The Assurance of Love

1 John 3:18-23

 

Here again John brings us to the topic of assurance, though, this time adding a few notes about false condemnation.

 

We just touched on the outworking of love - how we ought to love because of His love for us. This passage describes personal results of this sort of love. At the heart of every sinner lies the question, "What's in it for me?" Well, the following passage is the answer to that question.

 

Verse 19 says that "by this" we know that we are of the truth and assure our hearts before God.

 

So paraphrased, this says that by loving others unconditionally and refusing to bad-mouth fellow believers, we are assured of our salvation.

 

But wait a second. I thought placing our trust in the work of Christ was the means of salvation?

 

It most certainly is. The lie John is breaking down in this passage is that a 30-second prayer is what saves you. When an individual attends a gospel seminar and is moved emotionally enough by the message and music that he prays the sinner's prayer, it is unconditional love toward others that assures him of the sincerity of his prayer, not the words of the prayer.

 

Unconditional love is not something that is natural on this cursed planet. Therefore, when you possess it, you know that is did not come from yourself. There is only One who has the ability to give it to you and therefore you are assured that you are His child.

 

This is, of course, best case scenario.

 

But there are plenty of true believers who go through dark phases of life. I do not mean that we suddenly begin rampantly sinning. I mean we become discouraged. We begin to understand the holiness of God so rightly that when we look in the mirror we are aghast at what we see. And suddenly, we begin to see ourselves as unworthy of the work of the  cross. As John puts it, "our heart condemns us."

 

This is not a sign of unbelief. It is not a sign that you do not understand the love and mercy of God. In fact, God may even put us through a trial that leads us into this line of thinking, especially if we have come to think that we somehow deserve the grace of God. But God does not lead us into trials without reason.

 

You see, when you get to the point that your heart condemns you, God is greater than your heart. What an amazing thought. Think of how powerful your heart is. Broken hearts have made people hike across the U.S., watch Netflix for twenty days, eat ice cream by the bucket-load and even take their own life. God is more powerful.

 

When we judge ourselves, we take into account only our own thoughts and actions. When God judges us, He takes into consideration, first and foremost, the work of His Son. Your conscience, tainted with sin and constantly under attack by Satan's lies, cannot rightly judge your heart.

 

Note, this does not mean that when your heart condemns you for being addicted to pornography or killing someone, that God is in your heart telling you, "No no no, don't fret about it. That's just your heart condemning you, not me. You're good. Just try to tone it down a notch."

 

That's not what John is talking about. He is referring to the man who, though showing the signs of a saved individual - loving others unconditionally and obeying the commandments of God - recognizes that no matter what he does, he cannot measure up to the standard of love of God. He feels insecure and out of place even approaching the throne of God. To this man, whose heart is under attack by condemnation, God reaches out a hand and says, "Do not fret. You did not measure up, but because of the work of my Son, you have crossed the chasm of sin and darkness. Rest in peaceful assurance.