Category Archives: Faith and Practice

Christian Birth-Marks

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How can I know if I am saved?

Is there some way of knowing whether or not I’m maturing in my faith, growing stronger in my walk with the Lord?

I think these are questions that everyone asks, everyone who is sincere in their faith.  We are assailed by doubts, overcome by anxieties, and can easily be frustrated by the persistency of sin in our lives.  Does this mean we’re really not saved after all?

Last week I mentioned that my class at Bible Camp this year was simply a study through the letter of 1 John, and these are the kinds of questions that John is answering in his letter.   John’s letter begins with the essential: We must have fellowship with God through Jesus Christ, the manifest (incarnate) Word of God by 1) believing in Jesus Christ, and 2) confessing of our sins and trusting in the atoning work of Christ on our behalf. This is the entry point, the beginning of new (and eternal) life. So the first evidence we have of our salvation is found in knowing Jesus and trusting in Him (1 John 1:1-2:2).

But John doesn’t leave us there.  As every child resembles his or her birth-parents, and grows in that resemblance every day, so to the adopted children of God, those called and redeemed by His grace in Jesus Christ, also bear resemblances with their heavenly Father.  Through John’s letter, you find that there are 3 essential birth-marks that will be found in every believer: Obedience, Love, and Truth.  These are not things that we must generate within ourselves in order to be saved. Rather, they are marks that will be evident in the lives of all who have been saved.  Like the fruit of the Spirit that Paul writes of in Galatians 5, these marks are the gracious work of God in us, and we can look to them for assurance in times of doubt.

(It is interesting to note: John writes differently than Paul.  Paul is a western writer, who builds a logical argument to its final point, then gives the application of that point – moving from A to B to C and so on.  John is an eastern thinker, and he writes in cyclical patterns, repeating for emphasis, until the point is driven home – A-B-C/A-B-C/A-B-C. Click here for a copy of 1 John outline to see what this looks like).

The first birth-mark that John writes of is the mark of Obedience. You cannot read 1 John without realizing that those who say they follow Christ must actually follow Christ.  After the introduction, John writes “By this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments” (1 John 2:3) – it doesn’t get any clearer than that.  Here are a few of the verses through the letter that say the same thing:

  • 1 Jn 2:4-6 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
  • 1 Jn 3:6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.
  • 1 Jn 3:9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.
  • 1 Jn 3:22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
  • 1 Jn 3:24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.
  • 1 Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
  • 1 Jn 5:18 We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.

This is no different than what we read in the gospels.  Jesus said in the Gospel of John, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15).  In the Great Commission of Matthew 28, Jesus said “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt 28:19-20).

Let me be quick to point out, John isn’t preaching a salvation by works. Never does John write, “you must do X to be saved.”  No.  Instead, John is showing us that those who believe, those who have been saved, will know they are saved because they long to obey and keep God’s word. Not out of a desire to secure salvation, but out of love for God who securely saves.  This is not salvation by works, but a salvation that works.

Belief in Jesus Christ unto salvation must necessarily lead to a life of obedience to His Word.  Is He Lord? Then we are His people who listen and obey.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in his book The Cost of Discipleship,“Only those who believe obey, and only those who obey believe” (I added a link to the fuller quote).

The danger of looking only to this birth mark is that one can then think that salvation is dependent entirely upon one’s own works, rather than trusting entirely upon the grace of God in Jesus Christ for salvation.  We can be crushed by the tyranny of obedience if we think that it is up to us to perform in order to please God.  Throughout John’s letter, just as we feel like we’re failing at the tests, there are road-stops of refreshment, reminders of God’s grace.

  • 1 John 2:12 “I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.”
  • 1 John 3:1 “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.”
  • 1 John 3:19-20 “By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our hearts before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.”

The beauty of the mark of obedience is the reminder that what Christ commands is not burdensome, but a command of love and faith.  In John 5, we read, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:2–5). His commands are not a burden, they are victory, release, peace, in Jesus Christ.

And what is the command we are to obey?  According to John it is simply this: “And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us” (1 John 3:23).

Beloved, having put your hope and trust in Jesus Christ, listen to His voice, and obey His gracious call.  This life of discipleship, this life of obedience is a grace of God, a means by which you may grow in your assurance of salvation and stand firm in the day of the Lord.

SDG

Readings from the Pastor’s Desk – Here are just a couple of the things I’ve been reading this week:

Don’t Play with Sin: Here’s a great illustration of what happens when we treat sin loosely and do not work constantly to be killing sin in our own lives.

Sunday Worship Starts Saturday Night: Usually Twitter barely rises above the inane and vitriolic of those who really shouldn’t have any influence in our lives – every now and then you come upon a treasure. Case in point, here’s the treasure I found over the weekend in the Twittersphere.

A Review of General Assembly: Since I could not attend, nor watch, this year’s General Assembly, I’m trying to read as much as I can by way of review of all that took place.  I found this to be a fairly straightforward report on all that took place.

The Christian’s Attitude Toward Sin

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This year at Bible Camp, I led a Bible study through 1 John.  In the past years, I felt that my lessons were far too complex for young campers, so I really tried to bring the class back to the basics, and thought teaching how to study the Bible would be a great place to start.  Plus, 1 John is one of those books that is easy to understand, though deep in its application and wisdom.
While much of 1 John is given to demonstrating how there are three birth-marks of a genuine Christian (Obedience, Love, and Truth), the opening chapter serves as the gate through which all must pass if they are going to walk with Christ.  It is not a great theological hurdle, nor must one complete some rite or ritual to be found in Christ.  No, according to John, if you are going to have fellowship with God and with Jesus Christ His Son, you must have a proper understanding of your own sin and know how to deal with it.
John spells this out for us in 1 John 1:6-2:2 quite clearly through a series of contrasts, denials and affirmations, on the genuine Christian life. Let’s take the denials first and see what genuine Christian is not, then we’ll look at the affirmations.
What a Christian is not:
  • vs 6 – If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
  • vs. 8 – If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us
  • vs. 10 – If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
Here we see by negation what marks the life of a false believer.  Those who continue to sin while claiming to walk with God, those who deny that what they are doing is a sin, and those who deny that they have ever sinned, they do not practice the truth, they are self-deceived, and they make God to be a liar. If you deny your own sinfulness, then you deny your need for a savior from your sin, and you deny the clear testimony of God’s Word.  
So what then ought a Christians attitude be toward sin?
Let us look to what John says again:
  • vs 7 – If we walk in the light as He is in the life, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.
  • vs. 9 – If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
  • vs 2:1-2 … but if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins…
Those who are born of God, who have fellowship with Jesus Christ, walk in the light, living in obedience to His word, all the while trusting in the blood of Jesus to cleanse them from all sin. The genuine believer knows his own sin, confesses his sin, and trusts in the saving power of God in Jesus Christ for salvation – and this is all by the grace of God.
The Westminster Confession teaches, “repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, does, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavor after, new obedience” (WSC 87).
What, then, is the gate through which all must pass in order to have fellowship with God in Jesus Christ, it is the gate of repentance.  Acknowledging sin, hating sin, turning from sin, and trusting in the righteousness of Christ as we seek to follow after Him.
SDG
Interesting Reading from the Pastor’s Desk
I’ve been reading this week about music and worship and thought I’d share some of the articles with you here:
The High Point of Worship – This is a longer read, but well worth it. It is a good refresher on why we worship the way we do as a Reformed and Presbyterian Church, what at the center of our worship, and will, hopefully, renew us in our devotion in worship on the Lord’s Day.
The Lord is My Salvation – From the Getty’s, here is a new hymn, a song of testimony, inspired in part by Psalm 27. There is a link to where you can download the song for free, as well as links for the sheet music of the song.
So Will I – This article demonstrates the kind of discernment that I try to apply to every song we use in worship. I have to admit, I love this song, but like the author of this article, I am troubled by the content of the second verse and what it would lead a congregation to think when singing it.  I could think of so many better words to use to describe sanctification than “evolve.”