May 22, 2022
“It is better to trust the Lord than to put confidence in people. It is better to trust the Lord than to put confidence in princes.” Psalm 118:8-9
“Every child of God defeats this evil world by trusting Christ to give the victory. And the ones who win this battle against the world are the ones who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.”
1 John 5:4-5 (NLT)
The most important question in the life of a Christian is “are you sure you have truly trusted Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Savior?” It is imperative to know the answer to this question for your life NOW and for eternity! Where will you spend eternity?
Sadly, many Believers in Christ doubt their salvation. There are those who don’t see signs of genuine faith in their lives. Thank God we don’t have to guess about our salvation, we can be for sure! He has given us His Word by which we can examine our lives. Thankfully, God has given us ample instructions on how we can know for sure that we will spend eternity with HIM!
There are those who say we should never doubt our decision to follow Christ, but the Bible encourages us to examine ourselves to see if we are truly “in the faith”. The Word of God in 2 Corinthians 13:5, says “examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.” (NLT)
The first epistle of John was actually penned for that purpose! 1 John 5:13, “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.” Let’s review the list in 1 John and examine ourselves and our faith! Be mindful that no one will perfectly fulfill all of them all the time, but they should reveal a consistent trend that characterizes our lives as we grow in grace.
The Examination in 1 John
- Are you obedient to God’s Word? ~ 1 John 2:3-5.
- Do you demonstrate love for other Christians? ~ 1 John 3:14.
- Do you admit and confess your sin ~ 1 John 1:8.
- Do you enjoy having fellowship with Christ and His redeemed people? ~ 1 John 1:3.
- Would people say you walk in the light, or walk in the darkness? ~ 1 John 1:6-7
- Does your life indicate you love God rather than the world? ~ 1 John 2:15
- Is your life characterized by “doing what is right”? 1 John 2:29
- Do you seek to maintain a pure life? ~ 1 John 3:3.
- Do you “walk the walk,” versus just “talking the talk”? ~ 1 John 3:18-19.
- Do you maintain a clear conscience? ~ 1 John 3:21.
- Do you experience victory in your Christian walk? ~ 1 John 5:4
- Do you see a decreasing pattern of sin in your life? ~ 1 John 3:5-6 (Note: this refers to not continuing in sin as a way of life, not a total absence of sin.)
James 2:19 reminds us that genuine faith is one that not only believes in God (the demons themselves do that) but leads to open confession of sin and obedience to Christ’s commands.
If you are able to truthfully answer “Yes” to these questions, or a majority of them, and are working on the others, then your life is bearing the fruit of true salvation. Jesus said that it is by our fruits that we are known as His disciples as noted in Matthew 7:20.
Fruitless branches are those who profess Christ as Savior and Lord but do not display the fruit of the Spirit as outlined in Galatians 5:22-23 and are cut off and thrown into the fire in John 15:6.
Thank God for the clarity of His Word! Remember, we are saved by grace through faith, not by our works in Ephesians 2:8-9. However, our works should display the authenticity of our salvation, James 2:17-18. A faith that is perpetual without works is no faith at all and saves no one, although genuine saving faith will always produce works.
AN ASSURED 
HEART This Word of God says in Jeremiah 17:5-8, “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans and turn their hearts away from the Lord. They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, on the salty flats where no one lives. But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they go right on producing delicious fruit.”
FATHER GOD: Thank You, for Your Word that gives us the assurance of our salvation based on the perfect and complete work of Jesus Christ! We can now live in confidence and have the assurance of our salvation never having any doubt we belong to You Father, in the Precious, Powerful and Preeminent Name of Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord, Amen.