Sermon Tone Analysis

As always, it is an honor to be here this morning in the presence of the Lord and this body of believers.

Today we are wrapping up our walk through through the book of 1 John.

I hope that this series has been as impactful for your understanding of the assurance of salvation as it has been for my own.

If you’ve missed any parts of this here is the main point.

John wrote this letter to a church facing falling teaching and confusion of the faith so that they may know that they have eternal life.

He is saying this is how you know that you have been saved.

I think this is a very important concept to grasp in our time today.

Our society has moved to become a pluralistic society.

There is not universal truth, but rather relative truth, personal truth.

What is true for me may not be true for you.

Everyone is right all the time.

But despite this movement in our society, it is simply illogical.

Two competing truths cannot be true.

If I look at the screen there and say that it is a rectangle while Carlo says it is a circle, one of us HAS to be wrong.

If I were to point to this microphone try to tell you that it is a cheeseburger, you would look at me like I’m a mad man.

It wouldn’t matter if I told you that it was a cheeseburger TO ME, you would tell me that I am denying the reality of the situation.

You would say I’d break my teeth if I tried to take a bite.

Relative truth breaks down in the face of concrete facts.

If you’ll stay with me, I’d like to take just a moment to have an argument with myself.

So I just said that relative truth breaks down in the face of concrete facts.

The skeptic would then say to me, “well Brad, you just disproved Christianity!

That Jesus guy might be your truth, but there are countless other religions preaching different things.

All that spiritual stuff is relative and thus as you say, it breaks down to be false!”

To the skeptic I would say that I understand where that line of thought is coming from, but what Christianity has that none of those other religions have, is a Risen Savior!

Jesus is not in the tomb in which He was laid.

The Apostles’ testimonies prove it.

When you look at the historical and narrative evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the evidence is overwhelming.

Many skeptic unbelievers have taken the task as disproving the resurrection and many have actually become converted believers through that effort.

Jesus Christ Lives!

And because Jesus is the One who conquered the grave, we can trust the rest of His Word.

We looked last week at how through His life God the Father testified that Jesus truly is the Son of God.

Jesus said that He is the Way the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father but through Him.

So then we must evaluate our position before God through our relationship with Jesus.

Throughout the book of 1 John we have been confronted with the binary nature of humanity.

By that I mean that there are clear, cut-and-dry categories of people.

John talked about the children of the devil and the children of God.

Those who are in the world vs those who do the will of God.

Those who practice sinning vs those who practice righteousness.

Those who hate other believers and those who love other believer.

Those who fall with the world vs those who overcome the world.

Those who deny Jesus vs those who recognize Him as the Christ and the Son of God.

We have been wading through all of these categories as we have been working our way through this text.

Each of these competing categories can be simplified as the lost and the saved.

There is no middle ground here.

We see that we are one or other.

While there has been evangelistic emphasis given throughout this series, the main purpose of John’s letter is not to persuade unbelievers to join him in recognizing Jesus as Savior and Lord.

The main goal of John’s letter here is for believers to have confidence in their salvation.

You do not have to doubt your eternal position.

John gives us doctrinal tests to show us which side we are truly on.

Those are the tests of love of God and the body of believers, the test of obedience to the Lord and finding His way delight in His way rather than burden, and the test of truth that is knowing that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God.

These themes have cycled all throughout this letter and we have focussed on these heavily.

In what we are reading today, John is giving his closing remarks to the church.

If you would, open your Bibles to 1 John 5. In this conclusion to this series, take this time to truly evaluate you position before the Lord.

Today, you are being asked and equipped to work out your salvation.

That is to know your position before God.

I will say from the onset that if you find that you have never truly received the gift of faith and your hope is not in Jesus, it is not too late.

God is still working and calling sinners to repentance.

And if you sincerely trust in the Lord as your Savior, but often fight the seeds of doubt that plague your sinful flesh, know this, when you trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord of your life, you are saved and sealed, case closed.

Today, you will see the certainties given to you by God.

Walk through this with me.

This verse is the framing verse of the entire book of 1 John.

You may remember in one of the first sermons of this series I gave a SPOILER WARNING and read this verse.

All that the Holy Spirit was inspiring John to write is driven by these words: That you may know that you have eternal life.

The book of 1 John was written so that the readers of the day and us here today maya know that we have eternal life.

Folks, this is hope.

This isn’t some shilling of prosperity.

This is deep truth that no matter what difficulties and catastrophes you face, you can be resolved in the Lord knowing that you have overcome the world.

We often look at:

We see athletes using this verse for encouragement on game day.

I see people posting this verse after a big win in their life.

Maybe its finally purchasing a home, or overcoming a big financial burden, but that’s not the full context.

Look with me at the verse before that

What we see in Philippians is not someone shouting from the top of Mount Everest in victory, rather in the highs and the lows of life, Paul is secure in sufficiency of the Lord.

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me points us to the hope of Jesus and the assurance of eternity that gets us through whatever earthly trial we may face.

Paul, earlier in that same letter to Philippians wrote

He understands and shows us that when we know that we have eternal life, we live on this side of glory serving the Lord and in eternity we live in the full presence of the Lord.

The bumps and bruises along the way pale in comparison to the glory of things to come.

Paul speaks with such hope because he knows that he has eternal life.

Christian, you too, can speak with such hope because you should know that you have eternal life.

That hope is sourced from nothing else than Jesus Christ.

You will not find hope in your self.

John says that this messed of assurance is only for those who believe in the name of the Son of God

We are only saved through the gift of faith in Jesus Christ.

Its all about Him.

You want proper perspective in this world?

You want to know the meaning of life?

You find that in Jesus Christ.

Through Christ we are reconciled to the Father and give thanks through Him.

Part of my memory verses with my men’s group is In whatever you do, in word of deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Our lives are meant to glorify and give thanks to the Lord and we do that through living in response to the grace we have received through Jesus’ perfect atonement for our sins of the cross.

Jesus puts everything into its proper perspective.

When He is Lord of our lives, our Savior, we KNOW that we have eternal life because He promised us such.

Yes, this ugly flesh will peak its head and we still struggle with sin and temptation, but when we have faith in Christ we are driven to follow Him and glorify God in the name of Jesus.

If you want assurance of eternal life, ask your self this, do you have the God-given desire to honor the Lord.

Do you believe that Jesus died for your sins and conquered death on your behalf?

Is Jesus the Lord of your life, the one who sets the foundation for all that you do?

If you say yes, then you too should KNOW that you have eternal life.

When you believe in Jesus you are saved, sealed, and secure.

You have eternal life.

But eternal life is not the only Christian certainty from faith in Jesus Christ.