Biblical Assurance of Salvation - Part 5

By Justin Edwards

This is the final message in this 5-part series on Biblical Assurance of Salvation by Paul Washer. He begins in 1 John 5:13 where John clearly states,

¹³ These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

The purpose of the book of 1 John is to provide us a means to examine ourselves to see if we are truly in the faith. We should study the message of 1 John to see whether its truths are realized in our daily lives. Are we conforming to Christ? Are we sensitive to sin? Are we keeping His commandments through a habitual life of obedience? Are we walking as Christ walked? Are we loving our brothers? Are we loving our enemies - those opposed to us? Are these things spiritual realities in our lives?

One of the great tests in 1 John is found in chapter 2 where we see,

¹⁵ Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. ¹⁷ And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

 Do we love God, or do we love the world? Many American Christians seem to think it is ok to have a love for the world. But that's not what it says! God clearly says in verse 15 that if anyone loves the world the love of the Father is not in Him. So, do you love the world? And what is the world?  It is everything that does not acknowledge Jesus as Lord, it's every thought that does not measure up to the Word of God, it's everything that contradicts what God says about Himself and His will.

A Christian will come to disdain everything God hates, and love what God loves. And what does God hate? Sin! He hates sin! We as born again believers will learn to have a great disgust for our sin. We will hate sin with a passion and flee from it. And when it overtakes us, as it can, we will come to repentance out of godly sorrow.

But many professed Christians actually love their sin. They justify it, they even deny they are sinful, or at least claim the one sin in their life is not sin at all, but just "who they are". Maybe it's sex outside of wedlock, maybe it's a lifestyle of partying, or perhaps it's a lifestyle marked by hatred, idolatry, pride, theft, lying, self-worship, or lust. God calls them a liar not having the truth in them in 1 John 1:8-10.  They love the very things for which Christ was crucified! They profess the name of Jesus, but they are indeed lost!

We are called to be separate from the world. And Scripture promises that those who are not separate now will become separate later at the throne of judgment. So what about you? Is there any discernible difference between you and those in the world? Would a jury have evidence to convict you of loving God, or would they find evidence that you obviously love the world and the things of the world?

Are you a new creature who desires the things of God? Are your desires realized and evidenced in your walk? Are you pursuing holiness? Or are you pursuing the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life? Are you seeking temporary happiness through superficial pleasures or permanent joy through the work of Christ? Do you have a desire to be pure, or is your desire to be fulfilled by your own selfish wants and lusts?

This is also how we know we are children of God - do we practice righteousness? 1 John 2:28-29,

²⁸ And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. ²⁹ If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.

Or is your life marked by sinfulness? 1 John 3:7-9

⁷ Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. ⁸ He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. ⁹ Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

If your life is marked by sin, you are not of God. If your life is marked by love of the world, you are of the devil. Whoever is born again leaves the lifestyle of sin. There is no such thing as a continuously habitual, carnal, fruitless Christian. If this is you, you are a Christian in name only and you deceive yourself.  If you justify your sin knowing full well what God's Word says about your sin, then you deceive yourself and do not practice the truth.

Let God change that today. Let Him change you. The call here is for repentance. Come to Him with nothing in your hands.  Repent from loving the world, repent from following after this deadly master who has control over your life, and turn to the One who offers you Life so that you can be freed from your captivity and enter into eternal life.

Jesus came 2,000 years ago, and He is coming again just as He said He would. The clock on the wall is just seconds from striking Midnight. Will you continue down this path of destruction, fooling yourself that you are saved, when all accounts of your life seemingly prove otherwise? Repent and believe in the Son of God, and be changed. For you will be changed, IF the Spirit of God is within you.

May God bless the ones who have read and listened to these messages. May the Holy Spirit prick you to examine yourself to make sure you are His child. And whether you find yourself in a temporary state of carnality, or whether you have never known God to begin with (or rather He has never known you), come to repentance today and surrender your will, your desires, and your entire life to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Biblical Assurance of Salvation - Part 5 mp3