1 John 5:1-21

The most important information that is available to man through Scripture is how we can be saved and how we can be sure that we are saved.  John has written this book so that we might know this all important information.  Nothing that we know can be more important than this.  These truths must be carefully evaluated in light of our lives.
LOVE IS THE EVIDENCE OF SALVATION: When God saves us, the love of Christ is made evident in our hearts.  Love is what moved Christ to die for us and so our salvation will only naturally result in our having a deep love for God and for others.  The love of God will bring about a great desire to obey God.  If our hearts are cold towards God and lack affection for other people we have very good reason to doubt the reality of our salvation.  God saved us by His love so that we can experience His love and then demonstrate that love to others.  Love or the lack thereof can provide valuable information for us to evaluate our relationship with the Lord.
FAITH IS THE MEANS OF SALVATION: Salvation occurs in our lives when we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.  We must recognize that Christ is the Son of God and that He has come to the earth as a man to reveal God to us.  However, besides reveling God and His will to us, Christ came to die in order to satisfy God’s wrath on sin.  The question that each man must answer is if he believes these truths and has trusted in the sacrifice of Christ as his only hope for salvation.  God’s only requirement for salvation is faith in the work of Christ.  That entails recognizing who Christ is, what He has done and believing in Him as our only source of hope.
HOPE IS THE RESULT OF SALVATION: Because of the salvation that we have in Christ, we have a true and genuine hope.  We can be assured of eternal life as our ultimate hope.  However, we can also have hope in this life as we know that as believers God has instilled His will into our lives so that we know how to pray and we can be assured that God answers our prayers.  We have knowledge of the truth, the truth sets us free from sin through faith in Christ and fills our hearts with a hope that only Christ can give.  Sin no longer has power over us but we are free to live in obedience to the Lord.  That obedience that prior to Christ was impossible inspires us to hope for even greater things from the hand of God.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Isaiah 54:1-17

Hope is a wonderful blessing from God, without which we would be vulnerable to all kinds of destructive tendencies in our lives.  Today’s society is marked by depression, anger, fear, anxiety and self-righteousness, in large part, because of the sense of hopelessness that prevails in our culture.  Isaiah writes to a people who are about to be taken into captivity because of their sin.  God knows that they will feel rejected, threatened and hopeless so He reveals His future plans for the nation in order to give them hope in the midst of the coming trial.  Hope is the expectation of good based upon the promises of God.  Many times when our lives are marked by the sins mentioned above it is because we have forgotten or failed to focus upon the promises of God’s Word. THE PROMISE OF GOD: From the very first day that God revealed His plan for the nation of Israel, He promised numerous descendants.  God chose Abraham, not because he was more righteous than a...
Read more

2 Timothy 1:3-7

I thank God   whom I serve, as did my ancestors,   with a clear conscience, as I remember you   constantly in my prayers night and day.    As I remember your tears,   I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy.    I am reminded of   your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and   your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.    For this reason I remind you   to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us   a spirit not of fear but   of power and love and self-control. It is easy for us to forget many important things especially in the face of difficulty or danger.  Paul is in prison and Timothy is facing difficult times in ministry so there are important reminders that Paul wants to make sure that Timothy understands.  God has given us everything we need to face the difficulties He allows i...
Read more

2 Timothy 1:8-14

Therefore   do not be ashamed of   the testimony about our Lord, nor of   me his prisoner, but   share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God,   who saved us and   called us to a holy calling,   not because of our works but because of   his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus   before the ages began, and which now has   been manifested through   the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus,   who abolished death and   brought life and   immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But   I am not ashamed, for   I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until   that day   what has been entrusted to me.  Follow   the pattern of   the sound words   that you have heard from me, in   the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ...
Read more