(1 John 5:13-15)

See 1 John 4:17; 5:13; 2 Timothy 4:6-8. These verses are designed to give us assurance and confidence in our faith. This idea is actually quite radical in the mind of many disciples. So many of God’s people live their lives every day in doubt as to whether or not they have eternal life. They have serious doubts in regards to their salvation.

This thinking comes from Satan! It is not of God! In 1 John 5:13, the apostle says if you are a Christian you can KNOW that you have eternal life. How can you know?

When you commit yourself to keeping God’s commandments (1 John 2:3-5; 3:24; 5:2-3).

  • What commandments are John talking about?
    • Not the commandments of the Old Law (Colossians 2:14; Romans 7:6-7).
    • Those commandments were for another people at another time.
    • Instead he is referring to the commandments found in the Law of Christ.
    • The Lord emphasized the need to obey all of His commandments constantly (Matthew 28:19-20; John 12:48; 14:15, 21; 15:14).
  • Are you obeying the Lord’s commandments?
    • Have you believed in Jesus and been baptized (Mark 16:16; Romans 10:9)?
    • Have you become a new creature (Ephesians 4:23-24)?
    • Just because we cannot earn or merit our salvation, doesn’t mean that God doesn’t require faithful obedience (Ephesians 2:8-9; John 14:15).

When you commit yourself to loving your brethren (1 John 3:13-15, 23; 4:19-21).

  • Why must we love?
    • God is love (1 John 4:8).
    • We can’t honestly say we love God if we don’t (1 John 4:19-21).
    • It is a mark of true discipleship (John 13:35).
    • It is commanded (John 13:34; 15:17; 1 John 4:21).
  • Those who are not loving their brother have reason to doubt their salvation. But those who are, do not!

When we overcome the unbiblical fears the devil plants in our minds.

  • The devil wants us to believe that we can’t have confidence unless we have reached a point of sinless perfection.
    • There is no such thing as perfect and sinless Christians (1 John 1:8-10).
    • Peter is a great example of this (Galatians 2:11-15).
  • The devil wants us to believe that we can’t have confidence unless we have perfect knowledge of the Bible.
    • There is no way any Christian will attain this. There is always going to be room for growth in our knowledge (2 Peter 3:18).
    • This is why we need to constantly ask God to forgive us of the sins that we commit that we may be unaware of (Psalm 19:12-13). Doing this will enable us to live our lives with confidence!

Conclusion: God is on our side! He wants us to be saved! Do we trust Him?