Provoking Thoughts From 1 John (16 Of 16)

. No wonder, when he saw Jesus walking on the shore one day, he said, (John 1:29,34-36), “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world....And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God. Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD!”

John, the Baptist, was overwhelmed by the evidence. Once it was established that Jesus Christ was the Savior of the world, he then said, “And this is the record...”

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 it; “...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 verses 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 that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” John, in these verses, wants us to know that the record is clear on THREE things. It is clear about...

A. WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN US

The first thing John wants to establish for the record is, 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, especially people who claim the name of Christ, 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 can not take that because I can not 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! Now God would hope that once you came to know Him and you discover what He did for you, that you would want to serve Him out of a heart of love. And He expects, once one has accepted His gift, that we obey His commandments.

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 GET IT

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