Christianity is way more than a warm, fuzzy feeling- it's the exclusive source of truth that you can know.
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1 John 5 Summary
John does not want there to be any doubt amongst the churches about their salvation. Notice how many times in this short letter he's written something along the lines of so that you may know, including four times here in chapter 5:
v2 - By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.
v13 - ...you may know that you have eternal life.
v19 - We know that we are from God,
v20 - And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding...
One of the things that sets Christianity apart from all other religions is that you can know and not just feel. If your salvation was based on you doing enough good things to counteract the bad things you've done, you'd never really know if you've done enough. Or if your salvation depended on how you felt about God or yourself on an ongoing basis, some days you'd be very certain of eternal life, and other days you'd be convinced you're not included.
But that's not how salvation works, and the reason that it's so important for you to read God's Word each day is so that you may know that you have eternal life (v13).
You can be certain of this knowledge, because it's based on truth. Look at the claims John makes about our Triune God:
v6 - And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.
v20 - we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
Dig Deeper
Verse 18 has caused many believers over the years to wonder if they truly were a Christian. It says that anyone born of God does not continue to sin, so you might be led to think that because there's still sin in your life, you're not really born of God.
As we've seen in the preceding chapters, this isn't what John means; if that were the case, there would be nobody who could claim they were born of God. What he means is that a true Christian will repent of his sin and strive to not repeat it.
To knowingly and unrepentantly continue to sin is a sign of a major problem with a person's faith. Remember that the best way to show your love and gratitude for God is to keep His commandments (v3).
AAA Prayer:
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: God our Father gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son (v11).
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Be reminded that if you ask anything according to God's will, He hears you (v14).
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
