Blessed Assurance

1 John 5:6–13 NASB95

6 This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. 9 If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son. 10 The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. 11 And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

INTRO: IS YOUR FAITH REAL? How do you know that your faith is real? We began a discussion on this last week, and we connected the dots between our faith and our lives as a result.

One interesting trend in America is that people are increasingly unbelieving. Not just in regards to God either. Believe it or not, there are people alive today that are unwilling to believe that the earth is an orb or sphere. There are people unwilling to believe that unborn babies are human beings. There are people who are unwilling to believe that we can know anything for certain.

Of course, these same people mock Christians and accuse those in the church of having ‘blind faith’ or faith without any basis in fact. In sharing the Gospel, it’s not uncommon to hear someone say, “Well, that sounds great and I’m glad it works for you, but I just cannot believe it.”

Some might even counter that just because you have a changed life, it does not prove that Christianity is true. After all, Scientology changed Tom Cruise’s life; Buddhism changed Richard Gere’s life, etc. How do you respond to this?

Well, the reality is that Christianity is not a religion of blind faith nor simply some psychological treatment. You see the Christian faith rests upon facts. These facts are the acts of God throughout history. As Ray Stedman put it,

“[These] incontrovertible movements of God... cannot be explained away or dismissed by a mere wave of the hand. They are embedded in the record of the human race. A careful survey of these acts of God in history actually serves to compel belief; so that it is not belief that is unreasonable, it is unbelief. One must struggle and exert painful effort in order to convince oneself that these facts are not true.” (https://www.raystedman.org/new-testament/1-john/why-do-we-believe)

Throughout 1 John, we’ve seen the apostle address the matter of authentic Christianity. This has included clarifying what real Christianity is and warning against the false teachings that were popping up in Ephesus. In this final chapter of 1 John, we see him lean in a bit further so that believers could analyze their testimony and solidify their faith.

The message is titled, “Blessed Assurance”. In our time together, I hope to show you how you can know for certain that the Christian faith is real. If you are doubting or searching in this regard, I encourage you to listen with an open heart. Ask God to speak to you through His Word so that you may know the truth and respond accordingly.

As always, there is a sermon guide located in the bulletin for you to follow along and use for further study. Let’s dive in.

The first aspects of Assurance are:

The Person & Power of the Testimony (6-10)

(READ 6-8)

Note: I need to point out that if you are reading the KJV, there is a textual variant here; it appears as though there is a verse omitted in modern translations. Indeed, the reason for this is that the translators for the KJV did not have access to the manuscripts as scholars do today and the additional verbiage that is in your KJV bible was not found on any manuscripts that were dated before the 15th century.

This was likely a commentator’s note that made it into the translations efforts. Thus, the difference in your bible and other modern English translations. This does not have any bearing on the meaning of the text. If you need further explanation, we can speak privately later.

1 John 5:6–8 KJV 1900

6 This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. 7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. 8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.

Now, what we need to recognize is that the central figure of our faith is Jesus Christ- the promised Messiah of God. Faith is not facts but is our action based upon the facts, therefore we need to know the facts about Jesus in order to act upon them.

John gives us these facts. First, there are two external facts:

I. Jesus came by water and by blood

This refers to Jesus’ baptism (the beginning of His public ministry) and the cross (the end of His public ministry)

BAPTISM -

This is the event recorded for us in Matt. 3, at the Jordan River. Do you remember? John the Baptist is there and he’s a bit confused - “You want me to baptize you? You should be the one baptizing me!”

When John baptized Jesus, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him and a voice came from heaven saying “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased”

The fact here is that God was well-pleased with Jesus before He ever began His ministry. Before he healed people, before he taught in the synagogues, before he prayed in the Garden or went to the cross.

This helps us to see that Jesus was sinless BEFORE this event. He is, after all, God-in-flesh.

Now, Baptism was the water of cleansing. So, Jesus responded to John’s protest in baptizing Him, he said, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” IOW- “I am taking the place of sinful man, assuming the guilt and sin of the whole race, therefore I need to be baptized”

The water that John refers to is the testimony that Jesus is, in fact, faultless or sinless in the flesh. This refutes the false teachers of the day who denied that God came in flesh.

BUT, even though He lived a perfect life, that does not in itself help me out. He is a perfect model, and I can’t even hold a candle to that. Something more is required for our faith to have a basis. And so, John says, He did not come by water only, but by water and blood.

BLOOD -

The blood refers to the cross. The cross is the place where Jesus gave His life as a ransom for many.

The Jews at that time could not fathom that the Messiah would suffer in such a way, even though it is made evident in the Psalms and Prophets. In fact, Isaiah 53 paints a vivid picture of the Savior who would suffer for our sake.

Isaiah 53:5 NASB95

5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.

iii. It was on that day, that the skies became black for several hours. There was an earthquake that shook the whole place. The veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom. Dead people walked out of their graves as a foreshadowing of the coming resurrection!

iv. The point: On that cross, Jesus died for our sins. (1 Cor. 15:3) He did not die for His sins, because He was sinless, but He took my guilt, and your guilt and He atoned for it through His own perfect blood.

Hebrews 9:11–14 NASB95

11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; 12 and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Modern religion does not like this testimony- cultural Christians do not like this testimony. They’d rather hear about temporary happiness or be coddled by the idea that the God of the universe pines for their occasional affection.

But the cross, says that Heaven came down! The cross says that holiness and justice were demonstrated. It testifies that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself and that truth changes us from apathetic attenders to grateful lovers of God!

The historical facts are that Jesus Christ is God in flesh, who came and lived a perfect sinless life and then died for our sins. It is recorded in the Bible as well as other historical documents. But there is one more testimony mentioned here, and internal testimony - the testimony of the Spirit. (6b)

This testimony comes in our belief. When we place our trust in Jesus, we are given His Spirit in our own lives as a seal that testifies of our belonging. (I’m so glad I’m a part of the family of God!!)

You see, this testimony is God in us. It is the power of God that enables us to love Him and others. It is the Holy Counselor that reminds us that we have been bought with a price, and therefore we live to honor God with our lives.

Look how John explains it (READ 9-10)

John is harking back to the OT Law of witnesses. Every fact is should be verified by 2-3 witnesses. If you believe what two men would say about one’s innocence or guilt, how much more ought you believe the testimony of God Almighty!?!

If you believe what the your friends say, how much more should you believe what God says? The facts speak the truth of the Gospel - Who Jesus is and what He has done. The facts speak of His humanity and His deity- God spoke and people heard Him! The facts speak of His mission. The Spirit speaks of His finished work. My sins are forgiven! My debt has been paid! IT IS FINISHED!!

The Christian faith is assured based upon the Person & power of the Testimony. But also, the second aspect of our assurance is:

The Purpose of the Testimony (11-13)

I have talked to so many who profess to be Christians, but they say they aren’t sure if they’ll go to heaven. They aren’t sure about what will happen when they die.

John tells us that you can have assurance- not because you ‘feel’ something, but because you KNOW it! That’s the purpose of this letter- that you could move from uncertain to confident in your faith.

It’s quite simple, really.

(READ)

God has given us His Son- If you have received His Son, you have His life… life eternal, life abundant.

John 10:10 NASB95

10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

How do you know if you’ve received Him?

This is made evident by all the things John has been talking about- pursuit of holiness, truth, love for one another. If you have received Jesus, then you are being conformed by the truth of His Word. You are a new creature; you’ve been born again.

This is your testimony! Do you have one? Can you say that you have been transformed by God? Can you say that you belong in God’s family?

If you have not received His Son, it does not matter how earnest you are or how religious or ‘spiritual’… If you do not have the Son, you do not have the life. There is no middle-ground. There is no ‘sort of’ Christianity.

I wonder- Is your Christianity this real? Do you have certainty that you are a child of God? Does it show in your life?

If you don’t… If you long to have this confidence then why not come today to the throne of Grace? - Repent, turn from your sins and believe the testimony of Jesus Christ.

[PRAY]

Let’s sing- and as we sing, if you have never trusted Jesus as Lord and Savior, Scripture says “Today is the day of salvation!” Won’t you come and receive the blessed assurance of Christ today!

LORD’S SUPPER

Discuss: How important is assurance of salvation? What are the practical ramifications? What should a person do who lacks it?

Discuss: What is the importance of God’s objective witness to Christ?

Discuss: What implications does our text have for witnessing to lost people?