Today you should read: 1 John 5:13-21
In all the Bible there may not be a more clear description of who Jesus Christ truly is, and what that means for us, than in the book of 1 John. In John’s concluding remarks here in chapter 5 he tells us his reason for writing this book:
13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
John says that not only can we hope to know we will receive eternal life through Jesus; we can fully know it and be assured of that salvation! Not because we feel saved one day and another day we don’t. Not because we do good works one day and then mess up and sin another. The assurance of our salvation doesn’t rest upon how we feel we are doing in God’s eyes. According to John the assurance of our salvation comes from:
Believing in Jesus as God’s Son and placing our faith in Him:
1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all[a] sin.
Confessing our sins to Jesus:
1 John 1:9 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Repenting of our sins and turning from our old way of life:
1 John 2:15 15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father[a] is not in them.
Showing the love of Jesus to others through sacrificial living:
1 John 3:16 16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
Being a testimony to others through the saving power of Jesus in our lives:
1 John 5:10 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son.
Not only does John confirm that we may know assurance of our salvation through Jesus in these ways, he also tells us that we can boldly approach our heavenly Father in prayer with confidence that He hears us.
1 John 5:14-15 14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
One important note here is that John says “if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” Meaning that not everything we ask for in prayer is always God’s will. But, he’s also not telling us we have to worry about whether or not what we’re praying is God’s will or not. The longer we walk with Jesus and the closer we grow to Him, His desires will become our desires. As a result, our prayers will reflect the desire for God’s will in our lives, and in everything we pray for. So, as we seek Jesus with our whole hearts, we are transformed from the inside out, given a new heart, with new desires, and we can walk in the light of Christ with confidence knowing that His power lives in us!
Do you know Jesus? Have you placed your faith in Jesus?
If so, are you walking in the light of Christ that He has called you to?
Spend some time in prayer today thanking Jesus for your salvation and asking Him to continue to make His desires yours!
Posted by: Matt Mofield
JumpstartCPC.com 