I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life

                                                                                               1 John 5:13

Dear Friends and Members of IBC,

On Sunday, we looked at 1 John 1:5-10, which details at least two questions that we might ask ourselves to discern whether we are really a Christian, walking in the light. I mentioned that John’s short letter was written to give the early believers confidence in their faith, something that was necessary during a time when many false teachers sought to lead the early Church astray. I would like to encourage us to read John’s short letter this week, especially if we want to press into this topic a bit further. From the book of 1 John, we can discern several more questions that we can reflect on, and that might help us experience assurance of salvation:

1)       Do I live in conscious obedience to the Word of God? (1 John 2:3-5)

2)       Do I despise the world and its ways? (1 John 2:15)

3)       Do I long for the return of Jesus Christ, and do I long to be made like Him? (1 John 3:2-3)

4)       Do I habitually do what is right more and sin less? (1 John 3:7-8, 10)

5)       Do I sacrificially love other Christians and want to be with them? (1 John 3:14)

6)       Do I discern the presence of the Holy Spirit within me? (1 John 3:24, 4:13)

7)       Do I enjoy listening to the doctrines the apostles of Jesus taught? (1 John 4:6)

These questions were adapted from Donald Whitney’s seminal book on this subject, entitled How can I be sure I’m a Christian? The Satisfying Certainty of Eternal Life. This is a useful resource if we would like to continue to pursue this further. I would also be very willing to talk through any questions or doubts we might have, simply email me on james@ibc-hamburg.de to ask something or set up a meeting.

God bless you

James