You Can Know

“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” — 1 John 5:13 (KJV)

Some Christians spend years wondering whether they are really saved. Torrey says you don’t have to live like that.

He points to 1 John 5:13, where John says he wrote his letter so that believers “may know” that they have eternal life. Torrey says some people claim that nobody can know this until they die, “but God Himself tells us that we may know.”

How can you know? Torrey’s answer is simple: because God’s Word says so. If you have received Jesus, John 1:12 says you have become a child of God. You can know it “on the surest of all grounds”, because God has said it.

This means your assurance doesn’t depend on how you feel today. Feelings go up and down. God’s promises don’t.

Torrey says that knowing you belong to God brings “the fullest measure of joy and power”. People who are always unsure of their salvation find it hard to have joy, and hard to help others.

In a later chapter Torrey adds something important about guilt. He says the enemy will try to discourage you by bringing up your sins and failures, trying to convince you that you are not really a child of God. The answer, he says, is to look at what God looks at: Jesus on the cross, who has dealt with every sin.

“It is an act of base ingratitude to God to brood over sins that He in His infinite love has cancelled.”

That is a striking way to put it. If God has forgiven you, then constantly beating yourself up is not humility; it is not believing him.

If you often feel unsure or anxious about whether you are saved, talk to a pastor or youth leader you trust. Sometimes it helps to have someone remind you of God’s promises.

One thing to do this week: write 1 John 5:13 and John 1:12 on a card. Whenever you feel unsure whether you belong to God this week, read them and say: “God says I can know. I trust what he says.”