Encouraged by Sure Salvation

1 John 3:23-24; 5:1-5, 9-13, 18-19
Related Sunday School Lesson, Family Bible Series, July 11

I have never doubted that I was the son of Leon and Mary Smith. I have my mother’s eyes and my father’s stature. I have my dad’s sense of humor and my mother’s love for reading. If you know my parents, then it wouldn’t be a stretch to believe that I am their son due to the similarities in our looks, talk, and mannerisms.

Have you ever wondered if you were a child of God? You know, doubted your salvation or questioned your conversion? Do you have reservations about whether you possess the same characteristics as God’s Son? The Bible is crystal clear about how we can know that we have been born again, and that is the subject of this week’s lesson.

If you doubt whether you are a child of God, then you need to ask yourself the question, “Do I believe what the Bible says about Jesus?” Writing to a group of people who were asking a similar type of question, John wrote, “Believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ” (1 Jn. 3:23). Noted Greek scholar Kenneth Wuest wrote of this verse, “This belief is an intellectual assent to all that the Bible states is true of our Lord and a heart submission to Him personally.”

So, do you believe that Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died for your sins, went back to heaven, and will return again? If so, then you have an intellectual assent to what the Bible teaches about Jesus (Look up the Greek word kerygma for further explanation on what the early church believed should be contained in a gospel presentation). Now, if you have said, “Jesus, I believe what the Bible says about you is true, and I also believe what the Bible says about me is true (that I’m a sinner), and I want you to come into my life and forgive me of my sin and make me a new person,” then you no longer need to doubt your salvation. You have given an intellectual assent to the teachings about Jesus with your head, and you have invited Him into your life with your heart.

Here is another question to ask yourself as you try to work through your doubts about your salvation, “Do I love other Christians?” I didn’t say “like” other Christians, but “LOVE” other Christians. John wrote, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well” (1 Jn. 5:1). The love that you have for other Christians is a sign that the supernatural love of God dwells in your heart. You are not saved because you love the brethren; you love the brethren because you are saved.

The same is true of good works. The evidence of good works in your life does not save you from eternal damnation, but reflects a change in your life as a result of asking Jesus to come into your heart. As I heard someone say, “You are not saved by works but for works.”

The only way to develop a love relationship with others is through your love relationship with Jesus. You are able to love others because you are so in love with Jesus. This thought is expounded in The Practice of Godliness by Jerry Bridges, “So often we try to develop Christian character and conduct without taking the time to develop God-centered devotion. God’s commands are not burdensome; a godly life is not wearisome, but this is true only because a godly person is first of all devoted to God. As we are devoted to God, so shall we be devoted to others.”

Another good question to ask yourself about your relationship to Christ is, “Do I follow His commands and seek to please Him with my life?” Some of the false teachers in John’s day were claiming to have intimate fellowship with Jesus, while they were actually walking in the darkness of moral depravity. As John Ortberg, teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church noted, “This radically contradictory life was a sign that they did not really understand the gravity of sin or the truth of grace.”

Jesus came down hard on the Pharisees in His day because their commands were “heavy loads” (Mt. 23:4). The Pharisees created thousands of minute requirements by which the central commands of the law were to be guarded. But, as James Montgomery Boice declared about the difference between the Pharisees and Jesus, “Jesus cut through these man-made rules to expose the central heart attitudes that were required but that God would himself supply in his regenerated people.”

A follower of Christ should desire to be obedient to the teachings of Scripture. The desire to be obedient does not come from fear of retribution, but from a love for the Savior. And the beauty of obedience is that God gives us the power through the Holy Spirit to live a life of godliness.

Do you believe in Jesus? Do you love others with the love of Christ? Do you seek to follow biblical principles that reflect an inner devotion to God? When people look at your life, do they see a family resemblance to Jesus? If so, then you can look forward to an eternity in heaven! Stop doubting and start enjoying the fruits of your salvation!