Without a Doubt

Read 1 John 5:1-21

1. Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too.
2. We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey his commandments.
3. Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome.
4. For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.
5. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
6. And Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by his baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross—not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with his testimony.
7. So we have these three witnesses—
8. the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and all three agree. 1 John 5:1-8

The news occasionally features a story that seems too incredible to be true. A construction worker has a nail driven into his skull and does not suffer any ill effects. A woman is shot six times during a robbery and lives. How can you know if these stories are really true? For the most part you cannot. You just have to trust the source.

In this reading John covers a story that some Christians sometimes doubt—their salvation. He explains to his readers how to know if they are truly saved or not. Read this passage and gain assurance.

As an added feature, John reviews Jesus’ mission in coming to earth and in dying. He also throws in a sidebar on what to do if a fellow Christian is sinning.

John wrote this letter to reassure Christians in their faith; some false teachers had given them cause to doubt that their salvation was secure.

How can we know we have eternal life? John tells us: trust in Jesus Christ (1 John 5:13). Jesus is God’s own Son, the one who came as a human being, died to pay the penalty for our sins, and rose again. His work alone gives him the power and right to forgive all who confess their sins to him (1 John 1:9). Anyone who believes in Christ has eternal life (see John 3:16).

The next time you feel insecure about your salvation, reaffirm your trust in Christ. Then you can know you have eternal life, whether you feel close to God or far away.