Knowing that You Know Jesus

“And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.” (1 John 2:3). Do you have the assurance that you know the Lord? There are some that think that they are saved because they are “good people”. Others because they have been confirmed, baptized, or belong to a church. And others because they said prayed a prayer. But John says that you can be sure that you know Christ. How? Because you keep His commandments. If you are looking for evidence that you know Jesus, then this is one of the evidences that you know Him and that you are saved. If you know Jesus, then you are saved. But if you don’t know Jesus, you are not saved. Salvation is dependent on our personal relationship with Jesus Christ. A lot of people claim to have a personal relationship with Jesus, but there’s little evidence that they really do. “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” (1 John 2:4). The person that John is describing has made a profession of faith – the basis of anyone being baptized. They profess to know Jesus, but where’s the evidence. They don’t have a heart that desires to obey Jesus in all things. We aren’t talking about sinless perfection. 1 John 1:5-10 destroys that idea. What we are talking about is the Holy Spirit working in and through the believer. When a person has no desire to be obedient then that soul needs to examine his heart to see if they are truly in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5). If your profession does not match what you do, then you are a liar and “the truth is not in you”. Do you have a heart’s desire to live in loving obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ? If you do, then there will be evidence. “But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.” (1 John 2:5). There are so many blessings for loving obedience to our Lord and Savior. Three times in John 14 Jesus says, “If you love me you will keep my commandments…”. (John 14:15, 21, 23). Obedience is proof that you love the Lord. And loving God will always produce obedience. Do you love the Lord? What is called for is not grudging obedience, but that obedience that is a result of our loving relationship with God through Jesus Christ our Lord. “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” (1 John 2:6). What did Jesus say about His relationship with the Father? “And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.” (John 8:29). If that was what Jesus did, then we should be doing the same. How do we do this? We walk by faith in fellowship abiding in Christ Who will produce in us that which pleases God our Father. The purpose of 1 John is to give us assurance. “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” (1 John 5:13) To those that are saved will be given assurance that they are and it will draw them to a close walk with Jesus. Those that are not saved and those that are rebellious children of God this little book should unsettle and disturb you. Truthfully, I hope these words make you miserable and that God would give you Godly sorrow that works repentance to salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the author of eternal salvation to all those that obey Him (Hebrews 5:9). If you have any questions, we invite you to visit with us this Sunday. Worship at 10:50 A.M. We are located at 711 West Washington Ave. Check our sermon videos on Youtube @ricksmith2541. Send comments and prayer requests to [email protected].