Blessed Assurance

The Apostle John made a remarkable and extraordinary statement in his First Epistle. He wrote: "These things I have written to you that believe on the Name of the Son of God, that you may know you have eternal life" (1 John 5:13) John wrote this wonderful and joyful Epistle so we might have the full assurance of our salvation. Jesus wanted the same thing. His prayer in John 17 emphasized this from beginning to end. In that prayer, Jesus prays that the men and women whom God had given Him might possess this full knowledge of eternal life and might glory in it. In fact, Jesus gave His life on an old roman cross to give this eternal life to us.

There is no doubt God means for us to have this knowledge. There is to be no uncertainty. Therefore, how do we come to this certain knowledge? John, in his First Epistle, provides for us certain tests by which, if we apply them to ourselves, we may know we have this certain knowledge from God.

The first test is one of belief concerning the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. This is basic; we do not need to consider anything else until we are right about this. So, we must ask ourselves these questions: "What do I believe about Jesus?". Do I believe that Jesus is the Son of God Who came to take away the sin of the world? Have I come to see my sinfulness, my smallness and my own unworthiness? Do I understand I can do nothing to save myself? Do I see Jesus as the propitiation of my sins? If we are certain about this, then we may be assured we have a knowledge of God and His life is within us. It is only through Jesus that God forgives me. It is only through Jesus He gives His eternal life to me. It is through Jesus that I am changed. This change the Bible refers to as being born again. Once we re born again, we grow in the stature and the fullness of Christ.

A second test is this: if I believe all of this, then I must of necessity come to love God. In the act of sending His Son to die for me, God proved His love. He demonstrated to me His love is free, undeserved and unconditional. I, in turn, show my love for God by keeping His commands. When I do, I discover His commands are not burdensome. Instead I find they liberate me. I find they lead me to life and I experience that life more abundantly.

Thirdly, if I am truly born of God and have His life in me, then I will love my brothers and sisters who are also born of God and have His life in them. I will see that I belong with them. I will understand I share an essential unity with them.

These tests are searching, but if we honestly apply them to ourselves, we will know where we stand. If we walk in the light of these truths, then our eternal security is something we can be sure of. In fact, our Heavenly Father has gone to the ultimate extreme so that we can enter into this amazing and blessed knowledge. When we grasp this, we will walk on a level we have never walked on before because those who have eternal life want more of it. They want to share it with others and, as our Lord prayed, they want to glory in it.

Therefore, armed with our blessed assurance, we can go out into the world armed with a powerful, unshakeable, uncompromising voice for the Lord Jesus Christ. But, it is important we first have this knowledge and this certainty. We can not share with others that which we do not already have for ourselves.

Do you have this knowledge? If you honestly feel you can not say that you do, then what you have to do is very simple. Tell God you are uncertain, that you do not know for sure, and that you desire His blessed assurance above all else. If you do, He will not reject you because He has said that "He who comes to Me I shall in no wise cast out" (John 6:37). God will give you the gift and you will know you have eternal life.