The three tests of assurance of salvation in 1 John are obedience to Jesus Christ and His Word, love for God and His people, and faith in the biblical Jesus and the biblical gospel. In this series, we are focusing on obedience to Christ and His Word.
Does God really hear the prayers of His people and respond? In 1 John 5, the apostle John makes it clear that God hears the prayers of His followers and gladly responds with joy. In context, John is describing God’s people praying for the salvation of an unbeliever, that they would repent of their sins and believe in the biblical Jesus and the biblical gospel.
In 1 John 5, the apostle John acknowledges that there are some people who have attached themselves to Christ and the church and yet are not truly saved; they truly aren’t part of God’s family. John wants to help believers know whether they are saved, so he explains what Christianity is in comparison to the deep fakes Satan himself has created.
First John 5 says that true Christians have a new and better relationship with sin. In other words, Christians no longer love sin like they did before coming to saving faith in Christ. But rather, they hate it and want to mortify it at all costs. And true Christians also have a new Father—no longer the devil, the father of lies—but God the Father, who sent His Son to die on the cross for sins.
The beauty of the gospel is that sinners who turn from their sin and confess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord will be saved. But the true Christian understands that salvation is not of himself but only because of the person and work of Jesus Christ. In other words, authentic Christians understand what Jesus taught and accomplished in His life, death, and resurrection—which is revealed in the Scripture, the true Word of God.
The message of the Christian faith is exclusive, which means that salvation can only come through the biblical Jesus and the biblical gospel. Unfortunately, many people are influenced by our postmodern culture, which teaches that there are many ways to heaven. But the Bible says there is only one way to heaven—through Jesus Christ as revealed in the gospels.
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