“Am I really a Christian?” Surely that is a question that almost every follower of Jesus has asked at least once. You are not weird if you have ever doubted your salvation. Most Christians have. However, God does not want you to live in fear and doubt. He wants all believers to live with spiritual confidence (1 John 5:13). Recently I preached from 1 John 2:3-11, where I submitted three tests for assurance of your salvation. I encourage you to read them below and be willing to take the tests as you read. It could help cultivate spiritual confidence in your life. *Just remember, these are tests for assurance of your salvation, not requirements for your salvation. Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. But faith alone doesn’t remain alone for very long!
- The OBEDIENCEtest (3-5a)
- 3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. I think it is very important that John does not begin by saying, “Now by this we know that we are going to heaven.” Or, “Now by this we know that we aren’t going to hell.” He could have said those things and been accurate in his language. Instead he says, “Now by this we know that we know Him.” Christianity is not a religion that merely gives you a reprieve from hell, but a relationship with God. Does the Gospel rescue us from hell? Absolutely. But more than a get-out-of-hell card, we gain communion with God. Let us not miss the whole point of assurance! The goal of assurance is that we know that we know Him!
- Do you obey the Lord’s commands? Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. The Bible does not allow us to separate the knowledge of God from obedience to God. This verb “keep” describes the keeping of God’s commandments as the regular pattern of your life. It is a watchful and purposeful attempt to obey the Lord’s commands. Principle: The person who has a saving relationship with God finds within his heart a growing love for and desire to obey the Lord’s commands.
- Does your walk reflect your talk? He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. Christian talk without the Christian walk is not just cheap, it’s a fraud. John doesn’t mince words here. He clearly articulates the difference between a real Christian and a fake Christian. Many people talk a good game but they don’t have the actual game to back it up. One of the things that I’ve observed through the years is that if a guy tells me all the time how good an athlete he was, it’s very likely he wasn’t that good. The guys who were really good don’t feel the need or desire to tell you as much. And whenever I sit across from a person who tries their best to sell me on how good they are and how religious they are and how faithful to God they are, I can’t help but think that this person is trying to convince himself of something that is not a reality. There is nothing cheaper than religious talk accompanied by a lifestyle of disobedience to God.
- Do you see spiritual development in your life? But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. Do you have plain, everyday obedience to God’s Word? Do you find yourself loving God and loving your neighbor? If so, the result is that God’s love is being perfected in you. His love is being brought to its ultimate goal in you. You are becoming more and more like Jesus, and less and less like the world. If you see a continual development of God’s love perfecting itself in you, then you can have assurance of your salvation.
- The IMITATION test (5b-6)
- By this we know that we are in Him. 6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. The words “just as” call for a duplication of Jesus’ walk. So the first thing that we need to ask is this, “How did Jesus walk?” Well, in his Gospel John writes about the walk of Jesus.
- How did Jesus walk?
- 1:35-51 – He walked in community (Andrew, Peter, Phillip, Nathanael).
- 2:1-12 – He honored His parents.
- 3:1-21 – He lovingly taught the Gospel to those in spiritual need.
- 4:1-26 – He showed mercy on the outcasts of society.
- 5:1-15 – He helped the needy.
- 6:1-14 – He fed the hungry.
- 7:1-9 – He was patient with His siblings.
- 8:1-12 – He exercised grace & truth with people in sin.
- 9:1-41 – He met physical needs in order to meet spiritual needs.
- 10:17-18 – He obeyed His Father’s most difficult commands.
- 11:28-37 – He wept with those who wept.
- 12:1-8 – He welcomed people into His life (Lazarus, Martha, Mary).
- 13:1-17 – He washed men’s feet.
- 14:6 – He spoke the truth.
- 15:12-13 – He laid down His life for His friends.
- 17:1-26 – He poured out His heart to God in prayer.
- 18:1-11 – He experienced betrayal without despising the betrayer.
- 19:10-11 – He put His trust in God, not in man.
- 19:25-27 – He took care of His family.
- 20:24-29 – He was patient with those who lacked maturity.
- 21:15-19 – He took the initiative to reconcile relationships.
- How do you walk? Nobody can walk exactly like Jesus walked. No one can obey the way Jesus obeyed. That’s exactly why Jesus came: to do what we can’t do (fulfill the righteous requirements of God’s law). But now that you have believed in Christ, received the Spirit of Christ, and been empowered by the Word of Christ, do you walk just as He walked? Is your life marked by the same characteristics His was? That is the IMITATION test.
- The LOVE test (7-11)
- Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning. 8 Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. 9 He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. 10 He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11 But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
- In vv. 7-8 John is looking to the commandment of “love” explained in vv. 9-11. The old commandment is essentially: Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. The new commandment is an intensification of the old. Jesus says in John 13:34, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” It was “new” because by His own fulfillment of it He was giving it a depth of meaning which it had not possessed before. No single individual has ever loved people like Jesus loved His people. He loved with everything He had. He gave everything He had for the good of others. And that’s the new commandment. Love people with everything you have!
- Love is an attitude that seeks the highest good of another believer, even at the cost of great personal sacrifice. It manifests itself in giving your time, ability, resources, prayers, and even your money to help others. Hatred, on the other hand, is an attitude of dislike, disfavor, and indifference toward others. It manifests itself in bitterness, resentment, jealousy, and distance.
- Do you love your brother?
The three tests of spiritual assurance are Obedience, Imitation, & Love. If you find yourself crushed under the weight of such a high spiritual standard. Don’t worry. Cast yourself upon the Lord Jesus. John has already said, “If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 2:1-2).
by Ryan Limbaugh