A couple weeks ago we had one of the coolest teachers ever! His name is Micah and he took us through 1 John: Am I really Saved? Can I know for sure? Wow. The teaching was intense. I stole his powerpoint so if anyone is interested in having it, email me and I'll send it to you bschwantz@hotmail.com
Here is a quick overview:
How To Know if You Are Saved:
1 John
1 John
A genuine Christian has a mark of authenticity upon him. There are 8 evidences that John gives us in First John. One of Satan's strategies in hindering the work of God is to reduce the gospel of Jesus into a formula so that people can enter by subscribing to the formula without every truly entering into relationship with God. In other words, just because you said "the prayer" does not necessarily mean you are a Christian.
Evidence #1 WALKING IN LIGHT: "If we say we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth." (1 John 1:6). A verse before, John tells us that God is light. There is no darkness in Him at all. So we can not be friends with Him if we are walking in darkness. To walk in darkness means to choose to dwell in sinfulness, to be in a state of habitual sin, to continue living like we used to live. I had become a "Christian" when I was 7 years old. But as I entered high school, my life did not reflect that at all. Even in college a little. I had a relationship with God. I prayed and read my Bible and He spoke to me as well. But I was definitely in habitual sin. This began my freak out of last week. I believe what the Bible says is true...so did this mean I was not a Christian?
Evidence #2 OBEYING HIS COMMANDMENTS: "The one who says, 'I have come to know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar; and the truth is not in him." (1 John 2:4) And the freaking out intensified. I had always considered myself as being in a relationship with God. But I knew there were things I was doing that were wrong. Did this mean I was a liar? I knew I wasn't keeping all His commandments. Obedience is the pattern of the Christian; sin in the exception, not the way that a Christian habitually lives. There is no salvation outside of having a relationship with God, truly knowing Him, not just about Him. And a person in relationship with God is obeying what He commands him to do. Romans 2:14 tells us we have no excuse for sin. We cannot claim ignorance for sin, because God has hardwired certain truths within us. A person's heart will race when he or she steals something, whether they are Christian on not. So how do I know if I'm saved? If I intend to keep God's commandments and obey Him no matter what. Before coming to DTS, I was not intending to obey some of God's commandments. I was planning to and expecting to sin in certain areas.
Evidence #3 LOVING THE BROTHERS: "We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death." (1 John 3:14) This is not emotional. It is a commitment of the will to want the same rights for your neighbor as you do for yourself. Whatever you want protected for yourself, you must equally be committed to protect that for your neighbor. Love is charitable, benevolent, concerned. Bear one another's burdens. Shut out your neighbor and you also shut yourselves out of heaven. Who is your neighbor? Jesus answers this in Luke 10:25-37. It is the person you see who has the need. The neighbor is the person you see when you look out the window of your house. But now we have TV, and this is the window that opens up the whole world to us. It is the strategy of God. He put that funny little box in your living room, and it made you the neighbor to the entire world. Internet? Even more so. I know I'm saved if I love people.
Evidence #4 NOT LOVING THE WORLD: "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." (1 John 2:15) The world is all that attracts you prior to coming to God. You will know the saved by their attitude toward the world. Either you love the world or you love God. (Matt 16:23; John 14:17; John 15:19; Romans 12:2; 1 Cor 1:20; Eph 2:2; Phil 2:15) You can not commit your entire being to pleasing God and pleasing the world at the same time. When you see pictures of the devil, his fork is always represented as having 3 prongs for all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. These things are not of the Father, but are of the world. Lust of the eyes is represented by wanting things and possessions. Lust of the flesh is represented by wanting experiences (sexual, social, etc). Pride of life is represented by wanting influence, authority, power, and position. Its not wrong to want these things. Its wrong to want them outside of God's will or above God Himself.
Evidence #5 ABIDING IN CHRIST: "And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming." (1 John 2:28). To abide in Christ means to remain in relationship with Him. The person who refuses to recognize and surrender the throne of his heart to unconditionally obey the Lord Jesus Christ is not of Christ. Abiding in Christ does not mean going to church. People go to church all the time who do not have a relationship with Christ.
Evidence #6 HATING SIN & DESIRING TO PLEASE GOD: "By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother." (1 John 3:10).
"Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who continually is practicing sin is of the devil." (1 John 3:7-8). When I read this, I really had to ask myself, do I believe everything in the Bible or not. Before coming to YWAM, I was continually practicing sin. The devil had a hold on me. Sense being here, the best way I have found to stop sinning, was to ask God to give me the attitude He has toward it: a pure hatred for sin. It didn't happen over night. Its still a work in progress. But when I feel tempted to sin, I look to Jesus and ask Him to show me how He sees it. I want to pleasing to God above all else.
Evidence #7 HAVING THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT: "Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us." (1 John 3:24). The Holy Spirit Himself personally brings the witness within our spirit that we have been born again. Your spirit is who you are. It is your spirit that leaves you at death. It is your spirit that thinks and feels and knows. Your spirit that lives. Without it, we would just be an empty shell. It is also our spirit which is regenerated at salvation. "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children" (Romans 8:16). The testimony of the Holy Spirit is an inward impression on the human spirit, whereby God directly witnesses to your spirit that you are a child of God, that Jesus loves you and that He died for you and that you have been reconciled to Him.
Evidence #8 OVERCOMING THE WORLD: "For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world -- our faith." (1 John 5:4). And this is where my life was about to change. Overcoming the world means putting Jesus in charge. Stepping off the throne and allowing Him to do with me whatever He would like. Micah quoted a teacher he had in earlier years: "If you walk out this door tonight, and your planning on sinning, maybe you are not saved." I literally sank down in my chair after hearing this. I really had thought I had been a Christian all my life. My mind could hardly wrap around that maybe I wasn't. I was constantly planning on sinning and making up excuses for it. Oh this is just something I've always struggled with. Oh I'm a good Christian except for this one thing. etc etc so dumb. I was deceived.
So I ended up either giving my life to Christ for the first time or recommitting myself to Him. I'm honestly still not really sure, but at this point, it just doesn't really matter. Now I know that I know that I know that I am a child of God. I am saved. I dedicated my life in front of my class, along with most of my classmates. The next day, our staff took us to get baptized. Here is a video of mine :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULgpjIXqka4&feature=youtu.be
There's a link also on my facebook. The video is of my baptism and then a bunch of prayers and words people had for me. Its kinda hard to hear, but its all really awesome :)
Yesterday morning we had our very last lecture of DTS. I still can't believe it. On Monday we will be learning how to not be American while on our outreaches and spending time with our outreach teams -- my team gets to eat Korean food -- win :) Tuesday we will be deep cleaning this entire base. And Wed Kelsey, Trent, and I will be on our way back to Minnesota! I can't wait to see my family and go to my church and just see everyone!
Evidence #1 WALKING IN LIGHT: "If we say we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth." (1 John 1:6). A verse before, John tells us that God is light. There is no darkness in Him at all. So we can not be friends with Him if we are walking in darkness. To walk in darkness means to choose to dwell in sinfulness, to be in a state of habitual sin, to continue living like we used to live. I had become a "Christian" when I was 7 years old. But as I entered high school, my life did not reflect that at all. Even in college a little. I had a relationship with God. I prayed and read my Bible and He spoke to me as well. But I was definitely in habitual sin. This began my freak out of last week. I believe what the Bible says is true...so did this mean I was not a Christian?
Evidence #2 OBEYING HIS COMMANDMENTS: "The one who says, 'I have come to know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar; and the truth is not in him." (1 John 2:4) And the freaking out intensified. I had always considered myself as being in a relationship with God. But I knew there were things I was doing that were wrong. Did this mean I was a liar? I knew I wasn't keeping all His commandments. Obedience is the pattern of the Christian; sin in the exception, not the way that a Christian habitually lives. There is no salvation outside of having a relationship with God, truly knowing Him, not just about Him. And a person in relationship with God is obeying what He commands him to do. Romans 2:14 tells us we have no excuse for sin. We cannot claim ignorance for sin, because God has hardwired certain truths within us. A person's heart will race when he or she steals something, whether they are Christian on not. So how do I know if I'm saved? If I intend to keep God's commandments and obey Him no matter what. Before coming to DTS, I was not intending to obey some of God's commandments. I was planning to and expecting to sin in certain areas.
Evidence #3 LOVING THE BROTHERS: "We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death." (1 John 3:14) This is not emotional. It is a commitment of the will to want the same rights for your neighbor as you do for yourself. Whatever you want protected for yourself, you must equally be committed to protect that for your neighbor. Love is charitable, benevolent, concerned. Bear one another's burdens. Shut out your neighbor and you also shut yourselves out of heaven. Who is your neighbor? Jesus answers this in Luke 10:25-37. It is the person you see who has the need. The neighbor is the person you see when you look out the window of your house. But now we have TV, and this is the window that opens up the whole world to us. It is the strategy of God. He put that funny little box in your living room, and it made you the neighbor to the entire world. Internet? Even more so. I know I'm saved if I love people.
Evidence #4 NOT LOVING THE WORLD: "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." (1 John 2:15) The world is all that attracts you prior to coming to God. You will know the saved by their attitude toward the world. Either you love the world or you love God. (Matt 16:23; John 14:17; John 15:19; Romans 12:2; 1 Cor 1:20; Eph 2:2; Phil 2:15) You can not commit your entire being to pleasing God and pleasing the world at the same time. When you see pictures of the devil, his fork is always represented as having 3 prongs for all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. These things are not of the Father, but are of the world. Lust of the eyes is represented by wanting things and possessions. Lust of the flesh is represented by wanting experiences (sexual, social, etc). Pride of life is represented by wanting influence, authority, power, and position. Its not wrong to want these things. Its wrong to want them outside of God's will or above God Himself.
Evidence #5 ABIDING IN CHRIST: "And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming." (1 John 2:28). To abide in Christ means to remain in relationship with Him. The person who refuses to recognize and surrender the throne of his heart to unconditionally obey the Lord Jesus Christ is not of Christ. Abiding in Christ does not mean going to church. People go to church all the time who do not have a relationship with Christ.
Evidence #6 HATING SIN & DESIRING TO PLEASE GOD: "By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother." (1 John 3:10).
"Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who continually is practicing sin is of the devil." (1 John 3:7-8). When I read this, I really had to ask myself, do I believe everything in the Bible or not. Before coming to YWAM, I was continually practicing sin. The devil had a hold on me. Sense being here, the best way I have found to stop sinning, was to ask God to give me the attitude He has toward it: a pure hatred for sin. It didn't happen over night. Its still a work in progress. But when I feel tempted to sin, I look to Jesus and ask Him to show me how He sees it. I want to pleasing to God above all else.
Evidence #7 HAVING THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT: "Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us." (1 John 3:24). The Holy Spirit Himself personally brings the witness within our spirit that we have been born again. Your spirit is who you are. It is your spirit that leaves you at death. It is your spirit that thinks and feels and knows. Your spirit that lives. Without it, we would just be an empty shell. It is also our spirit which is regenerated at salvation. "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children" (Romans 8:16). The testimony of the Holy Spirit is an inward impression on the human spirit, whereby God directly witnesses to your spirit that you are a child of God, that Jesus loves you and that He died for you and that you have been reconciled to Him.
Evidence #8 OVERCOMING THE WORLD: "For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world -- our faith." (1 John 5:4). And this is where my life was about to change. Overcoming the world means putting Jesus in charge. Stepping off the throne and allowing Him to do with me whatever He would like. Micah quoted a teacher he had in earlier years: "If you walk out this door tonight, and your planning on sinning, maybe you are not saved." I literally sank down in my chair after hearing this. I really had thought I had been a Christian all my life. My mind could hardly wrap around that maybe I wasn't. I was constantly planning on sinning and making up excuses for it. Oh this is just something I've always struggled with. Oh I'm a good Christian except for this one thing. etc etc so dumb. I was deceived.
So I ended up either giving my life to Christ for the first time or recommitting myself to Him. I'm honestly still not really sure, but at this point, it just doesn't really matter. Now I know that I know that I know that I am a child of God. I am saved. I dedicated my life in front of my class, along with most of my classmates. The next day, our staff took us to get baptized. Here is a video of mine :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULgpjIXqka4&feature=youtu.be
There's a link also on my facebook. The video is of my baptism and then a bunch of prayers and words people had for me. Its kinda hard to hear, but its all really awesome :)
Yesterday morning we had our very last lecture of DTS. I still can't believe it. On Monday we will be learning how to not be American while on our outreaches and spending time with our outreach teams -- my team gets to eat Korean food -- win :) Tuesday we will be deep cleaning this entire base. And Wed Kelsey, Trent, and I will be on our way back to Minnesota! I can't wait to see my family and go to my church and just see everyone!
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