July 31, 2022

        THE LETTERS OF JOHN: THE CONFIDENCE OF A BELIEVER

                 July 31, 2022

                Pastor Jonathan Falwell

 

By nature, are you a confident person, comfortable in your own skin, or are you insecure, always thinking the worst of yourself? Can you share?

Today we finish 1 John, absorbing the encouragement that John gives us as he tells, from first-hand experience, why, as children of the Living God, we can have the confidence of eternal life. As we’ve learned, John was writing to the  believers at Ephesus because Agnostics—men who believed they were set apart because they supposedly had more knowledge of God than other people—were undermining their faith with lies. In case you ever question your security as God’s child, join us as we are taught from the last living apostle, just as he had learned from Jesus Christ Himself.

Focal Passage: 1 John 5:13-21.

Confidence in His promise

  • Read 1 John 5:13. What is the key word we will often be finding in these next verses? How does the knowledge that we can believe God’s promises give us confidence in our faith?
  • Who does John say he is writing these things to? What is the reason he is writing to them? How do you know that his words are for us as well?
  • If you are a believer, discuss why you will never lose the security you have of eternal life, knowing God will never let you out of His hand.

Confidence in His care for us

  • Read verses 14-15. Here, John writes concerning the importance of the prayers of a believer. What does he say we can be confident of?
  • What is the conditional statement in verse 14? How can people misinterpret what John says?
  • In verse 15a, how do we know that God hears us? Read John 9:31. Does John mean we must be free of sin? If not, what does he mean? What are examples of a lifestyle someone may not wish to be free from?
  • Everyone has a sinful thought, a slip of the tongue, etc. What steps can you take to conquer those sins or lessen Satan’s power to tempt you?

Confidence in our responsibility for others

  • Read 1 John 5:16-17. Before we get confused, read the last sentence in verse 17 again. What is the only sin that will certainly lead to spiritual death? What, in verse 16a, does John call this person who has committed a sin that does not lead to death? What would be the difference between a sin that does not lead to death, and one that does? Can you give a Biblical example of a sin that led to death? (Hint: Acts, and more). What about an example for a sin that did not lead to death? (Hint: David, and others).
  • As believers, what can we take away from this passage? Should you tell the sinning believer that you are praying for them?
  • If rejection of Jesus Christ and the pardon He provided sinners is the one spiritual sin unto death, why can we believers not commit this sin?

Confidence in His protection

  • Read 1 John 5:18-19. We know from our own life that a believer does sin. What, then, does John mean? How do you react when a thought from the evil one comes into your mind? By taking the thought captive, and immediately turning it over to God, are we winning against Satan?
  • What comes to your mind when John says, “the evil one does not touch him”? What do you remember about Job? Satan, we saw, had authority to go before God, hurt Job, strip him of everything; what, though, did Satan have to have first? Is that why John says he doesn’t touch us?
  • The whole world is under the reign of whom? Do you think this why all nations seem to be going downhill?

Confidence in Who He is

  • Read verses 20-21, and Colossians 2:13-15. How is the Colossians passage a parallel to verse 20? What did Christ do for us? What has He given us?
  • As further proof that we belong to God, who resides in us? How can we tell He is there? Is there any way He will lead us wrong? Will He allow the devil to snatch us away?
  • What does he mean, “Guard yourselves from idols”? What is an idol? Name some examples. How can you guard yourselves from them?

Close:

There are few things that give us confidence more than knowing something with every fiber of our being! If we’re going to be tested, it’s in knowing the material; if it’s in cooking, it’s knowing the recipe is perfect; if it’s your driving, it may be the confidence that there are angels all around you all the time! Confidence isn’t usually in our ability—it’s in the object of our faith. We are confident the professor will test us on the information he’s taught; the recipe has been a winner for decades; the angels are on assignment from God.

So it is with God. We have confidence, not because we are super-spiritual, or someone worth God’s notice, but because He sent His Son, who paid our sin debt, gave us a pardon, and adopted as His child for all eternity. With that promise in the Bible, we can know that we are His when we confess Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and repent, turning to Him and giving Him free reign in our lives as King of Kings. Do we think Him to be a liar? No! Can He lie? No! So why would we not have confidence? Our faith is in Him—He will never leave us, forsake us, or let us go out of His hands.

 

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