6 Minute Read
Prepare Your Heart
To the best of your ability, get rid of all distractions. Take a few minutes to breathe deeply and quiet yourself in the Lord’s presence. Then, ask the Lord to speak to you in this time. Let Him know that you will listen and make whatever adjustments He will reveal to you.
Read God’s Word
A Verse for Today
Slowly and reflectively read the following verse(s) and listen to what God will say to you through His written Word. Consider writing down any insights He reveals to you.
1 John 5:13 (CSB): “I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”
Reflecting on God’s Word
I started an in-depth study many years ago to understand most of what the Bible has to say about a place called Hell. Eventually, I would love to put what I discovered and organized into a book.
But even though I haven’t done that yet, the study has changed me. Through the eyes of Scripture, I have peered into that place of eternal torment. That’s why I tend to buck the trend of so many pastors who don’t talk about Hell. I see it is a place so horrific that people must be warned.
It is in light of this that I see the hope and comfort of 1 John 5:13.
1 John 5:13 (CSB): “I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”
John told us that he wrote his letter (we call it 1 John) under the Holy Spirit’s guidance to provide a framework for believers to be confident that they are truly saved.
How serious is this? Why is it such a blessing that we have 1 John to tell us whether or not we are genuinely saved?
Because Jesus said that many people who think they are headed for the unspeakable blessings of Heaven will spend eternity in the unimaginably horrific torments of Hell.
Matthew 7:22-23 (CSB): “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?’ Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!'”
If you have studied what the Bible has to say about Hell, and if you stretch your mind in an attempt to imagine what eternity in Hell would be like, those two verses are what horror movies are made of. People who were prepared to spend eternity in a living paradise will be tormented beyond their wildest imagination … forever … with no end … ever … in a living Hell!
That’s why 1 John 5:13 is so powerful and comforting! It tells us that the letter of 1 John was written to let us know if our “belief” is true saving faith.
So, what do we find in 1 John? It gives us behavior after behavior that will be the experience of those who are saved. Clearly, John assumed that if someone is genuinely saved, their life will show it.
In contemporary Christianity, this is resisted. I have observed that any time we address those biblical passages that say true saving faith will show up in progressive sanctification (we will progressively act more like Jesus and less like the world), some will accuse the speaker of a “works salvation.”
I will never forget when a teacher from an adult class at a church I previously pastored called me to a meeting. He came into the conference room and questioned my theology. He wondered why I chose to teach through 1 John on Sunday evenings and encourage people to make sure they are genuinely saved. I brought up 2 Corinthians 13:5 (“Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith”), but his theology wouldn’t allow for a “gospel” that expected a true convert to provide evidence of their salvation. He expressed frustration that I was saying that saving faith will be demonstrable in a changed life that is becoming more like Jesus. No matter what I said or the Bible verses I quoted, he just couldn’t understand the biblical truth that a genuinely saved person will bear the fruit of salvation. He soon left the church, taking many people with him.
That, my friends, is one of the major problems with so much of contemporary Christianity. People are hearing a false Gospel that says that you can be saved without any expectation at all that you will give evidence in a changed life that Jesus has taken up residence in your heart after you trust in Him. There is no frame of reference with many people in our churches that a true saving faith will change you! That’s why the message of 1 John is so novel!
It’s essentially believing the truth of Ephesians 2:8-9 while completely ignoring Ephesians 2:10.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (saved by grace without works)
Ephesians 2:8-9 (CSB): “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift — not from works, so that no one can boast.”
Ephesians 2:10 (salvation by grace will produce works)
Ephesians 2:10 (CSB): “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.”
That’s simple, isn’t it? We don’t work to get saved. We cannot do a single thing to earn or deserve salvation. The only way we can be saved is to receive it from God’s hand as a free gift.
But if we are genuinely saved, we will produce fruit/works that demonstrate that Jesus has taken up residence within our hearts. We don’t work to stay saved because we can’t lose it. Instead, we produce fruit because someone who is genuinely saved cannot help but demonstrate that they belong to Jesus.
We don’t work to get saved. But if we are saved, we will work. And 1 John gives us many of the things that we will work on if we are genuinely saved.
Spend Time in Prayer
- Ask God to help you cultivate a thoroughly biblical understanding of the Gospel.
- Ask God to help you know whether or not you are genuinely saved as you take the assessment provided in 1 John.
Going Deeper
If you want to dig a little deeper into salvation and works, consider reading the following GotQuestions article:
“What does it mean that good works are the result of salvation?”
Sharing
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Matt Ellis is the pastor of White Hall Baptist Church in Richmond, Kentucky (whitehallbaptistchurch.org)
Matt’s Musings 