FORGIVENESS: 6 Being Certain about the Most Important Thing in Your Life

Chapter 1.6

Being Certain about the Most Important Thing in Your Life

1 John 5:13

Week 3

► After reading this chapter, answer the following questions:

1) It is claimed in this chapter that you can be certain you have eternal life and are forgiven by God forever? Do you agree or disagree? Why?

2) Why does God want you to be certain you have eternal forgiveness?

3) Why does God want you to examine your life?

4) What was most meaningful to you in this chapter? Why?

James struggled a lot with knowing if he was truly a Christian. In fact, he had prayed many times for God to save and forgive him, but was not sure if his prayers worked. He believed all the things you are supposed to believe, but he still had doubts. James could not say he was 100% certain that he was going to Heaven. His doubts produced fear in his relationship with God. And robbed him of the peace and joy that comes from knowing for certain your sins are completely forgiven forever. James needed to understand what the Bible says about the assurance of our salvation. The Apostle John said:

I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. (1 John 5:13)

God wants His children to be certain they are forgiven forever and have eternal life.

A) God wants His children to be certain about the most important thing

What is the most important question you need to answer in this life? It is this: Where will you go after you die? Not being certain of where you will spend eternity will gnaw on your mind your whole life. Especially when you are about to die. Then you will know this is the most important question of your life. God wants you to settle the question of where you will spend eternity once and for all.

The above Bible verse makes it clear God wants you to “know you have eternal life.” You learned in the previous chapters that you receive “eternal life” when you “believe in the name of the Son of God” (1 John 5:13). If you have “eternal life” from God then you have eternal forgiveness as well. God wants His children to be certain they are forgiven forever and have eternal life.

We live in an age of uncertainty. It is claimed we are not supposed to be absolutely certain about anything, especially our relationship with God. Some think it is impossible or arrogant to be certain you have eternal life and forgiveness forever. In the face of such skepticism, the Apostle John wrote: “I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13).

Some believe you can lose your relationship with God, therefore making it impossible to be certain you have eternal life and forgiveness forever. This is a topic that will be discussed more thoroughly elsewhere in the Christian Essentials. ^[1] But notice what the Apostle John is saying you can be certain of now: “eternal life.” Eternal life is eternal. It never stops. When you become a Christian you receive an eternal life that never stops and can never be lost. That is why the Bible repeatedly promises eternal life. Remember again Jesus’ famous promise: “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

God’s word clearly teaches that it is possible to be certain “you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13) now. Therefore, you can also be certain you have eternal and complete forgiveness from God. Once you are a child of God and have received eternal life and forgiveness forever, you will always be a child of God. Your Father will never reject you. And as we will see in the following chapters, the Bible tells you how to be certain of these things which are the most important thing in your life.

Accordingly, NT scholar John Stott remarks on the Apostle John’s purpose for his letter:

Many Christians are filled with doubt and confusion about their relationship with God. But to read John’s letters is to enter another world of assurance, truth, confidence, and boldness. The primary theme of John’s letters is Christian certainty. John believed that this assurance of salvation is right and healthy in all Christian people. . . This is greatly needed but sadly missing in the Church today. ^[2]

There are many things in your life that you cannot be certain about. But God wants His children to be certain they are forgiven forever and have eternal life. This is why the Apostle John wrote: “I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13).

B) Why God wants you to be certain about being forgiven forever

Why wouldn’t God want you to know your relationship with Him is eternally secure? Wouldn’t you as a father or mother want your child to know that you will love them no matter what? God wants you to be secure in His love for you. Otherwise you will continue to live in an unhealthy fear of Him, living as if you need to keep earning His forgiveness. That is not the relationship God wants to have with you.

The Apostle John also wrote: “Perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love” (1 John 4:18). God does not want His children to be afraid of anything, including “punishment,” ^[3] rejection, or even death (cf. Matt 10:28). Like any good Father, God wants you to be motivated to love and serve Him out of gratitude for your forgiveness instead of fear or guilt.

John wrote at the beginning of his letter another reason he wanted Christians to be sure about God’s complete and forever forgiveness: “We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy” (1 John 1:4). Having doubts about God’s forgiveness and your ultimate eternal destiny will certainly rob your joy. But knowing for certain that you are forgiven completely and forever and your eternal destiny is secure will give you tremendous spiritual strength and encouragement throughout your life.

Not being sure about your forever forgiveness and eternal security will weaken your Christian life in many ways. For example, research has confirmed that many Christians who are deceived by cults and false teachers lack confidence in God’s forgiveness.

The Bible says to the real Christian: “Nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8:39). “Nothing in all creation” includes your sins, weaknesses, and times of spiritual failure. A real Christian can trust that there is nothing they can do to separate themselves from God. This is the essential foundation of a healthy and growing Christian life.

In fact, God’s promises of love are the first reason the Christian can be certain of their forgiveness. Jesus promised: “God the Father loved the world so much that He gave up His one and only Son. He did this so that whoever trusts in His Son will not be destroyed but have eternal life” (John 3:16; cf. Rom 10:8-9; 1 John 5:1). The foundation of your certainty in God’s forever forgiveness is that “it is impossible for God to lie” (Heb 6:18). He keeps His promises.

God has promised that “whoever trusts in His Son will not be destroyed but have eternal life” (John 3:16). And God wants His children to be certain they are forgiven forever and have eternal life. Which is why the Apostle John said: “I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13).

C) God wants you to examine yourself to be certain you are forgiven forever

The Apostle John said he wrote his letter, “so that you may know you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). This is why throughout his letter, he also gave clear and convincing tests of how you can know you belong to God. We will discuss these in the following chapters.

All of this will help you do something the Bible says is important: “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves” (2 Cor 13:5). Elsewhere the Bible says, “Work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen” (2 Pet 1:10). Certainty of forever forgiveness is not automatic. You must know how to discern real saving faith in Christ and carefully “examine” your life to ensure the necessary qualities are there. You need to “prove” to yourself that your trust in Christ is real and not fake. And again, the Apostle John gives us the spiritual tests needed to do this.

Unfortunately, many people ignore or misunderstand the biblical attributes of a real Christian. They think that just claiming to be a Christian or going to church is enough proof. But the Apostle John exposed such things as inadequate. As you will see, the biblical tests for real Christians reflect the fact that they have God’s Spirit living inside of them. Many people without God’s Spirit and who are not real Christians, still claim to be Christians, go to church, and even do Christian ministry. If you never feel the need to “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine.” (2 Cor 13:5), then perhaps your standards are not high enough.

Some approach the topic of the assurance of salvation by asking the question, “How much can a person sin and still be considered a Christian?” The Bible never answers such a question. This is because the answer is primarily intended to give false Christians some kind of false assurance. Instead, the Bible commands: “Work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen” (2 Pet 1:10). The result of this approach is to give real Christians real assurance.

One of the reasons you may be afraid to “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine” (2 Cor 13:5) is because you are afraid you will fail the test. But everything God commands us to do is always the best thing for our life. Such examination will only have two results and both are very valuable.

First, God is confident that a real Christian will only become more convinced of their relationship with Him when they “examine” themselves. Such examination and testing results in more certainty for the real Christian.

Secondly, if you believe you are a Christian and have God’s forgiveness, but you are deceived about this, then God wants to reveal this to you. Being deceived about the most important thing in your life will hurt your life and even your eternity. It is easy to believe you are a Christian but really are not. Jesus warned:

Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?” Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (Matt 7:22-23 NIV)

A person can do a lot of spiritual looking things and still not be a Christian. This is another reason the Apostle John gave us clear and convincing attributes of a real Christian. If your study of these chapters leads you to doubt you are a real Christian, there is still hope. As explained in the previous chapter, you can ask God to open your heart and reveal the real Jesus Christ to you.

The biblical commands to examine and prove the genuineness of our Christian faith is a challenging topic. Dr. Stott writes:

John’s arguments are like a double-edged sword. When he seeks to help believers know they have eternal life, he equally seeks to show unbelievers that they do not. His purpose is to destroy the false certainty of false Christians, but also to confirm the valid certainty of genuine believers.

The same two groups exist today. Some claim a saving faith they do not have. Others are real Christians but have no certainty they are and believe it is arrogant to even claim this. But there is a true Christian certainty, which is not arrogant or mislead. And as the Apostle John teaches, this certainty is the will of God for His people. So John urges his readers to examine themselves, and he supplies tests by which we can do so. ^[4]

Again, we will study these tests of true saving faith in the following chapters. God wants His children to be certain they are forgiven forever and have eternal life. Which is why the Apostle John said: “I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13).

► Return to the beginning of this chapter and answer the questions there.

1. The question of whether a real born again Christian can lose their salvation is a vital topic for discussing Christian certainty about their salvation. The Christian Essentials are written from the belief that “once saved, always saved” is biblical. That view is discussed and defended in the section Your Father’s Acceptance in study #3 FAITH. ↑

2. John Stott, The Epistles of John (Tyndale, 1999), 50, 54. ↑

3. The Apostle John’s statement that we are not to be afraid of God’s punishment (cf. 1 John 4:18) may seem to contradict the NT warnings of God disciplining His children (cf. Heb 12:5-11). But even Hebrews says the prospect of divine discipline is to encourage us, not make us fearful (cf. v. 5). For more study on God’s discipline for the Christian see the section on Your Father’s Acceptance in Christian Essentials study #3: FAITH. ↑

4. John Stott, 52-53. ↑