Lesson 3: Assurance In I John

Pastor’s Bible Class Thomas Road Baptist Church

Series: Praying the Book of Acts and I John

Dr. Elmer Towns

Lesson 3: Assurance in I John September 16, 2007

A. INTRODUCTION

1. Why John wrote the letter.

a. No introduction/salutation, no names, no geography.

b. Has family emphasis.

c. Begins like Gospel of John.

d. Has themes of John, love, regeneration, light vs. darkness.

e. Early church belief.

2. Key word Know (32 times).

What Can We Know About Jesus

- That Jesus came into the world (5:20).

- That Jesus was human (4:3).

- That Jesus did not sin (3:5).

- That Jesus is righteousness (2:29).

- That Jesus came to take away sins (3:5).

- That Jesus lives in us.

- That Jesus shall return for us (3:2).

- That we will be like Jesus when He returns (3:2).

3. Jerry Falwell said, “You can know, that you know, that you know.”

First know – observation and experience

Second know – rational or logical

Third know – internal knowledge from God

4. What does John tell us about our relationship to Christ?

- We can know that we know Him (2:3).

- We can know when we are in Him (2:5).

- We can know spiritual truth (2:20; 5:20).

- We can know we’ve passed from death into life (3:15).

- We can know the Holy Spirit is greater than demons (4:4).

- We can know our love for others (5:2).

B. HOW CAN YOU KNOW YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD?

Why People Doubt Their Salvation

- Sin in their life.

- Ignorance.

- Taught wrong doctrine.

- Never saved.

1. You can know when you meet the requirements of the Bible.

a. “This is the record that God has given us life” (5:10, KJV).

b. The unbelievers reject scripture, “He that . . . believeth not the record

that God gave us His Son” (5:10, KJV).

Know the Roman Road of Salvation to Heaven

- Know that you are a sinner (Rom. 3:23).

- Know that God will punish your sin (Rom. 6:23).

- Know that Christ died for your punishment (Rom. 5:8).

- Know that believing in Christ will save you (Rom. 10:9; John

1:12).

2. You can know when you have the Son. “He who has the Son has life, and

he who does not have the Son, does not have life” (5:12).

a. Jesus came to forgive your sins.

b. Jesus comes to give you eternal life. “These thing have I written to you

who believe on the Son of God . . . that you may have eternal life”

(5:13).

3. You can know when God answers your prayers.

a. God has said He will not honor the prayers of the unsaved. “We know

that God heareth not the prayers of sinners” (John 9:31). “If I regard

iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Ps. 66:13). “Your

iniquities have separated you from your God, and your sins have hidden

His face so that He will not hear” (Is. 59:2).

b. God knows what you need before you ask (Matt. 6:8). Your Father will

answer when you ask (John 14:13-14).

c. Your prayers being answered points to your salvation. “This is the

confidence that we have . . . that if we ask anything according to His

will He hears us” (5:14).

4. You can know when you love other Christians.

a. Jesus expects us to love others. “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as

thyself” (Matt. 22:39).

b. “We know we love God and He loves us, when we love the children of

God and keep His commandments” (5:1-2).

5. You can know when you do not practice sin on a regular basis.

a. God knows you will sin. “If we say we have no sin, we deceive

ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1:8).

b. God expects us not to sin. “My little children, these things I write to

you so that you may not sin” (2:1).

c. God automatically forgives us when we sin while we’ve trying to live

for Him. “If we walk in the light . . . the blood of Jesus Christ His Son,

(automatically) cleanse us from sin’ (1:7). This cleanses our account in

Heaven.

d. God expects us to confess our sin. “If we confess our sins, He is

faithful and just to forgive us our sins” (1:9). This restores our earthly

fellowship.

e. If you continually practice sin, you probably are not a believer. “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. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not