Eleven Tests in the Epistles of John

That Can Assure Us We are Saved

Part One

 

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

 © God’s Breath Publications

 

This is the first part of a series on the epistles of John written by John the apostle. In this series we will cover the eleven assurances we have that establish our salvation as a Christian.

 

TEST 1 – WE HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD.

 

1 John 1:3 “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”

 

This verse tells us that as a Christian who has been saved from their sin by believing in Jesus as their Lord and Savior, we have fellowship with God. Before we receive Christ as Savior and Lord we are under God’s judgment and are not in fellowship with Him. Sin keeps us from having a relationship with God and until that issue is cleared up, there can be no intimate relationship with our Creator. Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins so that we could not only be saved from this penalty, but also so that we could fellowship with our Heavenly Father. God has a passionate desire to have a close and intimate relationship with all men and women. This is the reason He sent His Son to die on the cross, so that He could fellowship with you and I. As long as there is sin in our lives we cannot commune with God.

 

If you have accepted Christ as Savior and Lord you will sense a relief from the burden of sin and will sense God’s love and acceptance. This not only gives you the assurance that your sins have been forgiven, but also that you have fellowship with your Heavenly Father. In 1 John 1:3 John is telling us that he proclaims the gospel and is writing these letters to reassure Christians everywhere that they are saved because they have fellowship not only with other Christians, but also God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son.

 

Relationships take work and our relationship with our Heavenly Father is no different. You can be assured that you are saved when you desire to know God more intimately. When you desire to spend time with Him in prayer or want to read more about who He is in His Word, the Bible. 1 Corinthians 1:9 tells us that God calls us as Christians to have a relationship with Jesus Christ and this calling also involves a relationship with God the Father as well as the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 13:14).

 

Christians still continue to sin after they have accepted Christ as Savior and Lord and this can hinder the fellowship we have with our Heavenly Father, but it does not mean we have to be “re-saved” from our sins, or that God has disowned us. It simply means we need to confess these sins to reestablish our close fellowship with God. If you sense you are growing distant from God, God has not moved in His commitment to the relationship, you have. This is the time to confess your sin and return to a strong relationship with Him. So be encouraged as a follower of Christ, that you can be assured you are saved because you have a relationship with God made possible by His Son Jesus Christ.

 

TEST 2 – WE ARE SENSITIVE TO OUR SIN.

 

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all Unrighteousness.”

 

As I mentioned before, Christians are not perfect, simply forgiven. We sin every day and a sign that we are truly saved is that we are sensitive to sins that we commit and quickly confess them when we are convicted of them. The Christian who claims to never sin either has redefined sin or is in denial of sin in their life and does not wish to admit it exists. A true follower of Christ with the Word of God in their mind and with the Holy Spirit within in them will be made aware of how they fail to obey Jesus’ commands or how they have offended someone. They will be quick to confess these sins and seek forgiveness from God and others as well. The Greek word for confess in this verse means to agree with or acknowledge a fact. When we confess our sins, we agree with God that we have done wrong and ask for His forgiveness so that we can restore our fellowship with Him. When we do this we are not seeking to be saved from our sins again, for we have already been forgiven for our sins when we accepted Christ as Savior and Lord. What we are doing is agreeing that we sinned and wishing to verify that we desire to live in forgiveness not disobedience. Paul in Romans 7:21-25 talks about his own experience of having to face sin in his life and realizing that Jesus Christ saves us from our sins. We are called to obey God and not sin, but if we do, we can confess and know we have an advocate in Heaven, Jesus Christ who stands in our defense (Hebrews 7:25).

 

So another verification that we are saved and can be assured of our salvation is that we are sensitive that we sin at times and we can confess these sins as soon as possible to restore fellowship with God. While you should be concerned when you sin as a Christian, remember that being sensitive to this sin can assure you that the Holy Spirit, while grieved by your sin, is convicting you of it. Christians do sin, and Christians do repent and confess after they sin.

 

TEST 3 – WE OBEY HIS COMMANDS.

 

1 John 2:3 “We know that we have come to know him if we obey His commands.”

 

We can be assured that we are Christians if we have a deep desire to obey God, follow the teachings of Christ and do what the Bible says. When we have a close relationship with God and fellowship with Him we desire to demonstrate our commitment and love for Him by our obedience to the Word of God. We feel good as a follower of Christ when we live in obedience to our Heavenly Father. We experience joy when we know we are living as God calls us to and are patterning our lives according to the model laid down by Jesus. We obey not out of obligation, but because we love our Heavenly Father so much we want to live as Jesus did and please God. 1 Timothy 3:13 tells us that we can have assurance of our faith when we serve well and this means not only ministering to others, but also obeying God’s commands. It says, “Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.” John 14:21 tells us that our love for God is proven when we obey His commands, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”

 

TEST 4 – WE HATE THE WORLD AND ALL IT STANDS FOR

 

1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world — the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does — comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”

 

If we identify ourselves with our Heavenly Father and are a true Christian, we will love the things that God loves and hate the things that He hates. Here John tells us that we are not to love the world or anything in the world. We might ask what John means by the “world.” We know that there is a witness in the world of God’s character and creative nature. The natural world of creation reflects something of who God is and communicates to mankind that God exists. Romans speaks directly to this where it says in chapter 1 verses 18-20, “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” So John is not talking about the physical creation of the world here.

 

John also is not talking about the people of the world because we are commanded to love people because God loves people. John 13:34-35 says, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 3:16 says the same things, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” So John is not saying to avoid loving the people of the world.

 

John is telling us to not love the world system that is full of evil and tempts us to sin. While we sin because of our flesh. There is a world system of temptations that seeks to appeal to our sinful flesh. This world system is also used by Satan to fulfill his evil desires of causing us to stumble in our walk with Christ. In 1 John 2:15-17 we have the clear definition of this world system. It might be called the “unholy trinity” for it is made up of the “cravings of sinful man,” “the lust of the eyes” and “the boasting of what he has and does.” Eve was tempted by these worldly things in the Garden of Eden. She was tempted by the fruit of the Forbidden Tree because her flesh was hungry and craved nourishment. Rather than fulfill her cravings with food from any of the other trees of the garden she wanted what was forbidden because her flesh desired it. She was also tempted by the lust of her eyes because the forbidden fruit was so appealing in appearance. She was also overcome by her fleshly desire to be like God. This was the temptation of “what one does or has.” She wanted to possess qualities of God and Satan told her she could have these if she ate of the forbidden fruit. This threefold description tells us the “world” we are not to love. These characteristics of the world system that appeals to the flesh do not come from our Heavenly Father. They are a result of sin that has tainted and deformed the world and the sinful flesh that we battle. John makes a point to remind us in this passage that this world system will eventually pass away, but that God and His children, who obey Him will never pass away.

 

So we have learned that as followers of Christ we have fellowship with God because we obey His commands and therefore we can be assured of our salvation. We also know that if we are sensitive to our sin and confess it to our Lord we can be assured that we are saved. We also know if we do not love the world system that seeks to appeal to our sinful cravings, the lust of our eyes and the boasting of position and possessions, we have assurance we belong to God and are a child of His.