By: Burton Scott
TEXT – I John 5
INTRO. – Are you saved? Are you a real Christian? Are you going to heaven? Not everyone who talks about heaven
is going there. Not everyone who says “Lord, Lord” will enter heaven. Many people have gone forward at an
invitation and shook the preachers hand and yet did not get saved. Many have been caught up in the emotion of a
great service and mistook that for salvation. When a person really gets saved he receives the Holy Spirit. See Rom. 8:9 The incoming Holy Spirit makes the new convert a “new creature in Christ Jesus”. The Holy Spirit makes a change in the life of a person. If fact, the Holy Spirit makes many changes. I John 5 tells us some of these changes that come into the believer’s life and heart at salvation.
I. A CHRISTIAN BELIEVES IN JESUS AS THE CHRIST – vs. 1
This shows me that a person who does not put his faith in Jesus Christ cannot be saved. This faith is not a
historical faith where one believes that Jesus existed. One can believe in George Washington and not be saved
and one can believe in Jesus Christ in the same way he believes in George Washington and not be saved.
II. A CHRISTIAN HAS A LOVE FOR OTHER CHRISTIANS – vs. 1
The Holy Spirit spreads the love of God abroad in our hearts and a part of that love is a love for God’s children. I wonder about people who claim to be saved and yet seem to hate others. See ch. 3:14, 4:20-21
III. A CHRISTIAN LOVES GOD – vs. 2
Do you love God. If we really love God then we will want to meet God at his house, we will want to talk to God in
prayer, and we will want to serve and please Him. See chapter 1:6.
IV. A CHRISTIAN WILL KEEP GOD’S COMMANDMENTS AND THEY WILL NOT BE GRIEVOUS -vs. 3
If you are saved you will want to keep the Lord’s commandments partly out of love and partly out of a new
nature that you have. The commandments will not be grievous to obey. They will not be some undesirable task
to obey. Some religious people live sad lives trying to live up to God’s commandments. The real Christian will
find the commandments a joy and desire to obey.
V. A CHRISTIAN OVERCOMES THE WORLD – vs. 4 The world is a powerful thing to overcome. It has many
temptations and pitfalls. It is the devil’s backyard. There is greed, lust, jealousy, envy, etc…. The real Christian has the promise that he can and will overcome with God’s help.
VI. A CHRISTIAN HAS THE WITNESS IN HIMSELF – vs. 10
Rom. 8:16 says that the Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. Bible salvation through faith in Christ is a know-so salvation. It is not a hope-so or guess-so. Notice vs. 13 “that ye may know”. A person who says “I guess I’m saved” is automatically put on my question mark list of saved people. When I got saved I knew it from the inside out. The person who led me to Christ could not have talked me out of what I knew had happened to me.
VII. A CHRISTIAN BELONGS TO CHRIST – vs. 12
Do you have Jesus? I am not asking if you have religion, a church home, a decent life or a baptismal certificate.
The word “Christian” = Christ-i-an or Christ’s I am.
VIII. A CHRISTIAN HAS NO HABITUAL SINNING – vs. 18
See ch. 3:9 This states that a Christian will not sin as a way of life or have a life style of sinning. Chapter 1:8 says we have sin. We are not perfect. We come short. We may and will fall but we will not knowingly continue in some sinful practice. Are you practicing sin? A Christian may be unaware that they have some sinful practice or habit but a real Christian will begin to fight the sin when God reveals it to him that he is doing wrong. We will sin but this is
deliberate practice of sin. It is continuing to sin with no attempt or desire to stop.
IX. THE CHRISTIAN WILL KEEP HIMSELF PURE – vs. 18
Are you trying to keep yourself pure from sin. Many people will not care one way or the other but a real Christian will care. He will strive to please God and want to be clean for God.
IN CONCLUSION — Are you a Christian? If so, praise God but if not you need to get saved today.
See – Ch. 2:1
Ch. 1:7 and 9
Ch. 5:11 – 12
