Grounds Of Christian Assurance

There are many scriptures in the Bible that give us assurance that we are Christians. When we really and truly born again by the spirit of God we will have the experience related in 2 Cor 5:17, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new." Our outlook on life will be completely changed. We will have no desire for the things of the Spirit. We will have a hungering and thirsting for righteousness and will enjoy reading the Bible. We will have a desire to attend church services where the truth is preached under the anointing and power of the Spirit. We will want to obey everyone of God's command that are recorded in the Bible because we love Him. It is not hard to obey those you really love and we are commanded to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength.

Many of our church members when asked if they are Christian will say that they belong to church, or they have been baptized, or they hope so. Very few of them are able to come right out and say that they know they have been born again. If we have been born again we will have the witness of the Spirit for Romans 8:16 states, "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." If we don not have this witness, we either are not saved or are not very close to God and are in great danger of losing what little spiritual life we may have. John 3:14-15 says, "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him." Our brother in this scripture means every person on the face of the earth. The true Christian can have no hatred in his heart for anyone regardless of what he may have done to him. If you can truly say that you have no malice in your heart for anyone and that you love the brethren with a pure heart fervently, then you can have the assurance that you are a child of God.

Love The Essence Of The Gospel

1 John 3:19---We know we are of the truth-The preceding verses outline the effects the love of God has upon the hearts of men. If we have the love of God in our hearts we will love the brethren and if we see our brother in need we will come to his aid when it is within our power to do so, then we do have the love of God in our hearts and are Christian. In this verse John means to tell us that if we are measuring up to the preceding verse we know that we are of the truth.

Verse 20---If our hearts condemn us---If we feel condemnation in our hearts, we must get it out of the way, the very first thing. If we feel it, we can know that God, who knoweth all things, feels it too and we can have no real peace until we ask God to forgive us.

Verse 21---If our heart condemn us not---It is indeed a glorious thing feeling to know that there is nothing between us and God and that we are serving Him with reverence and godly fear.

God Will Answer Prayer

1 John 3:22---Whatsoever we ask, we receive of him---If we really love God with all of our heart, we will be keeping His commandments, and we will have confidence in Him. We will know that He does love us and will do for us whatever we ask of Him in faith. We will not have any desire to ask of Him anything that is contrary to His will. Love is the greatest impelling force there is, and with His love in our hearts we are just naturally constrained to do those things that are pleasing in His sight.

Verse 23---That we believe on the name of His Son---To believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is the first requisite of salvation, for there is no other name given under heaven whereby we can be saved. Love one another---Love is the very essence of the gospel; and the two great commandments are, according to the words of Jesus, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, souls, mind and strength, and thy neighbor as thyself. These are the two great commandment, and on them hang all the law and the prophets.

Verse 24---He that keepeth his commandments---If we love God and are living according the teaching of His holy Word, we are going to have fellowship with Him and we will have the witness in our hearts that we are His. This is in accordance with Jesus' own words in John 14:21, "He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him."

Beware Of False Prophets

1 John 4:1---Believe not every spirit---Here is a very solemn warning against taking up with every group that is pretending to preach the gospel. By their fruits you shall know them and if they are not living up to the teachings of the Bible, they are to be avoided. Every sect group has its own spirit and it is not of God for Eph 4:4 says, "There is one body (Church) and one Spirit." If you are sincere and want truth above everything else, God will enlighten you. He will not let you be deceived if your complete if your cmplete trust is in Him.

Verse 2---Hereby know ye the Spirit---Every born-again child of God will have the witness down in his heart that Jesus Christ did come in the flesh and that He is the son of the living God.

Verse 3---Every Spirit that confesseth not--- It is only by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ that we can be saved. Therefore they that believe not on Him as the Son of God are not of God. The Spirit of antichrist---Everyone that does not believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ has the spirit of antichrist and the world is full of that class of people. Contrary to the teachings of many people today, there is no mention of an antichrist, as one individual, in the Bible. Antichrist, as used in the Bible, means unbelievers.

Gods People Are Separate From The World

1 John 4:4---Ye are of God, little children---All Christian are overcomers. They have the Spirit of God in them which gives them the power over all the snares and temptations the devil can bring against them. By this we can know that we are of God.

Verse 5---They are of the world---These are the unbelievers who find their pleasure in the ungodly things of the world. Their conversation is worldly and the men of the world will hear them in preference to the men of God that try to bring them the soul-craving gospel.

Verse 6---We are of God---The true Christian knows that he is of God and that others who have a like experience will hear him when he speaks the truth. Therefore those that do not hear us (do not accept the truth when we speak) cannot be of God. We have the Spirit of God and speak the things given us by the Spirit and all that have the Spirit will have the witness within themselves that it is truth and not error.

This is a most common lesson and one that every last one of us should be deeply interested in. We must not be satisfied with our life until we can know of a certainty that we are genuine born-again children of God. Many are trusting in church membership and hoping that they are saved. This is not enough and it will not see you safely through the gates of pearl. Remember that God says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and those of you who do not know Him are void of wisdom. The so-called wisdom of the world is foolishness with God. It will never take you to heaven and if you miss that goal you have missed everything. May this stir you to action and put a determination in your heart to have the wisdom that comes from knowing God.