I John 2:3-11
Are you saved?
Intro
√ "Am I saved!?"
One of the most common questions people ask me is…
"How do I know that I'm really saved?"
After all, when a person prays to receive Jesus as their Lord and savior there isn't any physical manifestation that there is anything different about them!
Ex. No visible mark - no change in your DNA!
So how can a person be sure of their salvation?
A great question because each of us should desire to know for sure that we are saved before we face the moment of our death.
If there was ever a time that you don't want to be surprised it's that moment after you've died!!
The Bible is clear that God wants us to have an assurance regarding our salvation. God wants us to know for sure that…
We're forgiven
He's working in us
We're going to spend eternity in heaven with Him
…so, we find that God has inspired John to give us those "marks" by which a person can know that they are really saved.
Ap. We're not perfect!
Let me begin with this disclaimer…
"We're not yet perfect!"
…so don't get hung up on the fact that as we study this morning that you don't measure up to the perfect standard of Jesus!
Rather, understand that John is simply giving us a means by which we can test ourselves that we might have an assurance of our salvation.
Or, recognize that we are not really saved so that we can do something about it!
On the other hand, please don't excuse yourself if you are in sin this morning! While we understand we're not perfect…
…if you know that you're in sin and are making excuses for your sin - stop sinning!
To continue in sin may be an indication that you really aren't saved!
Very important in our own day as well over 95% of the people polled in the USA believe they are going to go to heaven when they die!
Yet, less than 10% of those same people believe in the message of Jesus and the One Way by which He said a person would be saved!
So, let's examine ourselves in light of John's instructions as none of us want to be wrong about our own eternal destiny!
Do you keep His commandments? (vs. 3-5)
1Jo. 2:3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
1Jo. 2:4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
1Jo. 2:5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.
√ Do you know Him?
John tells us that the test as to whether or not we are saved is answered by this question…
Do you know Jesus?
…a relationship with Jesus is the only means by which a person can be saved.
This is what Jesus taught…
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
And…
Mat 7:23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Therefore, we see that a personal relationship with Jesus is the only way in which a person can have their sins forgiven and gain access to eternal life.
That being the case, how can we be sure that we actually know Jesus?
After all, many people claim to know Jesus - over 85% of the people polled in the USA claim to be Christian!
Yet, when pressed we find that most of those people don't know even the basic tenets of what Jesus taught.
So, how can a person be sure that they know Jesus - thus, know that they are saved?
That is exactly what John addresses in vs. 3…
"Now by this we know that we know Him"
The answer…
"if we keep His commandments." - vs. 3
√ Keep His commandments?
John tells us that a person can know that they are saved by simply looking at their life and honestly asking…
"Am I doing the things that Jesus told me to do, and am I not doing the things that He told me not to do?"
Pretty simple isn't it?
A person can have assurance of their salvation by looking at their own life for the fruit of the Holy Spirit - evidenced by a life that is lived in obedience to Jesus' commandments.
What commandments? The Law?
Interestingly enough, we have a record in the Gospels of this very question!
Mat. 19:16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”
Mat. 19:17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
Mat. 19:18 He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’
Mat. 19:19 ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Mat. 19:20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?”
Mat. 19:21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
I call your attention to this section of scripture to show us not how a person is saved…
…that is, we know that we cannot be saved by keeping the commandments.
Rather, to remind us that Jesus upheld the moral law of God!
Ex. The 10 commandments (minus the Sabbath)
Please understand that there is a difference between God's universal moral law…
…and the Mosaic Law by which Israel was bound to God.
Ex. Moral law
9 of the "10 commandments" are moral laws, they were given to Man before Moses, and upheld by Jesus and the apostles.
My point is that all too often Christian make the mistake of assuming that because we are saved by Grace, that we somehow don't have to worry about obeying God's moral law!
That simply isn't true. God still expects us to obey Him in regards to the moral law that He has established for all people and all time.
Christians are free of the Mosaic Law - the Old Covenant by which the children of Israel where bound to God. But, Christians are not free of God's moral law.
So, while Christians are not required to keep the Sabbath, circumcise their baby boys on the 8th day, etc.
They are required to obey God's moral law - don't kill, don't cheat, don't worship false gods, etc.
Look at Paul's warning in Galatians…
Gal. 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,
Gal. 5:20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
Gal. 5:21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
So, John tells us that a person can know for sure that they are saved if they look at their life and find a lifestyle of obedience to Jesus' commandments.
Ap. Are you on the list?
I'm not asking if whether or not you've been known to occasionally fall in one of these areas…
…rather, do any of these things mark your life? Do you make a "practice" of them?
Ex. Single guy or gal struggling with lust
Contrasted with a single person who leads a lifestyle of sexual promiscuity.
That's where John's warning in vs. 4 comes in…
1Jo. 2:4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
That is, don't fool yourself into thinking that you can disregard the Lord's commandments and still think you're okay with God.
John says that person is a liar!
So, you can know for certain that you are saved (or are not!) by whether or not you obey God's commandments.
Do you walk as He walked? (vs. 6)
1Jo. 2:6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
√ Do you walk the talk?
The second test that John tells us we can apply to our lives is to ask ourselves…
"Do I walk like Jesus did?"
That is, do I conduct my life the way that Jesus did? Do I approach life with the same attitude in life that Jesus did?
I would suggest that John is now directing our attention to the inner man. That is, having begun by telling us that we can test ourselves by looking at our obedience to the Lord's commands…
…now he tells us to look at our hearts.
You see a person can do all the right things, yet, in their heart be a million miles from God!
Ex. The religious leaders in Jesus' day
Mat. 15:8 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.
Mat. 15:9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”
These men were perfect in regard to the keeping of the commandments, yet, as Jesus points out they had missed the mark because their hearts were not true to the Lord.
John reminds us that religious obedience alone does not indicate that a person has a saving relationship with Jesus.
Rather, a person who is saved is that person who obeys Jesus' commandments first from the heart…
…then manifest in their outward life.
John's point then is that a person can tell whether or not they are really saved by looking at their life and asking…
"Is this real, or am I just pretending to have a relationship with Jesus?
Ex. The unsaved pastor
Ap. Are you for real, or just pretending?
If you're just playing a good game then please understand that you are not really saved. Give your heart to Jesus this morning and get saved and…
…get the power to walk the talk!
Do you love as He loved? (vs. 7-11)
1Jo. 2:7 Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning.
1Jo. 2:8 Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.
1Jo. 2:9 He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now.
1Jo. 2:10 He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.
1Jo. 2:11 But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
√ Do you love as Jesus loves?
The last test that John gives us to see whether or not we're really saved is this…
"Do you love as Jesus loves?"
Note that John tells us in vs. 10 that the person who loves his brother lives in the light…
…but that the person who hates his brother lives in the dark.
John's point is that the person who is really saved will have a God-given, God-like, love for other people.
There is no way that a person can receive the love of God and then turn around and hate other people.
Look with me at…
1Jo 4:20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?
1Jo 4:21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.
A life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ will always produce a Christ-like nature within us. The primary indicator then that a person is really saved, truly born again…
…is evidenced by a change in their life so that they begin to love people the way that Jesus does!
Ex. Saul to Paul
The evidence that Barnabus saw in Saul's life was a change in his very nature!
Ap. Does the love of Jesus live in your heart?
That's the final test for knowing whether or not you are saved.
Do you love others the way that Jesus does?
Do you seek the best in others, or are you consumed with self promotion at the expense of others?
Do you and others see a change in your attitude? Is there a new love in your heart manifest by a compassion and concern for other people?
If so, then you can be sure that you are saved…
…that you are born again with the very nature of Jesus working in you.
Close
√ Are you saved?
You can know for sure by taking John's test…
Do you keep His commandments?
Do you walk as He walked?
Do you love as He loves?
…make sure you're saved!
Remember, we're not talking about perfection - rather, we're looking for evidence of a real relationship with Jesus manifest by these things in our lives.