1 John 2:3-6 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
The assurance of our Salvation is one of the attributes of Christianity that is unique amongst all of the religions of the world. In most cases, when a person devotes their self to a particular religion, they never have any guarantee that they will actually go to heaven, until the moment that they die. As with the Later Day Saints, otherwise know as the Mormon’s, a person can spend their entire life in obedience to the church and live a complete life of righteousness, yet never know for sure that they have eternal life. This is due to the fact that the final dispensation for every Mormon is in the hands of Joseph Smith, according to Mormon Church Doctrine:
...no man or woman in this dispensation will ever enter into the celestial kingdom of God without the consent of Joseph Smith….
Brigham Young, ”Intelligence, etc.,” (9 October 1859) Journal of Discourses 7:289-289.
According to the Bible, and the eyewitness account of John, he describes the fact that a person can know for certain that they have eternal life by following Jesus Christ, as evidenced by a changed life. A person can argue the their is no tangible proof for the existence of God (A foolish position, considering the overwhelming evidence), but is is very difficult to argue that millions of people have experienced radical changes in their lives by coming into a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ. Drug addicts, murderers, pornographers, drunks, and prostitutes, among many, all changed by the acceptance of Jesus as Lord and Savior.
The true and tangible evidence that we have truly been saved, is evidenced by our changed life.
John writes that anyone who “does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him.“
This does not mean that if you set out to follow Jesus, and along the way you commit a sin, that you are not saved. It is the lifestyle and practice of your continuing life that should be observed over time. In the same context of John’s writing, he mentions that these things were written so that we may not sin… but when you do sin, we have an advocate with the Father.
1 John 2:1-2 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And (When you do) if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
A person who is truly in a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ will sin less, and not make sin a continuing part of their lifestyle, but they will not be without sin ever during their entire physical life on this earth. Why? Because although Jesus has made your spirit alive to God by being “Born Again” (John 3:16), he has not changed your physical body. It is by the body that we live in, that we experience temptation to sin, and the actual acts of sin. In our spirit we really want to please the Lord in all our behavior, while at the same time a war exists in the body, that refused to always do those things that please the Lord.
If you examine your life since you first received Jesus Christ and you can see a marked change in your life, this is evidence that you have truly been saved by the Lord and have eternal life. Even if those changes are small and infrequent at times, nevertheless, they are evidence of the Spirit of God working in you to cause you to be sanctified more and more unto the Lord. The total process of Sanctification, the process of being “set apart for the Lord”, takes an entire lifetime, and is only completed upon your death. You will never be completely without sin and holy in all your conduct until you are free of your body. At the moment that the body dies, and the spirit goes to be with the Lord, sin will no longer have any power over you and you will have completed your Sanctification to the Lord.
A changed heart, evidenced by a changed life, and is proof positive that you have been saved and have heaven as your final destination. This is the promise of God’s word and the testimony given by John.
If however, you have made a confession of faith to Jesus Christ and there has been no change whatsoever, particularly in the area of your desire and will to please God, then you have not experienced salvation. It would be necessary to repent of all your sins with a sincere heart, and honesty ask Jesus to come into your heart and be Lord and Savior of your life, in order to be saved.
Some of the additional evidences for our salvation that are mentioned in 1 John are: A Love for other believers (above all other things), a confession that Jesus is Lord, an abiding relationship with Jesus (Staying close to him), and daily confession of sin, with renewed desire to please the Lord in all that we say and do.
Finally, a desire to reject the present system of this world, by refusing to conform yourself to what the world views as socially acceptable. We are in the world, but we are not to be a part of the world. We cannot have fellowship with Jesus and continue to follow the world’s love of material gain and prosperity. To have enough to live is sufficient for us. A home or apartment, food, clothing, a car or bicycle for transportation, these are all that we really need to live our lives. To spend all our time and finances on continually gaining a better house, car, job or material comfort or convenience, is all a waste of time. These things are not necessary for happiness in life, and in fact will take away your life.
I have observed the poor who live on the tiny island that I also live here in the Philippines, who sit in the afternoon on the white sand shores of the beach and gaze out at the blue sea and golden sunset, and have a sense of joy and satisfaction that I have never seen on anyone in the United States or Europe, who spend all their days gaining more wealth and prosperity. To be satisfied with a little and be able to have time to really enjoy the simple and free pleasure of life, is far more satisfying than living for “things”.
John writes near the end of his epistle on how to know that we are saved, that these things were written so that we could know (for certain) that we have eternal life.
1 John 5:13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
God wants you to know that if you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you have the assurance that salvation and eternal life are your present possession. If you spend your life trying to love and please the Lord, then at the end of your life you will find that you have gained everything and have lost nothing….
Rob Robinson
