The Bible provides great assurance and comfort in salvation. But many believers do not feel assured. And some professing Christians have a false assurance.
To the doubting believer John says in 1 John—”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”. Clearly he wants you to know you are saved and live in that joy.
To the professing believer who does not have real faith Jesus says in Matthew “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?’ 23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’. Clearly there will be many with religious works who do not in fact have real saving faith.
So how can one know they believe for real or not? Are we left to insecurity about this most important question of our lives?
John says that there is a way to know and it is by the evidence of faith lived out. Not that the life lived earns salvation but that true faith will show itself over time. A truly born again person will act like one and it will be evident to them and to others that they are truly changed and that their faith is real. The questions below appear in 1 John and are tests of true belief which if answered honestly can help anyone examine their true spiritual condition to see if their profession is consistent with a born again, transformed life to the Glory of God.
There are more than 5 Questions in 1 John but these are the 5 key questions you can ask yourself:
Do you walk in the light? (1 John 7) (Video Testimony)
Walking in the light means a desire to be transparent before God with no secrets. It means a deep longing to have my sin exposed to Him so I can be forgiven.
Are you sensitive to your sin? (1 John 1:8-10) (Video Testimony)
Sinners will say “I sin because I am a sinner” which is very different than saying “I make mistakes”. The perspective is that I sin because of who I am—a sinner—it is my nature to sin. And my sin offends not just men but more importantly God Himself. Following this is a deep desire to confess my sin to God and be forgiven.
Do you love your brothers? (1 John 3:14-15) (Video Testimony)
I have been forgiven so much by God. How can I not forgive the offenses of my brothers on this earth? True evidence I have real faith is that I long to forgive others and be in fellowship with them. A lack of forgiveness in my life for others is a red flag that I may have never received forgiveness myself from God and therefore my faith is in question. The core of the question is, do I feel the desire to forgive and do I struggle towards forgiveness and loving others or do I settle back in an unforgiving justified anger towards those who hurt me. This is a hard question to answer but the fruit of my life will reveal where I truly stand.
Do you obey God’s Word (1 John 3:9-10) (Video Testimony)
Obedience is an essential evidence. John goes as far as to say that no one who truly knows Jesus continues to sin. He does not mean perfection. He means that a heart bent on sin with a lazy and uncaring attitude illustrates a false faith. Persevering obedience on the other hand shows a heart deeply desiring to obey God and it shows in practice.
Is Jesus your Savior—have you been born again? (1 John 5:1, 11-13) (Video Testimony)
Nicodemus was a righteous man. He complimented Jesus saying “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”. Jesus counters by telling him that his righteous works and even his recognition of who Jesus is are not enough to secure eternal life. He says Nic needs to be born again. So how do we get born again and what does that look like? Jesus does not answer with “work harder”. His answer puts 100% focus back on God to do this miraculous work. He says “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit[b] gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You[c] must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”. So God has to come upon me and do this work and I can’t make it happen. Ok, so I had a talk with God when I was 22 years old. I confessed my sin and my complete helplessness to do enough good work to meet His standards and I certainly sinned enough to deserve judgment. I believe I was born again that evening. How do I know this really occurred? The evidence will show in my life. With the Spirit living inside of me, my desire will be to read His Word and obey Him. The 4 questions above will be meaningful to me and I will see evidence over time. The test of a real born again experience is not about when I said yes to Jesus (“I had this experience when I was 22”). The test is seeing the evidence of true faith lived out. I will see it and so will others. I know I was born again...I see evidence today.
