Transcript
First John, chapter five. Reading from verse nine.
If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater, for this is the witness of God which He hath testified of His Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself. He that believeth not God hath made Him a liar, because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 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 5:9-13)
Recently, I was talking to a graduate of our seminary whom I shall call Larry. While Larry was going through school, he frequently sat next to another young seminary student, whose name was close to his in the alphabet. And Larry was convinced that this young man was not a Christian, even though he was a student at this school. And frequently, he witnessed to this fellow seminary student about his need of Christ.
One day, they encountered each other in the dormitory. And the student said to him, “Larry,” he said, “why are you always bugging me about this?”
“Well,” Larry said, “I just simply want you to trust Christ and get saved.”
Well, the student said to Larry, “You know, I’m not saved.” And he said, “I know I’m not saved. But,” he says, “nobody else knows it.” And he said, “My father is a big preacher in Philadelphia. And I would appreciate it, if you would just leave me alone and keep quiet.”
Believe it or not, that young man graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary with our Master of Theology degree without ever really coming to know the Lord. I understand from Larry, however, that there is good reason to believe that, after leaving seminary, he did really come to a true experience with the Lord Jesus Christ.
But I think this incident illustrates, as well as any incident can illustrate, that it is possible to be a student at Dallas Theological Seminary, to be surrounded by fellow students who are truly born again, to be exposed continually to the Word of God, and yet not really and truly to be a Christian.
Our seminary is now a great deal larger than it was at the time that Larry was here. And it would not surprise me if, in a student body as large as ours now is, we had at least one or two men who did not really have an experience with the Lord Jesus Christ. But for every man like that, experience suggests to me that there are several men who are not really sure that they are born again. They are not really sure that they have eternal life.
And regardless of the fact whether you fall into either of those categories or not, I think it is always profitable for each and every one of us from time to time to ask the question, “How do I know that I am truly saved? How do I really know that I have eternal life?”
In the May issue of McCall’s magazine, Doris Kearns writes an article about Lyndon Baines Johnson. Doris Kearns was a White House Fellow and a psychology major at Harvard University, which is a potent combination. And she spent quite a few hours in conversation with LBJ and in interviewing him. And it is her suggestion, both in this article and in the book that she has recently published, that a bitterly unhappy childhood accounts for much of LBJ’s conduct as a grown-up person.
She quotes Lyndon Baines Johnson as saying that, sometimes when he was a little boy, his mother used to hug him so tight that he was afraid he would strangle. But at other times, when he had displeased her, she would walk around the house for days pretending that he was dead. To make things worse, young Lyndon had to watch her being especially warm and nice to his father and to his sisters. And it is Ms. Kearns’ suggestion that this experience of love alternately given and alternately taken away formed a great deal of LBJ’s relationships when he became a grown-up person.
Lyndon Johnson was capable of an extraordinary closeness with his friends, with his colleagues, with his staff. But when he was disappointed, he withdrew from them. And this became known as the Johnson Freeze-Out. And he hurt those around him just as much as he himself had been hurt by his mother many years ago.
I’m sure I probably do not need to say to the fathers in this audience that one of the things that your children desperately and urgently need is a sense of security in their relationship to you. They need to know that even when they displeased you, even when they fail you, even when it is necessary for you to punish them, that nevertheless their basic and fundamental relationship to you is unchanged and unaltered.
And that is precisely what we as Christians need in terms of our relationship to God our Heavenly Father. We need the assurance that our basic relationship to Him is not altered, even by our failures and even by our sins. And even when it is necessary for God to chasten us, nevertheless that His love is not withdrawn. And our fundamental relationship to Him is basically the same.
Now, the Apostle John was perfectly well aware that this was something that Christians urgently needed when he wrote the letter which we call the First Epistle of John. Basically, John’s concern in this letter is to promote fellowship between his readers and God the Father and God the Son. And this purpose of the letter is clearly and directly stated in the prologue of the epistle.
That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. These things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.
(1 John 1:3-4)
Yet the Apostle John knew that it was important for his readers to have assurance, because only on that firm platform of the assurance of the possession of eternal life could they truly build a life of fellowship and obedience with God. And if there is one thing that is unmistakably clear throughout the entire Epistle of First John, it is that John regards his readers as saved.
I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for His name’s sake. I write unto you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one.
(1 John 2:12-13)
And to make it perfectly clear, he repeats himself,
I write unto you, little children, because you have known the Father. I have written unto you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because you are strong, and the Word of God abideth in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
(1 John 2:13-14)
A little bit later in the chapter he says,
Ye have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. I have not written unto you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and you know that no lie is of the truth.
(1 John 2:20-21)
There is one thing that is perfectly clear. That John does not wish to raise any question of doubt in the minds of his readership that they truly belong to God. They truly have a relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ. And he assures them of that relationship most emphatically.
But John is also aware that his readership has been exposed to satanic and destructive influences. And he informs them that many false prophets have gone out into the world. And because these false prophets deny the Father and the Son, he calls them Antichrist. And he is urging upon his readers that they not listen to the doctrines of these Antichrists, which really strike at the very fundamental truths of the Christian faith and would be destructive not only of assurance but of the life of abiding in fellowship, which is to be built on top of that assurance.
And therefore he urges his readership to hold fast to the original truth that they have heard from the beginning.
Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that shall abide in you which ye have heard from the beginning, ye also shall abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that He has promised us, even eternal life. These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.
(1 John 2:24-26)
Pay no attention to those who are trying to lead you astray, says John. Hold fast to the truth that you have heard from the beginning and let it abide dynamically in your heart. For if the truth that you have heard from the beginning abides dynamically within you, you also shall experience the abiding life of fellowship with the Father and with the Son.
And remember one thing, says John.
This is the promise that He has promised us, even eternal life.
(1 John 2:25)
May I pause to make a very simple but very important statement? The fundamental grounds for assurance that we possess eternal life rests always on the promise of God.
This is the promise which He has promised us, even eternal life.
(1 John 2:25)
Now, I am perfectly well aware in saying that, that there are many professing Christian preachers and teachers who would disagree with that. A couple of centuries ago there was a well-known preacher who concluded a sermon of his with these words, “All those who are converted are not sure of it. And those who are sure are not sure that they will always be so. And still seeking and serving God with the utmost diligence is the way to have assurance and the way to have it maintained.”
Did you hear those words? Let me repeat them. “All those who are converted are not sure of it. Those who are sure are not sure that they will always be so. And still seeking and serving God with the utmost diligence is the way to have assurance and the way to have it maintained.”
You would almost suspect that an Arminian spoke those words. Certainly an Arminian could agree with them. As a matter of fact, they were spoken by a Calvinist. They are the concluding words of a sermon by Jonathan Edwards. And if these words are intended as a statement about the fundamental grounds of assurance, it is hard to imagine words more remote from the theology of the Gospel of John or the First Epistle of John.
Let’s be very frank about it. There are many people who would concur with them, but let me ask you this simple question. “If still seeking and serving God with the utmost diligence is the way to have assurance, who in this audience or who in any audience could have assurance?”
I have to confess to you as I stand before you this morning that this is not a description of me day after day. There are some days when I feel that I have served God reasonably well. And there are other days that I know perfectly well that I have not served Him with the utmost diligence. And in which of those days ought I to found a conviction concerning my experience of eternal life?
As a matter of fact, if there is anybody in the audience who day by day still seeks and serves God with the utmost diligence, I’d appreciate it if you would introduce yourself to me after the chapel hour this morning. One word of caution, however. If you do introduce yourself to me in that capacity, be sure you are a person that I don’t know particularly well.
And really, if we turn the search light of the Word of God quite candidly upon our hearts and lives, isn’t it true that we can find almost as many evidences pointing to the fact that we are not saved as pointing to the fact that we are? Isn’t it true that we can find all sorts of deficiencies in our fidelity and devotion to God, in our faith, in our hope, in our love, in our holiness? And if there is anyone who doesn’t feel that they can find such things in their lives, they’re not facing themselves candidly in the light of the Word of God. They are possibly deluding themselves.
There is also the suggestion that is frequently made that our assurance really rests on our perseverance in good works to the end of life. But the moment we contemplate that suggestion, the moment we realize that kind of idea is destructive of all assurance. For if the verification of my faith depends upon my persistence in good works to the end of life, then I will have no assurance of salvation until the end of life. Either that or I will be forced to maintain that I know in advance that I will persevere in good works to the end of life.
And if I make that kind of confident assertion, I am going beyond the confidence that even the Apostle Paul possessed. Because he wrote that he buffeted his body and brought it into subjection, lest by any means after he had preached to others he himself should be disqualified (1 Corinthians 9:27).
He was running the very best Christian race that he knew how to run. But he was not completely sure that at the end he might not be disqualified. And a very simple fact emerges that if we are searching for assurance in any of the things that we find in ourselves, we will never find that assurance if we are completely candid and completely honest.
And therefore it follows from this that if there is to be assurance, it can only be grounded on the promise of God. It can only be grounded on the Word of God. It can only be grounded on the testimony of God. And that is precisely what the Apostle John is seeking to tell us in the passage of Scripture that we have read this morning.
“If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater.”
(1 John 5:9)
There are times and circumstances, says the Apostle John, when we can accept the testimony of men. The Old Testament had said,
In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.
(Deuteronomy 19:15)
We can sometimes receive the witness of men. But how much more can we receive the testimony of God, which is far greater. And let me tell you what God’s testimony is, which he has testified concerning his Son, says John. But before I do that, let me just remind you that he that believes in the Son has already accepted that testimony.
He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself.
(1 John 5:10)
And the man who has rejected the testimony of God has in effect told God that he is a liar.
“He that believeth not God hath made Him a liar, because he hath not believed the record which God gave of His Son.”
(1 John 5:10)
And what is God’s record? What is God’s testimony? Well, it is simply this.
That God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
(1 John 5:11-12)
And then he adds,
These things have I written unto you who believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life.
(1 John 5:13)
Now, I am very much aware that very frequently the statement of verse thirteen, “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,” that very frequently these words are taken as a statement of purpose for the entire letter. May I suggest to you that this is simple and unadulterated eisegesis. And it overlooks two very crucial factors.
First of all, it overlooks the clear statement of purpose in the prologue. And secondly, it overlooks a stylistic feature which appears in the body of the First Epistle of John. In the prologue, John has already told us that his purpose in writing this letter is for the purpose of fellowship. And the prologue is the place to state the purpose of the letter.
But every once in a while throughout the letter, he summarizes preceding material with a statement like “These things have I written unto you” or “These things I write unto you.” For example in chapter two verse one, he says,
“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not.”
(1 John 2:1)
Almost all expositors would agree that those words refer to the discussion about walking in the light in confession of sin in the immediately preceding verses. Chapter two and verse twenty-six he says,
“These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.”
(1 John 2:26)
And in the context, it is obvious that these words refer to the immediately preceding material about the Antichrist. When therefore we come to chapter five and verse thirteen, “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,” it is in accordance with Johannine style to construe these words as a statement of intention about the immediately preceding material.
John, why are you talking to us about the testimony of God? Why are you talking to us about the record that God has given concerning his Son? Well, says John, “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.”
It’s all really very simple, says John. This is what God’s testimony is to each and every person that has believed in the name of His Son. God has given to us eternal life. And He has given it to us in His Son. And possession of the Son is the possession of eternal life.
And in saying this, gentlemen, the Apostle John is completely consistent with the great salvation verses that he has written in the fourth gospel.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
(John 3:16)
That is the testimony of God and it is the promise of God to each and every believer that he has eternal life and that he will never perish.
He that heareth my word and believeth on Him that sent me hath everlasting life and shall not come into judgment, but is passed out of death into life.
(John 5:24)
That’s the testimony of God. That’s the promise of God to everyone who hears and believes the Word, that he already has eternal life, that he will not come into judgment, but that he is passed out of death into life.
I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
(John 6:35)
That’s the testimony of God. And in it is a promise that everyone who comes and believes in Jesus will never hunger and will never thirst.
Now there is a very strange phenomenon going on in evangelical circles. And there are many Christian people who are trying to have faith in their faith. And they have been taught that the only verification that they have truly believed is to be found in the works that they produce. And I cannot believe that, despite the sincerity of those who preach this doctrine, that the ultimate origin of such a doctrine is demonic. For that is destructive of all assurance.
And I have met individuals who, tormented by that, have been driven to the very verge of spiritual and nervous and mental collapse, because it is impossible for the sensitive soul to verify faith in that way. And that is redirecting the focus of faith improperly. Faith is not occupied with itself. Faith is occupied with God. And faith is occupied with the testimony of God.
We are invited in the New Testament not to believe that we have believed, but to believe that what God says is true. And the basic question with which we are confronted is a very simple question, “Does God tell the truth?” If He is not, He is a liar. But if he has told the truth, if we believe his witness, then we already have the witness in ourselves and we have the Son within ourselves.
This is the promise that He Himself has promised us, even eternal life.
(1 John 2:25)
On March twenty-eighth a very dear elderly lady went home to be with the Lord. Her name was Mrs. Vivian Conner. And she was a longtime supporter of this seminary. And in many respects to me she was like a mother away from home. I frequently picked her up to take her to the meetings of our church. And if I should ever appear at the door in cold weather without the proper wrap on, she would rebuke me and threaten to report me to my parents, who probably had long since given up worrying about whether I put my coat on in the evening or not.
Mrs. Conner was telling me a story not very long before she went home to be with the Lord about her experience as a young girl. She’d been brought up in the Methodist Church. And of course in the Methodist Church she had been taught that she could not really be sure of her salvation. That if she committed a sin and did not confess it, that she would be lost. And she said that as a little girl she used to get down on her knees at night beside her bed and she would confess all of her sins as well as she knew how to confess them. And then she would hop into bed real quickly and pull up the covers real quickly and try to go to sleep as rapidly as she could, lest anything naughty or bad go through her mind. So that with all of her sins confessed, should she die during the night, she would be sure of going to heaven.
And she said to me after she told this story, “Isn’t that a horrible doctrine to teach a little child?” And I had to agree that it was a horrible doctrine not only to teach a little child but to teach also any grown-up person.
Mrs. Conner later came to an understanding of the ground of the assurance of her eternal salvation. She was a very diligent worker for God. And right up unto the very end she was serving God. She was suffering considerably from a sickness that she really sensed would be fatal but she refused to go into the hospital until she completed some of her tasks for God.
For many years she had balanced the books over here at radio revival. And she insisted on balancing them one last time before going into the hospital. And when she had done this task, she went into the hospital. And in less than three weeks she was home with the Lord.
Mrs. Conner erected upon the foundation of her assurance of salvation a life of service and fellowship with God. But never in all the years that I knew her did she ever express as the grounds of her assurance the fact that she was serving God or persevering in works for him.
Mrs. Conner knew perfectly well that her assurance rested upon the promise of God, upon the testimony of God, and upon the assurance that she could derive from his Word. Gentlemen,
“If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater.”
(1 John 5:9)
And to each and every one of you who has believed the witness of God, God’s testimony is that God has given you eternal life and this life is in his Son. And I believe that the Spirit of God through the Apostle John would like to say to each and every one of us,
“These things have I written unto you that you may know that you have eternal life.”
(1 John 5:13)
Shall we pray?
Father, we could never never thank Thee sufficiently for the magnificence of Thy grace and for the uncomplicated assurance of Thy Word to those who have believed the testimony of it, that we possess Thy Son and we possess eternal life.
Father we look within ourselves and despite the fact that there are evidences of Thy grace, there are evidences also of the flesh. And we can find nothing to assure us, but we look to Thee and we look to Thy testimony and Thy promise and our hearts are made secure and our convictions are made firm.
Father, we pray for each man in this audience that this may be the assurance that they possess of their relationship to Thee and then that it may be the assurance that they communicate to others concerning the Gospel of Thy Son. Hear our prayer and be glorified in the Lord Jesus Christ. Through it we pray. In Christ’s name. Amen.