Confidence and Community

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. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.
(1 John 5:16-17 ESV)
John has spent most of his letter emphasizing how we can know that we have eternal life - that we really know we have a relationship with the true and living God.  Much of the evidence has had to do with community - our fellowship with the Father and the Son, and with fellow believers. When we have the assurance of salvation, the confidence of  eternal life and answered prayer, that will show itself in how we deal with one another - we will pray for one another; we will be along side of one another, encouraging each other in our struggles with sin; we will not used that confidence to bash one another, but to build each other up.  May we have both the confidence and compassion of Christ.