I was reading over 1 John and was reminded of how this little letter gives encouragement as to how someone can have full assurance of salvation. To give credit where credit is due, I do believe that this brief outline is an adaptation from a message I heard by John MacArthur. Write this down in your notes for 1 John and may it help you walk closer to Christ.
The Tests of a True Christian:
Chapter 1. True Christians do not deny sin; they acknowledge and confess it.
1 John 1:8-9
8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Chapter 2. True Christians walk in the way that Jesus walked (lived His life).
1 John 2:5b-6
5b...By this we know that we are in Him: 6 the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.
Chapter 3. True Christians do not continue over and over in sin (not continually characterized by a sinful lifestyle).
1 John 3:6
No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.
Chapter 4. True Christians are characterized by their love of God and of one another.
1 John 4:7-8
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
Chapter 5. Thesis of the letter of 1 John - How to have assurance of salvation - the "doing" of "these things."
1 John 5:13
These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
As we confess our sin, walk as Jesus walked, abstain from a habitual, sinful lifestyle, love God and one another, then we may have full assurance of God's working in our lives. When one or more of these things are absent, while it may not mean one is not saved, it certainly will rob one of any assurance of salvation and reflects sinful attitudes that must be confessed and repented for full assurance to be restored.
May we strive to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which we have been called (Ephesians 4:1).
Soli Deo Gloria,
Pastor Ed
The Tests of a True Christian:
Chapter 1. True Christians do not deny sin; they acknowledge and confess it.
1 John 1:8-9
8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Chapter 2. True Christians walk in the way that Jesus walked (lived His life).
1 John 2:5b-6
5b...By this we know that we are in Him: 6 the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.
Chapter 3. True Christians do not continue over and over in sin (not continually characterized by a sinful lifestyle).
1 John 3:6
No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.
Chapter 4. True Christians are characterized by their love of God and of one another.
1 John 4:7-8
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
Chapter 5. Thesis of the letter of 1 John - How to have assurance of salvation - the "doing" of "these things."
1 John 5:13
These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
As we confess our sin, walk as Jesus walked, abstain from a habitual, sinful lifestyle, love God and one another, then we may have full assurance of God's working in our lives. When one or more of these things are absent, while it may not mean one is not saved, it certainly will rob one of any assurance of salvation and reflects sinful attitudes that must be confessed and repented for full assurance to be restored.
May we strive to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which we have been called (Ephesians 4:1).
Soli Deo Gloria,
Pastor Ed
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