Love Brings Assurance

I just want to remind you of John’s ongoing thesis in his first epistle: It is assurance. John is trying to deal with any doubt we may have about our salvation. And that’s the way 1st John 3:19 begins: “And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.”

By this we may know? By what? 1st John 3:18, “My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” We “assure our hearts” by whether or not we demonstrate love for one another, and we demonstrate love through concrete actions, by “deed” and “truth,” not simply, by what we say.

What kind of concrete actions show our love? 1st John 3:17, “But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?”

Pretty simple, right? If you see someone has a need and you turn away, you aren’t demonstrating love. You aren’t demonstrating love even if you say, “Oh, you poor baby. I feel so sorry for you. I hope things turn out better.” What good do your words do if the person is still sitting there in the midst of their troubles?
What if he’s sitting there with no money, or no food, or sick? If they have concrete needs, your words alone won’t meet them.

Last time we talked about this. We brought up the account of the Good Samaritan. In the account, a man was beaten and robbed and left for dead on the side of the road. A Levite and a priest, good religious folk we are to believe, walked by and they noticed, they looked, and they might have even offered up a prayer; but they kept on walking.

It wasn’t until a Samaritan happened by (remember those despised Samaritans?), and he stopped and offered assistance. He bound up the man’s wounds, took him to an inn, and paid for the man’s care. The Samaritan alone showed love in deed and in truth.

According to John, he can have assurance of salvation. But also, according to John, for the Levi and the priest, there can be no assurance. Of them, 1st John 3:17 asks, “How does the love of God abide in [them]?” They “shut up [their] hearts” from a “brother in need.” There isn’t any assurance in 1st John for them, If they really cared to look.

Now, some ask, If John’s purpose is assurance, why spend so much time trying to shake our assurance? He seems to give us as many negative examples as positive ones? The answer is simple: John doesn’t want to give anyone false assurance. To give security to the believer? Oh, yes! But only insecurity to the make-believers.
To those whose faith is only “brain deep, but not heart deep” as shown by their life, John says, “YOU DON’T GET ANY ASSURANCE FROM ME!”

If 1st John 3:17 describes you, you deserve no assurance. If all you’re concerned about is building your bank account, or how you can get a bigger house, or car, or a faster snowmobile, yet you care little about the needs of people, you should feel on shaky ground. Are you feeling any tremors?

J. Vernon McGee calls those kind of people, “Little Jack Horner” believers. Do you remember the nursery rhyme?

“Little Jack Horner sat in a corner
Eating his Christmas pie.
He put in a thumb and pulled out a plumb
And said, ‘What a good boy am I.’”

But, Is Jack a good boy? If he is, where’s the evidence?

Most little boys sitting in a corner are there because they are being punished. And how did he get the whole pie? Did he steal it? And how come he isn’t using a fork to eat it with? It must be pretty messing using only his fingers. So is Jack really a good boy? Or is his claim just that – all claim with no evidence?

Well, in our passage for today, the evidence of salvation is demonstrating love by your actions. Is there enough evidence to convict you of love?