Words of Assurance: Reflections on the Epistles of John

One thing that Christians often struggle with is the question of assurance. Am I really a Christian? Can I be sure that I am really saved? Do these questions and doubts that I sometimes have really mean that I don't have faith? How can I be sure that the confession of faith that my loved ones have made is genuine? And the questions go on and on and on. Indeed, as fallen people we often struggle with questions like this, and just as little children need the assurance of their parent's love, we, as Christians, need that same assurance-the assurance that our heavenly Father will do for us, personally and individually, what he has promised he will do. While there are many books that have been written by men to encourage believers as they struggle through these questions, God has also given us a book that addresses this issue: The First Letter of John. John writes that the purpose of this letter is to help give believers assurance of their salvation (see 1 John 5:13). Isn't it wonderful that we have a God who does not leave us to our own questions, but provides for us the answers we need to endure the struggles we have as we walk through this life! And what a rich book this is to dig deeply into. It is a book about fellowship with Christ and about the life and love that are found in Him. Addressing the same fellowship that we find with one another in Christ, the Holy Spirit has seen fit to preserve for us two more letters that the Apostle John has given to the church. In many ways, these letters provide us concrete illustrations of what it means to live in Christian fellowship. In addition, the elect lady and Gaius are also models of what it means to live as a true believer-just one more mark and guide in answering the question of assurance. As you read these letters of John, also make note of themes of God being light as well as the theme of life-or living-in Christ, which show up 19 times within these 5 chapters of 1 John. It is meant to be a reminder to us as to just how important the theme of the purity of God's truth is to our having assurance in faith. This book both encourages and convicts with the aim of helping us come to a sense of greater assurance in our salvation. It is also worth noting that John is sometimes referred to as the Apostle of Love. And this is for good reason. The verb, agapao-'to love', the noun, agape-'love', and the adjective, agapatos-'beloved' occur 320 times in the New Testament, and out of the 320 instances, these words occur 112 times in the writings of John (The Gospel of John = 44 times; 1 John = 52 times, 2 John = 4 times, 3 John = 6 times, and Revelation = 6 times). These words occur 62 times in these letters; that means that nearly one out of every five uses of these words in the New Testament are found in these small letters (of 133 verses, these word appear nearly once every other verse!). Oh, the riches and assurance that can be found within God's love for his people! Beloved, if you are struggling with this question of assurance, let God speak through his apostle to you as you seek God's glorious face within John's words of assurance.