This sermon is the 11th and final sermon in a series of messages through the New Testament book of First John. It focuses on the fifth chapter, verses 13-21 which provides assurance of eternal life, assurance of answered prayer, and assurance of divine protection. The video recording of the worship service in which this sermon was preached can be viewed by clicking here.
Written Excerpts:
Introduction:
There is a true story of a Civil War Union Soldier named Daniel who was
seriously wounded and taken prisoner by the Confederate Army. While
recuperating from his wounds, the young POW grew bored and, after finding a New
Testament, he began to read it and was convicted.
However, before making a choice to surrender to the Lord, he drifted
off to sleep. Soon, a hospital orderly awakened him, saying that another POW
was dying and wanted someone to pray with him. Daniel admitted that he wasn’t
able to pray with anyone, to which the orderly said, “But I thought you were a
Christian. I have seen you reading your Bible.”
Daniel later wrote, “I dropped on my knees and held the boy’s hand in
mine. In a few broken words, I confessed my sins and asked Christ to forgive
me. I believed right there that He did forgive me. I then prayed and pleaded
God’s promises. When I arose from my knees, he was dead. A look of peace had
come over his troubled face, and I cannot but believe that God who used him to
bring me to the Savior used me to lead him to trust Christ's precious blood and
find pardon.” (Robert Morgan, Then
Sings My Soul, Book 2)
Both of these soldiers undoubtedly experienced the blessed assurance of forgiveness and pardon that is promised to everyone who confesses their need to Christ and trusts in Him for salvation from sin and hell. That Union Soldier, Daniel Webster Whittle, later wrote a song based on the words of the Apostle Paul: I Know Whom I Have Believed. These are found in 2 Tim. 1 and express the confidence and assurance of an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ as he was coming to the end of his life.
Today, I will finish our series of messages on the book of First John by speaking to you on the subject: Blessed Assurance. In these closing verses of this short, but important letter, John addresses a concern that most people have at some time in their lives – assurance and hope in the face of uncertainty and turmoil.
(The main points of the outline I am using today are borrowed from Dr.
Vic Reasoner’s commentary.)
I. The
Assurance of Eternal Life (v. 13)
Assurance, confidence and hope are all
intimately connected.
I have pointed out in earlier sermons of
this series that the Apostle John uses several important words multiple times
throughout this letter because they emphasize themes that he passionately
pushes.
Words like: know (40 times); love (46 times)
and world (22 times)
So, the word know is one of those words and it expresses John’s passion for assurance in the hearts and minds of his readers. The word is used 7 times in these final 9 verses of the letter. John also uses the word “Confidence” 4 times in the letter.
1 John 5:13 (NKJV) These things I have
written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know
that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the
name of the Son of God.
John declares the purpose for his letter is
so the readers would know that they have eternal life. He says he is writing
specifically to those who already believe in the name of the Son of God – that
is, Jesus. But he wants to assure them that they can know they have eternal
life.
Someone asks, “How can someone know they are
saved and have eternal life?” (Reasoner)
John has stated that the source of our
confidence is the abiding presence of the Spirit of God. See 3:24 and 4:13.
1 John 3:24 (NKJV) Now he who keeps
His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He
abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
1 John 4:13 (NKJV) By this we know
that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.
Dr. Reasoner then asks, “How can we know that we still have the Spirit?” The Apostle has repeatedly told us in this letter: it is only by the Spirit that anyone can confess that Jesus (the man) is Christ (the Son of God). It is only by the Spirit that we love the children of God. And, it is only by the Spirit that we love God and keep His commandments and they are not grievous.
Based on these statements of John’s, if a
person hasn’t confessed Jesus is the Son of God along with all that means for
our salvation, and if they do not actively love the children of God, and they
either do not obey His commands or they find obedience to be a drudgery, then
they might have reason to doubt they have eternal life.
II. The
Assurance of Answered Prayer (vv. 14-17)
The Bible has multiple promises for the people of God who seek Him and call on Him to intervene in their lives for all kinds of reasons. As people of faith who trust in Jesus and the reliability of God’s Word, we believe it is worth the time and effort to pray and to intercede for others. These verses help support that confidence in the value and effectiveness of prayer.
A. Prayers are answered for anything that is
God’s will. (vv. 14-15)
1 John 5:14-15 (NKJV) Now this is the
confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will,
He hears us. 15 And if we know that He
hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have
asked of Him.
Other passages in the Bible define the conditions for answered prayer, including: faith as a grain of mustard seed (Matt. 17:20); abiding in Christ and His words abiding in us (Jn. 15:7); and we obey Him and do what pleases Him (1 Jn. 3:22). But here, John specifically mentions the need to pray in God’s will.
I have said this before, but if we desire to
know what God’s will is, there are a host of passages in the Bible that spell
out the things that are God’s will. For example,
1 Thessalonians 4:3 (NKJV) For this is
the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual
immorality;
So, when we pray for anything that is God’s
will, we have assurance He hears us and will answer.
B. Prayers are answered for fallen
brothers/sisters. (vv. 16-17)
In the next two verses John addresses a specific kind of need that is God’s will – the salvation of the lost. In this case he is talking about the case of a “brother” who has sinned.
1 John 5:16-17 (NKJV) If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. 17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.
Dr. Reasoner believes that John is specifically pointing out one exception to the previous point – God answers prayers that are according to His will, except when a believer turns away from the truth and persists in willful defiance of truth. God will not override the will of a person to bring them to saving faith in the first place, neither will He override the will of a person in response to prayers of other believers.
However, I have prayed many times that God
will bring whatever circumstances into their lives that will make them willing
to repent.
“sin unto death” (KJV) – (sin that leads to death, NKJV) John clearly seems to be talking about spiritual death.
(Walter Kaiser, et. al., Hard Sayings of the Bible) John
uses the term life thirteen times, seven of them in this chapter. Since he
means spiritual life (eternal life) in every other case in which he uses the
term, we would expect that this would also be the meaning here. Likewise the
two other places where he uses death (both in 1 John 3:14) refer to spiritual
death, not physical death.
John has been concerned with a group of
apostates, people who were part of the Christian community and have left. …
These are not casual errors or lapses into this or that sin, but a knowing and
deliberate turning away from the truth they experienced in the Christian
community.…
… While John clearly does not intend
Christians to pray for the forgiveness of such people, he words himself
carefully so as not to forbid it. The issue is that these people are not
repenting or about to repent.
III. The
Assurance of Divine Protection (vv. 18-21)
The third area of assurance provided by the
apostle relates to God’s protection of His children.
A. Protection from our spiritual enemy –
Satan. (vv. 18-19)
1 John 5:18-19 (NKJV) We know that whoever
is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and
the wicked one does not touch him. 19 We know that we are of
God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.
John repeats the truth that every person who
is born of God, does not willfully continue to sin. He addressed this several
times earlier in the letter and we learned that in this sense, John is talking
about deliberate, willful sin, stemming from an attitude of lawlessness and
defiance.
“is born,” – lit. having been born; perfect
tense participle which grammatically means the action took place in the past
with the resulting condition continuing into the present.
“the wicked one does not touch him” – lit.
does not assault, violate or harm.
1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because
your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may
devour:
The reassuring fact is stated in v. 19.
1 John 5:19 (NKJV) We know that we are of
God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.
The ungodly kingdom of darkness is under the
control of the wicked one, but we are not in that situation because we are of
God.
B. Protection from error – knowing the
truth. (vv. 20-21)
1 John 5:20-21 (NKJV) And we know that the
Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who
is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the
true God and eternal life. 21 Little children, keep yourselves
from idols. Amen.
God has given us understanding.
“understanding” – pref. “through” and root
“mind” or “intelligence.” Meaning ability to reason or think through something.
God has given us the ability to know the Son
and the Father who is the source of eternal life.
(Tom Thatcher, Expositor's Bible Commentary, Revised) John’s third statement of what believers “know” summarizes the two
major themes of the epistle: the identity of Jesus and the difference between
true believers and the [antichrists in the world]. Jesus is the Christ, the
Son, and the “true God” in contrast to the false “idols” (v.21) promoted by the
Antichrists.
Conclusion:
Throughout this entire letter, John has been clearly marking out the differences between true believers and the false teachers (antichrists). Now, in these final verses of the whole letter, he is providing them with the confident assurance that is grounded in their faith and gives them hope in the present and the future. My question to you today is, “How is your confidence and level of assurance?”
Sometimes our confidence can be shaken because of doubts that have never been answered satisfactorily. On the other hand, John has pointed out in the letter that our confidence or assurance may be shaken or destroyed because we have not been truly born of the Spirit, we have deliberately and willfully disobeyed the Lord, or we have fallen prey to some false teaching.
The answer in all cases is to come to the
Lord in humble confession and acknowledge our need for His saving grace. We
need to acknowledge the truth about ourselves and the truth about Jesus Christ,
God’s Son. Then, we need to put our entire trust and faith in the blood of Jesus
to save us and change us.
I believe today’s message on assurance is a good opportunity to invite anyone who is struggling spiritually to come and pray. You may know for sure that you’re not saved, and you want to change that today. Or, you may not know for sure if you’re saved. You lack the confidence or assurance of it, and you wish to pray also. You can come forward and kneel at the altar here in the front while we sing this closing song:
Only Trust Him
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