The Test Of Salvation

APRIL 28, 2021 STUDY NOTES I JOHN 5:1-2 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES THE TEST OF SALVATION INTRODUCTION In the first five verses of this chapter, we find ways to test our spiritual life Are we living a victorious Christian life? We can find out in the beginning of this chapter We can answer that question by putting our life to the test according to these verses We have the following tests: The Test of the New Birth (vs 1) The Test of Love (vs 2) The Test of Obedience (vs 3) The Test of Victory (vs 4) The Test of Faith (vs 5) Each test is identified in one verse and then expounded upon in the next verse John begins verse one by identifying the evidence of the “New Birth” experience We have “The Test of the New Birth” in verse one, John says, “everyone that loveth him” Then in verse two we have the “Test of Love,” John says, “keep his commandments” Then in verse three we have the “Test of Obedience” John says, “His commandments are not grievous” In verse four we have the “Test of Victory” John says, “this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” In verse five we have the “Test of Faith,” believing that “Jesus is the Son of God” The victorious Christian Life begins with the New Birth experience The evidence of being “Born Again” is the love of God, obeying God, and living by faith John reveals to us the victorious life of those who overcome through faith, love, and obedience TEST OF THE NEW BIRTH 1Jn 5:1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. The first test of a victorious life is the “New Birth,” the experience of salvation The victorious life begins with salvation and God offers a “whosoever will” salvation John says, “whosoever believeth” which includes all who will believe and excludes none The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a “whosoever” Gospel, no sinner is excluded, Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Any and-all sinners can put their faith in Jesus and be saved, Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. But “believeth” must be understood as “Biblical Belief” and not merely mental intellectual assent Even demons affirm the fact of God’s existence, Jas 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. There are people today who evidently believe in a “magical messiah” (Read Acts 8:9-25) Evidently, they think that there is magic in the things that identify with Christianity They buy a Bible but never read it, they wear a cross but have never personally been to the cross They memorize a prayer, but prayer is not a way of life for them They say they love God but do not praise Him, instead they use His name in cursing “Biblical Belief” means that you are convinced of truths related to sin and salvation You are convinced that you are a sinner and need to be forgiven of your sins Page 1 of 5 You believe that Jesus is the only one who can forgive you of your sins and give you a new life So, you become the “believing one” and entrust your life unto Jesus Christ, Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. In 1 John 5:1 when John says, “whosoever believeth” he is referring to the one who has believed The person who has believed and experienced the new birth continues to be the “believing one” Continuing to believe in Jesus is not the means of eternal salvation, but the evidence of salvation John is going to show us that once we have believed, we can now live as a believer, 1Jn 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. “Biblical Belief” is a heart acceptance of everything that the Bible says about Jesus Christ Beginning with the belief that “Jesus is the Christ” that Jesus is the Christ Believing that “Jesus is the Christ” is a most important Biblical Truth The purpose of the writing of the gospel of John is to believe “that Jesus is the Christ” Much more about Jesus could have been written in the Gospel of John, Joh 20:30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But there was enough written so that the purpose of the gospel account could be fulfilled, Joh 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. John established two facts that must be believed: Jesus is the Christ and Jesus is the Son of God In John’s day and in our day, there are those who deny that the man named Jesus was the “Christ” John calls them “antichrist,” 1Jn 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. If God is the Father, there is no doubt that “Jesus is the Christ” “Jesus” is the human name of the Christ, the name that directs our attention to His humanity Jesus is “the Christ” who became flesh, Joh 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. He was named Jesus because He came to be our savior, Mat 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. John has already revealed how important it is to believe that Jesus is the Christ, 1Jn 4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: “CHRIST” is His official title and identifies Jesus as the “Promised Messiah” The early church taught that Jesus was the Christ, Act 5:42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. The only way to be “Born Again” is to accept Jesus as the Christ The Ethiopian eunuch was qualified to be baptized when he confessed that Jesus was the Christ, Act 8:37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. To believe that “Jesus is the Christ” is to be “born of God” is born of God: John speaks of the truth of the spiritual birth which Jesus said is a “must,” Joh 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. Jesus had told Nicodemus why, Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Page 2 of 5 Satan has sought to destroy the true meaning of “born again, it is now used with many meanings The advertising world and the entertainment world use born again in different ways It is now used in reference to a comeback from a bad experience, resulting in a fresh start The Biblical meaning refers to the spiritual birth of one who receives Jesus Christ as their Savior The spiritual birth is as real as the physical birth, Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Jesus explained the meaning of “born of water” in the next verse, Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; (born of water is flesh birth) and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. The meaning of “born of God” assures the saved of an eternal salvation Jesus had answered the question of Nicodemus, can I be unborn physically and then born again, Joh 3:4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? No one can be unborn physically and no one can be unborn spiritually, or lose their salvation To be “born of God” means that you have become a “child of God,” Joh 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: John has already taught us that God dwells in those who believe that Jesus is the Christ, 1Jn 4:15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. The spiritual birth is the basis for all that John has to say in 1 John 5:1-5 The New Birth is the basis of faith, love, obedience, and spiritual victory The evidence of being “born of God” is a life of righteousness, 1Jn 2:29 If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him. Another evidence of being “born of God” is love, God’s love in the believer and every one that loveth him that begat The first test of a victorious life is the “New Birth” The second test of a victorious life is the “Love of God” “Everyone,” is the same word translated “whosoever” in the beginning of the verse The thought is that “everyone” who loves is the same as “whosoever believeth” The “Love of God” comes with the “New Birth,” the believing one is also the loving one We are born into the love of God at the time of our salvation There is no limit placed upon the one who believes, or no limit placed upon the one who loves One sure sign of the new birth experience is the love of God within us We love “Him that begat,” which is God the Father who loved us Having received God’s love within we now love God who so loved us, 1Jn 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us. Evidence of the New Birth is love for God and love for those who have also been born-again loveth him also that is begotten of him. John presents to us another true test of a genuine salvation experience He says the one who becomes a child of God becomes a loving child of God Which is identified by loving the other children of God, your spiritual family True genuine love for God will grow and mature into love for all of God’s children. Which you cannot do unless you have been born of God, 1Jn 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. John is not talking about a natural human love, but that which is natural to the spiritual nature The emphasis is upon a family relationship, His children are our brothers and sisters in Christ To love the Heavenly Father is to love His children, every born gain believer is a child of God Page 3 of 5 The practice of today is to love those who agree with us, to love those in the same denomination And many times, it is not even practiced within the same denomination John has already explained the meaning of love for one another, 1Jn 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. The next verse shows us how to test the love of God that is within us TEST OF LOVE 1Jn 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. How do we know that our love is genuine and of God? How do we know that we love the children of God? John says, this is how we know, we know from a personal experience We know that we love God when “we love the children of God” We don’t just say we love them, we show our love for them, notice how John identifies that The evidence of our love for others is our love for God that keeps His commandments Through our love for God we can obey the commandment to love one another, Joh 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. Love for one another is a powerful witness of our salvation, Joh 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. The test of our love for God is our love for one another that we love the children of God, To live daily for Christ is to love the brethren, 1Jn 2:10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. To not love the brethren is to live daily in unrighteousness, 1Jn 3:10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. From the beginning of our salvation experience we learn to love the brethren, 1Jn 3:11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. To love the brethren is a sure sign of salvation, 1Jn 3:14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. The goal of God’s love is to love others through us, 1Jn 4:12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. John identifies our love for the children of God in a very powerful way He says that we know that “we love God” when we love the children of God Paul thanked God for the Ephesians love for one another, Eph 1:15 Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, Paul thanked God for the Colossians love for one another, Col 1:4 Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, John is telling us that you cannot separate love for God and love for one another One gives evidence of the truth of the other when we love God, John speaks of a constant love for God, we continue to love God regardless of anything else He means a faith relationship with Christ that becomes a love relationship with God The more you trust Christ, the more you love God Page 4 of 5 The conclusion of the classic chapter on the subject of the love of God in our life is, 1Co 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. The world has what it calls love, it is an affection for others and a concern for the needs of others The world knows a love that acts in a good will effort to help others But The world does not understand love for God There is a difference in the love for God and loving concern of the world Just as there is a difference between friendship and fellowship To love God is to keep His commandments and keep his commandments. We love God because He first loved us, we love others because we love God We show our love for God and others by keeping the commandments of God The third test of a victorious life is obedience which is the result of love John explains the “Test of Obedience” in verse 3 Love desires to obey, love tells us that we must obey, love rejoices in obeying Love for God continues to keep His commandments, 1Jn 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. Love fulfills its purpose by keeping His commandments, 1Jn 2:5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. You cannot separate love for God and obedience to His commandments That is a sermon that John likes to preach, it is a sermon of assurance, 1Jn 3:22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. A single commandment, 1Jn 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. An assurance of salvation, 1Jn 3:24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us. Faith and love cannot be separated, and love and obedience cannot be separated The faith that believes that Jesus is the Christ loves God To love God is to obey God and to obey God is to love God’s children Faith, love, and obedience cannot be separated How long has it been since you took time to meditate upon the love of God Put everything aside, get everything else out of your mind, think about God’s love Watch the screen, listen to the song, and meditate upon how great God’s love is Page 5 of 5