The Word of God gives the prescription for HOW we are to be saved (believe and confess). The Work of Christ secures the WAY we our saved (atonement and sacrifice), and the fruit of the Spirit bears evidence THAT we are saved (good works that bespeak a transformed life). Those three things, in and of themselves are the bedrock upon which we have assurance of salvation. In 1 John 3:19-24 John adds a fourth criterion: the conscience. And while the human conscience is not the end all to be all (as it can give bad readings on occasion), it is still a respectable guide (if informed by the Word of God) for knowing our standing before God.
12 - Walking In Confidence
1 John 3:19-24
September 11, 2022 • Pastor Ronald H. Gann • 1 John 3:19–24
More from
1-3 John
01 - Introduction: Walking In Truth & Love
May 29, 2022 • Pastor Ronald H. Gann
The three small letters written by the apostle John—1-3 JOHN—were written to the third-generation church in around Asia minor who had lost the conviction of the first-generation church (and even struggled to maintain the beliefs of the second-generation church). John saw flagrant deceptions accepted as gospel truth and a lazy church that was slow to correct and quick to capitulate. Out of his remarkably retentive memory—no doubt quickened, inspired, and energized by the Holy Spirit—John wrote 1-3 JOHN to remind his readers about what it means to walk worthily in the manner of Christ.
02 - The Word Of Life
June 5, 2022 • Pastor Ronald H. Gann • 1 John 1:1–4
In the person of Jesus Christ there appears to be a living dichotomy, where two contrasting things exist in one man at the same time. That is, Jesus has both a divine nature and human nature. As such, he is the God-man who, as the 'word of life', brings life everlasting to those who believe in him as the Word of God made flesh. But how, exactly, does this wonderful truth affect and effect believers? In 1 John 1:1-4, the apostle John reminds us that the 'word of life' allows us to be in fellowship and communion with God whereby the life and likeness of Christ in us becomes more evident to those around us.
03 - Walking In The Light
June 19, 2022 • Pastor Ronald H. Gann • 1 John 1:5–10
To have genuine fellowship with a holy God, we must walk in the light, as God Himself is in the light. It’s easy to claim to have fellowship with God—as so many self-deceived people do—but it’s another thing altogether for it to be true. And so, in 1 John 1:5-10, the apostle John provides a litmus test that, to his inspired way of thinking, was sure to separate the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the tares, the straw from the chaff, and the authentic from the inauthentic. Let he who has ear to hear, let him hear!