You Can Know You Are Saved (1 John 5:13-21)

hummingbird

when we look at creation, clearly we see the fingerprints of a Creator

God has put eternity into man’s heart (Ecc 3:11)

even if no one told us about heaven or hell

we would know that there is more to this life

Muslims (Islam) believe in eternity

Muslims believe they will find out on Judgment Day if they are saved

did their good works outweigh their bad?

don’t know until Judgment Day

thus offers no assurance of salvation

empty religion offers empty hopes

our heart must break

many other religions are based on a works salvation

the question is, did you do enough good works???

what a terrible place to be???

wondering all the time…is this enough???

the problem is that your good works cannot please God

in our passage, John writes that you may know—7x

You Can Know You Are Saved

you do not have to wait until Judgment Day hoping and wishing

you can live with eternal life in this life that will continue even after you die

if indeed you look to Scripture as your source of truth

cannot have your own standard

God creates the standard

so let’s take a look at God’s standard

pew Bible # 1213

Assurance of salvation (5:13)

eternal life can be known & experienced even now (5:13)

John’s Gospel

written for unbelievers to hear/read about Jesus

in hearing may believe

John’s letter (1 John)

written to believers (5:13a—to you who believe in the name of the Son of God)

having believed know have received eternal life & have eternal life now

you may know

they had been unsettled by the false teachers who left

and were unsure of their spiritual state

you may know—not a gradually growth of assurance

but a possession here and now

a present certainty of the life they received in Christ

assurance of salvation can be known

define salvation and why linked with eternal life

salvation—saved from God’s judgment of your sins

eternal life—you will make it through the judgment

not because your good works outweigh our bad

but because you are in the ark by believing Jesus satisfied God’s wrath on the cross

eternal life isn't for future only

isn’t get out of hell ticket one day

predominately relationship w/Jesus

5:11-12

do you believe in the name of the Son of God—Jesus?

do you have a relationship with Jesus?

then you can have assurance in your salvation

thus you have direct access to the Father through prayer

eternal life is known now in your prayer life (5:14-17)

Assurance in prayer (5:14-17)

John assures those who believe that their prayers are heard by Almighty God

me??? heard by Almighty God???

I can doubt that when I consider how otherworldly God is

but I have assurance through God’s Word that He hears me

Our prayers are heard (5:14-15)

relationship with Jesus = eternal life = ensures God hears our prayers

this assurance is not a knowledge that He hears our prayers

it is more like a ‘freedom of speech’

confidence = boldness…in approaching God

if according to His will

Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

people of His Word

therefore pray His Word

use your Bible reading plan to pray as you read

helps not have boring prayers (same ole, same ole)

intensifies the relationship

read (God speaks)

pray (we respond)

prayer is not an opportunity to impose our will on God

but how God wants us to submit our will to His

Stott “It is by prayer that we seek God’s will, embrace it and align ourselves with it. Every true prayer is a variation on the theme ‘your will be done’.”

isn’t it awesome that the God of the universe wants us to pray to Him

He also wants us to pray to Him about others

Leads to praying for others (5:16-17)

relationship with Jesus = eternal life = no preoccupation with self and neglecting others

it is impossible to overlook spiritual needs of others, especially sin

our world says to stay out of people’s personal lives

the Bible says to get involved in the messiness of the fallen sinful world—primarily through prayer

here, we deal with sin in the congregation with prayer (If anyone sees his brother committing a sin)…God hears such prayer

John speaks of some prayer that will be effective and some that will be futile

what is sin not leading to death and sin leading to death?

I read lots of scholars ideas

get real fancy and using all sorts of other passages and logic how they apply here

rule in real estate—location, location, location

rule in interpreting Scripture—context, context, context

here the ESV Study Bible had the best contextual argument

based on John’s argument in 1 John…not searching high and low

sin not leading to death

(1) forgiveness is sought

(2) God is willing to grant it

not everyone seeks forgiveness for sin in their life

belies 1:8-9

scary!

have a soft heart that allows the Holy Spirit to convict you of sin

then confess & repent

God is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse

is there a fellow believer you need to pray for?

believer, what sin do you need to confess and repent of?

sin that leads to death

church history

Clement and Origen agreed there were forgivable and unforgivable sins but didn’t define them

Tertullian (introduced Trinity) went step further and names some unforgivable sins—wrongly

including murder, adultery, blasphemy, and idolatry

this led to what is known as the 7 Deadly Sins

mortal (subject to death) vs. venial (slight and pardonable)

wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony

PROBLEM—no New Testament justification for labeling these sins as unforgivable

Stott—blasphemy of HS (context, context, context???)

simplest understanding is best

the sins of the secessionists (Kruse and ESV Study Bible agree in interpretation)

(1) unrepented of

we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar (1:10)

(2) of the kind or nature that John has warned about throughout the letter:

resolute rejection of the true doctrine about Christ,

even when convicted or confronted with truth, reject

chronic disobedience to God’s commandments,

see God’s commands in Scripture, refuse to obey

persistent lack of love for fellow believers—

know you are to love your brothers and sisters, but continually choose not to

all indications of a lack of saving faith—which will not be forgiven

notice you are not saved by your works (only in completed work of Jesus)

but your works will indicate if you have been saved

you will know them by their fruit

pliable, soft heart vs. calloused, hard heart

maybe today God is breaking through your heart of stone

clearly there are…

Assurances to those born of God (5:18-20)

in the next 3 verses

John starts out with we know

meaning these are assurances for every believer born of God

Protection (5:18)

tempted but not overtaken

you may slip but not persist

bronchitis vs. chronic bronchitis

chronic—Billy

I have made my peace

yet proudly cusses and claims not to have a filter between brain & mouth

is it possible to be born of God and not be progressively changed by God? NO!

is it possible to be born of God and wave your sin around proudly? NO!

he [He] is Christ, thus Christ (not the Christian) guarantees the keeping/protection

security of believer

if Christian is now born of God, why does he/she need Jesus to keep him/her?

the evil one is active and is more than a match for you

remember, Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (3:8)

even though devil is too much for us, he is not too much for Jesus

John 10:28-30

Stott “The devil does not touch the Christian because the Son keeps him, and so, because the Son keeps him, the Christian does not persist in sin. This is that ‘deliverance from the evil one’ for which we pray at the end of the Lord’s Prayer.”

Belonging (5:19)

we are from God

implication from 5:18 that we have been born of God

in contrast to belonging to the world

the whole world lies in the power of the evil one

lies is not a struggle,

but as lying quietly unconsciously asleep in the embrace of Satan

no 3rd category—again

alive in Christ OR asleep in Satan’s arms

pity, not pride, wells up

joy of belonging

we are part of the family

we have a home

Hebrews 13:5 “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Understanding (5:20)

Jesus is the crux of our existence in God

w/o Him there is no knowledge of God or overcoming of sin

only because the Son of God has come and has given us understanding

here we are promised that God graciously gives us understanding of spiritual matters

1. grasp Biblical teaching

2. put into practice

knowledge is dangerous if not put into action

there is only 1 God and all other “gods” are vain idols

Now guard yourself from idolatry (5:21)

assurance doesn’t mean sit back but have confidence in action

if you know the 1 true God through Jesus, then unreal/dead idols are useless

any pursuits that are not for God’s glory are idolatrous (rival Him)

active pursuit of rooting out idols

what is rivaling God in your life?

how are you choosing to believe or act contrary to His Word?

keep/guard is a command

how are you actively guarding yourself from idolatry?

be steadfast in His Word

listen to the Spirit’s conviction

be quick to confess and repent

You Can Know You Are Saved

do you know you will go to heaven when you die? why?

not good works outweighing bad—no hope

have you repented and believed in Jesus

fruit inspection from 1 John

now see the evidence of HS in your life???

still believing the Biblical Jesus

obeying commands

loving brothers/sisters