1 John 5:1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. 2: By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. 3: For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

Introduction

On August 17, 1752, Benjamin Franklin a great politician and inventor, received a letter from the well-known Great Awakening preacher George Whitefield. The two had become close friends while Franklin attended and heard Whitefield’s preaching. Franklin was fascinated by Whitefield’s preaching, yet he remained unconverted. Concerned for his friend’s salvation, Whitefield wrote Franklin a letter. Here is an excerpt from that letter: “I find that you grow more and more famous in the learned world. As you have made such progress in investigating the mysteries of electricity, I now humbly urge you to give diligent heed to the mystery of the new birth. It is a most important and interesting study and, when mastered, will richly repay you for your pains. One [referring to Jesus Christ] at whose [judgement] bar we are shortly to appear, hath solemnly declared, that without it, we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Whitefield is so right about the new birth. This subject of the new birth is one of absolute importance. It is a subject that you and I cannot afford to ignore. Our Lord Himself declares its supreme importance in the third chapter of John’s gospel.

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 

John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 

John 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 

Our Lord Jesus said it three times; you and I must be born again! The world says that there are many ways to God, many ways to Heaven, but our Lord Jesus Christ clearly declares that no one—no man, no woman, no boy, and no girl can see and enter the kingdom of God unless they are born again. We must experience the new birth. We must experience a radical change in our being before we can see and enter Heaven. The new birth is the starting point of any relationship with God. You can go to church all your life, you can be religious and moral, you can be a baptized member of a church, and you can give your tithes and offerings to the church. But none of that will get you into heaven. As our Lord emphatically says, “Ye must be born again!” Therefore, you and I ought to be very diligent to be sure that we are truly born again. As Whitefield encouraged Benjamin Franklin “to give diligent heed to the mystery of the new birth”, I also encourage you to do so. Are you born again? Can you honestly and confidently say that you have been born again by the Spirit of God?

But how do I know I have been born again? The apostle John in this section shows us how. Actually, all throughout this letter, he has been giving us three tests to know if we truly have been born of God. There are three tests of assurance that John constantly repeats in this epistle. He develops these three tests to know for sure that we have been begotten of God, namely, the doctrinal test of faith, the social test of love, and the moral test of obedience. In chapters 2 through 4, John has discussed each of these tests twice. The doctrinal test in chapter 2 verses 8 through 27 and chapter 4 verses 1 through 6. The social test in chapter 2 verses 7 through 11 and then again in chapter 3 verses 11 through 18. The moral test is found in chapter 2 verses 3 through 6 and then again chapter 3 verse 4 through 10.

Here in chapter 5 verses 1 through 5, John now brings all these three tests together, namely, faith, love, and obedience. So, to summarize them and to conclude these tests, he combines the doctrinal test, the social test, and the moral test together Let’s look at each of these one more time as John concludes his test of assurance.

I – The Doctrinal Test

1 John 5:1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God ...

Here, John says that the way you can tell who has been born of God is the one who is presently and continually believing that Jesus is the Christ. Once again, John emphasizes the necessity of faith. This is the consistent teaching of the Scripture.

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9:  Not of works, lest any man should boast.

2 Timothy 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Since we are saved by faith, therefore it is absolutely vital to understand what faith is. What is saving faith? What is the object of saving faith? The apostle John tells us in our text: “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.” The object of faith that brings salvation is none other than the Lord Jesus who is the Christ. The word “Christ” means “Messiah,” or the “Anointed One.” As practiced in the Old Testament among God’s people, those designated to the ministry or office of Prophet, Priest or King are anointed with oil. Jesus Christ is the anointed Prophet, Priest and King. Jesus Christ is our Prophet (Luke 24:19) to teach us, our High Priest (Hebrews 4:14) to intercede for us, and our King (Revelation 19:16) to rule over us.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the promised Redeemer which the Jewish people had anticipated for thousands of years. Do you believe that Jesus is God in human form who came as the Messiah? What does it mean to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? Please turn to Acts 16:31. When the Philippian jailer asked the apostle Paul about what a man must do to be saved, he responded, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” (Acts 16:31) Notice Paul and Silas’ answer to the question about what a man must do to be saved, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ” It does not say, “believe about” but “believe on” the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a big difference between believing about Christ and believing on Him. You can believe facts about Jesus Christ such as that He is the Virgin-born Son of God, that He lived a sinless life, that He died on the cross, that He rose from the grave, that He is coming again—you can believe all these things and still end up in hell. It is not enough to believe something about Christ; it is not enough to believe about Christ mentally or intellectually, you must believe on and in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. You must trust, commit, rely upon the Lord Jesus Christ. To believe in Christ is stop trusting in self, in your good works, in your keeping of the Ten Commandments, in your church membership, your baptism, your confirmation, in rituals and ceremonies and you trust only in Christ and His perfect sacrifice on the cross to save you from sin, death and hell. Do you have that kind of trust in Jesus Christ? Do you believe Jesus Christ is who the Bible says He is, and are you trusting Him as your one and only Saviour? This is how you know that you have been born again—you are presently and continually believing that Jesus is the Christ.

II – The Social Test

1 John 5:1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him [that’s the Father] that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him [that’s the Son]. 2: By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.

John would not let up. He comes back again and again to this subject of love. Here we are reminded once again that a true believer loves the Father, the Son, and the brethren. Our faith in Christ affects our love for the brethren. Who is your brother? Who is your sister? Someone who has the same Father as you. Someone who is born of God like you. If we truly love the Father and the One who saved us, then we must also love others who are born again in Christ.

It is impossible to love the Father and His Son Jesus Christ and yet not love others. If we love Him, we will love others as well. Our text says, “every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.” In other words, whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. You will love what God loves! God loves His people, and if you love God, you will love His people too. Believing Jesus is the Christ brings us not only into love relationship with the Father but also love relationship with those who have been begotten of Him. The new birth brings us into love relationship with God’s children. This is the true test of true love for God and for Christ—do we love the children of God? Do we love our Christian brethren?

Jack Arnold writes, “Are Christians only to love other Christians and no one else?  No, but that is where love must begin.  Love must begin within the Christian family and then flow out to the world in general.  Love is never limited merely to other brothers or sisters in Christ, but love must begin here, or we will never learn to love the world of humanity.”

But how do we know we love our Christian brethren? How do we show our love for fellow believers? Let’s read our text again ...

1 John 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. This is how we know that we love the children of God, our Christian brethren—when we love God and keep his commandments. We know that we habitually love the brethren, when we love God and habitually keep His commandments. Understand that the word “love” and the word “keep” here are in the present tense showing this loving God and keeping His commandments as our lifestyle. None of us love and obey God perfectly but that ought to be general direction of our life.

I love how the Bible commentator David Guzik explains this verse, “When our love and obedience for God grows cold, we do not only harm ourselves, we harm our brothers and sisters also. The damage is done, at the very least, because we are a “drag” on the spiritual progress of God’s people. If we will not love and obey God for our own sake, then we should at least do it out of love for others.” We show agape love for our brethren when that we habitually obey the commandments of God. Why so? Because when we obey the commandments, it puts us in right relationship and fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. And the opposite is true, when we disobey and ignore the commandments, we are not only out of fellowship with God, we are also out of fellowship with our fellow believers and we are acting in an unloving way toward them.

So, how do we know we love our Christian brethren? We know we love our Christian brethren when we love God and habitually keep His commandments. This brings us to the last test of assurance.

III – The Moral Test

The moral test examines how we live. It is the test of true obedience. Do I obey?

1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments ...

As the real evidence of faith is love, so the real evidence of love is obedience—keeping God’s commandments. We demonstrate our salvation when we walk in humble obedience to the commandments of God, when we keep His ordinances, and when we are mindful of His precepts and His teachings. A heart that desires to obey the word and will of God is an evidence of a converted heart! 

Earlier in this epistle, John wrote in chapter 2, verse 3, “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.” In other words, this is how we know that we know Him; this is how we know that we have a personal relationship with the Father through His Son Jesus Christ; this is how we know that we have been begotten of God—if we keep His commandments. 

Now, don’t misunderstand John, he is not saying that we are saved by keeping the commandments of God. John is not talking about how a person come to know God. He is not talking how a person is saved and justified. As we have learned in our lesson on “justification,” no one is saved by keeping the law. Galatians 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

The reality of our faith and love for God is demonstrated by keeping the commandments of Christ. That’s what our Lord says in John 14:15 “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”  Then He goes on to say in verse 21 “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”

Now, keep in mind that obedience does not mean perfection. John is not calling for perfection. We saw that when he addressed those who say they are without sin (1 John 1:8, 10). No man has ever obeyed God perfectly in his lifetime. Salvation does not make a man perfect, at least not in this life, but it does begin to change his desire and one of the change desires is to obey what God says in His Word. None of us will follow His Word or will perfectly. But there will be a desire to live for God that did not exist before we were born again.

1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

Now to love God with all our heart, and our neighbor as ourselves, are not grievous. John’s point is that God’s commandments are not burdensome. For the unbeliever the commandments of God are too severe, stern, cruel, unreasonable, and oppressive. But for the child of God, the commandments of God are not burdensome. They may be burdensome to the unbeliever but to child of God, the commandments of God are even a blessing and a delight. Listen to the how the psalmist describes the commandments of God:

Psalm 40:8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.

Psalm 119:35 Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.

Psalm 119:92 Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction.

Psalm 119:97 O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.

For the unbeliever who is under the curse of the law, the commandments of God are burdensome and grievous. But for the child of God, the commandments of God are blessing and delight. Why so? Our text gives us the answer—for this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. It is our love for God that makes the keeping of His commandments a delight rather than a burden. When our obedience is motivated by love, it is a delight to obey.

Once again, the Bible commentator Guzik’s commentary regarding this is very helpful, “His commandments are not burdensome when we really love God. When we love God, we will want to obey Him and please Him. When you love someone, it seems little trouble to go to a lot of difficulty to help or please that person. You enjoy doing it, though if you had to do it for an enemy, you would be complaining all the time. Just as the seven years of Jacob’s service for Laban seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her [Rachel] (Genesis 29:18), so obeying God’s commands does not seem a burden when we really love Him.”

When we truly love God, His word and will be not a burden, but our delight.

Closing Thoughts

So, here are the three tests to know if you have been born of God. First, is the doctrinal test. What do you believe, particularly about Jesus Christ? The second is the social test. Do you habitually love the brethren? The third is the moral test. Do you habitually obey and delight in His commandments? Faith, love, and obedience. The mark of a true child of God, is not that he is perfect, but that he completely believes the Bible regarding salvation through faith in Jesus Christ alone, and the Spirit bearing witness in the heart through the Word, and which leads, which produces love and obedience. 

In this chapter the apostle John also gives us a summary of the person and work of Jesus Christ. He opens this chapter by declaring in verse 1 that Jesus is the Christ; that Jesus is the promised Messiah, and whosoever believes in Him has been born of God. Have you been born again? Have you believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as your own personal Lord and Saviour? Do you believe the truth about Jesus Christ? Do you believe that He is Saviour and God? As the Divine-Saviour, do you believe that He died for your sins?  Have you personally received Jesus Christ into your life?

Let’s go back to our Lord’s conversation with Nicodemus in chapter 3 of John’s gospel. This is a conversation about redemption and regeneration. In His faithfulness and truthfulness our Lord did not hide from Nicodemus the true nature of his problem, that flesh only produces flesh. John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh. Being born into this world, we all have the sinful tendencies and passions of a fallen humanity. John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. The flesh accomplishes nothing. It does not help at all. But here is the hope and our only hope is in Ephesians 2:4, “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5: Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)” Some of us were dead just like the rest of the world, but praise God something happened inside us that we are no longer the same. We have experienced the new birth. We became alive to the beauty of Christ, alive to the preciousness of Christ, alive to glory in the cross, alive to the wonders of heaven, alive to the preciousness of salvation, alive to the seriousness of sin, alive to the horrors of hell, alive to the glories of heaven.

Mercy there was great, 

And grace was free;

Pardon there was multiplied to me;

There my burdened soul 

Found liberty at Calvary.

If you woke up this morning spiritually dead, you could this very hour be spiritually alive. 

2 Corinthians 6:2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured [helped] thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

Call upon Jesus Christ today and be saved!

John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17: For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18: He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Look unto Jesus Christ the Son of God, for as Moses lifted the serpent in the wilderness even so must the Son of man be lifted up that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Cry to Him. Call upon His name. Ask Him to save you. Cry to Him for mercy, for forgiveness and pardon and salvation. Run to the Saviour. Cast yourself upon Him. And you will find Him willing, a ready, an able, and a gracious Saviour.

AMEN!