1 John

 

Our Missions/Outreach pastor was given the opportunity to preach this week and did a great job with a tough topic. 

 

Big Idea: A faith that saves is a faith that knows.

 

Sometimes, we waver in our faith. We stray and make mistakes and we wonder if we've wandered too far. We know from Jesus that there are some who look like believers who really are not, and that idea can rattle us sometimes, particularly when we get off track. How can we be sure of our salvation? 

 

Five tests that will help you know that your faith is real:

  1. The Jesus Test: Who is your savior (1 John 4:2-3; 5:1)? … Is Jesus your Savior? Do you believe He is the Son of God? Do you believe He came to Earth? Do you believe He Died on the cross? That He rose from the dead? That He ascended to Heaven? If you believe all of these things, do you trust Jesus? Do you trust Him to be Lord of your life? 
  2. The Transformation Test: Are you changing (1 John 2:3-4)? … If you claim to know Jesus, but there is no transformation in your life, you are deceiving yourself. When we give our lives to Christ, we change. We don't become perfect right away and we never reach perfection on Earth. However, we do start to shift and grow towards being more like Jesus, growing into the people we were always meant to be. If you are currently stuck in a sin and struggling to get out, do you hate the after taste? Does it sting afterwards? That's a sign of change and growth. Act on it and persevere against the sin. 
  3. The Love Test: Do you love God’s people (1 John 3:14)? … This command isn't just to love God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit. No, this command includes loving people. We are called to show love to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Of course, loving others is important in and of itself, however Tim Keller gives us another reason he realized in his study of the Inklings. It takes multiple people interacting with one person for us to truly know all the facets of that person. If it takes a village to know one ordinary person, then how many people does it take to see all the facets of an infinite God? 
  4. The Sin Test: How do you handle failure (1 John 1:8-10)? … Do you take responsibility for your faults? Do you keep getting back up and running towards God? Or do you stay down and crawl away to wallow in your sadness? 
  5. The Perseverance Test: Are you still here (1 John 2:19)? … 2 Timothy 4:9-11 gives an example of someone who persevered and another who didn't. Sometimes we just need to make a decision to persevere. We can have questions about our faith and still remain strong in that same faith. Billy Graham had questions and didn't understand everything, but he made a decision to keep trusting and believing. We can too. 

 

For Further Study/Resources Used to Prepare This Message

  • Daniel Akin, 1, 2, 3 John (NAC Series)
  • Thomas Schreiner, The King in His Beauty
  • John Wesley’s Journal – His entry from May 24, 1738 (“heart strangely warmed”).
  • Billy Graham, Just As I Am
  • Corrie ten Boom, The Hiding Place
  • C.S. Lewis and the Inklings – Shared via Tim Keller’s teaching and Lewis’s reflections in The Four Loves.
  • Donald Whitney, How Can I Be Sure I’m a Christian?