Assurance of eternal life

I John 5:10-13 (NASB)

The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

For most adults, especially starting in their late 30s and/or into their middle 40s, death is a daily thought, hopefully not active, but always in the back of the mind.  We are reminded of death through reading or hearing the headlines, scanning the obituary pages, experiencing another birthday, and/or experiencing the death of a family member or friend.  Famous people die almost every day; another reminder of the reality of death.  While we are reminded daily of death, we definitely don’t like thinking of our own death.   Human beings naturally are afraid of death.  If you are not afraid of death then most likely you are afraid of the process of dying (Job 18:14, Psalm 55:4-5). 

Christians should not be afraid of death because of passages with promises like I John 5:10-13.  When you sincerely believe (Greek “pisteuo” meaning “to have confidence within the depth of your soul that this is truth to be believed”) that your life does not end with your physical death, you no longer have fear of dying.  In fact, the thought of spending eternal life in heaven without any sorrow or pain and having all the riches that God offers is a wonderful, peaceful thought.

The word “testimony” is used twice in this passage.  Testimony also means to witness and its imagery is someone in a courtroom facing a judge and providing absolutely truthful words.  John testifies three enormous truths:

·  God has given His people eternal life.

·  He who has (believes in) the Son has the promise eternal life in front of him/her.

·  He who does not believe in the Son of God does not have the promise of eternal life. 

The testimony about belief and eternal life resides within the soul of every believer.  This testimony enables you to bear witness of your faith in Jesus to other people who need to know that you are a believer.  You don’t need to ram your faith down others’ throats, but you need to make it clear not only with your words, but, more importantly, with your actions that you are a believer and follower of Jesus Christ.  Yes, making your faith in Christ known to others brings about the old adage “I hear what you are saying, now I’ll be watching!”   Yet, declaring and acting out your faith enables you to be “salt of the earth and light of the world” (Matthew 5:13-16).  It is not easy to be a visible testifier of your faith as you have seen with the Tim Tebow phenomena.  You will be persecuted for your faith (I Timothy 3:12), but will be blessed forever (Matthew 5:10-11, I Peter 3:14).

Can anyone ever argue that there is anything more important than the assurance of eternal life?  What other pleasure or pleasant thought or any phenomenon at all supersedes a promise about life beyond life on earth?  As you become older and your eventual death becomes closer, is there anything that can give you more courage and peace of mind than the assurance that you have eternal life ahead of you?  God’s testimony to you is that if you believe in Jesus Christ, He gives and assures you of eternal life.  Think about the powerful thought of the Creator of everything in the universe giving His testimony to you! 

Conversely, if you are not yet a believer, think seriously about God’s testimony that, without belief in His Son, you do not have eternal life.  People do not believe either because they have never heard the gospel (thus, why it’s so important for believers to be ready to share your faith), they have heard it, but choose to reject it (like three of the four types of soils Jesus talks about in Matthew 13) or do not feel “good enough” to receive God’s gift of salvation in Christ.  There are eternal consequences in believing or not believing and God gives you the choice. 

Which part of God’s testimony in I John 5:10-13 do you believe?  Your eternal life

depends on it.