Assurance

Well, I hesitate to write about this because I know I won’t be able to express myself fully, nor do I feel qualified to delve into the complex doctrine this topic entails. However this subject has been hitting hard (in a good way) the last couple weeks as I’ve studied 1^st John. Today, while listening to one of MacArthur’s sermons I finally decided to start typing and do my best.

John is very clear on the subject of assurance, and his letter is full of it. Listing all the references that touch on assurance would be impossible. The specific verse that I was learning about today is 1^st John 3:19: And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. 

There are several pieces to this verse, but the central one is that we know we are of the truth. It is hard to realize how comforting this simple phrase is until you have a firm understanding of just how amazing salvation truly is. God, no matter what we do, has promised that we are in his family forever, because of the work of Christ on the cross. We have been saved from inexpressible torments, and saved to be part of His glorious work in the world. Our minds can’t even comprehend how awesome salvation is, yet we can KNOW without a shadow of a doubt that we are saved for all eternity. 

The next part of the verse is in someways even more surprising: we shall assure our hearts before Him. It is no wonder many Christians doubt their own salvation: it is hard to believe that an absolutely holy God can accept us, when we know how sinful we are. Yet John declares that we can be sure of our position even when standing in the presence of God Himself. 

Of course, the question remaining is, “How?” to answer this, it is necessary to look at the rest of the epistle briefly, since the explanation given in the verse itself is only by this. These two words refer both to the immediate context of the surrounding verses and to the previous chapters. In 3:18, we see that loving in deed and truth is one way to know that we are of the truth and there are many other clues in chapters 2 and 3:

2:3 If we keep his commandments

2:4 keep his word

2:10 loves his brother

2:15 not loving the world

2:21 knowing the truth

2:23 acknowledging the Son

2:28 abide in Him

2:29 practice righteousness

3:3 purifies himself

3:6 does not sin

3:7 practices righteousness

3:9 does not sin

3:10 practices righteousness, loves his brother

3:14 loves the brethren

Some of these raise more questions, but overall they are a good way to know one is a christian.