1 JOHN CONCLUSION

MAJOR DOCTRINES:

The true Christian acknowledges sin.
Try as he might the Christian does not have the ability to live a lifestyle of sin.
Once saved always saved. If a person falls away it is only an indication that he was never saved.
It is inevitable that Christians love other Christians. This is a mark of one born of God.
You either have eternal life or you don't. There are no other possibilities.
The true Christian obeys God.
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.

SALVATION BY FAITH VS.
SALVATION BY WORKS

Here's a major doctrine that 1John clarifies. 1John helps to clarify what appears to some as an apparent contradiction in which some passages indicate that salvation is based upon a person's performance and others which indicate it is based purely on faith. For example:

"What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about - but not before God. What does the scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. (Gen 15:6)

"What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works," Romans 4:1-6

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

APPARENT CONTRADICTION:

"This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother." 1John3 :10

RESOLUTION:

John helps to resolve what some see as a contradiction here by pointing out that it is inevitable that those who truly believe will have works of faith which accompany their belief. This principle is so dependable that John proposes it as means to distinguish real Christians.

Furthermore, what "good" work did Abraham do which demonstrated his righteousness? He attempted to murder his son. Hardly a good work by today's standards. Yet Abraham had been promised that through Isaac he shall become a great nation. Despite the fact the God had commanded him to kill his son, Abraham believed that God was still able to carry out his promise even if he had to raise Isaac from the dead. (Hebrews 11:19) This therefore was a work of faith, which justified him, not in the eyes of God, since God had already declared him righteous, but it justified him in the eyes of other people, just as we are recognized as being born of God by our performance.

ANOTHER APPARENT CONTRADICTION:

The Final Judgment: Matthew 25:31-46 In summary:

All people will be separated categorically into sheep and goats
The sheep are the righteous. They will go to heaven.
Their behavior is characterized by providing for the needs of the brethren of Christ.
The goats on the other hand will go to hell.
They did not provide for the needs of the brethren of Christ

RESOLUTION:

This is completely consistent with 1John. Notice that they were separated into two categorizes, just as John says, "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life."1John 5:12 There is no third category or gray area between these two. And there is no purgatory as some Catholics believe. Furthermore, they were separated according to what they were, sheep or goats, not according to what they did. Just as we will be separated according to whether we have been born of God or not. What they did characterized what they were. A goat cannot produce a sheep's wool, nor can a sheep produce goat's milk. And what was it that the sheep did? They loved other Christians. Which is just what John emphasized as being characteristic of those who are truly saved.

BASIC APPLICATIONS

A. Repentance

For the unsaved, John implies that repentance is not initiated by a change of behavior, but by a change of belief that results in a change in behavior. The unsaved may be living a lifestyle of sin to which they are held captive. Although preachers may demand that they change their behavior, they may simply not have the ability to do so. Yet if they come to believe in Christ and become born of God, they will find that they no longer have the ability to live a lifestyle of sin (1John 3:9).

B. The following are some evidences that a person has been born of God:

he acknowledges sin in the world and in himself
he acknowledges that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God .
he loves other Christians just because they are Christians
he does not live a lifestyle of sin, nor is sin part of his profession
he seeks as a lifestyle to obey God

In addition there is also the subjective witness of the Holy Spirit to the person as well as the confidence that comes from convictions.

"Perseverance of the Saints"
in 1John

The Doctrine of Perseverance of the Saints is the idea that once born of God, it is inevitable that the Christian's life will be consistent with that which is characteristic of a child of God and he will continue to endure to the end both respect to his faith and such behavior as is characteristic of that faith. Implicit in this, of course, is the doctrine of "Eternal Security" (Once Saved, Always Saved)

Consider the Perfect Tense. The Perfect Tense is used to indicate an action which occurred in the past and has continued on till the present. The quotes are taken from the NIV. The italics are mine for emphasis.

1John 3:6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has (at any time in the past up the the present) either seen him or known him.

This statement is contrary to the idea that once saved, it is possible for a Christian to live a lifestyle of sin (Free Grace Antinomianism) and (Wesleyanism). For if you meet someone that lives a lifestyle of sin, you can say that such a person had never come to know Jesus either in the past all the way up to the present. This is consistent with John's analysis of a certain group of people formerly considered Christians:

1John 2:19 "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us."

This is simply an application of the doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints. Once saved, it is inevitable that such people would "remain", but if not, their salvation status is revealed by their behavior (as indicated by the word "showed").

What causes the Saints to Persevere?

1John 3:9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.

There is something about the rebirth experience that changes the nature of the person which makes inevitable this kind of behavior. Just as it is written:

2Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

This was the part of the promise of the New Covenant as Jeremiah wrote:

Jer 31:33,34 "But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."

And is made effective by the Holy Spirit to all those who belong to Christ

Romans 8:9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

Christ's commands are not burdensome to those who have been born of God

1John 5:3-5 This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God (perfect tense: "has in the past been born of God") overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

Being born itself is an event that occurs at a point in time. The perfect is used to refer to this past event which, just like physical birth, is a continuous state from the point of birth to the present. This verse answers objections to the concept of Eternal Security from verses dealing with "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.", such as in Revelations 2:7

To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

Along with Rev 2:11,17,26; 3:5,12,21; 21:7. It is inevitable that those who have been born of God will overcome. If they don't then they hadn't been born of God.

The Berean Christian Bible Study Resources

Jan 28,2022