Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: 1 John 5:11

All Christians ought to have the privilege of knowing, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that they are saved. But having doubts doesn’t necessarily mean we are not saved.

Adrian Rogers says, “Doubt is to your spirit what pain is to your body; it doesn't mean you're dead, it means something's wrong.”

1 John 5 reveals how to be saved and know it, without hesitation.

"And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.” (v. 11-13)

When doubts arise, we must remember, first, how we are saved: by grace, through faith (Ephesians 2:8).

Adrian Rogers says, “Grace is the unmerited favor and love that God shows to us. It's what made God love us when we were unlovely. God doesn't love us because we're valuable… we're valuable because He loves us.”

Faith is not intellectual belief; it is trust and commitment to God.

Think of grace as the hand of God reaching down to us, and faith is our hand reaching up to Him. Understanding this, we can find our assurance through three basic tests:

Lordship Test: Is Jesus Christ the Lord of my life? If we claim to love God, we will keep His commandments.

Fellowship Test: Do I love my brothers and sisters in Christ? Am I in fellowship with other believers? Fellowship is the nature of both the Christian and the church.

Relationship Test: Do I have a vital relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ? The assurance of our salvation is on-going; it is not a past event, stamped by a time and date and place. It is a present decision to trust in Jesus, right now. We can trust in Him, for He alone is the assurance of our salvation.

Apply it to your life

Do you have doubts about your faith? Consider the lordship, fellowship, and relationship tests. If you don’t know whether your doubt is the Holy Spirit’s conviction or the devil’s tactic, believe in Jesus.