Intro: In the congregation I went to as a kid, there was a bunch of twin young ladies who went to there too. Except for the fact that one of the girls had a large birthmark on her cheek, these two girls were completely identical. At least for me, it would have been impossible to distinguish them without that birthmark.
Did you know that there are certain characteristics that distinguish true believers from the rest of humanity? We could properly call these things that put us aside our skin colorations. When we are saved, they appear, identifying us as God's children. Every saved person possesses all of salvation's characteristics.
There are those who question whether it is possible to determine one's saved status with absolute certainty. The Bible mentions a few people who knew: 19:25 of Job; Paul, 2 Tim. 1:12. You may also have that assurance because God does not discriminate.
In fact, one of the reasons this book was written, which we have read this morning, was to help people know with certainty that they have been saved, 1:6; 5:13. It becomes abundantly clear as you read First John that he is attempting to assist God's people in gaining complete assurance of their salvation. 39 times, he uses the word "know." John is attempting to let us know that there are a few things we can be aware. One of them is whether we are saved.
Assuming you have battled around here, I need to assist you with getting that matter settled for the last time earlier today. This morning, I want to show you the birthmarks of a true believer. Recognizing the presence, or the need, of these qualities inside our lives can assist us with understanding where we stand according to God. In the event that you have battled around here, there is compelling reason need to do so any more. God can give you affirmation, on way or the other, at the present time. How about we check out together at The Skin colorations Of The Genuine Adherent.
I. 5:1 An Otherworldly Transformation
A. This stanza lets us know that the genuine devotee is an individual who "accepts" that Jesus is the Christ. What is belief then? Is it simply a psychological affirmation of current realities? No! Conviction is knowing something with the head, however it is likewise tolerating that reality into the heart. Certifiable conviction, or saving confidence, is coming to where one is confiding in nothing else, or no other person, however Jesus Christ for salvation. The truly saved person has no room in their heart for works, religion, good deeds, or anything else.
B. I am unable to confirm your salvation. Only you can tell what you believe will get you to heaven. Anyway we truly do have the commitments of God in this: 1 John 5:12; John 5:24; John 3:16; Acts 16:31; Rom. 10:9-13; Rom. 8:1; Rev. 22:17; Acts 2:21, in addition to hundreds of others! Scripture also teaches this principle: God cannot lie because He is holy. 6:18. What He vows to do, He will do! According to the Bible's plan, you are therefore saved if you have trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior! You can rely on His word!
C. As a result, we are now at the point where we need to ask and respond to some questions.
1. Has there been a distinct, clear second in your life when you confided in Jesus Christ, and nothing else to save your spirit?
2. Was your "experience" carried out in accordance with the strategy outlined in God's Word? Namely:
A. Have you reached the point where you acknowledged your sins to God? Rom. 3:23; 3:10) That is, have you at any point been lost? You cannot be saved until you recognize your sins and yourself as a sinner. Conviction is the name of this procedure! John 6:44 describes it as the Holy Spirit attracting sinners to Himself. John 16:7-11.
B. Were you aware of the terrible repercussions of your sins? Isa, specifically, did you know that you were cut off from God as a result of your sins? 59:2; dead in those vices, Ephesians 2:1, and you are destined for an eternity in Hell as a result of your sins, Rom. 6:23? This is related to the realization that we are lost before God.
C. Did you come to where you saw totally how Jesus helped you when He passed on the cross and when He came back to life? Did you comprehend that when He passed on, He was biting the dust in your place, shedding His blood for your transgressions, 2 Cor. 5:21; Rev. 1:5? Did you know that when He came back to life from the dead, He did so to give you a new life? Did you truly believe these things instead of just knowing them in your head?
D. Did you confess your sin to God and acknowledge that Jesus Christ and His shed blood are your only hope of salvation and forgiveness? Did you ask Him into your heart and life to be your own Hero? Rom, did you believe that only He could save your soul? 10:13?
3. Was it clear at the time of this experience? I mean, if you look back now, can you pinpoint a specific moment when everything changed? Or on the other hand, is the entire thing sort of fluffy and indistinct? The reality is as follows: Jesus does not save a person in a corner when He does so. It is dramatic and clear. While the circumstances surrounding the conversion may vary, one thing is certain: the redeemed person will be able to recall a specific time period. My life was forever changed when I put my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior right then!" Sick. The Gadarene Demoniac, Imprint 5; Sick. Saul of Bone structure, Acts 9; I'm sick - 23 May 1983!)
D. Presently, thinking back, and believe it or not, how might you portray the occasion you are trusting to take you to Paradise? Was it dramatic and clear? Can you truly claim that you trusted only Jesus to save your soul? Assuming this is the case, then, at that point, that is the Holy book way. Or would you have to admit that you have no real recollection of ever being lost? You can't recollect admitting your wrongdoings and getting Christ into your life. In fact, the entire incident is murky. It's possible that you need to come this morning to fix that. There will be the skin pigmentation of a veritable profound transformation.
I. An Otherworldly Change
II. 1:6-7 A Profound CHANGE
(Sick. These refrains let us know that the people who are saved want to "stroll in the light". John 8:12: Jesus is the Light. As a result, those who have been saved will want to spend time with Jesus. As such, when they are changed over, for what seems like forever will change. The entire book of First John is based on this idea. He informs us that the true believer's spiritual transformation is their second birthmark. If we possess this mark of the new birth, let's follow this thread through First John.)
A. 1:6-7 says that there will be a longing to be with the things of light. The things that have to do with the Lord will naturally attract the truly saved by grace. The saved person will treasure and treasure special things like the Bible, prayer, the church, the fellowship of saints, and so on. Check in with Jesus to see where you stand if you notice that you are drawn to things associated with darkness.
B. 2:3-6 says that a true believer will want to do what God tells us to do and stay away from what God tells us not to do. Veritable salvation is demonstrated by a craving to submit to God! The truly saved person, according to verse 6, will want to walk in Jesus' footsteps!
According to C. 2:29, the believers' lives will undergo such a transformation that they will naturally begin to perform the deeds that identify them as righteous. When they were saved by God's grace, they were given a new life that they will live out.
D. 3:6-10; 5:18 - The genuine devotee can't keep on carrying on with an existence of transgression. As indicated by these refrains, the truly changed over individual will not be able to carry on with a way of life of unrepentant sin. John is not teaching sinless perfection when he says that saved people do not sin. We are aware that everyone, including Christians, sins, 1 John 1:8–10. Notwithstanding, when we come to confidence in Jesus, there is another unique that happens inside our lives. There is an immediate sense of wrong when a genuine convert sins. The believer will realize that they have harmed their relationship with God and that until they make things right with God, they will not be able to live in peace. The main way for a devotee to deal with transgression is for them to admit it and get it out into the light.
Christians who sin are miserable until they repent and are subjected to God's rebuke, Hebrews 12:6-11. The entire purpose is this: You probably aren't saved if you can sin and never be bothered by it. You probably aren't saved if you can sin without being punished. You probably aren't saved if you can sin and enjoy it. If you are able to live each day with sin in your life and not yearn for restored fellowship with God, I would encourage you to become a new person today by meeting Jesus.
Presently, don't misjudge me, saved individuals do sin! But they won't be able to enjoy it as much as they did before they were saved! What's more, when they sin, they won't ever pull off it! Rev. 3:19 says that God will treat them with love, but if they refuse to repent, He will treat them with judgment, 1 Cor. 5:5; 1 John 5:16.
E. 4:6 - One more clear sign of authentic transformation is that the saved individual will get the Expression of God when it is taught and when it is perused. It won't be something to uncertainty, banter or fly off the handle over. The saved person will respond appropriately to the Lord's voice through His Word. In John 10:27, Jesus stated that this would be one of the characteristics of His sheep. the longing to hear God's Word; the capacity to comprehend God's Word; and the desire to follow God's Word are all signs of spiritual life, according to 1 Corinthians. 2:14.
F. At the point when Jesus saves a day to day existence, He in a real sense changes that individual from the back to front. 2 Cor. They are a brand-new being. 5:17; Col. 3:1-17. They can never go back, neither will they need to be any longer.
G. Has your life changed in a significant way?
H. Now, some of the people who hear this were saved when they were young. They were saved before they could have fallen into terrible sin. They might think that there is something lacking in their testimony. Let me just say that your testimony is the best of all! However, you can use the same scale to evaluate your life. Even though you might not be able to say that God freed you from heinous, dark sin, you can say that He has worked in your life to make you have no desire for the things of the world or the works of darkness. If you don't have the fleshly, natural desires of a lost world in your life, that's a good thing and a reason to be confident in the Lord.
So, have you experienced a certain spiritual transformation and a certain spiritual conversion in your life?
I. A Spiritual Transformation II A Third Spiritual Change 2:9–11 A SPIRITUAL CHARITY (Illinois) A true believer's genuine love for other believers is a third birthmark. This will be an unfathomable love. It will be a love that sometimes surpasses love for one's own biological family. This is an idea referenced various times inside this little book and truly deserve referencing today.)
A. Take note of every time John mentions this fact in his book: 2:9-11; 3:14-15; 4:7-8; 4:11-12; 4:20-21. This unique, spiritual expression of God's love for believers through your life will be a reality if you are saved!
B. In what ways will this love appear? There are multiple manners by which valid, Christlike love will be found in the existence of the certifiable devotee.
1. in the desire to worship and socialize with other believers - Hebrew 10:25.
2. Concerning the well-being of other members of God's family - 1 Cor. 12:26; Phil. 2:3-4; Gal. 6:2; Rom. 12:15.
3. There will be concern when we have outraged a sibling in Christ - Rom. 14:19-22; 1 Cor. 8:9-13.
4. There will be a longing for compromise when there is a breech in the collection of Christ - Eph. 4:26-32; Matt. 5:23-24; Matt. 18:21-35; Luke 17:3-5.
C. There is more that could be said about this, however I think the ramifications are clear. There will be an inexplicable desire to love and be with other believers if we are truly saved.
I. An Otherworldly Change
II. An Otherworldly Change
III. IV. A Spiritual Charity 4:13 A SPIRITUAL PARTNER (Ill.) Where do you currently stand? Are you born with the characteristics of genuine conversion? The above are all straightforward and can be obviously seen by everybody here today as we check our own lives out. The last one I need to share, nonetheless, isn't all that handily observed. It is this matter that we are more inclined to evil and physical trickiness. I'm talking about finding inner peace. The ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer is what I'm referring to.)
A. At the point when an individual has been really saved, there will be the internal observer of the Essence of God, Rom. 8:16. At the time of our conversion, Rom., the Holy Spirit infiltrated our hearts. 8:9; 1 Cor. 12:13. His work in us is to seal us, Eph. 4:30; lead us, John 16:13; and to reassure us that we will be saved; Eph. 1:13-14; 2 Cor. 1:22; 2 Cor. 5:5. We are certain to belong to the Lord because the Spirit of God is in our lives.
B. This is a cryptic fact that is absolutely necessary for ensuring one's salvation. He will speak to your heart when the Spirit of God is present in your life. He will let you know things. He'll lead you. He will caution you. You'll be led by him. He will take care of you. He will comfort you. He will show you reality. He will appear within your heart and demonstrate that you have been accepted into God's family, ***Rom. 5:5***. The Spirit of God acts in the same way for the redeemed child of the Lord, just as a mother wraps her arms around that insecure child every day and shows her undying love for them.
(Sick. To lay it out plainly, when you get saved, there is a profound impulse put inside you. You quickly start to want those things that relate to God, His Statement, His work and His love. Because the Spirit is present in your heart, this will not pass, but it will last throughout your life.)
C. In the event that there is no harmony; if no assurance exists; It's possible that He is absent if there is no communion between your spirit and the Spirit of God. It is possible that you should be saved. In the event that the Soul of God never addresses your heart, you want to look at yourself. You might not have truly been saved at all! Unconfessed sin in the life of a believer can also cause this. At the point when we are strolling in the light, the Soul of the Ruler will take the stand us that we are in the family!
D. "Preacher, I don't know if the Spirit is there or not," someone might say. Allow me to tell you, assuming that He is there, you will know it! How? When He is in your life, there will be no doubt! There will be times when He will get so huge that His presence is precious stone. At different times, His presence will be shown by inconspicuous things like an inward longing for petition, for the Expression of God, to inform a lost individual regarding Jesus, and so on. He will spread the word and He will give you confirmation of your salvation! The Holy Spirit's presence in your life is evidence that you belong to God!
Conc: I realize I take care of a great deal of an area earlier today. In any case, I felt lead of the Ruler to teach this message. Why? because there are individuals present who are unsure of their position regarding God. There are other people who realize they are not saved. Friends, if you do not possess even one of the characteristics of a true believer this morning, then this message was sent in your favor. It's go big or go home! You want to leave the seat where you are sitting and you really want to come to Jesus and get this thing settled at the present time and for eternity. Assuming the Master is addressing your intensity you really want to come! You must attend if you are unsure. Assuming you are persuaded that you are lost, you really want to come. Will you respond to God's call and seek His salvation today? Or will you continue to live in uncertainty and anxiety? If you turn to God right now, He can assist you.
You can learn! You need to know this, God! And the first thing you need to do to know for sure is to get in touch with Him right now!
