That You May Know

I have often heard the joke recently that many people are tired of living in unprecedented times. Everything seems to be in a state of flux, whether it is the economy, politics, society, or any number of different things you can choose. I think the reason for this feeling of being overwhelmed stems from a feeling of uncertainty. Perhaps not even in the future, but on what it is that we are standing upon. If the ground beneath us is shifting sand, how can we have any confidence when moving forward? If you were here the last time I gave a sermon, you might recall that it dealt with assurance. In that instance, we looked at the NT author James and his explanation that the trials and sufferings we have in this life are not mistakes or aberrations but rather tools used by God to strengthen our faith that we may stand firm in greater trials and prove to be children of God. In a similar vein, I want us to look at assurance from a different angle, namely, that of the assurance of salvation.

This is an area of spiritual life where many Christians have trouble, anxiety, and outright fear. Some people who are very dear to me have a constant struggle when it comes to resting in the assurance that they are truly saved and will spend eternity in the new heavens and new earth. This can paralyze a believer, making them ineffective in their ministry and stunting their growth in sanctification. It is for this reason I want to direct your attention to this beautiful portion of Scripture given by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit for our comfort and assurance. (Ask the congregation to stand and read 1 John 5:13).

The Apostle John has saved countless college and seminary students from tireless work; I’ll have you know. If you have attended a Bible college or seminary and you come to the academic study of various books of the Bible, the question is almost always asked, “What is the reason the author wrote this book?” We know that while these texts are indeed inspired by the Holy Spirit, the author did have an intention and style in what he wrote. Thus is the astounding work of God’s Providence. But thankfully, John apparently had a habit of just letting us know why he was writing. In John 20:31, he writes, “but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” So right there, John tells us he wrote his Gospel to prove to us that Jesus is the Messiah so that we might believe and be saved. It's pretty straightforward. And he does the same thing in his first epistle, which is where we find our text.

Now this message will be more of a survey across 1 John because of the very nature of what this verse is pointing to. But it all points to the central theme of this verse, which is that we may know that we have eternal life. So, let’s break down this verse before we see what it is that John is talking about.

John opens this verse with the words “These things I have written.” What things? These things! It is all of what has come before this verse. It’s a pretty handy road map for the epistle. John is saying that up to this point, his words have been expressly written down for a purpose. It was not a rambling on of the Apostle where he was jotting down some thoughts. He was driving to a point for those who would read or hear this letter. And who was he writing to? Believers!

He is writing to those “who believe in the name of the Son of God.” The only people who believe in the name of the Son of God are the adopted sons and daughters of God. And I think here we have a clue as to another motivation for why John is trying to grant some assurance to his disciples. He is making it clear that those listening belong to God. That they are believers. And he is trying to reassure them that they have true faith. Why? Because in 2:19, he addresses the leaving of people from the church.

1 John 2:19 reads, “They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.”

The believers John was writing to had seen false believers amongst them, and they walked away. These were people who apparently walked the walk and talked the talk, but ultimately, they did not have true saving faith and left. Whenever we see this in our churches, it always affects us. It saddens us. Causes us to examine ourselves, or at least it should. And John is doing the work of a pastor here by trying to assure those still in the congregation that they can rest in the hope given to them by Christ through salvation.

And finally, the crux of the matter, which we will be looking at this morning, he has written to believers so that we may know that we have eternal life. If we were to look at this verse in the original language, John actually front-loaded this verse with this purpose clause. It originally reads “These things I have written to you all so that you may know that you have eternal life, you who are believing in the name of the Son of God.” John is just driving home the why of this letter.

So, now that we have picked apart the verse, and the verse really is a simple one to understand, what are the things John has written to assure us of our salvation? What comfort, or exhortation, do we find in this epistle? The great thing about 1 John is that, in some ways, it is a litmus test of the Christian faith. It is a mirror into which we can look as we strive to live Christlike lives. Now, what I am not saying is that this is a checklist that we need to run through, check the boxes, and declare ourselves saved. That is not what I am saying. However, it offers a mirror for us to examine ourselves, as Paul instructs us, and to correct our path and behavior as we grow in our faith.

Now, this epistle outlines ten characteristics of a Christian. Think we can get through all ten? I’m sure you weren’t expecting a ten-point sermon this morning, but I promise we can do it. And the reason I want to compact so much in this sermon, which otherwise would really take ten weeks, is because I want to give you something to think about. I want you to take this home and chew on it and dive into it yourselves and see the richness of what John has laid out for us. So, here we go.

The first characteristic I would bring to your attention is that the believer has fellowship with God. John starts off this epistle with an astounding opening where he declares the truth of what he is about to say due to his firsthand experience with the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:1-3 reads, “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us— what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.” John says I have seen Him with my eyes, heard him with my ears, and touched Him with my hands. So, do not doubt what I am about to say. And why is he about to proclaim something to the believers? So that they may have fellowship with him and the others who witnessed Jesus, and that they would also be partakers of that fellowship with God the Father and Jesus.

John is not placing his fellowship with God above that of the other believers. He is using his office as an Apostle to support the authority with which he is teaching. But he is not saying that there is a level that the ordinary believer cannot attain to, or worse, that they have no fellowship at all and are just in the world. Remember when Jesus said that it was better that He go away than to stay with His disciples? In John’s Gospel in 16:7, Jesus says, “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.” This is because we now have Christ in us through His Spirit. This is an even closer and deeper fellowship with God than if Christ were simply standing before us, which is hard to swallow except that it came from the lips of Jesus Himself. And this indwelling of the Holy Spirit is what connects us to God.

We see that here in verse 3. It says that the fellowship is with the Father and the Son. Where is the Spirit here when it comes to fellowship? John alludes to this later on in 3:24 when he writes, “The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.” We have the fellowship of the Spirit, who grants us fellowship with the Father and the Son. And this fellowship has no shortage of benefits, but we can keep it simple by looking at what is written in Ephesians 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” Not to mention salvation and the forgiveness of our sins.

The second characteristic is a sensitivity to sin in our lives. 1:5-10 reads, “This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.”

This is such a warning passage. If we claim to have fellowship with God from a few verses before and then live a life of darkness, we call God a liar. What did Paul say? “Let God be found true, though every man be found a liar.” Notice that it says if we walk in the light, then we have fellowship. And if we have that fellowship, our sins have been cleansed by the blood of Christ. Our walk with God, if it is faithful, reveals our sin to us, which we then confess to Him, as it says in verse 9.

Something that we can sometimes see in the lives of individuals, or even professing believers, is what we could call a seared conscience. A person has spent so much time in bad company, doing wicked deeds that the small voice in their mind that tells them what they are doing is wrong has been drowned out. God has given man, even unsaved man, a conscience that tells them what is right and wrong. That’s why when we engage with the culture around us, they can tell us they believe something is wrong. They instinctively know that murder is wrong. They most likely cannot tell you why, because they do not acknowledge the Law of God. However, they know it’s wrong. There is no sensitivity or shame there. So, if we are truly saved, we will have a sensitivity and aversion to sin.

Three, are we obedient to God? 2:3-5 reads, “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him.” Please notice that first verse. “By this we know that we have come to know Him.” It does not say that because we prayed a prayer, walked an aisle, answered an altar call, or signed a card that we have come to know God. It is the manner by which we live that evidences our faith. James tells us that faith without works is dead, and the Lord Jesus Himself tells us in His sermon on the mount that we will know people by their fruits.

This is not works righteousness, let me be clear. We do not earn our salvation; we do not maintain our salvation by our actions, praise be to God, because we can’t. But, much like the previous trait we looked at, if a person has been sitting in a pew for a decade but spends Monday through Saturday carousing around town doing unspeakable acts, I think it raises some questions. True conversion generates a desire to obey the laws of God, not for the sake of justification, but out of love for the one who has saved us. And John even covers this later in 5:3, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.”  So, by this- by what- our obedience, we know we have come to know him. So that’s three traits.

Number four, the believer rejects the world and what it has to offer. 2:15-17 reads, “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” What John is referring to here by “the world” is the Satanic system that is in place the world over. It is the allurement offered by Satan through various lusts and desires, however harmful or benign they may seem. We see the devil using these temptations, lust of the eyes, flesh, and pride of life in the Garden with our first parents, Adam and Eve. And, he uses them against Christ in the wilderness. He’s had the same playbook for millennia, and yet man still falls for it.

But what does John say? Do not love the world. Why? It is passing away. It is temporary; we need to concentrate on the eternal. Now, this does not mean we cannot enjoy the creation of God that He has placed us in. We have nature to partake of. Recreation, fun, fellowship. We are not to become broke monks living in caves so as to become closer to God. But the trap is when we make idols of what is here on earth, replace the eternal Creator with the creature, and live only for this life. The world and the lust of the world will perish, but the believer stores his treasures where? In heaven. We’re getting a new heavens and a new earth. Not a new truck or a new house. So, do not love or idolize the world.

Fifth, and we’re halfway there, is our eager awaiting for the return of Christ. And let me tell you, I really feel this one, though I fail to live up to it so very often. 3:2-3 reads, “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” A believer is marked by their eager desire for the Lord to return. We don’t know when, and while he tarries, we have work to do. But He is coming, and we should be filled with joy by knowing that. I know, and I’m sure you do as well, that there are days when I am more ready than others. But we should be eager each and every day for His return and the renewal it will bring to His creation, to our love, and the glory He will receive when it happens.

Sixth, the believer should see a decreasing pattern of sin in their lives. This is closely connected to the points on sensitivity to sin and obedience, so we won’t park on this text too long. 3:4-10 reads, “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.”

Now, don’t be frightened when it says that no one who abides in God sins. Sinless perfection is not attainable in this life, despite what some teachers out there falsely claim. Verse 4 clues us in to what John means. The one who practices sin also practices lawlessness. The Greek word here for lawless is ἀνομία. Νόμος means law. When we put “a” it’s called a negative prefix. We know it means the absence or opposite of the word it is attached to, like “amoral” or “atypical.”. So, ἀνομία means “without law.” The person practicing sin lives as if there is no law to break. He is without fear of consequence, either temporal or eternal. So, a Christian can sin. But, just like we saw back in 1:9, the believer confesses that sin, he repents and trusts in the Lord for sanctification. And as that sensitivity grows, and our desire to obey Him grows, our sinning should decrease.

The seventh characteristic is a love of fellow Christians. 3:10 reads, “By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.” This is about as straightforward as it gets. If you don’t love your brother and sister in Christ, are you in Christ at all, since He Himself loved the Church enough to die for her? Love is a natural action for the Christian. It’s as natural as breathing or should be.

I love the word that is translated “obvious,” here. It means it is known, in the open, visible, and public. It can’t help but be noticed. If you’re in church and there is a person who’s been going there for years and they’re a grump to everyone, that stands out, doesn’t it? And if there is another that greets everyone, shakes hands, and has a genuine joy when they are around other believers, it’s evident, isn’t it? How we interact with and think about other believers says a lot about us. And this verse cuts to the chase really quickly. It divides everyone into two families, that of God and that of the Devil. One is marked by love of others, and the other by a love of self. It brings to mind the numerous “one another” passages and how they reveal what should be our everyday practice among the brethren.

The eighth trait is the experience of rejection or persecution for our faith. 3:13 reads, “Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you.” This one should still be fresh in our memories, I would think. Barely more than aa couple of months ago, the whole world saw Charlie Kirk assassinated before thousands of people for sharing biblical truth. Yes, politics was involved, but politics is downstream of culture and religion, and Charlie first and foremost wanted people to know the Gospel. In Nigeria, more than 50,000 Christians have been killed and thousands of churches burned in recent years. This is frightening to us in the West because we have had it really easy for decades, if not centuries. We generally have to deal with perhaps a smirk, maybe some foul language, when we share our faith. But we have seen an increase in violence and aggression. Dozens of churches were burned in America and Canada. Parachurch organizations targeted by the government. And violence is on the rise. Jesus said, “…A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you…” If they crucified the Lord of glory, how will they feel about us? But take heart. If you are persecuted for your faith, it is a blessing and confirmation of your love for your Savior and His saving you. Paul said it is granted to us to suffer for Christ. Stand firmly upon that and stand strong.

Trait nine, and we’re almost there. Number nine is an experience of answered prayer. 3:22 reads, “and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.” The true believer receives answered prayers. Often, we do not know our prayers have been answered until sometime down the line. Spiritual hindsight is 20/20. The true test comes in the present when we pour our hearts out to the Lord, seeking answers. Those answers will come in time as either yes, no, or wait. But God answers the prayers of His children. Job 22:27 assures us that He hears our voice.

He is not, however, obligated in any way to answer the prayers of the lost. In fact, Scripture tells us that he will not hear the prayers of the wicked. The world does not know the comfort afforded to the Christian that when they speak to the God whom they do not know and deny, they are not heard. So, dear friends, rest in the knowledge that your pleas are heard and answered by a gracious God.

Lastly, the believer will be able to practice discernment of spiritual things. 4:1-3 reads, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.” Now, this one is especially important in our day and age. It seems that the church is the one tossed to and from on every wind of doctrine these days. Have you been to a Christian bookstore lately? I wouldn’t recommend it. In this epistle there are multiple references to there being many false teachers, but not so many references to good teachers.

The father of lies is busy night and day trying to deceive the children of God. And, sadly, in many instances, it seems to be working. According to the most recent State of Theology survey taken here in the US, nearly 50% of Evangelicals believe that God accepts the worship of all religions. More than a third of Evangelicals do not believe Jesus is truly God. And, more than half do not believe the Holy Spirit is a Person, which is a denial of the tri-unity of God. So, there is work to be done.

But one of the benefits of the Spirit indwelling us is the renewing of our minds and the ability to discern right from wrong. Charles Spurgeon said that discernment wasn’t the ability to tell right from wrong, but right from almost right. When we hear someone say that Jesus was a really good teacher and leave it at that, our senses should tell us that it is wrong. This is for our benefit so that we are not drawn into false doctrine and rendered ineffective for the kingdom of God.

So, a couple of points of application, and then we’ll close. John has given us a list of characteristics that are exhibited by a believer. Now, as I said before, this is not a checklist to be marked, and we go on our merry way with nary a thought as to our growth in Christlikeness. If we are merely trying to live like a Christian and follow the rules for the sake of appearances, would we be any better than the Pharisees? No. If we look for laws to follow simply to follow, we become legalists. But what John has presented here is for the sake of our knowing we have eternal life, and it leaves us with a few things to think about.

First: If we examine ourselves against the backdrop of these traits and find we are moving along in tandem with them; if we see a decreasing pattern of sin in our lives, obedience to the laws of Christ, and others, we can have assurance that we do indeed possess eternal life. Ours is not a faith blind hope. The Lord does not desire that we walk around in fear of our standing before Him. Christ did not die upon the cross for us to doubt the efficacy of that sacrifice. John said he wrote so we can know.

But, as a warning: This should not bring us to a point of pride. We can only boast in the Lord, for it is not we who have wrought these changes within us. We didn’t pull ourselves up by our spiritual bootstraps any more than we saved ourselves. A realization that we are being sanctified and being conformed to the image of our Savior should drive us to our knees in gratitude to the Lord.

Second: If you examine yourself and find yourself lacking in these areas, it can mean one of two things. One: You are a believer whose life has gotten out of sync with God’s desire for your life. Psalm one tells us that the blessed man does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, stand in the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of scoffers. The blessed man delights in the Law of the Lord. The Word is the sole authority for our lives, and by it we must compare ourselves. So when we find ourselves distracted by and partaking in the things of this world, we must recoil and reorient ourselves to heavenly things. Turn to the Scripture and prayer, and rest in the fact that your salvation is sure and that the Holy Spirit will strengthen you.

The other option, if you find that you are not in line with these characteristics, then this epistle acts as a warning that you may not be in Christ. If your walk, the pattern of your life is not in sync with what is presented in Scripture, then rather than being conformed to the image of Christ, you may be conforming to the image of the world. And, if that is the case, then there is no better time than now to repent of your sins, trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ upon the cross and His resurrection, and submit to His lordship, and you will be saved. We are not promised tomorrow, or even our next breath. So please, trust in Christ. He is the one who offers these transformations in your life. And, most importantly, he offers eternal life and the assurance of it. Let’s pray.