“Blessed Assurance” – Evidence #3
1 John 2:3-6
INTRODUCTION: We have been looking at the EVIDENCES that give us the ASSURANCE of our salvation.
These Biblical EVIDENCES will ASSURE us that EITHER: We are SAVED … or LOST.
If a person is a true, born-again believer in Christ, surely there will some EVIDENCE of it in their life.
The Bible, in I John, points out what these EVIDENCES are.
In our study so far, we have seen that:
o A Christian cannot be EFFECTIVE as a Christian if they don’t have the ASSURANCE of their salvation.
o One of the EVIDENCES of salvation is a love-relationship with Jesus (EVIDENCE #1).
o Another EVIDENCE has to do with how one deals with sin in their life (EVIDENCE #2).
NOW … let’s look at EVIDENCE #3 in our SERIES: OBEDIENCE to God’s Word.
For the Christian, OBEDIENCE is not an option … not an elective … not discretionary.
OBEDIENCE is fundamental to the Christian life … primary … a necessity … of utmost importance.
Your Christian life BEGAN with a step of OBEDIENCE … when you OBEYED the gospel call to trust Christ as your personal Savior.
OBEDIENCE doesn’t stop there … you don’t OBEY step 1, become a Christian … then ignore everything else God wants you to do.
That would be like passing your driver’s test, getting your license … then ignoring all the rules of the road … you’re headed for trouble … a wreck!
The heart of being a Christian is living in OBEDIENCE to God and His Word.
There WILL come times when you DISOBEY God … just like there are times when you DISOBEY the rules of the road (I’ve followed some of you on the highway!).
1 John 1:8
When you are saved, a new lifestyle comes with it … a lifestyle of OBEDIENCE.
The reason why so many DOUBT their salvation, and don’t have the ASSURANCE of their salvation … is because they aren’t living in OBEDIENCE to God’s Word … CONTINUALLY.
If a person CONTINUALLY drives like a maniac, one might doubt whether they have ever passed the driver’s test.
At least, their driving doesn’t give any evidence of it.
We often look at a PAST EVENT to determine if we are saved … our salvation experience.
That’s important … but we can be DECEIVED … and may have been given a COUNTERFEIT experience that makes us THINK we are saved … but really not (walking the isle, repeating a prayer, baptism, joining the church, etc.).
HOWEVER … by looking at our PRESENT OBEDIENCE to the Word of God … we can get a clearer indication of our salvation … and the ASSURANCE of our salvation as well.
1 John 2:3
Here is a verse that shows the EVIDENCE if you are truly saved or not … and can give you the ASSURANCE of your salvation.
There are 4 things this verse points out:
1.- Obedience Began At Salvation
When you were saved, you came to Christ as an act of OBEDIENCE.
Jesus said in Mark 1:15 - "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."
Salvation is obeying the commandment of Jesus to “repent and believe”.
In order to “repent”, you have to believe that you’re a sinner … and that your sins will condemn you to eternity in Hell.
You have to “believe” that Jesus died to pay the penalty for your sins … and then TRUST Him to take your punishment so you don’t have to.
Salvation is an act of OBEDIENCE … to DISOBEY means eternal punishment.
2.- Obedience Is Not Partial
NOTICE – “commandments” … PLURAL
We can’t be SELECTIVE in which commandments we want to obey … picking & choosing.
What kind of an employee would we be if we only did those things in our job that we LIKED to do?
OR … a SOLDIER who only obeyed SOME of his orders.
OR … a PERSON who only obeyed the laws they AGREED with.
OR … a CHILD who only obeyed their parents and did what they WANTED to do.
PARTIAL OBEDIENCE isn’t really OBEDIENCE at all! (like being a “little” pregnant!)
We can’t pick & choose which commandments in the Bible we want to obey.
Joshua 1:8 - "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to ALL that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.”
3.- Obedience Comes From Knowledge
“keep” – ‘to keep your eye on’
How can you keep God’s commandments, if you don’t KNOW what they are?
Have you ever gotten into trouble because you didn’t do something … when you don’t remember ever being told to do it?
“Well, I didn’t know I was supposed to do it! How could I do it if you never told me to? What am I, a mind-reader?”
We find all that God wants us to obey … in His Word.
Psalm 119:11 – “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
“Ignorance of the law is no excuse.” (I used to say that when I was a cop!)
The word “keep” also implies that you consider the thing that you KEEP to be very precious.
There are certain things that you THROW OUT … and certain things that you KEEP.
The things you KEEP are the ones you treasure … love … value … hold dear.
NOTICE how John uses the word “keep” in these verses … 2:3, 2:4, 2:5
o Do you “keep” the Word of God as SPECIAL in your life?
o Is your Bible just used to store old bulletins & outlines … or do you read & study it?
o Do you open your Bible and let God SPEAK to you through it’s pages?
John tells us that we are to “keep” God’s word … not throw it out of our lives or ignore it.
4.- Obedience Is To Be Continual
“keep” is in the PRESENT TENSE … which means that it is to be a ‘continuous action’.
When we QUIT obeying God’s Word, we lose the ASSURANCE of our salvation.
MAYBE we quit, because we are like the seed sown in the stony places – Mt. 13:5-6, 20-21.
ASSURANCE of salvation comes when we live in OBEDIENCE to the Word of God.
Let’s see what Paul has to say about this.
You will SERVE the one that you OBEY.
o An American soldier can’t SERVE his country … and OBEY the Taliban.
o A Corrections Officer can’t SERVE the Warden … and OBEY the prisoners.
o A CHRISTIAN can’t SERVE Christ … and OBEY SATAN.
Romans 6:16-18 – all turn
When we were saved, we changed masters … from Satan & sin … to Christ & righteousness.
Who are you SERVING? The one you are OBEYING!
You can’t SERVE Christ … without OBEYING Him.
1 John 2:4
“liar” – John seems to really be hung up on LYING … 1:10, 2:4, 2:22, 4:20, 5:10
John is emphasizing what a person SAYS about being a Christian … VERSES … what he DOES about being a Christian.
You can SAY you’re a Christian … BUT … John says that you are a LIAR … IF … you don’t live up to it by living a life in OBEDIENCE to the Word of God.
A LOST person can CLAIM to be a Christian … but “the truth is not in him”.
o Every TESTIMONY he gives … is a LIE.
o Every HYMN he sings … is a LIE.
o Every PRAYER he prays … is a LIE.
He is LIVING a LIE … WHY? John 8:44 - "You are of your father the devil, … Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
JUDAS lived a LIE.
He heard the truth … knew the truth … even preached the truth.
BUT … he LIVED a LIE … because he was LOST … and served the “father of lies”.
Judas is the ultimate example of one who LOOKED like a Christian … but “the truth was not in him”.
Let’s see what James has to say about this.
James 2:14-18 – all turn
You can’t have true saving faith … and live in disobedience to the Word of God.
Your FAITH will be seen in your WORKS … of OBEDIENCE to God’s Word.
True saving faith is always accompanied by the works of obedience.
James 2:19-20 – There is a difference between ACKNOWLEDGING the truth … and OBEYING the truth.
See James 1:22
1 John 2:5
John gives us 2 RESULTS of OBEDIENCE to God’s Word:
1.- Spiritual Maturity – “perfected” – ‘to accomplish’
The OBEDIENT Christian will see God’s love “perfected”, ‘accomplished’ in him.
The OBEDIENT Christian will EXPERIENCE and ENJOY God’s love in a real way.
AND … the more you obey Him … the more of His love you will enjoy.
DISOBEDIENCE never brought much JOY when I was growing up.
My parents LOVED me … even when I was DISOBEDIENT … BUT … I just didn’t get to EXPERIENCE their love as much!
The same is true with a Christian … OBEDIENCE (Spiritual Maturity) brings the EXPERIENCE of God’s love.
2.- Assurance – “by this we know that we are in Him”
As you grow closer to Jesus (His love is “perfected” in you), then you gain the ASSURANCE of your salvation.
1 John 2:6
“says” … AGAIN, there is more to being a Christian than just SAYING that we are born-again.
Don’t be like the person the Chinese Christian talks about: “All talkee, talkee, talkee, and no walkee, walkee, walkee!”
Those who don’t “walk” the Christian walk will doubt their salvation … and maybe for good reason.
We are to “walk” like Jesus walked … though we can never walk PERFECTLY as a Christian, the way Jesus did.
How did Jesus “walk”? That is to be our GOAL.
Jesus walked in God’s will - John 6:38 - "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”
Jesus even prayed in he Garden, before His crucifixion, (Luke 22:42) saying, "Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done."
The GOAL of Jesus was to “walk” perfectly in God’s will … in obedience to all that God wanted Him to do … EVEN IF it meant the CROSS!
Obedience to God doesn’t always come easily … there’s always some SACRIFICE involved.
Luke 9:23 - "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”
Obedience to Jesus is a DAILY thing … a CONSTANT thing … a CONSISTENT thing.
It should be the GOAL we set before we ever get out of bed each morning … OBEDIENCE.
CONCLUSION:
We see here tonight one of the EVIDENCES of whether or not we are truly born-again.
Examine your own heart right now:
Do you love God’s commandments … OR … do you ignore them?
Do you want to obey them … OR … don’t you really care?
Does it grieve your heart when you disobey God … OR … doesn’t it bother you?
Do you confess your disobedience to God … OR … do you just overlook it?
Answering these questions will give you the ASSURANCE … that you are EITHER … obedient to SIN … or obedient to GOD … LOST … or SAVED.
OBEDIENCE to God and His Word, will give you the assurance of your salvation.
OUTLINE FOR HANDOUT
“BLESSED ASSURANCE” – Evidence #3
1 John 2:3-6
INTRODUCTION: 1 John gives us Scriptural EVIDENCES of who is truly saved … and the ASSURANCE of our salvation.
- Our OBEDIENCE to God’s Word is an EVIDENCE of salvation.
- There will be times when a Christian will disobey – 1 John 1:8
- Disobedience is not the lifestyle of a Christian.
1 John 2:3
1.- Obedience Began At Salvation – Mark 1:15
- To disobey God’s call means eternal punishment.
2.- Obedience Is Not Partial – “commandments”
- You can’t pick & choose obedience – Joshua 1:8
3.- Obedience Comes From Knowledge – “keep”
- To obey, you have to know God’s commandments – Psalm 119:11
- You “keep” that which is valuable to you – 2:3,4,5
4.- Obedience Is To Be Continual – a continuous action.
- Assurance of salvation comes with obedience – Matthew 13:5-6, 20-21
- Romans 6:16-18 – You will serve whom you obey.
1 John 2:4
- “says” verses DOES – 1:10, 2:4, 2:22, 4:20, 5:10
- A LOST person is living a “lie” – John 8:44 – Judas!
- James 2:14-20 – your FAITH is seen in your WORKS of OBEDIENCE – James 1:22
1 John 2:5
1.- Spiritual Maturity – “perfected” – ‘to accomplish’
- The obedient Christian will experience and enjoy God’s love.
2.- Assurance – “we KNOW that we are in Him”
1 John 2:6
- Those who don’t WALK the Christian walk will doubt their salvation.
- Jesus walked in God’s will – John 6:38, Luke 22:42
- Obedience means sacrifice – Luke 9:23
CONCLUSION:
- Examine your heart to see how you rate in OBEDIENCE.
- OBEDIENCE to God’s Word is an EVIDENCE of salvation.
PRISCILLA BAPTIST CHURCH – Ray Scott, Pastor
