How Can I Know If I Am Saved

Introduction

Good morning. Well, it finally happened. Star Wars, the last Jedi, was released about three days ago. That’s very important stuff. I won’t spoil that movie for you. It was just released about three days ago. I will, however, spoil something from three decades ago, perhaps three and a half, really. If you know the character Yoda, we usually know him for a couple reasons. One, he’s kind of short, and by short I mean shorter than Kashka short.

Good thing my lesson is on repentance today, right? He’s very wise. And he was the master Jedi. And of course, as Luke Skywalker, the grand champion, hero who chose to not follow after his father, Darth Vader, and he chose to be the conqueror of the good guys, the Jedi, he trained first from Yoda. And Yoda had great wisdom for him, but before Luke was the grand champion that we know and love. He first was training from Yoda, and when Yoda told him to do something, he goes, All right, I’ll try. And of course, Star Wars buff say it with me. What did Yoda say back? Do or do not. There is no try. Wow, you really did say that with me. I appreciate that. If you open your Bibles to 1 John chapter 2, I’m afraid that we not only could benefit from Yoda’s wisdom in a physical way and how we could go through this life and have victories and avoid down points if we were to put forth maximum effort and trust and know that we can do what is right and we won’t just try and accept failure, but we’ll press on to true greatness that’s only found in the Lord.

I’m more concerned that even among Christians, and the book of 1 John was written for Christians. That’s a critical component of our lesson this morning. The fact that 1 John 1 through 5 is written with with Christians in mind and for Christians. And if you are not one, please know. We’re going to discuss that part of the lesson this morning. But I’m afraid the trying instead of the doing and the trusting would be kind of our answer to this question. If someone were to ask you, are you saved? Even if you’re a Christian, what would you say? I’m afraid that too many of us would say something like, I’m going to do the best I can, or I sure hope so. I’ve done all I can.

I know God’s there for me. I hope I don’t fail him too much. I understand, appreciate, and empathize with that mindset. But the problem is that mindset is not one that Christians should have. The idea in the Bible is absent of someone who is a Christian, a child of God, who does not know whether or not they’ll be saved. In fact, Jesus, time and again, if you look at Matthew chapter 7 with the narrow way and the broad way, with those who do his will and those who do not do his will, with those who listen and are like the wise men, and those who do not listen, who are like the foolish men, they are either saved or lost. We have to have confidence to know that we can be saved.

Not because of how great we are, not because of the great wisdom or even the great films of the Star Wars series, but because God has promised us that if we submit to Him, if we trust in Him, and we trust in His conditions for us, we can have assurance. In 1 John chapter 2, beginning in verse 1, John says, My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know him if we keep his commandments.

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. This morning, as we study through 1 John, we’re going to go through chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 3, chapter 4, and chapter 5. And time and again you’ll see that John not only expects obedience, but tells us that we can know what it means to partake of the blessings of God. We will never again have to question if we are saved. But let me add one critical asterisk to this lesson.

Just laying out the idea of who will be saved and who will be lost. And understanding what God has done for us is not enough. There’s no reason. There is not a single excuse. There’s not anything that any of us could imagine, from myself to anyone sitting here or standing in the back. There’s no reason anyone has to leave this gathering this morning and not know the answer to the question of, Will I be with my God forever? The only person who can answer that, of course, is you.

And yet, what does he say in the middle of verse 1? But if anyone does sin, what does God have? What do we have? We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. What did Jesus die for? What was he the grand sacrifice for? For our sins, the sins of the whole world. There is nothing that could, should, or will separate us from God but ourselves, our selfishness, and our refusal to trust in the Lord. Consider everyone this morning basically fits into one of four groups. Now I, unlike the text, am not inspired, so perhaps there’s one of you not in one of these four groups, but I did the best I could to get us all. First of all, if you don’t feel saved, if you’re trying to answer the question, am I saved or not, the answer is no.

It might be because you’ve never sought God’s forgiveness. It might surprise many here this morning, but it’s not unusual to have somebody who claims to be an atheist or agnostic who worships with us. It’s a great opportunity, and we welcome anyone to study and learn more about the will of God. But there are many who fit this category. They don’t know, and perhaps they don’t care that God offers forgiveness, that God offers love, that eternal life is there if we trust in our God. Perhaps, though, that’s not you. Perhaps it’s someone who’s never become a Christian. And that’s a critical component because remember, first John was written for Christians. If you look with me in Galatians chapter 3, there’s a critical verse about being children of God and how we become one with Christ.

In Galatians chapter 3, note very clearly if you fit this designation or not. In Galatians chapter 3, beginning in verse 25. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. We’re no longer under the old law. Verse 26, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith. Critical verse, the next three. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Verse 29, if you are Christ and you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. Going all the way back to Genesis chapter 12, that great promise that God made Abraham, that through his seed all families of the earth shall be blessed.

But if I could have your attention for just a moment at verse 27. This is a critical question. For someone who has never become a Christian, verse 27 gives us the answer. Can we be saved outside of Christ? No. There is no salvation outside of what God has offered us. And the only way to have our sins forgiven, remember 1 John chapter 2 and verse 2, is because what? Jesus died for the sins of the whole world. So we can only be saved in Christ. And so Galatians chapter 3 and verse 27, fortunately has the great news. How do you get into Christ? You are baptized into Him. And you’ve put on Christ. Certainly no one can be saved outside of Christ or without being clothed with Christ.

So perhaps that’s someone here this morning, if you don’t feel like you’re saved, recognize that you also can make a change. You can leave this morning, this assembly with Christians who will support you, pray with you, pray for you. We can leave here knowing we’re in good standing with our God. But consider a third group, and we’re really going to focus on the bottom two of this list. Maybe I don’t feel saved because I know. Even though at one point I was baptized, I did repent of my wrongdoing. I did choose to confess Jesus as first in my life. Maybe I know that I’m not really living right. That while on the outside, people may be convinced I’m a Christian, and I do a lot of things that seem like I’m a Christian, I know, and more importantly, I know that God knows.

I’m not truly devoted to Him. And of course, we won’t feel saved if we’re doing any of these three things. If you’ve never sought God’s forgiveness, you will not be forgiven. If you’ve never become a Christian, you will not enjoy the privileges, such as forgiveness, of being a child of God. And if you not, if you reject God, we’ve already seen in 1 John chapter 2, and certainly we’ll see this morning highlighted over and again by John in this short book. That if we don’t do what God says, if we don’t keep the law, we don’t abide in the Father. But consider one fourth group. I think this is the one that troubles me, and if I’m honest, it’s because I’m in this group, perhaps more likely than the other three.

Because I don’t truly trust in God’s forgiveness. You see, the first three groups, it’s pretty easy to say, well, of course, someone who doesn’t seek God’s forgiveness, someone who doesn’t become a Christian, someone who doesn’t do what God commands, of course they’re not saved. But is there Bible passages to support the idea that you can be a Christian who doesn’t trust in God? And of course there’s not. It might be that our trust is wavering, that my trust is low, and I need to build that, and I need to pray to God for forgiveness, but unless or until we truly trust that God delivers forgiveness and that God’s grace and God’s mercy can overcome my weakness. We too will not only not feel saved, we likely won’t be saved.

I want to be careful to allow God to have his say. God answers a judgment. I don’t judge anyone, and frankly, it’s enough for me to keep up with myself and to not get myself in trouble with Kashka, as you’ve already seen. But while not whittling on God’s end of the stick, we need to make sure that we trust what He has revealed to us, what He’s shown and reached out for us to understand and to enjoy. So why don’t I feel saved? There are all kinds of camps, and you consider which one you’re in this morning. But let’s go through 1 John and see how can I have assurance? Whatever group I’m in, how can I know that my God not only cares for me, that Jesus not only died for me, but that I’m taking advantage of that great sacrifice.

1. Confess Our Sins and Trust God’s Forgiveness

I’ve been washed in the blood of the Christ, and I am forgiven even when I sin. In 1 John chapter 1 and verse 6, there’s one really easy way to take assurance. On the backdrop of knowing we have to trust in God. Note 1 John chapter 1, beginning in verse 6. If we say we have fellowship with him, while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. Verse 9, critically important. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. By the way, how many times in just these verses do we see how important it is to recognize that not only is sin real, but that we need to avoid it and do something about it? There should be no one this morning who leaves in that third camp from the slide before about they’re a Christian, but they know they’re not doing what God says. That’s against every fiber of 1 John’s, the entire books B. But in 1 John chapter 1 and verse 9, what a powerful, wonderful God we have. He says what? If, conditional statement, we confess our sins, how does it go away? Because we’re wonderful, because we’re awesome, because we say some magic formula of words?

No. He, God, Jesus, is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Is there condition on man’s part to do something? Absolutely there is. You say, well, how can I be sure I have salvation? I’d say, trust in God. What does God say about being forgiven of sin? What do we have to do? We have to confess our sins. Sounds pretty easy until this one little nagging thought comes in my mind, maybe it’s been in yours. What about all those sins that I’ve committed that I’ve forgotten about? Or that I never prioritized and actually got through to confessing of. First of all, let’s add to the challenge for me and everyone this morning is stop doing that. We need to start confessing our sins when it happens.

Why would we possibly wait if the forgiveness of sins is sitting there possible for us? Why would we wait and say, you know what, I’m not really interested in that? We treat it like it’s a doctor’s visit. Does anyone have eye vision problems this morning? We always push it off. We’re like, I guess I’m the only one with vision problems. We always push it off. We’re like, no, I’ll see better tomorrow. It should be a priority. Spiritual life forgiveness. Being cleansed from all unrighteousness is something we should access now. Not ten years from now, not something I’ll forget. But what do we do? How are we to understand God’s will on this issue? Well, consider the reading continuing in verse one that we already read in chapter two.

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. There’s that first part. Cut out the sin. Confess on the spot. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. We have to have an understanding of what it means to seek God’s forgiveness that goes beyond just we’re going to keep law perfectly. Otherwise, we might as well just go back to the law of Moses because we’re likewise not going to keep that perfectly. And if we trust in ourselves, we won’t be forgiven by God. We have to understand there’s more to it than that.

If you look back at verses 6, 7, and 8, you see two different tracks, do you not? You see, if we’re in fellowship with him, we’re walking in light versus walking in darkness. Sometimes we have this kind of false concept that if you, the minute you commit one sin, you’re just eternally lost, you’re in the path of darkness, until you confess, then the light turns back on. It’s critical to see what the text says in verse 9. We are only forgiven as Christians if we do what? We confess our sins. But many a spiritual theological discussion would be a lot better off if we not only A, cut out the sin, B, stopped immediately to confess, but C, and most importantly, trusted that God’s forgiveness is there for us.

2. We Have to Just Do What God Says

If Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, if he dies for the sins that I’ve committed, I have to know that if I am trusting in him truly, I will cut out the sin. I will confess of my wrongdoing when I commit it. And thirdly, I’ll make sure that I know that when I answer before my God, my God is the same God who not only judges sin, but is willing to be just and faithful to us, to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We’re going to talk a little bit more about that as we conclude. But secondly, in 1 John chapter 2, you see, if you want to have some assurance, first of all, not in terms of we’re going to do it perfectly or we’re just going to earn our way into heaven, but if you see what John says over and again in this book, we have to just do what God says.

In 1 John chapter 2, again in verse 3, and by this we know that we have come to know him if we keep his commandments. Whoever says I know him but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. That’s a really strong condemnation. If we say we have no sin, if we say that we know God while we’re sinning, that’s two times now. John’s used the phrase, you we are a liar. Verse 5 and 6. 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. Look in chapter 5, verses 2 and 3. Do you think this is a one-time thing? John certainly didn’t think so.

In 1 John chapter 5, verse 2. By this we know that when 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. Verse 4, very important. Where’s the victory in that? How do we know that we can have assurance from that? Verse 4. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that overcomes the world. Our faith. What a beautiful, wonderful passage. Amen. When we see God’s blessings, we have to trust that it’s real, that it’s there, that it’s available to us, and we don’t obey out of some sort of strict law keeping, but out of what?

Love for God. Certainly that’s highlighted in the fourth chapter. But in verse 2, by this we know that we love the children of God. How do I know I’m doing what he says? Well, first of all, if we’re honest, we’ll have that answer pretty quickly. But secondly, when we love God and obey his commandments, this is the love of God. And we recognize the last part of verse 3, his commandments are not burdensome. Ken rightly said this morning that the good choices are very tough. What John is saying in 1 John chapter 5 and verse 3 is, hey, by the way, this is going to be super easy. Go ahead and sign up at the nearest person near you. That’s not what he’s saying. So, what could it mean that we are to keep his commandments?

But yet his commandments are not burdensome. It’s an attitude, a fixation of the mind that says, What? I am committed to my God. My God who offers forgiveness, my God who simply wants me to trust in him and give him my all.

3. Cut Sin Out of Our Lives Right Away

I owe him, I will give him, I’ve committed to him my entire life. Consider with me thirdly this morning, you see the third point up on the screen. We have to cut sin out of my life. We have to cut sin out of our lives and do it right away. There’s that grand warning we know really well in 1 John chapter 2 and verse 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. Again we see that idea. Verse 16, for all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.

What’s the big problem with this? Verse 17 has the answer. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. There we see both pictures again. How can I have assurance? I have to seek God. God is always the first and the only answer when it comes to how can I have an assurance of salvation? Because God is the only one who can offer us salvation. But that doesn’t mean that we’re just there and we just kind of sit back and just take it. We have to not only do what God says, abide in his commandments, abide in his love, and show that love in our lives. But we have to proactively be choosing good and cutting off wrong.

Why is that? Why do we think that that’s such a problem? Well, not only is the world passing away along with its desires, but look at the last part of verse 16. I think this is the forgotten part of this section, and yet it rings us perhaps the most important. The desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, the pride of life. What’s the issue with these? They’re not from the Father. They’re from the world. Isn’t worldly thought part of why we struggle to begin with with this question of what must I do to be saved? And then how can I be saved? We’re constantly battling false ideas and false notions. On the one hand, you have some people who believe there’s nothing you can do.

You’re either saved or you’re lost, and God chose you, you can’t do anything about it, or God did not choose you and you can’t do anything about it. And we say, no, no, no. You have to abide in the teaching of God. We see that in 1 John chapter 1, 1 John chapter 2, 1 John chapter 5. But then on the other hand, then we get a little bit preoccupied, and sometimes we swing too far the other way, and what do we do? Well, my salvation depends on how well I keep God’s law. If I’m really good, God will probably, hopefully, maybe, save me. But again, that idea is foreign to Scripture. How will we be saved? Through the grace, mercy, and love of God. Why does he want us to avoid sin?

4. Live a Life Consumed by Love

God gives love. God wants us to access his grace and mercy. But the last part of verse 16, what about all those things that pull us away from him? These things are from the world. They’re not from the Father. How can we think that we would have any assurance and salvation if we’re trusting the world and not the God who offers us the salvation we seek? Consider two final points this morning. First of all, how can I have assurance? We need to live a life consumed by love. This is another grand theme of 1 John. If you look in 1 John chapter 3, in 1 John chapter 3. Certainly all of 1 John chapter 3 really makes for a great section on love and into chapter 4 as well.

But we’ll pick up the reading in 1 John chapter 3 and verse 15. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer. And you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. That’s strong language. Verse 16, by this, on the contrary, we might say, by this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. What kind of love should we be consumed by? Sacrificial love. Sacrifice, as David taught us in the Chronicles, cost us something. Verse 17, but if anyone has this world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth.

What do you see in verse 17? I see, because I think this way, and I’m sorry about this, a mathematical formula. In verse 17, if anyone has this world’s goods, if you have the ability to do something and see his brother in need, that’s you have the opportunity. If you have the ability and the opportunity, what happens if you don’t use it? If you close his heart against your brother, how does God’s love abide in him? The answer is the love does not abide in you. The same love that it takes to abide in the Father and that he shows us. So rather, the formula would be, if I have the ability, and I add in the opportunity, that means that my life will recognize that this is a responsibility.

If I want the love of God, if I know if I want to know that I’m abiding in the love of God, I know that my life will be consumed by this sacrificial love. But the text continues in verse 19. By this we shall know that we are of the truth, and reassure our heart before him. For whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God, and whatever we ask, we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment that we believe in the name of his son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he commanded us.

Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him, and by this we know that he abides in us. How? By the Spirit whom he has given us. What do you see in verses 19 through 24 about love and God’s role? Well I see it time and again, punctuated with the end of verse 24, and even throughout this chapter, is who moved first? God did. God loved us, he sent us his son, he sacrificed for us. He wants us to seek him. He wants us to be like him. If I’m going to be able to answer that question, am I saved? Do I have confidence? I know it won’t be God’s fault, but the confidence might be my fault. And what I need to do first and foremost, before I even examine anything else, is cut out the sin, choose the righteousness, and also be characterized by what?

Be characterized by love. What kind of love? Sacrificial love, verse 16. Be willing to lay down your life. This idea that I would do something for someone else, even at perhaps the greatest cost. Verse 17, I will take any ability and opportunities that I have, and I will serve others. And again, what basis is this all upon? God who first loved us. In first John chapter 4 and verse 7, you see the epitome of that idea. In 1 John chapter 4 and verse 7, beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us that God sent his only son into the world, so that we might live through him.

And this is love, not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God abides in us, and his love is perfected in us. That’s not only a wonderful relief and a calming chapter, it’s also a very powerful challenge. Do you see that at the end there in verse 12? No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God abides in us, and his love is perfected in us. This isn’t about rule keeping. It’s not about doing more good than bad and recognizing that judgment will be on the basis of did I do 500 good things and 499 bad or 501 bad and 500 good.

It’s about a life that understands. God first loved us. God showed us what love is. What did God do to show love for us? He created us in his image. When man rejected him and living in his presence in the very beginning of time, he prophesied that Jesus would come. He loved his children Israel, despite time and again their refusal to obey to him, their rejection of him in every conceivable way. And still, in Romans 5 punctuates that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. That’s love. Love that’s not only sacrificial, love that comes at a time when someone could be described in Romans 5 and verse 10 as our enemy. And that’s what God did for us. While we were enemies, God made it possible that we might be reconciled to him.

But now I see in verse 12 that if the love of God abides in me, it’s perfected in me. That God expects that from me. That’s going to mean a very different life. It’s going to mean a life that’s characterized not by huge, selfish gains and wins and concern about my life, but rather not only rejecting the world and its desires, but a life that’s bent on serving others. A life that’s bent recognizing God loved me at my worst. I’m going to love everyone regardless of where they are. God is my model. God is who I will transform my life around and to be like unto. God is love, and his children must be too. If I’m going to answer this question, how can I have assurance?

First and foremost, I have to answer some basic questions. Am I rejecting God with my life? If so, I know that disqualifies me. Am I keeping his commandments? Am I loving God to the point that while there might be a struggle, that it might be hard, I’m submitting to him. And that struggle will bear itself out because even though we might sin, we know at first John chapter 1 and verse 9, what can we do? Confess our sins. As Christians, we need to know that God is faithful and just to forgive us of our unrighteousness. And in so doing, as we’re transforming our life to cut off sin, to move towards righteousness, we will have a life that’s consumed by, modeled by, and showing the very love that God first loved us with.

5. Trust in God’s Victory

But then, fifth and finally, and perhaps most poignantly this morning, we have to trust in God’s victory. In 1 John chapter 5, note the strong language. And again, if you look in the scriptures, time and again you see that Paul knew, and the apostles knew, and the writers knew what it meant to be saved, what it meant to enjoy the blessings that God wants us to have and to trust in. Then in 1 John chapter 5, in verse 1, everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. And then in verse 4 and 5 again, for everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith.

Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? We can overcome the world. We can have victory through faith. How sure should we be, though? Look in verses 11 through 13. And this is the testimony that God gave us eternal life. And this life is in his son. Whoever has the Son has life. Whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. And stop there for just a minute. Verse 11, very easy. We know it. We love it. We could cite this idea. God gives us eternal life, and that life is only possible where? In his son. We got that part. Verse 12 steps it up a little bit more. Whoever has the Son has life.

Whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. Verse 13. 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. This was not written to a group of Christians saying, I want you to know how great God is. I want you to see how important it is to trust in Him. And oh, by the way, I say all these things so that you can know 99% sure, or that if you do a lot of really good things, you might be with God forever. Verse 13, that you may know that you have eternal life. If that’s what God has laid out for us, there is no longer a middle ground, because we know what it takes to be lost.

Conclusion

You have to reject God. You have to not seek him, you have to reject him at every turn. What does it mean to seek him? It means not only doing what he says, trusting in his ways, but recognizing that if we are doing so and we properly understand who God is and what God has done, our life will not only be changed, but we can have security, not because of an idea that man made up like once saved, always saved, but because our God is greater than my weakness. We have to trust in him to deliver that victory. So the conclusion then is I tricked you with the points, those are the main points. If I don’t have assurance, and this applies to anyone, whether you’ve become a Christian and fallen away or never become a Christian, take action now.

If God says there are these two pathways, then we can identify which one we’re on, because our God is faithful to his promises, his promises for good, and also, yes, his promises of what it means to disobey him. While God offers eternal life, he wants us to be spared and have salvation from what we deserve without him, which is eternal destruction for rejecting our creator at every turn. The time to act is now. We don’t have to wait. Don’t delay. We can become a child of God today. What a powerful blessing that we can be a child of God. In Mark 16, Jesus wanted the apostles to go into the whole world to preach the gospel to every creature throughout all of creation. He said, Whoever believes and is baptized shall be saved.

Whoever does not believe shall be condemned. It’s not just about acknowledging that there is a God, it’s recognizing that my God is trustworthy, and in so doing, I know if I want to be part of Christ, if I want to be in Christ, I need to be baptized into him and take advantage of being a child of God through faith. We serve a mighty God. We have to trust in him for that deliverance. If you’re not a Christian, you can do that today. And finally, if we are Christians, like John’s audience in 1 John chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. If we don’t have the security to where we understand who God is and what he wants from us, then we need to know that we need to repent.

And this likewise needs to be done now. We need to trust in God’s forgiveness today. In Psalm 103 and verse 12, we see the idea that when God forgives us, our sin is cast so far away that God not only remembers our sin no more, it’s as far as the East is from the West. Our God is greater than our weakness. But do you trust Him for that deliverance? Do you trust in God enough to do what He says, to turn from your life of wrong and confess your sins? If you’re not in one of these groups, recognize that we also play an important role. We need to be encouragers. So whether you’re someone who needs to make things right, have assurance today. If you’re someone who thinks that you are trusting in God’s will and you know that that deliverance is there, that eternal life is there waiting for you because your God is great and you’ve trusted in him with all of your life and all of your soul.

Encourage everyone else today. There’s a challenge for us all, and our God is there for each and every one of us. If we can help you in any way, come forward as we stand and sing the invitation song.