Can I be sure? Part 1
When we become followers of Jesus, can we be SURE we have been forgiven, that we have new life? Jack Taylor considers …..
This is a subject that can give Christians – and by that I mean followers of the Lord Jesus – a deal of trouble, from time to time. It’s the question of assurance in three key areas:
- Can I be sure I know God?
- Can I be sure I am forgiven?
- Can I be sure I will go to heaven?
Look out for each other!
If these three key areas are of no immediate concern to you, they may well be to other believers known to you. So hopefully, even if you are not troubled by doubts, there is still a message for you here as you seek to be a member of the Christian family and ‘look out’ for your brothers and sisters, praying for them, encouraging them and (possibly) counselling them.
Our text is taken from 1 John 1: 5 thru 2: 6. First, a little background; John of course is the apostle. Most scholars think the Gospel, Revelation and the three epistles were all written by John. The similarities between the opening of the Gospel of John and the first epistle are striking. Compare John 1: 1 – 5 – The Word and 1 John 1: 1 – 3 – The Word of Life. So the themes of the Word, and of that which was in the beginning, and of the life appearing are common to both the epistle and the gospel.
Why did John write his first epistle? The letter has two main purposes: to encourage readers to live in fellowship with God and with his Son, Jesus Christ, and to warn against false teaching that threatened to destroy the fellowship. This false teaching, although not spelled out, appears to be that of the Gnostics who taught that salvation was based on knowledge attained (the word ‘gnosis’ means knowledge).
They taught that sin was brought into the world by God, so that indulging in sin did not matter. They also claimed that the Lord Jesus had not come in the flesh and that he was spirit. Therefore, they concluded, what you did in your body could not affect your spirit. We note that these old heresies pop up time and time again throughout history. Some Gnostic ideas can be found in the so-called new age philosophies of our own day.
The ‘We Know’ Book
The first epistle of John has been called the “we know” book. That’s because John uses the phrase “we know” so many times. It seems that John was directly addressing the peculiar beliefs of the Gnostics in emphasising what we know, as Christians. What we can depend upon; what it is that has been made plain to us. Remember, these Gnostics claimed to have esoteric ‘knowledge’ and that ‘salvation’ was attained by gaining their so called knowledge.
Bunkum, says John. We know:
2:3 – we have come to know him if we obey him
2:5 – we are in him if we walk with him
2: 11 – whoever hates his brother does not know God
2:20 – you have the anointing of the Holy One and you know the truth
2:28 – he is righteous, and everyone who does what is right has been born of him
3: 1 – the reason the world does not know us is because it does not know the Lord Jesus
3: 2 – that when he appears we shall be like him
3: 5 – you know that Jesus appeared to take away our sins
3:24 – he lives in us because the Spirit lives in us
4:2 – John explains how we can know or test whether a spirit is from God – every spirit that acknowledges Jesus came in the flesh is from God (remember these Gnostics, these so-called knowers of spiritual mysteries, were claiming that Jesus has not come in the flesh.)
Knocking the Gnostics
And so it goes on throughout the epistle. John does a good demolition job on the beliefs of the Gnostics and encourages the flock which, we may assume, had been troubled and unsettled by these heretical teachings.
1 John 1: verse 5 (thru 2:6)
John tells us that he has seen and looked at and touched the Word – Jesus. John refutes those who say that Jesus did not come in the bodily form of a man. In verse 5 John goes on to explain the nature of God, that God is holy (in him there is no darkness at all) and that if we walk with him we will not keep on sinning. If we claim we have not sinned, we are kidding only ourselves.
This again appears to be a particular reference to Gnostics who were claiming that sin was OK, and because sin was OK therefore they were without sin! This is self deception says John – in verse 8, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But – and here’s the great news – if any Christian does sin (Chapter 2 verse 1) we have One who speaks up for us, Who defends us before God the Father. I think if anyone was to defend me I’d rather it was the Lord Jesus than (say) one of the apostles, good and upright though they were.
Only Jesus can empathise with me because He has been a man, a human being. Only Jesus has felt the full weight of temptation and not given in. Only Jesus knows how hard it is for me not to sin. Only Jesus is at one with the Father. Only Jesus can represent me to the Father. So, halleluiah, Jesus is my defence lawyer! And not only that, He has already paid the penalty for my sins – and He did that once for all on the cross two thousand years ago.
Let’s go back to those three key areas of assurance that sometimes trouble us as Christians.
Can I be sure I know God?
Look at 1 John chapter 1 and verse 7: “if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus his Son purifies us from all sins”. The very fact of our fellowship one with another is excellent grounds for assurance. If we love God we delight to be in His presence and we delight to be in each others’ company. For Christians this is powerful evidence that we know God. As it says later in the epistle (Ch 4 verse 7) “Dear friends let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” How can I be sure I know God? John gives three tests:
First, if we keep God’s commandments and if that is our aim and delight, we can feel sure we know God. This is the moral test: our one overriding aim should be to please God. John examines this in Chapter 2. Of course there will be times when we fail, when we sin. It happens to us all. But when we sin usually it unsettles us as Christians and we seek God’s forgiveness as soon as possible. That’s why most Christian assemblies, a time of corporate and private confession is included.
Second, the social test: this is the test of love. If we love one another as brothers and sisters it is good evidence that we know God, who is our Father. John looks at this in Chapter 3. There is an emotional dimension to this, we will feel for each other. We will be concerned for each other. There is also a practical dimension; we will go out of our way to help each other when the need demands it. Our Lord Jesus laid down His life and so, in all sorts of ways, must we. And one of those ways is in laying down our personal interests in favour of our brethren. So, mutual love is a very good evidence that we know God.
Love our neighbours!
Not only should we love our brothers and sisters, however. God’s demand on us is more than that. We must also love our neighbours as ourselves! As Jesus said in Matthew 19:19 when He reminded that ‘rich young man’ of the God’s basic requirements in order to gain eternal life. Jesus, of course, was Leviticus 19:18 where God states His revolutionary law that we should not take revenge, but instead to love our neighbours as ourselves.
Not only must we love our brothers and our neighbours. Most challenging of all, we must love our enemies, says Jesus: “I tell you who hear me, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you and pray for those who ill treat you.” (Luke 6: 27). Clearly this is the most challenging of all of the Lord’s demands.
Fortunately, we are not told we must like our enemies! Our English word ‘love’ has emotional connotations that are inappropriate to any of the contexts in which the Bible uses this word. But the challenge to us is still inescapable. Love for the unlovely is another very good evidence that we know God.
Third, the doctrinal test, as John sets out in Chapter 4. Our belief is in Jesus Christ who has come in the flesh. The spirit of falsehood (we might say, the liar – another name for the devil) preaches other things. The fact that we recognise these lies is a good clue that we know God, or as Jesus himself said, “my sheep know my voice”. We shun false teachings. And we must be always alert for these false teachings.
The Church is, sadly, always under attack from the devil and all through history it has been infiltrated and weakened by false teachings. Soberly, we must be continually on our guard against them.
If we pass John’s three tests then we can emphatically say “yes” we know God, we know our Father. In the second part of this article we will pursue the important questions, Can I be sure I am forgiven? And, can I be sure I will go to heaven?
Jack Taylor concludes next month …….
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For concerned readers there are a number of helpful Bible studies freely available via the Christian Publications International website. www.christian-publications-int.com/ We recommend in particular numbers (13) Assurance (12) Eternal Life (17) Sanctification and (36) Doubt.
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