THREE TESTS FOR SALVATION
1 John 2:3-11
INTRO: One of the main purposes of the book of 1 John is that you and I might come to know that we are truly children of God. To know that we are born again. The Bible plainly teaches that it is possible for a Christian to really and actually know he is saved.
It would be inconceivable to go to one of the first century Christians and ask him if he were saved and get answers like, “Well, I hope so or I think I am saved.” Those early Christians had assurance because their salvation was solidly based on a real experience with the Lord Jesus Christ and the unshakable testimony of the Word of God.
Notice a phrase that occurs three times in these verses. It is the phrase “he that sayeth.” It occurs in vv. 4, 6 and 9 and introduces us to a series of tests whereby we can know beyond a doubt that we are a child of God.
I. THE TEST OF ATTITUDE (vv. 3-5).
This first test that John talks about is the test of your attitude towards obeying the Word and will of God:
Obedience Desired (v. 3). The word keep in this verse is an interesting word which means: “to carefully guard,” as if a person were guarding a treasure.
A person who is genuinely born again will have a heart attitude that desires to carefully guard and keep the commandments of God. It is not enough for a person to just say he is saved, but there must be the attitude of obedience in his heart.
In v. 4, John makes it quite clear that if this attitude of obedience is not in your heart you are not saved. He doesn’t mean that all of us keep the commandments perfectly all the time. But he does mean that there is going to be the desire for obedience in our hearts.
Obedience Described (v. 3). “Hereby we know that we know Him if we keep His commandments.” Note the word, “commandments.” Then in v. 5 he says, “But whoso keepeth His Word,” note the word “word.” Do you see the difference? In one verse he talks about keeping the commandments of God and in the next about keeping the word of God.
Look in John 14:15. Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” Now look in v. 23, “If any man love me, he will keep my words.” There is a difference between wanting to do the commandments of God and wanting to do the Word of God.
ILLUS: Suppose a young man comes home from school and his father says to him, “Bob I want you to take out the garbage and wash the car.” These are the specific commandments of his father, and he does them. But suppose Bob overhears his father tell someone else that he is not feeling well and wishes someone would mow the yard and rake the leaves. So Bob does that, not because he is commanded to, but because he loves his father and wants to do not only his commandments but also his word.
This is to be the attitude which is to be in the heart of the child of God. Because of our love for Him we want to keep His word, we read specific commandments in the Bible but also we learn some of the desires of Jesus concerning our lives and we want to do these also.
Obedience Discharged (v. 5). If we really love God and if God’s love accomplishes its intention and reaches its goal in our hearts, there will be the attitude of obedience to the commandments and to the Word of God.
II. THE TEST OF ACTIONS (v. 6).
If you are a child of God, there is a sense of obligation on your part to live as Jesus lived. Our walk and talk ought to coincide. Our lives ought to be consistent with the way we talk.
Think about the walk of Jesus. In childhood He walked in submission to His parents. In His earthly ministry He walked the dusty roads of Galilee healing, preaching and doing good to all people.
As Savior. He steadfastly walked to Calvary for our sins. “We ought to walk even as He walked.” This means that there ought to be a desire on our part to imitate the life of the Lord Jesus. Salvation is identification in salvation as well as in the daily Christian walk.
But imitation is also taught in the Bible. In Ephesians 5:1, the Bible says, “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children.” The Greek word translated followers is the English word “mimic or imitator.”
III. THE TEST OF AFFECTION (vv. 7-11).
Your love will be an indication of whether or not you are really a born-again child of God. In v. 3, he uses the word, “commandments,” plural. He is talking about the commandments of God in general. Now in v. 7, he has narrowed down our thinking to one commandment.
When John talks about the new commandment he is talking about the commandment of love. Notice that it is:
New In Essence. Compare vv. 7 and 8. It seems that John is contradicting himself. There is a sense that the commandment of love is very old. But it is new to that soul that experiences it for the first time.
ILLUS: In “Puppy Love,” young people fall in love for the first time they think they invented love. But love has been around a long time. That is the way it is with the love of God. You don’t really have the capacity to love if the love of God is not in your heart. Jesus gives us the ability to love.
New In Emphasis. There is a new emphasis on love in the N.T. In the O.T., the Word of God was on the basis of law, God spoke to His children through law. He commanded them to do certain things. In the N.T., there is an altogether different emphasis. The emphasis now is not upon the commandment but upon the love which fulfills the commandment.
It is a lot better to live under love than to live under law. If you live by love, then you are not disturbed by law.
ILLUS: There is a law which says that a mother and father have to take care of their children and keep them up and send them to school. But do you take care of your children because of the law or because you love them?
New In Example. This commandment is new not only in its emphasis, but it is new in its example. Look at v. 8. This love is “true in Him.” When Jesus came into the world and started loving as only He could, it was something new on the face of this earth!
This world had never seen such a demonstration and display of the love of God as Jesus gave in His everyday life. He loved His disciples in spite of their bickering and fighting. He loved other people, too. The poorest of the poor, the lowest of the sinners could feel the warmth of the love of Jesus Christ. Jesus not only laid down His life for His friends, He laid down His life for His foes. The greatest accusation they could ever bring against Jesus was, He is a friend of sinners.
New In Experience (v. 9). Contrast the difference in vv. 9 and 10. There is a contrast between light and darkness, between love and hatred. These things do not mix. They are mutually exclusive.
The Bible says the man who says, I am in the light, I am saved, and yet has hatred in his heart is in darkness. You cannot hate anybody and be saved. If you claim you are a child of God and yet hate any man because of his face, his place or his race you are in the darkness.
CONC: If you will apply there three tests to your life, 1. The Test of Attitude; 2. The Test of Actions; and 3. The Test of Affection, then you can have the assurance of salvation that you desire.
NOTE: This message is a revision of a sermon preached by my late father Ted Wood. It appears (though I can’t be certain) that he may have used Warren Wiersbe’s book "Be Real" for some of his inspiration. Parts of this message are also from Jerry Vines’ book Exploring 1-2-3 John (Loizeaux Brother, 1989).
