Praise my soul the king of heaven
Ah holy Jesus, how hast though offended
Christ, whose glory fills the skies
My hope is built on nothing less
Be thou my vision
O master let me walk with thee
Glory be to the father
13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. 1 John 5:10-15
Some have this all the time.
It's good to have this when you are straying from the path, but for those who simply struggle...not so good.
This lack of assurance is not a new thing, but it does point to something not being right.
Anyone who says that Jesus has not come in the flesh is the anti-Christ, they are false teachers.
People who separate the physical from the spiritual are wrong. They end up saying the sin they do is unimportant.
John wants us to know that we have eternal life.
This is a letter written to those who believe in Christ. John wants to assure them of their salvation if they believe in who Jesus is.
Faith has content. Faith is in someone.
Jesus means Saviour, it is what he has done.
If you have put your faith in Christ, John wants you to know that you have eternal life. No son no life. Have son, have life.
False teachers can throw people into confusion. Them and their secret teachings. John combats that confusion with clarity.
John said this
. God is light and in him is no darkness at all
. God is perfect, we are not.
. We sin
. God doesn't leave us in our sin
. God has cleansed us from our sin, when we confess our sin
. Our sins punished do not need to be punished again
. Jesus is our advocate
. Jesus has given us a counselor, so we can grow in our faith and the expression of it.
. When we sin, we go back to the beginning, confess sin and move forward in God's forgiveness.
. Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, born
. Be like Jesus, be right with God
We can, and should have assurance of eternal life.
We don't need a special spiritual experience, we just need Christ and him crucified, risen from the dead, alive with God in heaven.
Everyone goes through spells of not being sure of their salvation, but the bible assures us.
Those with false assurance live as if other believers are not important, who sin as if it doesn't matter, etc. This is not being broached here. What is the topic here are those who waver in their assurance of salvation. John says, be assured.