The Many Certanties of Christianity

TurningPoint Community Church
www.turningptchurch.com
Palm Coast, Florida

Bible Fellowship Group Lesson
12/20/2009

1 John 5:13-21
Notes Prepared by Robert Moritz


I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death. 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. We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols.


The Uncertainties of This World

There is no question that today we live in a world of uncertainty and doubt. Everyone struggles with doubt sooner or later. Look at our economy today, there are many of us here who are uncertain where are next paycheck is coming from. Or whether or not we’ll be able to pay our bills next month. Or where our next meal is coming from. There are others who have health issues or family members with health issues and we’re uncertain about their future. I’m sure most of us here have relatives who we know are unsaved and we’re uncertain of their eternal destiny. And I don’t care how long you’ve been a Christian, at one time or another you’ve wondered whether or not you’re truly saved.

One of the Great Truths of Christianity is its Many Certainties.

John begins this portion of his letter, in v.13, by telling us how we may enjoy the full assurance of our salvation. He says, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.”

Unfortunately, there many who believe on the name of Jesus who are not sure that they have eternal life; they only hope so. Occasionally they have assurance, but there’s no real joy abiding in them.

Yet here John is telling us that we may be certain that we are partakers of this new life so that we may surely reap the benefits of it and be filled with joy and peace through believing.

Here’s what Charles Spurgeon says about assurance: “Full assurance is not essential to salvation, but it is essential to satisfaction. May you get it at once; at any rate may you never be satisfied to live without it. You may have full assurance.”

He says here that full assurance of salvation is not necessary in order for one to be saved, however, its certainly essential if you expect to have any kind of joy during your Christian walk in this life.

So what is John talking about then when he says, “I write these things to you … that you may know you have eternal life.” He’s actually referring to the whole epistle. But if we just look at the beginning of this chapter he starts off by saying: "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God."

And what about you? Do you believe that Jesus is the anointed of God? Is he anointed as your prophet, priest, and king? Have you realized his anointing so as to put your trust in him? Do you receive Jesus as appointed of God to be the Mediator, the Propitiation for sin, the Savior of men? If so, you are born of God. So how can you be sure?? If you believe that Jesus is the Christ, you are born of God. John has here positively declared the truth, that you may know that you have eternal life. Can anything be more clear than this?

I have to confess here that I used to wonder whether or not Jesus actually loved me. There are many scary passages in Scripture where Jesus separates the goats on His left and says, “I never knew you.” Passages like that used to make me wonder, ‘what if I’m one of those goats?’ What if I’m not really saved? Some of you may struggle with this very issue too from time to time. Perhaps this will help you as it did me. I read these words by Spurgeon and it really helped me to see God’s love for me and my love for Him in a whole new light. Here’s what he said:

I knew a dear Christian woman who would sometimes say, "I know that I love Jesus; but my fear is that he does not love me." Her doubt used to make me smile, for it never could have occurred to me. If I love him, I know it is because he first loved me. Love to God in us is always the work of God's love towards us. Jesus loved us, and gave himself for us, and therefore we love him in return. Love to Jesus is an effect which proves the existence of its cause. Do you love Jesus? Do you feel a delight in him? Is his name as music to your ear, and honey to your mouth? Do you love to hear him extolled? Ah, dear friends! I know that to many of you a sermon full of his dear name is as a royal banquet; and if there is no Christ in a discourse, it is empty, and vain, and void to you. Is it not so? If you do indeed love him that begat and him that is begotten of him, then this is one of the things that is written "that you may know that you have eternal life."


Will God Give us Anything We Ask For? Even When We Want It?

Lets look at v. 14-15 – “And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him.”

Now, I don’t know about you, but my “prayer – to – answer” ratio is not very high. I’ve prayed for many things in my life but it seems they usually go unanswered. Yes, I’ve had prayers answered and God has blessed me enormously, but why doesn’t He answer all my prayers; the way I want; and when I want? Isn’t that what this passage is alluding too? According to John, this is supposed to be the confidence we have in Him. Answered prayer.

So if that’s the case then why do so many of our prayers seem to go unanswered? Well, for one, there are certain qualifications that must be met in order for God to answer our prayers. Now of course, God is sovereign and can certainly do anything He wants. But there are usually certain stipulations that need to be met before God is going to grant our requests.

First, lets take a closer look at v. 14. Did you notice that little qualification clause in there? ‘If you ask anything, according to His will…’

This aligns perfectly with what Jesus said in the ‘Lord’s Prayer’, “Thy will be done.” Our problem is that our prayers are not answered because we ask amiss, we ask with wrong motives. We desire our will to be done. We want God to bow down to us. Our desire is to make us sovereign and God the servant – our cosmic santa clause.

James says it best, “You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” And I like the way the KJV says it – “that you may consume it upon your lusts.”

We have to realize that God’s ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than ours. Although it is our privilege to approach the throne of God boldly, we still must do it with a humble heart and deep respect. Remember who you’re dealing with – this is the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Creator of the universe.

We also need to remember that just because we don’t get an answer right away does not necessarily mean that God has denied our request. He may be waiting for the opportune time by His standards or perhaps there was a demonic delay in our answer being received as in the case of Daniel. Remember the story when Daniel had seen a dream and prayed to the Lord for its meaning. He prayed, mourned and fasted for 3 weeks before he got his answer. Why did it take 3 weeks? Because the angel Gabriel who God dispatched with His answer to Daniel, was held up by the king of Persia. This is a reference to satanic powers that came against Gabriel. (Originally I was going to have us go there and take a close look at that story but because of time there’s just no way were going to be able to do that.)

So we need to keep in mind when we pray that God will answer our prayers when our will is aligned with His will. Is there any unrepentant sin in your life? If there is, don’t expect any immediate answer to prayer until you’ve straightened out that situation. Your will needs to line up with God’s and then you can have the confidence that John is talking about here in this passage.


Sin that Leads To Death & Sin Not Leading To Death


v.16-17 – Now these two verses are by far some of the toughest in Scripture and without a doubt there is no one solid answer. There is a myriad of possibilities and no two commentators agree.

I cannot certainly, in the short time we have here today, go through each of the possible meanings of what the sin is that leads to death in any great detail or we would be here for months just on this topic. So what I’ll do here is just list the main views as I’ve seen them from the commentators that I’ve read and you can decide for yourselves what John meant here.

Among the opinions are the following:

1) Some say it is the unpardonable sin against the Holy Spirit that Jesus mentions in Mark 3:22:30.
2) Some say it denotes some sin that was punishable by death in the laws of Moses.
3) Some say John is referring to “big” sins such as murder, idolatry, adultery etc.
4) Some say it refers to sin that subjected the offender to excommunication from the church or synagogue.
5) Some say it refers to sin that brought a fatal disease upon the sinner.
6) Some say it refers to crimes committed against society for which the offender was sentenced to death.
7) Some say it refers to sins committed before and after baptism. The former would be pardoned but the latter may not.
8) Some say, mostly among Roman Catholics, that it refers to sins that might or might not be pardoned after death – meaning the doctrine of purgatory.

As you can see, for us to go into an examination of all these opinions would require a volume by itself, and we could spend weeks studying just this passage and all its possible meanings.


Victory Over Sin and Satan

Another Christian certainty is the victory we have over sin and Satan in Christ. In v.18-19 - John’s emphasis falls on the conflict between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan and how we are protected from the evil one by God.

Now as I mentioned before when talking about how the answer to Daniels prayer was delayed by the king of Persia who is non other than some high level demon, Satan’s kingdom can and often does have a direct influence on our lives here in this world and to think otherwise would be foolish.

We must not take the spirit world lightly and I fear the often times many people do – much to Satan’s delight. He would much rather have us be ignorant of his workings in our lives than if we were actively opposing him.

We need to be very aware that Satan is much more powerful than we are, both physically and spiritually. He is also much smarter than we are and is much more organized. The Bible tells us that Satan is the ruler of this world and his is the kingdom of darkness. The Bible also tells us the he is the ruler of this world, the prince of the power of the air. Eph 2:2-3

So does that mean we need to be in constant fear of the evil one? The answer is really, yes and no. We need to fear him in the sense that we should have a healthy respect for him as he once was an angel of light but has become a master deceiver and a lire. And if God allows him to, he can inflict serious damage on our lives, physically, mentally and spiritually.

However, that does not mean there is a demon under every rock or behind every tree. There is actually one good thing about Satan – he is a defeated foe. Jesus Christ defeated Satan and his minions at the cross when he died and rose again from the dead. And John tells us here that those of us who have been born of God are protected from the evil one.

John MacArthur says, “Because the believer belongs to God, Satan must operate within God’s sovereignty and cannot function beyond what God allows as in the example of Job. While Satan may persecute, tempt, test and accuse the believer, God protects His children and places definite limits on Satan’s influence or power.”

If you’re a true born again believer today you don’t have to worry. Just keep yourself bathed in prayer and washed in the blood of the Lamb and Satan will have no hold on you.





Another certainty of being a Christian is that Christians belong to God. We have been purchased out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light by the precious blood of Jesus. According to John there are only two types of people in the world: the children of God and the children of Satan.

In v.20 John tells us that we can be certain of knowing God because the Son has come and given us understanding. And with that understanding we know the Father who is true. I love that statement at the end of this verse, “He is the true God and eternal life.”

John MacArthur says, “This verse constitutes the summation of John’s whole letter. The greatest certainty of all, the incarnation, guarantees the certainty of the rest. This is the doctrinal foundation out of which comes love and obedience.

v. 21 – Keep yourselves from idols.

John ends here with a final shot at false teachers and their hearsay. He is obviously referring to those who had originally come in but were never really saved. These were people who were under the sway of the god of this world and began teaching errant doctrine so as to deceive as many as possible and thereby divide the church.

Their false beliefs and practices are the idols from which the readers are commanded to protect themselves. These false teachers taught the philosophy of the world as being superior to God’s revelation. So here, John once again highlights the importance of adhering to the fundamentals of the faith.

Now I’d like to close by going back and revisiting verses 11-13 to reinforce the fact that whoever has the Son has life.


Having All That Jesus Came to Do

If we start by looking back at verses 11 & 12 we notice John telling us that, "He who HAS the Son has life." And now we can say that having the Son means if you have the Son, then you have eternal life. If you want to spend one of the most encouraging hours of your life, take an hour and make a list under the heading: What did Jesus come to do? What does he promise to do? It will be a very long list. And then just go down the list and beside every one write: He does his thing for ME! What He can do he does for me. What He promises to do He will do for me. That is what it means to HAVE the Son.

Having Eternal Life

John then sums it all up in the word LIFE. He who has the Son has life! Eternal life is not just the extension of all the frustrations and half-joys of this life. When Jesus finishes doing his thing, every frustration will be gone and every half-joy will be full. As he said in John 10:10, "I came that they might have life and have it abundantly."

If you HAVE the Son, it means that anything that infinite love and infinite power and infinite wisdom can do for your good, will in fact be done for you.
Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus who died, yes, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. In Romans 8 the Bible says, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . . No, in all these things we are more than conquerors."

He who has the Son has One who can take all tribulation and distress and persecution and peril and turn it so that out of it comes not just a wounded soldier—no we are not just conquerors. Those who have the Son are "more than conquerors." Which means that the Son of God takes the tribulations of your life and actually turns them for your good. You don't just escape from your enemy. He serves you.

So if you want to be more than a survivor and, indeed, more than a conqueror in the battles of life, then you must HAVE the Son. For he who has the Son has life—all the life that an omnipotent God can give.

We Have the Son by Believing in His Name

But we still haven't answered the question, "How do we come to have the Son?" This is very important because the last part of verse 12 says that "he who has not the Son of God has not life." In other words not every one has the Son and so not every one has eternal life. It is infinitely important to know how to have the Son.

The answer is not complicated or hard to find. It is implied clearly in verse 13: "I write this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life." Notice that verse 13 says that those who believe in the name of the Son of God have eternal life and that verse 12 says, "He who has the Son has life." The simple implication is that the way to HAVE the Son is to BELIEVE the Son.
Or another way to put it is that the Son of God does his thing for those who trust Him. You can have the Son of God if you trust the Son of God.

Passage to India

In the film, Passage to India, there was a young Indian doctor who had been arrested for allegedly assaulting a young English woman in India. The case became an explosive point of tension between the Indian people who longed for independence and the colonial English government. The whole colonialist power structure seemed to make the doctor's case hopeless even though everybody knew his integrity was above question. He was too poor to afford a lawyer.

But the most famous and able lawyer in all India got word of the case. He had a reputation of liking to take on the British and standing up for the Indian underdogs. Without a doubt, one of the most powerful scenes in the film was when two of the doctor's friends bring him word in the jail that the famous lawyer is willing to defend him—and then, as if it were too good to be true, they say, "And he's not even going to charge a fee!"

Now the doctor has a lawyer. He HAS a lawyer. The lawyer is going to do his thing for the doctor. All his reputation, all his eloquence, all his skill are now going to be used to save the doctor.

How did the doctor come to HAVE this great lawyer? He never had met him before. He had no money to pay him. He was far away from him in a different city. And yet now he could say to all his enemies, "I HAVE a lawyer!" How did he come to have the best lawyer in India?

It starts with the motivation of the lawyer. He has two goals: the liberation of India from the British, and the glorification of his own legal skills. When the camera picks him up in a tumultuous courtroom scene, he is sitting at his table utterly calm, as though in sovereign control of the situation. And to show that what he really loves is the liberation of India and the display of his skills for the helpless patriot, his services are not for sale. He will not be paid. That would call into question what he really loves.

And so how does the doctor come to have this lawyer? The lawyer makes a free offer, and the doctor hears the offer and accepts it. He trusts that the lawyer means it, and he believes he can do it. He HAS the lawyer because he TRUSTS the lawyer.

And so it is with the Son of God. He has two goals: the liberation of his people from sin and death, and the glorification of his own powers. That is the origin of salvation. That is the source of eternal life. And to show that what he loves is the liberation of his people and the magnification of his power, his services are not for sale. He will not be paid. In fact, He cannot be paid.

So how do you come to HAVE the Son of God? He makes you a free offer, and you accept His offer, you trust him. He does his thing for those who trust in him. He who has the Son has life.

God bless and have a very Merry Christmas

Rob