Salvation and Confirmation

Assurance of salvation has been a debated doctrine for much of Christianity. There are two schools of thought. These two schools are found among many different denominations.

*There is the school of thought that teaches one can never know for sure if he is saved or not. Roman Catholicism as well as many Protestant denominations holds to this view. It’s reasoned that God saves us, but after that we must hold on to Him until the end. Since ultimate salvation depends on our holding on, we can’t be sure if we are really saved or not. It should be noted that there are many people that believe you can lose your salvation but also believe that you can have assurance. However that assurance is for the moment. In other words you can live for years as a saved person and know that you are saved. Yet you could also turn away from your salvation and be lost eternally.

*There is the school that teaches one can never lose their salvation. Many Protestant denominations hold to this view. The idea of eternal security has always been abused by those within the church (Romans 6:1-2). We see it in our day.

1) Some teach that we are to never question our salvation period. To do so is to doubt God or give place to the devil. That’s not Scriptural. The Bible teaches us that we are to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5). It also teaches that doubt concerning our salvation is normal if we fail to grow in grace (2 Peter 1:9). The convicting power of the Holy Spirit is so great that a person may feel as if they are not saved when He begins to move them to repentance. Subjectively speaking, doubting our salvation is a normal part of the Christian life.

2) Some teach that salvation should not be doubted even if a person lives in continual sin. The idea is that as long as we prayed the prayer, we are ok. Salvation is thus promoted as a formula or ritual. It does not necessarily have any type of visual or actual effect on people. It’s interesting that John does not say “hereby we do know that we know Him, because we prayed the prayer”. Or “because we believed”. Salvation is not confirmed because we prayed a prayer or because we nodded our head in agreement to the facts of Jesus life, death and burial. No matter what religious rituals one has performed or what they believe salvation should be doubted if a person lives in rebellion toward God.

In this section of Scripture John teaches us about assurance. He tells us how we can know that we are saved. He sets the record straight. Let’s look at what he says.

The first thing he says is that we can know that we are saved. In verse three he says “And hereby we do know that we know Him”. I like the way John puts that. We can know that we know! To “know Him” is synonymous with being saved. Jesus used the same language to describe eternal life (John 17:3). It goes without saying that God knows who is saved and who is not. But many times we struggle with knowing. John wants us to know that we can experience the joy and freedom of assurance in our salvation. We can have assurance of salvation by knowing God. True salvation is a real and living relationship with God. It is confirmed by the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Romans 8:14-16 says “For as many as are led by the Spirit, they are the Sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry Abba Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.” Salvation knows God. It is experiential in its nature and measurable in our lives.

Notice how John says our salvation is confirmed. It is confirmed by keeping God’s commandments. John says we know that we know “if we keep His commandments”. Salvation cannot be earned by keeping the commandments but it is most certainly confirmed by keeping them. John isn’t talking simply about the Ten Commandments. He is talking about the fullness of God’s commandments. Simply put, if we obey the teachings of Christ we will have assurance of salvation. Let’s put it this way. If we love Christ we are saved (1 Cor. 16:22). Jesus said that we prove our love for Him by keeping the commandments (John 14:15). John has already taught us that none of is without sin, even after salvation (1:8). However, when we are truly saved there is a love and desire for the commandments of God. We want to obey them. We long to fulfill them. Therefore we strive for righteousness. That longing and striving is proof that we know God. John teaches us in verse three that salvation is confirmed in our lives when we live in obedience to God.

The second thing he says is that we can know that we are not saved. Look at verse 4. There were people in the church that said they knew God but lived in disobedience. Notice how blunt John is. These folks were saying “John we are saved”. John was replying “No you are not!” In fact John goes so far as to call these people liars. He says that the truth is not in them. They had believed a lie that was either conjured up by their own imaginations or espoused by some false teacher. John knows that these people are not saved because they were not keeping God’s commandments. We shouldn’t think that John is talking about folks that complain sometimes or have a moral slip. He was talking about people that had no regard at all for the commandments of God.

It is very important for us to search our hearts about our response to God’s commandments. It’s important that we are honest with ourselves. If we know Christ our heart will cry out for the commandments of God. We will think about them often. They will not be a burden to us, but a delight (Psalm 1:2). We want to obey God more than we want to disobey Him. That’s the major difference between a redeemed and an unredeemed heart. If we do not live and long for an obedient life we can be certain that we are not saved.

Notice that John doesn’t get into a long and drawn out discussion on the matter. I know that we are all ready to do that about now. You know “What about people that are just living in disobedience” or “What about my sister, I know she is saved”. John is honest and forthright. He tells us that a person living in continual disobedience to the commandments of God has no reason to think that they are saved. It amazes me how quickly we state that other people are saved. John just draws a line in the sand. He makes a clear distinction between those who truly know Christ and those that just say that they know Him.

John’s third point is that maturity strengthens our assurance. We see that in verse 5. John tells us that keeping God’s word perfects the love of God in us. The love of God is poured into us by the Holy Spirit at the moment of our salvation (Romans 5:5). That love involves a love for God as well as a love for others. It is a supernatural impartation that comes to us when we are saved. The perfecting of that love is what we know as spiritual maturity. The word “perfected” means “to make complete”. It carries the idea of growth. We’ve already mentioned that spiritual immaturity can rob us of assurance. We mature in Christ as we obey His word. When we practice God’s word we grow in grace (2 Peter 2:2).

The true believer isn’t going around trying to prove to people that he is saved. That’s what the Pharisees of Jesus day were doing. But the true believer does want proof that he is saved for himself. That’s far more important. Maturity in the Lord is a proof of salvation. That does not mean that all immature people doubt their salvation. Immaturity is very natural in the Christian life. When we are born again we are like little babes, we are immature. But as time passes we are to grow in grace by learning the Word and obeying it. If we do not, the Holy Spirit will bring such conviction into our lives that we may even doubt our salvation. If we want our salvation confirmed we must grow in grace. Doubt is a miserable place to live as a believer.

The last thing we see in these passages is that confirmation is reserved for those that walk the walk. John says in verse 6 “He that saith he abideth in Him”. In other words, if you claim to be a Christian. If you tell folks “I am saved” you ought to walk like Christ walked. Do you know what I think that implies. I think it implies that if you don’t walk like Christ walked you ought not to be going around and telling people that you are a believer. So what does it mean to walk as Christ walked?

First let’s consider what John does not mean. John does not mean that we have to be perfect. Christ was perfect. He walked in perfect and complete obedience to the will of the Father (John 8:29). That is impossible for us. John has already established that (1 John 1:8). Being imperfect does not mean we should doubt our salvation.

Secondly, let us consider what John does mean. “Walk” refers to the pattern of a person’s life. Christ walked on this earth with a commitment and love for the truth. Jesus said in John 14:31 “But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so do I.” Christ’s commitment to the commandments of the Father proved to us that He is the Son of God. Our obedience to the commandments of God proves to ourselves and a watching world that we are indeed the children of God. We walk like Jesus walked when we love and obey the truth.

Assurance doesn’t come through baptism or by saying a prayer. It comes by living our lives for the Lord. Living in disobedience will at best forfeit our assurance or at worst reveal that we are not truly saved. Let us live in obedience and rejoice in our assurance.