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When to fight and when to compromise are not always easy choices to make. Stubbornly defending the truth can easily end up in arrogance that discredits the gospel, while too readily seeking middle ground can leave truth by the wayside. Torn by conflict and marred by schism, the congregation to whom John addressed his letters stood in need of his strong exhortations to love and unity within the...

☐ Closing Exhortations (5:13–21)* Few questions vex faithful believers as much as that of petitionary prayer, especially in view of the extravagant promises in the New Testament that those who ask, receive—whatever they may ask. These promises are always understood to be qualified—one must ask with faith, or one must ask with the qualifier “nevertheless, thy will be done,” as Jesus did in his prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. As C. S. Lewis comments, “[This reservation] makes an enormous difference.