Do You Know?

As I was growing up there were a lot of things I came to know.  No, I don’t mean that adolescent “know” that is all-encompassing; “I certainly know more than my parents.”  What I mean, is that there were certain things I was taught as being true or at least I knew them as truth because they came from people or organizations I trusted.  Of course, this knowledge was, for the most part, purely subjective or at least not founded, for the most part by an irrefutable authority.

But there was always this nagging doubt that from time to time ran through my head.  Did I know or have any assurance I was going to heaven when I died? My church taught me that that question could not ultimately be answered until I died.  That seemed a little too late to find out for sure.

The real problem was that I knew I was a sinner and that sin would be punished. I would push to the back of mind to tackled another day only to have it resurface at the most inconvenient times.  I sought out remedies and asked questions, but was never satisfied with the answers I got.  I was given all kinds of formulated suggestions, such as church attendance, the sacraments, don’t commit certain sins that would certainly doom you, and do your best, whatever that meant.

So, the question comes up; Where can I go to get authoritative answers to that question”  And can you really know if you’re going to heaven? Thankfully, the answer to that question and others like it can be found.

It must first start with an authoritative source, the Bible.  Here is where God speaks and we would do well to listen.  Then, the questions arise, does the Bible speak clearly on that subject.  well, let’s take a look.

1 John 5:9-13 (NKJV) ⁹  If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. ¹⁰  He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. ¹¹  And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. ¹²  He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. ¹³  These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. (emphasis added)

In 1 John 5:13 we read that we can know we have eternal life.  But is that eternal life based on some kind spiritual disciplines I need to follow or some kind of self-denial?

When I read verses 9-12, John makes it clear that eternal life is found in Jesus Christ and that it is by faith. What John had just written about God’s testimony (5:9-12) aims to assure his readers that, despite anything the antichrists (1 John 2:18,22; 4:3) have said, believers, do indeed possess eternal life. It may be pointed out, in fact, that the assurance of one’s salvation always rests fundamentally and sufficiently on the direct promises that God makes to that believer. In other words, one’s assurance rests on the testimony of God (the point of vs.13).  Therefore, as we read in verse 10, to say otherwise is to make God a liar.

These verses do not say that God, through Christ, opened the door and that our works are now acceptable. Rather it is making it clear that it God’s testimony that He has given in His Son (vs.10c) bring eternal life.  Eternal life is in His Son! Nothing in this passage speaks of anything else but what God has done through His son to save us.

One thing should be clear, if my salvation is in anyway dependent on me, I CAN’T KNOW and John say I CAN KNOW!

-Michael Holtzinger

Some great resources:

Saved Without A Doubt  By: John MacArthur

Redemption Accomplished and Applied  By: John Murray