The Epistle of 1 John – Part Eleven

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

This is the eleventh part of a series on the epistle of 1 John written by John the apostle. In this series we will cover the basic concerns John had for writing this letter to Christians. Included are the fourteen reasons he wrote these epistles of 1, 2 and 3 John as well as the eleven assurances we have that establish our salvation as a Christian.

 

1 John 3:17-18

“If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”

 

John shares spiritual knowledge in his epistles but sometimes he gets down and dirty when he shares specific examples of what is required of us as followers of Christ. Here in these verses John tells us that the practical application of loving others as God loves is not just having compassion for those in need or who are suffering a hardship. John emphasizes that we need to put our thoughts and convictions into action. He shares here that often we will have treasures and personal possessions or skills that can help those in great need. This may be in the form of money that could be given to provide material needs. It may be in the form of free time that could be spent helping someone. It could also be in the form of natural talents we possess that could be applied to the troubled life of someone to help them recover from a storm of life, be restored to spiritual or physical health or alleviate a difficult hardship.

 

The first step manifesting the love and compassion of the Lord Jesus Christ is to recognize suffering, trials and heartache in the lives of others. But God asks us to go one step further and fill the need, lighten the burden, help the needy. He wants us not to just talk about helping, He wants us to put our lives where our hearts are and become involved physically and practically in the lives of others. We can say we would like to help or that we should help, but these words are empty if we do not fulfill the need we see at hand. John makes an important point of saying we must show our love by our actions, but he also adds a very critical and wise qualifier. We must do it truthfully. If we help for ulterior motives, we are seeking glory or attention for our own sake and this is not loving truthfully. Matthew 6:3 tells us that when we give of our time, talents or treasures we are not to let the left hand know what the right is doing. In other words, we are to help without any selfish motive. If we help, but with an unwilling attitude, we are not helping with the guidance and empowerment of the Holy Spirit. We are simply serving others in our flesh. To bring God glory and truly enjoy the rewards of loving others in a truthful manner, we serve with a motivation of godly love and concern for them. When we put ourselves and our desires aside and consider how we can best love our fellowman, letting Jesus be our model, the Holy Spirit be our power source and our Heavenly Father be our guide, then we will be loving as we should in godly way.

 

The other issue in helping in a truthful manner is that sometimes the best way to help is to not help. This is not an excuse for us to refrain from helping someone in need. It means we should not fall into the mistake of being an enabler of someone’s lack of responsibility for their own life. There is an art and skill in knowing how and when to help people. Sometimes we should help in a limited fashion so that those in need can also help themselves. Sometimes it may be necessary to release someone to their circumstance because they need to grow up and take responsibility for their situation. This does not mean we abandon them, but it does mean we may need to limit how we help and simply be an encourager rather than falling into the trap of becoming an enabler. This is often difficult to ascertain, but if we want to love in truth, we must attempt to determine what is the best way to help a person who has a need.

 

1 John 3:19-21

“This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God.”

 

John now shares that we can know that we belong to the truth, or in other words, that we are a true Christian, by how we love others. If we love in word and deed, by thought and action, as Jesus did, we are in the faith, have the Holy Spirit living within us and are in a intimate relationship with our Heavenly Father. This verification of the quality of our Christian witness will set our hearts at rest whenever our hearts may condemn us.

 

There will be times when our hearts will remind us of our dark past, of old habits and of stumbles and bumbles in our Christian walk. But the more we walk consistent with the Lord in obedience and in how we love others we can know that we are truly saved. This is one of the verifications John shares that we can be assured of our salvation. The phrase “we can know” is actually in the Greek future tense implying that we will know we belong to God because the more we walk in obedience to the Word, love others as God would and confess our sins regularly this will establish not only a present experience of being in the truth, but also a future validation that we belong to Christ. In other words our knowledge and assurance of our salvation grows as we live truthfully and lovingly. Because God is living in us, working in us, conforming us to His Word and using us to minister to others we can transform a condemning heart we might possess into a heart of encouragement. God is greater than our heart and He can transform a condemning heart into a godly one through our obedience and submission to the Word of Truth.

 

1 Timothy 3:13 tells us that as we serve we gain a confident assurance of our salvation through Christ. It states,

 

“Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.”

 

Hebrews 10:15-25 is a most encouraging portion of scripture for it describes what happens as we live the truth. We can have a confidence to come before God with a clean heart not only because of what Christ did for us on the cross, but also because of the work God does in us through the power of the Holy Spirit. This work brings an experience of assurance and security of knowing we are truly saved. It says,

 

“The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”

 

We must also not forget the encouragement of Romans 8:1-2,

 

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.”

 

And we must also remember that God is working in us to bring us to completion, to conform us to the image of His Son Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6 verifies this when it says,

 

“He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

 

But what happens when we fail to train our heart and conscience properly through obedience and our commitment to Christ? Our conscience or heart is a warning device that God has given us to determine right from wrong. But sin and false teaching can alter its ability to discern good from evil. An example of this is a Muslim who believes he needs to be a suicide bomber for Allah. Another example is an individual who does not believe in abortion and therefore blows up an abortion clinic with the doctor and staff inside. These are examples of individuals who have had their hearts and consciences distorted by false beliefs or seared by sin.

 

Other examples of a distorted conscience or defective heart are found in scripture.

 

1 Timothy 4:1-3

“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.”

 

This is why it is critical to know God’s Word so the heart and conscience can be trained properly to act in a godly manner. Otherwise not only will be fail to act decently and respectfully we may even shipwreck our faith because it has been improperly trained.

 

1 Timothy 1:18-19

“Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith.”

 

Immersing ourselves in the Word, then applying it to our daily lives will bring assurance and confidence.

 

Psalms 19:7-11

“The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.”

 

Luke 11:28

“Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

 

May we seek to serve others not just in our words but also in our deeds of service. As we live this life of service our assurance of our salvation will grow and our hearts will gain a confidence that we are truly saved and that we belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s do this!