practically apply this, because John does this interesting thing that he's like, well, there's sin that doesn't lead to death, and then he's like, then sin leads to death. Why do you think John, practically for us, unites prayer with dealing with, shall we say, conflict or rebuking? What do you think that that looks like today in 2026?
Ron Hall
16:00 - 16:41
There's so many angles to those verses. But first of all, to respond to the one you're talking about, what does it look like? It looks like a mutual responsibility we have with fellow believers, that there is no solo journey for our lives, that we become believers, we are meant to be in community. And even though that has its problems, its tension, I was dealing with a group of people for a class on Saturday, a Zoom class, and, you know, they're from different churches, and dealing with the issues and tensions that people face, and their arms all went up, and they're
Ron Hall
16:41 - 17:05
weighing in, oh, our church isn't like that, and we wish it would be this or that. And so every place you are where you have people, you're going to have conflicts. But John says, wait a minute, if you see someone that's going astray, you have a responsibility to go ahead and be in their pathway. And it deals with, in scripture, about snatching people from the fire.
Ron Hall
17:05 - 17:07
We have a responsibility for one another.
Peter Englert
17:09 - 17:41
Yeah, let's just use a basic example. Let's just talk about gluttony for a little bit, because that's the sin that no one really wants to talk about at potlucks at churches. You know, I think that part of this passage is It's not, you know, hey, hey, Brother Bill, like you just went up the fourth time. You know, I think it's actually like what what is food trying to replace in your life that maybe Jesus would offer?
Peter Englert
17:42 - 18:35
And I also think gluttony is an interesting example because with gluttony is is like overeating necessarily the worst thing in the world. I'm not a doctor or a medical profession, but I think the problem with sin that we have is any foothold can actually lead to something worse. And, you know, we are talking about physical health, but I think even what what John's saying about death is, if I'm giving way in certain areas of my life, I'm probably going to give way into other areas. You know, maybe the choices I make about entertainment, maybe the choices I make about gossip, you know, we I'll even use another example, gambling, you know, right now it seems fairly okay.
Peter Englert
18:35 - 19:01
You know, I put five bucks on, you know, this person to get over 20 points in the basketball game. Yeah, you might be able to keep your self-control long enough to do that, but you could also open yourself up to be five grand in debt in the next three months. And I think it's a warning to us, a warning to other people of, are you in proximity to have some of these tough conversations?
Ron Hall
19:03 - 19:31
And that's why we need, we talk about accountability. But that's why we all need people in our lives that can speak into us. Years ago, Larry Crabb wrote the book, The Safest Place on Earth, and he was dealing with the need for community, and he was big on small groups, and he talked about interviewing about 10 men, and did they have anybody in their life that they could download and be themselves?
Ron Hall
19:31 - 19:59
And they said, well, they'd give the right hand in order to be able to have that sense of community. Now, that's probably not literally, but the idea that you would need it. And a lot of Christians, professing Christians, don't want to be close enough to people to speak into their lives. But, you know, rooted right back here in this passage, If you see someone committing sin, then what do we do?
Ron Hall
19:59 - 20:23
You go to them, brother. You intervene. And we don't have time with this particular podcast to unpack it, but John's confusing with this. If I could move on to this part, a sin that does not lead to death, because Scripture tells us that ultimately all sin leads to death, but here I think John is talking about there's forgivable sin.
Ron Hall
20:24 - 20:31
And then there's sin, that people willfully rebel against the Lord. I know I moved it on with you, but go ahead.
Peter Englert
20:31 - 20:56
No, no, I think it's great because we can even jump to 18 and 19, because the whole point is that anyone that does not continue in sin is with God, but to continue with sin, again, this is not a new part to John. And here's the bottom line. There's some denominations that believe you can actually become perfect. I'm not perfect.
Peter Englert
20:56 - 21:23
We don't need my wife and two daughters to get on this podcast to tell you that. But I think what John is kind of saying with the sin that leads to death in verse 18 to 19 is like, hey, we sin. And in first John one, we confess our sins and we're we're on this trajectory of God's grace that they're growing us. But there is a point when you know, we do, you know, we are following and being controlled by the evil one.
Peter Englert
21:24 - 21:26
And I think that that's what John's calling out here.
Ron Hall
21:27 - 22:03
Yes, and that's where he deals with the issues of the enemy and that the Son of God appeared to destroy the works of the devil back in chapter three to reinforce it. And here we have it where people can come under the control of the evil one. Now, ultimately, if that's what brings you down to death's door, you are going to be separated from the Lord. But he deals with the power of the devil being an actual personality, an actual influencer of people's lives to lead them astray.
Ron Hall
22:04 - 22:29
Well, I just wanted to reinforce that about this idea of a death that can lead to total destruction. You might have heard the phrase, we're twice alive or twice dead. We're alive physically, and then we need to be alive spiritually, and then we're dead spiritually. But if we don't come alive spiritually, then we are going to face the second death.
Ron Hall
22:29 - 22:47
And I think John is dealing with that. So in the notes, I included, what do you do with Ananias and Sapphira? They lied to the Holy Spirit. Is that something John would have in the back burner thinking of an event like that where they came in and they were doomed?
Ron Hall
22:47 - 23:23
Or in 1 Corinthians 11, people that were taking communion wrongly in how they were not having proper respect for the body of Christ as his own physical body and the community of believers. And so Paul said, for this cause, many are weak and sickly among you and many do sleep. We can't unpack in this time of the podcast all of that, but boy, there are so many different layers. But the caution is, if you see someone walking in sin, be there to run an interception course and realize the seriousness of sin.
Peter Englert
23:25 - 23:57
Well, and I mean, so I think that that's the important point. I'm aware of a family in the 80s that a young daughter had cancer, and I think this happened a lot, and it still happens today. And the comment was, you just don't have enough faith in God, that's why your daughter's not healed. I think what this passage is saying, and even those passages in Corinthians, is you deal with the sin, I think in some ways God is dealing with the outcomes.
Peter Englert
23:58 - 24:40
Because I think this is a hard tension for us because there's some people that immediately when they're suffering, it's almost a karma-like teaching, what did you do wrong? But then I also kind of believe that sometimes, you know, with suffering, we might run so far the other direction. And just kind of a quick example, if if you're a habitual cigarette smoker and you've got you've got lung cancer, I probably don't need to tell you that that was a bad decision. But it's also I can't sit there and pretend that maybe God didn't lead you in another direction.
Peter Englert
24:40 - 24:51
Then again, I use that more because that's an accessible kind of thing. I just think sometimes we run to the outcomes without actually dealing with the sin. Yeah.
Ron Hall
24:52 - 25:17
And but sin can be so subtle works. A person told me this morning that they won $250 in one of those scratch lotteries, and you were referring to gambling before. And we'll have a gambling, a gambler in order to deal with it, but it's what's going on inside that's eating away at a person that makes the difference.
Peter Englert
25:19 - 25:43
Well, let's jump to 520. And so, again, before we get to the mic drop of 21, he's reintroducing, resharing, however you wanna frame it, the true gospel about the Son of God and how Jesus gives eternal life.
Ron Hall
25:44 - 25:47
Yeah, and you're thinking in terms of verses 18 and 19?
Peter Englert
25:48 - 25:52
Yeah. Oh, I'm sorry. I did. I did jump from there.
Peter Englert
25:52 - 25:59
So we got to stick with 18 and 19. Yes. See, this is Ron. People get to listen to what it's like for you and me to have coffee together.
Peter Englert
25:59 - 26:10
So. So, you know, and we kind of touched on this about moving from 18 and 19 about continuing in sin. Yes. And then, you know, with 20.
Peter Englert
26:10 - 26:12
But no, why don't you tie that loop together?
Ron Hall
26:13 - 26:24
Yeah. Well, again, it's back to this idea. Remember the term, born again, is not used that much in Scripture. We wear it out among evangelical circles, are you born again?
Ron Hall
26:25 - 26:47
And people in the world don't understand it, and we probably don't explain it well. People hold up John 3.16 at football games, and no offense to anyone listening to our game and thinking they've done a great witness. Even with all the exposure, people don't know what John 3.16 is. It's just not there, and we think it's a great witness.
Ron Hall
26:47 - 27:09
They need to see the living reality. So this verse happens to include this idea of being born again of God. And if we truly are, we're not going to continue in sin. If the sin pattern is ongoing and habitual over and over again, then we're not truly a believer in the Lord.
Peter Englert
27:11 - 27:41
Well, and just to kind of tie back, because we, you know, we went pretty fast, but, you know, with 18 and 19, again, there's a light and darkness, children of Jesus, children of the world. And that's kind of the closing point of what he's doing with 20. And in some ways, better than born of God is, you know, and John's the one that says this, is he the one who has a son, has life? And I think that that's even more applicable.
Peter Englert
27:42 - 27:53
Yes, we need to live out our Christian faith, and we need to be a model and example, but then we also, there is this invitation to inviting people to this life and following Jesus.
Ron Hall
27:54 - 28:07
Yeah. And it's interesting in John 3, 36, John says the same thing. He who has the Son has life. He who does not have the Son does not have life, but the wrath of God abides on him.
Ron Hall
28:08 - 28:45
and so it really is in keeping with what he's relating here. So ultimately, the true gospel is what we are doing with who Jesus Christ is. And thinking about this—and we've all heard of the idea—the way Jesus Christ's name is taken in vain, and what does Jesus have to do with a lot of the choices that people have made? They obviously have an ignorance with no respect for who Jesus is, because if they did, they wouldn't use his name in vain the way they do, which will feed right into verse 21 for us also.
Peter Englert
28:46 - 28:55
Well, hey, you brought it up. So is this a mic drop, or what's John trying to do with keep yourselves from idols?
Ron Hall
28:55 - 29:23
Yeah, it looks, and I've wrestled with this over the years, it looks like it doesn't even fit. Why would he be wrapping up a letter talking about idolatry? But in a sense, he's been dealing with idolatry throughout the letter, because idolatry is anything that comes between our relationship with God and ourselves, anything that is a barrier. So what can we turn into an idol?
Ron Hall
29:23 - 29:38
Our sin can be an idol. Back to chapter one, that what needs to be exposed so we confess our sin. So in a sense, idolatry has been dealt with across the board. What is it that's coming between us and God?
Ron Hall
29:38 - 30:00
Of course, the dominant theme, dealing with sin issues, then dealing with our relationships with other people, and then those internal things taking place within us. And so this ties in. So at first, it doesn't look like it does, but when it comes back to it, this letter is talking about what can hinder our relationship with God and with others.
Peter Englert
30:02 - 30:24
Well, and But this is not the only weird ending of a book in the Bible. So this makes me think of the book of Mark. There's actually notes in your Bible that says the original manuscripts, you know, didn't include it. Like Mark ends with the resurrection, and then there is later additions about, you know, the the disciples going to the tomb.
Peter Englert
30:25 - 30:43
And I think we have to ask ourselves with Mark, it's kind of like I'm not confirming the resurrection because I want to know, do you actually believe? I think that that's what commentators would say. I think in some ways, John has that same theme of here's this abrupt ending. Keep yourself from idols.
Peter Englert
30:43 - 31:18
Do you really believe in Jesus? And that's kind of where I feel like we miss out on the literary value of the Bible, we talk about, you know, the first words of books, the tale of two cities, you know, is the best of times in the worst of times. But then you also think about the final words of stories and the final words of literature and the final words of biographies. In some ways, if this letter is being read to these churches, you know, this is kind of like the final altar call, you know, in those traditions of dear children, keep yourselves from idols.
Peter Englert
31:18 - 31:19
All right, go live.
Ron Hall
31:20 - 31:30
Yeah. But yet, again, see the connection. I'm thinking about chapter 2, verses 15 to 17. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.
Ron Hall
31:30 - 31:49
If any loves the world, the love of the Father's not in him. So there is that sense of idolatry is letting things captivate our lives and lead us astray, then from the Lord. So I think it's signing off. And of course, remember, in that culture, it would have been more relevant.
Ron Hall
31:51 - 32:19
in using that language, whereas we don't think, oh, idols, that's a statue. But in John's time, the whole area of Asia Minor was completely captivated by idolatry. And there was the worship of Diana of Ephesus, there was the focus on believing that a meteor came from heaven, landed on the ground, and turned into a female deity. So they would understand it in a more intense manner than we do.
Peter Englert
32:21 - 32:48
So, hey, as we round as we round the corner, I think we had to go a little longer because this is a very deep passage. And I think just getting some of it. But if you were to really sum up first, John, as we close and have been through this journey, you know what? What's one thing that's really kind of come into your mind, Ron, that you would want the impression for our listeners to have?
Ron Hall
32:49 - 33:25
Well, first of all, Going through all this, you could live a powerful, meaningful Christian life just out of the content of 1 John. And I'm amazed that it has not received more attention. I think it so practically describes for us what does it look like to walk in the light as he is in the light, and how should that impact the relationships I have with other people. especially says, how can we say we love God that we have not seen if we can't love our brother whom we have seen?
Ron Hall
33:26 - 33:33
So it's a book of practice. It's a Christian life practitioner's book.
Peter Englert
33:36 - 34:11
Yeah, and I think my kind of closing thought which goes with you is some books of the Bible are simple, but that doesn't mean that they're not easy. And I think that that's an important distinction, and that's why you could read 1 John every day for a year and still realize the changes that you need to make. And that's the simple point of love God and love others. That's a brilliant, simple thesis.
Peter Englert
34:13 - 34:27
I'm not batting anywhere near good stuff. I'm growing, but I think that that's something to be reminded of, is that we need to slow down for these seemingly simple ideas that aren't easy to live out.
Ron Hall
34:29 - 34:43
Yeah, that's it. And simple, we can say, but out. So it was Warren Beersby who said, keep the simple profound and the profound simple. Well, John does it.
Ron Hall
34:43 - 34:47
Simple, yes. Profound, yes, when it comes to being able to live it out.
Peter Englert
34:51 - 35:07
We've come to the end of the road, and who knows what we're up to next, Ron. We might come back and have a special episode. But no, thank you so much for joining us. Ron, why don't you just close us in a word of prayer in this closing passage of 1 John?
Ron Hall
35:08 - 35:35
Lord, I want to thank you, first of all, for the opportunity to work and communicate, Peter and myself, and bring truth to bear on all of our lives. I think about the impact of chapter 1. of 1 John on my life, and what it means to be walking in the light as you are in the light, and what true confession looks like. And we come right down to the end, and the idea of being committed to praying in your will.
Ron Hall
35:36 - 35:59
And Lord, help us to do just that. Give us the discernment to accept when your will might leave us in a difficult place, and yet recognizing that you're going to be there with us. and that ultimately we can triumph, that we can keep ourselves from idols because of the power of your Spirit working within us. In Jesus' name, amen.
Peter Englert
36:00 - 36:02
Amen. Thank you so much for joining us.