"And This Is The Record” (I John 5:11)

John the apostle is often referred to be a part of the inner circle with Christ.

Illus: It would be a blessing indeed to be able to SEE AND HEAR what he SAW AND HEARD as being a part of that inner circle with Christ.

In I John he shares with us things he saw and heard.

He refers to these things as the RECORD OF WHAT HE SAW AND HEARD.

WHAT IS THE RECORD?

The word “record” is translated from the Greek, “marturia,” which means: “Evidence given, testimony.”

In other words this is what WE CAN KNOW FOR SURE! We no longer have to wonder about certain things “...this is the RECORD...”

In verses 11-21, the word “know” is used five times.

It is used in verses 13, 15, 18, 19 and 20. Each time it has been translated from the Greek word, “eido,” which means: “Be sure.”

That is, since Christ is Who He says He is, we can BE SURE about certain things.

We can be sure about...

I. OUR SALVATION.

Look at Me John 5: 11-13. We read, “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know (Eido) that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”

In these verses God wants us to know that the record is clear on THREE things.

It is clear about...

A. What God has given us?

The first the RECORDS reveal in verse 11, “...God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.”

Notice the words, “...God hath GIVEN...”

A thing that is “given” is a gift.

WHAT IS A GIFT?

• What a ridiculous question!

• Everyone knows what a gift is, right?

• Wrong!

It is absolutely amazing how many people do not know what a gift is.

Illus: Suppose someone came to you at Christmas and gave you an expensive gift.

• You said, “Oh, I am sorry. I cannot take that because I cannot afford it. I am sure this cost thousands of dollars.”

• But the person said, “But I am giving it to you. It is a GIFT!”

• So you ask, “Why are you giving me such an expensive gift?”

• Then the person said, “Because I care a great deal for you that is why.”

• So you said, “I want to thank you for caring for me that much, and I graciously accept the gift.”

However, in a couple of days that same person that gave the gift is visiting you and notices you have a nice shot gun that probably cost a couple hundred dollars and he says, “How about giving me that shot gun?”

But you say, “I couldn’t do that. My wife bought me that gun for my birthday and she would be hurt.”

The person becomes angry and says, “Listen, I gave you a gift that was worth thousands and you won’t even give me a shot gun that only costs a couple hundred dollars!”

You say, “Yes, but when you gave me that gift, it was a GIFT.”

You see, a gift is something given without expecting anything in return. To give something and expect something in return is not giving, it is trading.

John said that the record is clear! God has GIVEN us eternal life...IT IS A GIFT!

But, if you did anything to work for eternal life, however small or menial it might be, it is not a gift. You worked for it.

John wanted to make it clear that salvation from God is A GIFT!

It does not cost ANYTHING to get it, but it cost Him EVERYTHING to provide it!

He lets us know that the RECORD is clear; GOD HAS GIVEN US ETERNAL LIFE.

Also, he wants us to know the RECORD states...

B. How we receive it.

John established that the RECORD states that the only way a person can acquire eternal life is through Jesus Christ.

In our age, when men do not have any absolutes, one of the fastest ways to get into trouble is to state that the RECORD IS CLEAR the only way you can go to heaven is through Christ Jesus!

Look at Acts 4:12. We read, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

The Bible makes it clear that the only way a person can have eternal life in heaven is to have Jesus Christ as his/her Savior.